A/N: Well, I got some comments on the chemistry(?) between Zoro and Perona from the end of the last chapter, so I thought I'd post this next chapter early and clarify this point.
First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who posted reviews on my story. You guys are the ones that keep me going! Thank you so much for your encouragement, interest, and constructive criticism. I'm also happy that nobody's flamed me so far haha.
Anyways.
This fanfic was NOT meant to be written as a romance story. This author is very very very very very bad at writing romance, so there is absolutely no intention to include any sort of "shipping" or whatever into it. It's action/adventure, people.
So that means, no romance.
If a lot of people want the romance in there, I may go for it just for the heck of it, but unless there's someone who is dying for some love action, it's not happening. Sorry haha.
However, I'll continue to put in a lot of Zoro and Perona moments (not romantic! Just platonic. Platonic). This is because I feel that as a fanfic writer, I wanted to carry on some of the original story's plot elements and incorporate them into my own story in my own way. So, to explain, probably everybody who's read the original One Piece manga would agree that out of all the Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro has the closest relationship with Perona. I mean, they did spend 2 years on an island together. Perona doesn't interact much with the others, but with Zoro, she spent quite a bit of time with him (albeit reluctantly). I wanted my story to reflect this original relationship.
This also means, in turn, that you can expect Perona's relationships with Usopp, Mihawk, Moria, and some others to be developed more later on. Because the relationship between these characters in the original manga were also more developed than the others.
Does that answer the inquiries?
If any readers feel the need to squeal excitedly at every sweet Perona and Zoro moment, go right on ahead. As a writer, I feel flattered if my readers can get involved in my stories. But nothing will ever hint explicitly at a romantic development.
.
So with that long note, here is the next chapter!
Chapter 7: Princess Back in Loguetown
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—Loguetown, marine base—
"…Captain Smoker," Tashigi whispered, staring up at her superior with a hooded gaze. Due to Perona's influence, her once close-cut hair had grown to shoulder length. It hung from the back of her head, tied into a neat ponytail. Right now, the woman was fingering a familiar ribbon-shaped hairpin in her bangs.
Smoker growled, not pleased. He had just gotten a call from Marine Headquarters, and their orders seemed to disturb Tashigi very much. "Why would a Tennryubito want Perona arrested, captain?"
One of Smoker's cigars died out, but the man made no move to re-light it. "According to the head butler of the Roswald family, the owner of Princess Brands disobeyed a direct order from the lord's daughter, what's-her-name..."
"Charlotte Roswald, I believe."
"Yeah, her. They want Perona in custody, and within the Tennryubito's possession as soon as possible. The order is from Marine HQ, Tashigi. They've probably sent the notification to all marines ranked Captain and above. Even if we ignore the order, the other officers who have been notified will manage to arrest her anyway," Smoker chewed the edge of his cigars into fringes, eyes narrowed in distaste. He did not appreciate it when the world nobles ordered the marines around like dogs. He had pirates to catch, dammit! His time was better spent arresting those scurves of the sea—not chasing after a girl that pissed off the Tennryubito. "You have my permission to sit this one out, Ensign. I don't want you getting sentimental on me while carrying out your orders."
Tashigi gulped, Perona's words echoing in her mind.
"There are things only a woman can do!"
"It's your job to show them that you can!"
Clutching her sword tighter, Tashigi shook her head firmly. "I'll accompany you, captain. In taking custody of Perona by orders of Marine HQ. Because…that is my job."
The man gave Tashigi a long look, and nodded.
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"You know, Nami. If you'd asked, I could have easily stolen all their wallets without even lifting a finger."
Perona and Nami sat side by side on a pair of foldable chairs, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the cool sea breeze. Gentle waves rocked the Merry Go back and forth. While Nami busied herself sorting through a sizable pile of wallets and purses (filched from her neighbors a few days ago), a little stuffed monkey lay half-made in Perona's lap. The pink-haired girl hummed a little tune to herself, her hands deftly sewing the needle in and out. She was working on her latest stuffed animal. The inspiration refused to let her alone, ever since she had laid eyes on Luffy: a cute little monkey with a straw hat on its head. She would add a red ribbon onto the hat for some Princess Brand flair.
Nami giggled as she counted her cash, "Thanks for your offer, Perona, but it's more fun this way. And my sister and neighbors won't be forgetting about me anytime soon after this, don't you think?"
Recalling the dumbfounded expressions mirrored on each and every one of the villagers' faces, Perona laughed in agreement. "Horohorohorohoro, you left quite a lasting impression on them."
As the girls continued to chat, a flap of wings announced the arrival of a guest. A big bird landed on the rails with a wad of newspaper held in its beak. Seeing her daily delivery, Nami fished out a coin and went to purchase her paper.
"Hey, the price rose again! I'll stop buying if it goes up any higher, you got that, bird?"
Stingy as ever. Even in the short time Perona had known the girl, she already had a good idea of how tight the Straw Hat navigator's drawstring purse could be.
Just before the Merry Go left Cocoyashi, Perona had gotten a taste of Nami's money-love. Really, it bordered on obsession. When Luffy started bugging Perona about joining the Straw Hat pirates again, Nami had this to say: "Perona? On our ship? Sailing with us as part of our crew? That would mean . . . as a comrade and nakama in the same crew, I would have free access to all of your Princess Brand products? Welcome to the crew, Perona!"
"…."
Sufficed to say, Perona had shot her a stinging glare. It didn't have much effect, though, because Nami couldn't see past the berry signs in her eyes.
"Awww…come on, just one, Sanjiiii!"
The sound of Luffy's whine brought Perona's attention back. The rubber boy sat slumped over on the deck, eyeing the orange grove on the upper deck hungrily. A little ways off, Usopp was rolling around the deck, screaming in pain as fire and tears poured out from his eyes. Something about a latest hot sauce invention gone wrong.
Nobody paid him much attention.
Glancing at the orange trees on the rear deck, Perona gave a shrug. In all honesty, the addition of trees onto this barren ship added a touch of natural charm to the whole thing. It pleased Perona's aesthetic taste quite a bit. Unfortunately, though, it caused a lot more trouble than it was worth between sneaky orange thieves (Luffy and Usopp) and the grove's loyal guardian.
Sanji stood with his kicking leg held out dangerously. His eyes flashed, arms held out firmly to block the orange trees behind him from view. "None of you are allowed to touch Nami-san's precious orange groves. I will guard them with my life! Right, Nami-swan?"
"Thank you, Sanji," came Nami's cool reply as she flipped open her newspaper. Behind her, Perona heard Zoro mutter something about 'manipulative women.'
"Aargghh! Agghhhh!" Usopp continued to yell, burning tears streaking his face. Perona gave an irritated sigh, then waved a hand, summoning a Blue Hollow that embodied itself into the water jug sitting on the table.
Splash!
"Th-thanks, Perona…" Usopp mumbled, his face, hair, and goggles now soaking wet. "But there might have been a better way to do that, you know? Without getting water all over my shirt."
"Hmph," Perona smirked at Usopp's lame attempt for a better solution. "Your screams grated on my nerves. You sounded like a dying pig. I chose the shortest method to cut you off."
The boy laughed sheepishly, taking her insult in stride. The cool water felt good on his stinging eyes.
A few days with Perona was enough to harden even the most sensitive soul against her sharp tongue. And Luffy had taken quite enthusiastically to Perona—the others had no choice but to get accustomed to her stinging words.
And they found that really, she wasn't all that bad.
Um, well, sometimes she could be downright mean, but more and more, the girl was proving herself otherwise.
And besides, she did them all a valuable service.
Above all else, one thing they truly appreciated was her ability to distract their energetic captain. Ever since Luffy witnessed Zoro snoring away on Perona's flying chair, he had acquired a distinct sparkle in his eye whenever he looked at the pink-haired girl. Or, more specifically, whenever he laid eyes on her Blue Hollows.
Simply put, he began asking for a ride whenever he saw Perona around. Asking, demanding, begging, pleading. Whatever you call it.
It annoyed Perona to no end.
Usually, it went something like this:
"Perona! Can I ride in a flying chair?"
"No."
"Please? Please? Let me ride one, just once. Please!"
"No."
"Neh, Perona, come on. Just one more ride!"
"No."
"Peronnnnaaaaaaaa…"
Well, you get the point.
Most of the time, she either ignored him or booted him out of the way, and threw him an irritated glare. But other times, once in a thousand, once in a million…very, very rarely, she would grab Luffy by the collar and all but throw him onto a piece of furniture, sending him off on a wild roller coaster ride.
"It's the fastest way to get him out of my face," she would huff angrily.
The other Straw Hats would simply smile, watching their silly captain whoop with joy as the chair (or bed, or piece of wood, whatever happened to be lying around) performed loop-the-loops through the sky.
On even rarer occasions over the past week, Usopp would join Luffy for a free ride on Perona's Possession Hollows. Though his legs shook like jelly, and he had all his exorcism gear out and ready to go, the coward eventually began whooping right alongside his captain. Sometimes the two idiots would pretend to race each other, forgetting that they didn't actually have any control over their vehicles.
And before the group departed from Cocoyashi village, Johnny and Yosaku had come up to Perona to apologize.
"We're sorry, Perona-aniki. We just got so upset when we saw you hit Zoro-aniki…!"
"We know you did it for his own good. You're right, we understand now. Even the doctor said that knocking him out before he further damaged himself was a good idea, so…"
Of course, Perona never took an apology bare-handed. "Of course I'm right, imbeciles. Now if you really want to show me a bit of your appreciation…" she tossed them both a bundle of clothes. "Wear these. I'm charging you double, and refusal is not an option."
And so, she bade farewell with the East Blue bounty hunters in good spirits, leaving their outfits a noticeably brighter shade of red. Actually, the duo seemed quite happy about their new matching set of shirts and headbands.
Perona gave a satisfied smile at the sound of coins in her heart-shaped purse. Two more fashionably improved customers. She'd long ago given up on her vacation—she couldn't relax properly with all these sinfully unpalatable outfits around, anyway.
After that, the Straw Hats seemed to have a better idea on how Perona operated. Eventually, even Usopp learned not to take Perona's words at face value—after all, whenever Perona insulted Sanji's cooking, the chef would usually find his dishes mysteriously washed and dried on the racks after dinner. Or when the ghost girl kicked a napping Zoro roughly out of her way, the swordsman would find his afternoon training sessions strangely free of interruptions. Not to mention the suspicious Negative Hollow floating just around the corner, ready to scare off obnoxious disturbers (i.e. Luffy and Usopp). Or that one time when she snapped at Nami for coming to breakfast in her pajamas—Nami had found three brand new sets of clothes in her dresser later that morning.
Knowing all this, Usopp gave his wet hair a few pats before going back to his gadgets. The frown on Perona's face relaxed a little; and she turned her attention back to the piece of cloth in her hands. Now, to make the arms.
Luffy came bounding up to her in an eager bounce.
Oh, no.
"Neh, Perona!" he said, his eyes taking on their eager shine. "Can I?"
"No. Go away. Leave me alone," she bit out, concentrating on making the stitches even and pretty.
"Peronaaa, pleeeeeaaaaase."
"No."
"Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaa—"
"No."
"Peronnnnaaaaaaa…"
Perona blew at her bangs in frustration. She hated being interrupted at her work. Her irritated glare came up to meet Luffy's eager gaze. The boy, seeing that he had her attention, grinned and ran off.
He returned shortly, carrying his big red blanket in his arms.
"Here! Let me ride on this one this time! It'll be like a flying carpet, shishishi!"
Glowering at the boy, she gave the blanket a hard stare. Perona muttered something darkly under her breath as she allowed a Blue Hollow to rise out of her body, the indefinable globs of spiritual energy slowing forming into a grinning specter.
"Go drop him in the ocean somewhere," she quipped, before picking up her stitches where she had left off. The Blue Hollow nodded and flew into the bundle in Luffy's arms. Laughing excitedly, the boy captain let go of the blanket. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch in strange fascination, as the glowing blanket hopped into the air by itself and unfolded into a flat square, waiting for its passenger to hop on.
Needing no second invitation, Luffy scrabbled on and shouted delightedly as the object sped off at breakneck speed. He had to hang onto his Straw Hat for fear of losing it in the wind. As the boy began whooping breathlessly, the others returned to their tasks. Usopp spared just enough time to wave back at the hyper boy a few times before turning back to his inventions. The 'flying carpet,' as Luffy aptly named it, had precise instructions from its mistress. It zig-zagged through the blue sky, throwing loops, spirals, twists and turns, tilting dangerously to its side as it zoomed through the masts and riggings above. But Zoro noticed that the heart-stopping dips and turns never actually endangered the rider on board. Luffy screeched in unbridled exhilaration.
"There's a war going on," Nami muttered as she turned a page in her paper, "and gas prices going up. Lots of unrest these days . . ."
"I'm flyiiiiiing!"
The navigator didn't even bat an eye. "…and the rebels are acting up more and more. Wonder how that's all going to end up…"
Just then, as Nami turned the page of her newspaper, something fluttered out of the leaves of the newspaper next to Usopp. It was a piece of paper.
The boy glanced down at it briefly, then did a double-take, adjusting his goggles to stare at the poster on the floor.
"This…!"
"Eh?" Nami leaned forward, and she too gave a gasp of surprise.
Zoro took one look at it and called, "Oi, Luffy! You might want to come look at this!"
Luffy pouted, but Perona would have none of that. At her beckoning, the blanket flew back and dumped the rubber boy next to the poster. He began to protest, but then caught sight of the picture printed on the front of the paper. A nice, big picture. Luffy went quiet.
Then, he yelled out, "What!?"
Even Sanji gave an interested "hn" as they all stared at the wanted poster in their midst.
A brief moment of shocked silence.
Then
"EHHHHHH!?"
"I'm wanted for 30 million berries! Wow!" Luffy grabbed the poster and held it up excitedly, breathless from the shock, or perhaps from his recent tumble in the air. Perona arched an eyebrow, disbelief warring in her eyes.
"You? For 30 million? Which marine officer made the printing error?"
Nami fell back into her chair, shaking her head. "Ugh, to think that you'd get a bounty at a time like this…don't celebrate, you idiots! Don't you realize that people will be coming after our lives now?"
Apparently, no. The thought didn't even enter their heads.
They began talking excitedly to each other about what this meant for Luffy's reputation. Sanji prepared to go into the kitchen and cook a celebratory feast; Zoro, who actually acknowledged Nami's observation with a nod, fingered his katana in eager delight. The prospect of worthy opponents knocking on his doorstep only served to fuel his excitement.
Nami looked around at the boys helplessly. Even Usopp seemed happy—he kept pointing to the corner of Luffy's picture where the back of the sniper's head had been captured. "Hey guys, I'm a famous pirate, too!"
"These morons…" Nami fell into a helpless state, turning to Perona for comfort. "Perona, you agree with me, right? It's a bad thing for your face to be printed on a wanted poster, right? It's never good to have bounty hunters and marines after your head, right?"
"Of course," replied Perona, immediately. Her female companion brightened, finally having someone agree with her. For once.
More and more, Nami was starting to like the idea of Perona joining them permanently. Not only could the ghost-girl keep Luffy entertained (i.e. out of everybody else's hair), but she also sported enough common sense to actually converse with Nami on normal terms.
Unlike the rest of the brainless crew.
Amid a crowd of battle-crazy idiots, Perona presented a breath of fresh air for the only female member of the Straw Hat pirates.
"I knew you'd understand, Perona," Nami sighed in relief.
But her blooming smile died, painfully, at Perona's next words. "The marines do a horrible job in designing these posters. Just look at that ugly brown color. If they're going to print profile pictures and spread them all over the world, don't you think they have the obligation to at least make it look attractive? 'Appearance' is the number one requirement in any sales tactic, you know! How dare they insult a perfectly good smile like Luffy's by framing it in such…ugh. No, it's a horrible insult to be printed onto one of these."
Nami fell to her knees, defeated. She had yet to realize that Perona's obsession with fashion ran as deep as Nami's own love for money.
The navigator would have continued to brood, if it weren't for Luffy's excited voice at the helm. "Hey, Nami! I see an island ahead!"
She looked up almost by reflex. "An island?"
"Yeah, over there!"
Everyone crowded over to look; sure enough, a patch of land loomed ahead on the horizon.
"It's Loguetown," Perona stated, the only one having actually been there before.
Consulting her map, Nami gave the affirmative. "We're really close to the Grand Line now. Loguetown is considered a pit stop for anyone in the East Blue headed for the Grand Line—it's also Gold Roger's hometown, where he was executed 20 years ago."
Luffy looked at Nami, eyes wide. "Gold Roger's execution?"
Despite her previous annoyance with him, Nami grinned at the captain's eager look. "Yup."
"It's about time," Perona placed her hands on her hips. "Hurry up and hoist the sails higher. Can't this thing go any faster? I'm worried about my boat—it's been in that harbor unsupervised for more than a week, thanks to that whole mess with those atrocious fishmen. My poor boat…it'll probably need some touch-ups before I can set sail with it."
At this, the others now turned to stare at Perona in surprise. The girl, normally unperturbed, blinked confusedly at their reaction. "What?"
"Well, it's just," Usopp scratched his cheek. "Why would you need your boat?"
This question made Perona frown. "I knew you were brainless before, but this just takes the cake. Of course I need my boat. How do you expect me to travel without it?"
"Weren't you coming with us? I thought Luffy invited you into our crew."
"I never accepted," she huffed, not liking where this was going.
Luffy puffed his cheeks out at her refusal. "But I want you to be my nakama!"
"I don't care what you want," she gave the boy a look askance, "and I've got more important things to do than hang around giving you free rides all day. Do you think it's an easy task managing a world-famous designer brand of clothing? Stores all over the world are requesting my designs every day!"
"But I want you in our crew!" Luffy repeated, the resolution in his face hardening. "So you're joining! You can be our crew's…eh, uh…"
The boy cocked his head, trying to think of a good position for Perona to fulfill. She raised an eyebrow at him, skeptical.
"You'll be our…uhm, well—"
"Resident ghost?" Usopp suggested.
Sanji shook his head. "Being our ship's cute mascot would suit the cute Perona-chan much better."
Zoro snorted, but couldn't come up with anything better and kept his mouth shut.
At length, Nami gave a long-suffering sigh. "Honestly, you guys can't even think for yourselves. Perona is a world-famous tailor, you know? And she even fixed up all your own clothes after they got ruined in the fight. She can be our crew's tailor."
To Luffy, this idea seemed to strike home. He jumped up and pointed at Nami, yelling, "Yeah! A tailor! Perona will be our crew's tailor…and give me magic carpet rides!"
"That's not the point!" his crewmates didn't hesitate to knock him upside the head. Perona watched their antics, more amused than anything as the rubber man cheerfully grinned around at them.
"Well, Perona?"
The ghost-girl looked around. They all stared back at her, expressions eager and inviting.
It grated on her nerves. The fact that she actually considered the proposal for a moment . . .
She shook her head, and crossed her arms defensively as she put on her trademark scowl. "What makes you think I'll want to come with you, exactly? You think I'll just abandon everything I've built for myself and come frolicking in your pirate antics?"
Luffy opened his mouth to reply, but Perona beat him to it. "I said no the first time. Get it through your thick skull. I won't get tied down making clothes for just one group of people—that's the worst kind of insult to a world-class designer."
Nobody said anything this time, as each of them contemplate her words. A long silence ensued. Usopp shifted awkwardly on his feet, glancing from Perona to Luffy and back. The Straw Hat captain himself just looked at Perona, the childish grin gone from his face.
Perona didn't meet his gaze. Turning sharply on her heels, she headed into the cabins to begin packing her things—she would leave as soon as they docked, and never look back.
Associating with pirates…that wouldn't help the Princess Brands at all. She had a reputation to keep up, if she still wanted business in these waters. She shook her head again, as if to affirm with herself that nothing good would come from staying on this ship.
Nothing, at all.
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When the Merry Go finally anchored in Loguetown harbor, Perona left without a word, disappearing into the thick crowd within a blink of an eye. She purposefully veiled her presence with her ghostly powers so that even Zoro lost track of her as soon as she walked out of sight. Behind her, though the ghost girl didn't see, the pirate crew watched her with a thoughtful silence, until Nami broke it with a forcefully cheerful smile.
"Well, it's no use, anyway. Perona obviously has her own dreams to follow, and being with us won't help her accomplish it. Now hurry up and let's get to our business—I don't want to spend too much time here, alright?"
The first one to agree with her was Luffy. The boy turned his gaze away from the direction Perona had gone, declaring, "I want to go to Roger's execution site."
"I guess I'll need to buy some supplies," Sanji sighed. He blew a mouthful a smoke into the air, the atmosphere around him feeling unusually forlorn. Next to him, Usopp mentioned he needed to buy more tools.
Zoro was already walking into town, calling back, "I need to go buy something. I'll be back soon."
"Wait a minute," Nami stopped him. "Don't you need any money?"
"Money?"
"I could lend you some, at 300 percent interest," she smiled slyly, waving her wallet back and forth in front of his face. Zoro followed the wallet with eyes askance.
"Don't need any. I found treasure in my room," the man dug into his pocket and fished out a bulging sack, obviously full of coins. He tossed it in the air a few times, allowing himself a smug look at Nami's open mouth. The sound of gold clinking against gold hit Nami's ears like a 10-ton hammer.
"H-how did, where did you get that money? Don't tell me you stole the berries in the treasury!"
"Relax, woman. I told you, I found it on my hammock, just before we disembarked."
"But…" Nami stared at the pouch in his hands for a moment, before realization dawned on her face. She whipped her head around to look at the others, who had paused in their paths to look back at the little commotion. Except for Luffy. That boy had run off without even waiting for Nami's directions.
"Sanji, Usopp, go back to your cabin and look on your hammocks," Nami ordered.
"Of course, Nami-swan!"
Usopp didn't take to this command as well. "Hey, I need all the time I can get if I want to find all the tools I want…"
Nami turned a withering eye on the sniper. The rest of the poor boy's protests died in his throat. The woman repeated, "Go look. Now."
The men scrambled to obey, while Nami herself went into her cabin and took a look under her comforter.
And sure enough.
When she came back out on deck with a sack of berries in hand, she found two more berry sacks, one held in each of the dumbfounded crewmembers' hands.
"These…" Nami looked from pouch to pouch, trying to make sense of the situation. "These are…"
Usopp's hands shook visibly as he fingered the pouch. He had taken the liberty to count the amount inside, and it wasn't anything to joke about. "W-why is there 50 thousand berries under my pillow?"
Next to him, Zoro snorted. "Moron. Can't you even figure out that much?"
Sanji absentmindedly weighed his own pouch in his hand, replying to Zoro's snide remark, "You're the idiot, Crap-marimo. So shut up."
"Don't get me started, damn cook…!"
"Oh, for the love of…! Don't start fighting now!" shouted Nami, exasperated. "This money, who left it here?"
They all looked at each other for a moment, then, as if reading each others' mind, turned to look in the direction Perona had left.
Usopp ventured shakily, "Well, she is the only one out of all of us who would have this sort of money, owning her own business and all…and Nami would never give out her own money like this."
"That's for sure," Nami nodded seriously.
"I checked under Luffy's pillow," Sanji added, "there's a pouch in there, too. And a little stuffed monkey next to it."
The one Perona had finished up just before disembarking.
Nami swallowed hard. "But why would she give us this much money? Especially when she said she wouldn't be joining us? It doesn't make any sense!"
"Haven't you noticed? Nothing that woman does ever makes sense."
They all turned to look at Zoro, who stood with his arms crossed, face impassive. Though the others didn't know it, Zoro's pouch contained 100 thousand berries, not 50 thousand like the others.
And he knew why…probably.
Perona's way of expressing her "thanks" for help in finding the key, he supposed. A neatly folded note had been on top of his sack of money. It simply read: "This is to keep your mouth shut."
He couldn't help but snort in disbelief. He and Perona both knew he wouldn't have told a soul about the handcuff anyway.
"Don't think too much about it," Zoro told the others, as he turned and headed into town. "Use the money, be grateful, and that's the end of it. I'm sure that's how she meant for us to take it, anyway."
"I suppose..." Nami whispered uncertainly. Usually, free money would have sent her eyes spinning in Berry ecstacy. But right now, staring at the pouch containing 50 thousand of her favorite things, she couldn't shake off the feeling that this represented Perona's permanent "good-bye."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the harbor, Perona stood with mouth agape and parasol loose in her hands. Some passersby gave her a quizzical look, but otherwise shook their heads and went about their business, tut-tutting about young'uns these days. She didn't hear them. Her eyes roamed slowly over the wooden dock and blue waters, searching for something that clearly. Wasn't. there.
It wasn't there.
It wasn't here!
And suddenly, over the murmuring of the crowd, there rose a piercing wail. It sounded so pitiful, so forlorn, so grief-stricken and torn, that many turned their heads expecting to see someone keel over from a heart attack. One man, who stood hidden in the shadows of a nearby alleyway, switched on his den den mushi and whispered, 'target has arrived' before lowering the brim of his white hat and disappearing from the scene.
"Where's my ship with all my stuffed animals!?" Perona wailed, her face scrunched up in despair and fury. "Where are all my sewing materials!? Where are my designs, my sketchbooks!? Where's my cart full of Princess Brand clothing!? MY HARD WORK!"
Indeed, her little boat was gone. Simply disappeared. The dock was still there, the rope that had tied the boat to it was still there. The only thing missing was her boat. With all her stuffed animals and clothes, her sewing machine, her emergency savings, even her peddler's cart . . . !
She stood stock still, arms thrown up into the sky. A slow, gradual change came about her demeanor. A little boy came scampering up to the strange lady and peered into her face, only to run away, crying for mommy. A foreboding laugh began to surround her. The crowds backed away warily as the girl with cute curly pigtails let out an eerie giggle—one that did not sound amused.
"Horohorohorohoro..." she lowered her arms slowly, picking up the fallen Kumashi in a deliberately drawn-out movement. The bear reached out and squeezed its cotton arms around her wrist, whispering, "Perona, …okay?"
"Horohorohorohoro, I am perfectly fine, Kumashi."
The evil glint in her eyes told a different story.
Unseen by others, a horde of Hollows burst out from Perona's small frame. White and Blue Hollows scattered across the sky and over the rooftops in minutes. It took a great deal more of energy for Perona to maintain their invisibility, but she did it anyways, determined to be as quick and efficient as possible. She felt her vision expand—she could see Loguetown from 56 different angles. 34 more Hollows searched inside the buildings, ears and eyes perked up for information about her boat. Others dispersed to look specifically for the boat itself. In the off chance that her boat had floated out to sea, she sent 5 or 6 out over the ocean blue.
But she doubted it had simply drifted off. The rope tied to the harbor had been sliced cleanly with a sharp tool.
Clearly, not the work of natural forces.
"Come, Kumashi," she commanded as she snapped her parasol open, strolling towards town. "We have a thief to catch."
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On the other side of the island, two marine soldiers stood in deep conversation. They had been stationed in front of a small warehouse by Captain Smoker the day before, and now stood fingering their pistols nervously. It was deathly quiet, except for the sound of ocean waves crashing against the rocky shore.
None of the townspeople ever came down here. And for good reason. It used to be a harbor, but now it was more of an abandoned grotto; the ground sloped precariously down from the outskirts of the buildings into the crashing waves. The wooden docks had rotted away, leaving blackened wooden stumps and plankwood drifting aimlessly in the tidal pools. One wrong step on the slick, rocky surface could become a devil fruit user's worst nightmare. Suspicious noises echoed through the alleyways.
"Reckon those are cats?" one of them asked. The other, slightly older than the first speaker, elbowed him sharply.
"Shut it. So what if it is. Don't pay attention to unnecessary things."
"But it's spooky, you've got to admit."
He shivered, the chilly breeze blowing right through his white uniform. "And there's not a soul around. Why did they have to hide the boat all the way over here?"
"You dolt. How many times has the Captain explained it for us?"
The man straightened up indignantly. "I'm asking 'cause he never explained it. Who're you calling a dolt?"
"Huh? He didn't? Well," the older soldier mumbled something, then retorted, "it should have been obvious, anyways. That's why you're a dolt. There isn't any other place to hide a boat like this except here, where nobody comes. They had to make sure none of the civilians saw it. Can't have someone babbling to the 'target' about where the boat is."
"I can figure that much out by myself! What I'm asking is why are we targeting this girl in the first place? Isn't she the one who designs Ensign Tashigi's clothes?"
"…"
"Hey, I asked you a question! So you're ignoring me now?" the soldier prodded his companion with his hand. "Hey! What are you—"
Suddenly, without warning, the man's companion toppled forward onto his hands and knees. His pistol clattered noisily onto the ground. The first soldier jumped back in astonishment, afraid that maybe he'd poked the guy a little too hard. "H-hey, are you okay?"
"…"
"What?"
Did he just say something? The soldier inched closer and cocked his ear forward.
"…It's all over..." he heard his fellow marine mutter under is breath. "Sorry I called you a dolt. I'm the real dolt here. A stupid, good-for-nothing. Please, have mercy and reincarnate me into a cockroach…"
"H-huh?"
Whoosh.
Before the remaining soldier could understand what was happening, a strange force passed through his body. It felt as if the cool sea breeze had blown right through his lungs, bone-chilling…and just plain creepy. It felt extremely unpleasant. A nasty shiver traveled up the length of his spine, penetrating the deepest parts of his cranium. This was strange. He probably should report this to the Captain.
…But really, why did that even matter. "I don't deserve to live. I don't deserve to exist. I'm sorry I've breathed the same air as everybody else…."
Crack!
Thwack!
"Hmph. That's for sure. Petty thieves like you don't deserve to exist."
Perona gave her parasol an extra long twirl as she stood over the fallen bodies—knocked clean out by the merciless point of her red umbrella. One to the noggin, the other to the back. She gave a smile of satisfaction.
"…"
One that quickly turned sour, as she regarded the ancient structure standing behind her.
"So they decided to put my boat in a grubby little, run-down place like this?" Gingerly, she stepped off the marine soldier's back and went over to throw open the warehouse doors. She grimaced a little; she hoped the stains on the door handles didn't have any germs on them. "Just like that uncouth Smoker to think of such an undignified place. How filthy!"
There was nothing her Hollows couldn't find out. Smoker, the Tennryubito, the orders from Marine HQ. A frown etched into her features as information poured in from her scattered Hollows.
The warehouse doors slid open with a resounding bang. Light poured in from the doorway, revealing grimy cement floors and even grimier walls. The elongated shadow of Perona and her curly pigtails stretched over the floor inside. Eagerly, Perona scanned the interior in search of her missing vessel.
Nothing.
There were some empty crates here and there, and a dismantled mast lying in the corner, but otherwise, no boat in sight. She narrowed her eyes.
"It's not here?"
But, wait. Maybe it was under that bulging dusty tarp over there…
"Blue Hollow!" a Possession Hollow promptly stole out of her body and morphed into the tarp, flipping it clean over to the other side of the room in one fell swoop. No, nothing under there, either. Just some empty crates.
So, did that mean Smoker actually hid it somewhere else?
A decoy?
She muttered something un-ladylike under her breath. She'd have to scour the island from top to bottom again. As she made to exit the warehouse, a movement in the shadows caught her eye.
". . . hm?"
A black smudge? No, black spots? They were scattering away from the light and into the further recesses of the room. On closer inspection, each of them sported a pair of twitching antennas.
One of the little black spots sped towards Perona, making for the open doors.
Kumashi, who had been dangling limp from Perona's arms, leapt out of her embrace even before her piercing scream filled the air.
"KYAAAAAAHHH!"
A few blocks down from the warehouse, a man in a hooded cloak looked up as Perona went zooming by through the air, shrieking at the top of her lungs. She went by so fast that he only caught a glimpse of her long pink hair, streaming behind her back, before the figure disappeared over the rooftops. Her high-pitched wails attracted quite a crowd. He could hear others beginning to murmur and shout at the sight of a flying girl zipping over town.
Monkey D. Dragon stood still, wondering whether or not he should investigate the source of the girl's terror. She sounded absolutely terrified.
But as he pondered, his sensitive ears picked up another sound. Feet slapping against the pavement. The footsteps sounded uneven, as if their owner was limping along the ground. They were coming closer, running through the alleyways at a speed that matched some of the best of Dragon's men.
'I can't feel a presence,' he noted with some surprise. If not for the footsteps, he would never have known something was approaching him. And from the direction the girl had fled from, too.
Turning towards the end of the alley, Dragon stiffened as the footsteps came nearer. There, it was right around the corner.
A mysterious figure suddenly came into view.
Dragon readied himself…then stopped.
And stared.
Kumashi the teddy bear kept right on running.
Not having been built to run, the stuffed bear was having a hard time keeping his balance as he ran along the ground, hopping on one foot every so often so as to regain his footing. The flats of his legs kept slipping on the slippery cement. But not to worry. Perona had made sure Kumashi could overcome such handicaps.
Behind the teddy bear, a series of cracks and imprints—exactly the size of Kumashi's paws—marked the teddy bear's path. Dragon watched incredulously as the unstable figure pounded its way past him, every footstep sinking an inch deep into the ground. Kumashi reached the end of the alleyway in moments.
The sight of an ungainly stuffed animal creating footprints in solid cement was enough to make anybody stop and stare, even the leader of the Revolutionary army.
"I've seen many strange creatures in my travels," he muttered to himself, "but by far, this may be one of the strangest yet."
He couldn't make up his mind whether or not to halt the stuffed animal's progress. By the time he finally decided, Kumashi was long gone.
The bear never even spared a glance at the mysterious man as it rounded the corner. Kumashi's mistress needed him. No other humans were worth a distraction. Rounding the corner, the bear left behind a perplexed Revolutionary, and a trail of crude paw prints.
If Dragon had taken the time to follow this trail back, they would have lead him back to an old warehouse by the beach. The abandoned building stood empty of everything, except for a number of dead cockroaches, crushed into the ground by a powerful force.
Kumashi did not tolerate anything that distressed Perona.
.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Kumashi's beloved mistress continued to fly over Loguetown at breakneck speed. Right now, Perona didn't hear the shouts and general commotion happening below her, nor did she care that units of marines in white uniforms were swiftly chasing after her. The only thing she saw were black spots, crawling over crates, crawling over the ground. Dirty, filthy, nasty, disgusting, scum-of-the-earth creatures that should all have been exterminated long, long ago.
"Ughhhhh!" she shuddered violently, her face twisting in revulsion. No matter what, she would get as far away as possible from that place.
One of the ribbons in her hair came loose, and she got a mouthful of hair as her curls billowed out in the wind. Now she couldn't even see where she was going.
She spit it out, unintentionally dropping lower in altitude as she began to regain her senses.
"This is all that Smoker's fault!" she decided, almost childishly. "To think that he had such a deadly trap waiting for me. I don't know how he got a hold of such a diabolical instrument of torture…but it won't work a second time, I'll stake my pride as a lady on it!"
She got a hold of her bearings. One of her Negative Hollows was not too far away. Through its eyes, Perona could see exactly where Smoker was hiding, along with a troop of marines. They were waiting in ambush behind some pillars next to the execution platform, where some other commotion was going on.
So, they thought they could take her by surprise?
She'd show them just how dead wrong they were.
Huh? But wait. On that execution platform…
Perona's eyes widened as she looked on through her Hollow's eyes.
"Luffy!?"
Why was he getting executed?
She screeched to a halt in mid-flight. Taking a moment to figure out her bearings, Perona realized that she had quite a sizable audience down below. Not that she cared. Barely glancing at the marine squad gathering below her feet, Perona reached out with her consciousness—connecting with her Hollows. Over here. Over there. One by the marine base. Another by the shore.
So Smoker and Luffy were…that way.
One of the marines below began shouting through a den den mushi in his hands.
"Halt! By order of Marine HQ and the Tennryubito, Perona, you are under arrest and will be taken into custody—"
Perona swiveled around and started off in an entirely new direction, conveniently flying over some big buildings to leave the land-bound soldiers scrambling after her in panic. Thunderclouds rolled on the horizon—she opened up her umbrella and held it over her head as she sailed onward towards the plaza.
The first thing she saw was the platform. It stood high above everything else—impossible to miss. A man with an ugly striped shirt and a red nose stood on top, scimitar in hand, poised to swing down onto the neck of a boy Perona knew very well. A massive crowd had gathered below, staring up at the unexpected spectacle. As far as Perona could tell, Luffy didn't seem too concerned about his current plight, if his blank face gave any indication.
"Such an idiot monkey…!" Perona huffed out as she halted to summon a few invisible Hollows. "What's his crew doing, not rescuing their captain when he's about to get killed? Such incompetence!"
She could see Zoro and Sanji trying to break through the dense crowd on the other side of the plaza. But it wasn't fast enough. Not at the rate they were going.
"I'm…!" at that exact moment, Luffy's voice rang out over the rumble of thunderclouds, "the man who will become the King of the Pirates!"
Perona nearly slapped herself. Where did that boy think he was? "Saying that with his head about to get lopped off—it's beyond embarrassing!"
Say those kinds of things when you don't have a pillory around your neck!
Lightning flashed overhead; it would begin to pour soon. She was fine thanks to her umbrella, but everyone else would probably be soaked. For a brief moment, Perona stared at Luffy, whose ship she had left behind less than an hour ago, determined never to look back. She wondered why she was even here in the first place. Pirates. Associating with them would bring nothing but trouble.
Yes. Even now, it wasn't too late. She could make herself transparent, steal away, and no one would be wiser. She'd go look for her boat, then get out of here. Evading the marines would present no trouble with her Hollows to help out. No need to go out of her way, jeopardizing her entire career, just to help out some random boy she'd met while on vacation.
He could take care of himself, at any rate.
Foreboding clouds rumbled overhead. Flashes of bright light illuminated the execution platform and the figures on top.
"Zoro, Nami, Usopp Sanji, Perona!"
Perona's eyebrows furrowed. She saw Luffy smile.
"Sorry, I don't think I'll make it this time."
The ugly clown's sword flashed; Zoro's panicked voice rang out even as the scimitar dropped, ready to chop off the head of the self-proclaimed King of the Pirates.
Even now, Luffy smiled.
Boom!
This time, the crack of thunder rang in her ears long after the light faded away. Fire crackled. The crowd, previously roaring with incredulity and excitement, stared silently as the entire execution platform slowly collapsed to the ground. Amidst the burning pieces of wood and red-hot metal, two charred figures plunged towards the ground.
Without a word, Perona directed a Blue Hollow into an old abandoned mattress on a nearby rooftop. Following the swing of her hand, the glowing mattress zipped over and neatly caught the smaller of the two figures in mid-air. The other, Buggy, crashed onto the bricked ground in a heap.
"Whoa!" Luffy let out a surprised yell as he 'whump'ed onto the flying furniture. His shout sounded surprisingly loud over the absolute silence reigning over the area.
Sailing over the gaping crowd, the mattress promptly deposited Luffy in front of his stunned crewmen. The captain just smiled, hopping off his temporary vehicle, "I guess I survived."
Sanji bit into his cigarette, and turned to Zoro. "Hey, do you believe in a god?"
"Don't ask stupid questions. Let's hurry up and get out of here."
But before he turned away, Sanji saw Zoro glancing around the sky above, no doubt searching for the tell-tale pink and red that would indicate the mastermind behind the flying mattress.
"Oh! My hat!" Luffy turned around and looked around frantically, searching for his beloved treasure. Not seeing it anywhere nearby, he didn't hesitate to yell out, "Perona! I need my hat, too!"
The straw hat dropped onto his head quite unceremoniously. Though the crowd stood too far away to see it, Zoro and Sanji saw clearly—a blue ghost wafting out of the hat to vanish into the air. While Luffy yelled a "thanks!" as he clutched the brim of his hat, Zoro and Sanji stood rooted to the spot, staring at the empty space the Hollow had disappeared into.
"Hey, Luffy. You know where Perona-chan is?" Sanji asked.
Luffy paused for a moment, then grinned. "Nope! But don't worry. She'll meet us back at the ship!"
"Stop spouting nonsense," Zoro shook his head and grabbed Luffy by the collar. Though he gave another glance back, he knew they couldn't dally. Marines were nearby. Quite unceremoniously, the swordsman began hauling his captain down the road. "We've got to run before…"
"Halt! By order of the marines, the pirate Straw Hat Luffy and his crew are under arrest!"
"…the marines come," he finished, muttering curses under his breath. "Why do you always manage to get in so much trouble?"
Not surprisingly, the captain just laughed. "Come on, let's run!"
As troop after troop of marines poured out from within the surrounding buildings, the three pirates picked up their pace and dashed off down the street, leaving behind Alvida and Buggy to be captured by Smoker's billowing arms.
The marine captain, cigars held between his teeth, watched the marines stuff the struggling East Blue pirates into their specially made net. These two weren't Logia, so the net would hold.
"Now, to go after that Straw Hat…" he mumbled, looking up in the direction his query had gone. "Ready that thing."
"Yes, sir!" his subordinate saluted and ran off, even as another troop leader came running over.
The lower-ranking marine looked dead beat. He was the same one who had led the fruitless chase of Perona over the past 10 minutes. "Reporting, captain! The target's entrance into the decoy warehouse was confirmed 11 minutes ago."
Smoker's eyebrows furrowed. "And?"
The soldier winced inwardly, trying not to show his nervousness as he continued, "The marines guarding the warehouse were dispatched by the target. Troop units number four and six managed to surround the warehouse when she entered the premises, but she broke through by…uh…flying into the air. We are currently in pursuit!"
"What?" Smoker blinked, noticing something weird in the soldier's otherwise standard report. Wait, flying?
He had already predicted that Perona would easily take down a low-ranked marine soldier or two. Her umbrella could pack a pretty mean punch. That was why he'd set up the decoy, and the trap, so that they'd be able to nab her as soon as she went into the building. Even with Perona's deft skills, Smoker had figured she couldn't do much when surrounded in an enclosed space. It was the most non-violent method Smoker ever concocted in his life.
"Flying? Through the air? What have you been drinking, soldier?"
At Smoker's skeptical tone, the soldier reared up in defense. "It's very true, sir! She flew up over the buildings, making it impossible to surround and arrest her as planned. What are your orders, sir?"
They eyed each other for a moment. Smoker's surly eyebrows descended lower.
The lesser ranked marine looked away discreetly—nobody could stand up to Smoker's evil eye for long. But he still didn't admit to having drunk a little too much beer the night before. Well, maybe a little, but the sight of the flying girl definitely wasn't imagined! As if for support, the leader looked back at troops four and six, who stood rank and file behind him. They took the cue and began nodding eagerly. With a triumph, the leader turned back to his captain, who merely raised an eyebrow.
"Is this mutiny, soldier?"
"…no, sir."
Never.
The subdued marines dropped their eyes to the ground.
At length, Smoker chewed on his cigars as he frowned in thought. Perona, flying? Was she a Devil's fruit user? She'd indicted nothing of the kind during the past years of her business with the marines. But then again, Devil's fruit powers weren't exactly obvious.
"Alright then, under the assumption that the target has an unknown fruit power, take your troops and continue pursuit. Without a boat, she's stuck on this island. We wait however long it takes for her to tire out, and arrest her with minimal violence, you got that?"
The troops saluted dutifully. "Yes, sir!"
As the troops started off, the marine who had gone to get Smoker's special bike came staggering out from the building he had gone into, the vehicle nowhere in sight. Smoker's frown grew deeper in annoyance. He didn't have time for delays. Even now, the Straw Hat boy was getting away. Not to mention the whole deal with Perona.
Feeling a headache coming on, Smoker unconsciously clenched his jaw. Some of the soldiers standing closest to him flinched, backing away warily.
"Soldier, I thought I told you to get my bike," he growled. His subordinate didn't reply.
Instead, the man collapsed on the brick road a few feet from Smoker, mumbling unintelligible words under his breath. Even from a distance, the man's face was a ghostly shade of white.
Some other soldiers immediately ran forward and turned the man over. "Hey, get a hold of yourself! What about the captain's bike?"
You want to get yourself killed? Hurry and get Smoker's bike!
"Just leave me to die…" the fallen man groaned. "I'm a shameful existence. I want to become a piece of algae floating on the sea…"
"What?"
"Hey, what's gotten into him?"
Others began looking at each other questioningly, then in panic. Smoker's level of annoyance was rising visibly, and none of the marines wanted to face an angry captain.
"Hey, snap out of it!" one of the fallen man's companions yelled, shaking him by the shoulders.
Such lack of discipline. Smoker shook his head and looked away, telling himself that these were his soldiers, and therefore his responsibility.
Twice as much training when this whole affair is over, he decided.
Just then, Smoker saw it.
A pale, luminous blob, slinking out from a nearby doorway. The movement was so natural, so lazy, that at first his mind didn't register what his eyes were seeing. It met Smoker's blinking eyes with its own black orbs, then proceeded to sweep up into the air in a fluid motion.
Before anybody could react, dozens of the same figure popped out from the surrounding walls. They floated up, up into the air, pausing at a height level with the rooftops of the buildings. From their vantage point, they looked down at the 100 or so marine soldiers below them.
A bit of silence.
Then, as one body, all of the pale white figures simultaneously tilted their heads to the side.
Hm?
There's too many humans.
"…?"
In the next moment, a score more of them joined the first group, tripling their ranks. Apparently, there hadn't been enough of them the first time.
For one disbelieving moment, there was a perplexed pause at the appearance of these white, transparent figures.
White, transparent figures, with eyes and a mouth? With arms but no legs?
Of course, a lone woman in the civilian crowd took the cue. She began screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Kyaaaaaahhhh!"
And then, pandemonium.
The crowd that had originally gathered to watch Buggy and Luffy's showdown, now began a mad scramble towards the other end of the plaza, pushing and shoving each other out of the way.
"Ghosts! It's the ghosts of Loguetown!"
"We're a haunted town! We're doomed! What did I tell you all three years ago!?"
"KYaaaaahhh!"
Some of the marines, though they had enough sense not to run away, gaped wide-eyed at the apparitions above their heads. Some stumbled back, knees weakening at the sight of every spooky tale's principal character.
Smoker, trying very hard to make sense of the situation, thanked the lucky stars that Ensign Tashigi had run ahead as soon as Straw Hat Luffy fell off the platform (something about settling a score with the Pirate Hunter). The woman would have either freaked out or gotten very, very excited, neither of which Smoker appreciated very much.
"Ghosts of Loguetown?" he muttered, disbelief riddling his voice.
And, as if in response, the Hollows began to dive into the crowd. As Smoker watched, his marine soldiers fell one by one to the mere touch of a ghost, and though some of them drew their pistols and tried to fire at their assailants, the bullets simply passed right through the transparent bodies. Depressing and suicidal words began to fill the air. Smoker felt himself getting down just by listening to his soldiers.
I want to be a bit of lichen…a piece of algae…a worthless worm crawling through the dirt...
A few of the ghosts attempted to dive at Smoker—the captain regained his senses with just enough time to disperse into smoke and avoid the mysterious creatures.
Whatever they were, he wouldn't go down so easily.
But his troops didn't have fruit powers. Pretty soon, the entire marine troops lay subdued. Even the Buggy Pirates the marines had captured, now lay immobilized; the ghosts had not discriminated. The civilians had long since dispersed, though a last few stragglers or fearfully curious townsfolk remained at the edge of the plaza.
This left Smoker as the only man left standing. He glanced around at his fallen soldiers, then at the scores of ghosts that were the cause of this mess. As if to show their job was complete, they simply hovered around in the air above, one and all staring down at Smoker in silence.
"Tch," he muttered, re-lighting his cigar. "And we call ourselves the marines."
They need more training, he decided. Four times as much training when we get back.
But if they were to get back, first he'd have to deal with these ghosts.
Or whatever they were.
As he readied his arm into a billowing pillar of smoke, Smoker stopped short. A distinct, yet familiar laugh met his ears.
"Horohorohorohoro..."
Smoker lifted his head.
Could it be…
There, on the edge of a rooftop, stood one of his targets for the day. She had her favorite Devil's brand parasol set neatly on her shoulder. As Smoker narrowed his eyes, that misshapen teddy bear of hers came running up from behind her and jumped into her arms.
"Why, Kumashi!" Perona exclaimed, squeezing the teddy bear tightly. "Where have you been? Ah, on second thought, I think I know what you've been up to. What a good friend you are! Did you kill all the bad bugs? Did you? Hm?"
She cooed at him, not minding the disgusted expression forming on Smoker's face. He'd always known she had a tendency to talk to that eerie stuffed animal, but to think it had a mind of its own.
The bear nodded, happy to be back in his mistress' embrace. The ghosts, who looked on at the exchange somewhat critically, soon flew over to Perona and began to circle around her, disappearing into her one by one.
Disappearing into her one by one.
The gears started turning in Smoker's head.
With his arm still in smoke mode, the marine captain addressed Perona, "those things, they're your doing?"
"Sure are," she sniffed, as the last of her Negative Hollows disappeared. "Aren't they amazing? Such cute little things you'll never see again in your life. Be grateful I showed them to you at all."
Smoker's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're a devil's fruit user?"
"I don't need to tell you anything," she replied, her expression quite peeved. "Now tell me, where is my boat?"
A slight pause.
"You won't be getting it back. The Tennryubito ordered it to be delivered to them immediately—by the fastest ship available, it's onboard a marine delivery ship and halfway to Marijoia by now. So give up and let me arrest you quietly, and this won't be painful for you."
Without warning, the column of smoke on the captain's arm whipped out towards the girl standing on the roof. It was the same move that had captured every single pirate that came into Loguetown so far. Without failure.
But for Perona, they were just…clouds. Fancy.
She scoffed.
The white clouds passed straight through Perona's body. At the unexpected turn of events, the column of smoke paused a little ways out from her back, shocked into a standstill. A gust of wind quickly blew it into smithereens, and Perona smirked in triumph. Smoker didn't look as happy.
"…a Logia?"
Perona laughed, but she wasn't amused. "Horohorohorohoro! So you're really planning on arresting me for the sake of those World Nobles? You'll turn over a cute girl like me into the hands of those ugly pricks on the Red Line? So even the grand and mighty Smoker can't disobey the World Government, hm?"
Smoker's eyebrow twitched.
"I don't have time to waste," he began. "There's a pirate in town and it's my job to arrest him, and you're delaying me. As for arresting you," the captain jabbed a finger in Perona's direction, "I'm doing you a favor. It's better to be taken into custody by me than get shot down later on. All marines ranked captain and up have orders to drag you in front of Lord Rosenward, alive or dead. I'm sure you'd rather be taken alive."
He retracted his arm and tried again, this time whipping both his arms out as a net of fog.
Again, to no effect.
The ghost-girl yawned, gripping her parasol tighter as the storm began in earnest. "I'd rather not be arrested at all."
"That's not an option for you. You're wanted by every marine base in the world. No matter where you run, you'll still be hunted until you're captured."
"Horohorohorohoro," she laughed at him. Her teeth were clenched just a little bit tighter than usual, but only Kumashi was close enough to notice. "You can keep on thinking that while I make my escape. I'm terminating my contract as the marine's outfit designer. Let's see how long the marine lasts without the help of my wonderful clothes."
A few Mini Hollows popped out of her hands. She gave the captain a rather sinister smile.
.
.
.
.
.
In the meantime, Luffy and the others arrived at the harbor, where Nami and Usopp had the ship ready and prepared to set sail.
"Who was that, Zoro?" Luffy asked curious, recalling the dark-haired woman who had delayed Zoro back in town. "You know her?"
"No," came the flat reply. "She's a marine. There's no way I would know her."
"That's true."
Not that it mattered much. Zoro had defeated her quite easily, and that was the end of that.
"Guys, hurry it up already!" Usopp shouted, clinging onto the ropes for dear life. "These ropes won't hold much longer!"
The gales picked up; angry winds whipped against the sails as the ship rocked dangerously back and forth.
Nami held back her hair as it whipped about, shouting, "We need to leave now! Come on, let's go!"
Zoro and Sanji obeyed without a word, hopping onto the deck and scrambling to their positions on the masts. More ropes were untied—the sailes unfurled, quickly blowing out as the storm intensified. The wooden beams creaked, but it could hardly be heard over the din of waves crashing against the harbor. Except for the Straw Hat crew, not a single soul was out in such nasty weather.
"Luffy!" Zoro called out. He was just about to hoist the anchor, when he noticed that their one and only captain still stood on the dock, his back towards them as he looked out over the town. "What are you doing?! Hurry and get on!"
"No!"
"What!?"
Luffy shook his head and crossed his arms, his stance firm. "Our last crew member isn't here!"
Nami sighed in exasperation. Maybe Perona was right—what part of 'no' didn't Luffy understand?
"She left us, Luffy! She's not coming no matter how long we wait for her. Besides, she said so herself—she has her own dreams to accomplish!"
But Luffy was adamant.
"We can accomplish her dream together! We'll be sailing all over the Grand Line—there are tons of new people we're going to meet. Come with us, Perona!"
Rain began to fall as Luffy shouted at the deserted streets. Nami fell silent as they all watched their captain call for a runaway ghost-girl. Meet new people? For someone like Perona, that would hardly sound like an incentive. But maybe, Nami wondered. Just maybe…
"She makes clothes, right?" Zoro suddenly asked. "And she wanted to sell them? Meet new people, get new customers. Not a bad deal, I'd say."
They all turned to look at him in surprise. With a grunt, Sanji shoved Zoro out of the way to stand over by the rails. "Shut up, marimo, stop stealing all my lines."
Clearing his throat, the chef called out, "Perona-chaaan! I will personally beat up anyone who dares not buy all the beautiful clothes you make!"
A solid kick from Zoro's foot sent the eager chef crashing onto the deck. The swordsman took his place on the rails, holding tightly to several ropes tied to the sails for balance. "Oy, Luffy, you're gonna have to be louder than that in a storm like this."
Luffy looked back, scratching his head. "You think so? Hm, ehem . . . PERONAAA!"
A thick curtain of rain was pouring now. The crew could barely make out Luffy's silhouette beyond the sheets of water falling from the sky. Usopp thought he saw a flash of pink.
"Eh!?" the sharpshooter ran over to stand next to Zoro, peering into the rain. "Where's Luffy?"
"Huh!?"
Indeed, in the blink of an eye, the figure that had been standing on the docks had disappeared.
But before Usopp and the others could begin panicking, a sharp voice from above their heads stopped them in their tracks.
"Don't go shouting my name like that, idiot! Why don't you just announce to all the marines that we're here!?"
With a resounding thud, their captain dropped onto the deck in a heap, kindly delivered by Perona's own right hand. She hovered three feet in the air, glaring at each of them in turn as they stared back at her in disbelief. The red parasol over her head kept her hair nice and dry.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get going before Smoker catches up with…"
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"
"Ugh, he's already here! Negative Hollow!"
A white Hollow popped out of the side of Perona's head and rushed towards the shadow of a figure running down the street. But Smoker saw it coming. Without slowing down, he dodged to the side and continued his headlong sprint, roaring for Straw Hat Luffy and Perona.
The edges of his hair had been charred, and his skin seemed oddly blackened. But nobody could tell in this downpour, anyway. Regrettably, Perona's Mini Hollows hadn't done much damage to a man made of smoke.
"Who's that?" Luffy asked, adjusting his Straw Hat quite nonchalantly. Perona bonked him over the head.
"That's the marine captain who's out to arrest us! Now I know for a fact that all of you won't even count as appetizers for that brutish man, so you had better set sail before he catches up. Get going. Now!"
At Perona's shout, Nami promptly snapped to her senses and began issuing orders. The crewmates rushed to obey; Zoro hoisted the anchor, allowing the ship, which had been straining against the rope, to take off from the shore in a rush of speed.
Smoker, skidding to a stop at the edge of the dock, pulled his arm back as he bellowed, "You won't be getting away from here!"
His arm became smoke and flew towards the ship, billowing menacingly despite the sheets of wind and rain buffeting it in its path. Luffy, the ever reckless, jumped out and sent out a gomu gomu no pistol into the hostile element, only to have his wrist become firmly trapped within the clouds.
"Huh?" Luffy tugged on his arm, panicking a little. "My arm won't come out!"
"What!?" his crew looked back to see Luffy's rubber wrist entrapped in white smoke. "What is that!?"
Perona sighed irritably. "I told you you're no match! Don't you ever listen!?"
She could barely make out Smoker as he began retracting his arm, pulling Luffy in along with it. The Straw Hat captain dragged his feet on the deck, but the rain made it slippery and he was fast losing ground. "What do I do? My rubber powers don't work on that guy!"
Perona sent out another Negative Hollow, but Smoker had his eye out for those and simply jumped out of the way. The ship just kept getting further from shore.
Just as Perona prepared to fly out and give Smoker a solid kick in the face, Luffy suddenly fell backwards, his outstretched arm swinging over to snap back into his shoulder. "Whoa!"
He skidded in the wet deck all the way into the opposite railing, but that wasn't important right now. As Luffy leapt back up, they all looked as one accord to see a dark shadow standing over the fallen Smoker. Though the distance and the rain made it hard to make out the details, it seemed as if the cloaked figure had subdued Smoker for the time being.
An unfamiliar baritone rang out over the waters, clearly heard despite the roaring din of the waters.
"Go! And create your destiny!"
Luffy stared at the figure curiously for a moment, but Nami's urgent shout brought them all into action. As they scurried along the Merry Go to help it along in its rough departure, Perona looked back one last time, to stare at the hooded figure who had mysteriously helped them escape. The man seemed to look out at their boat as it got further and further away, before turning back and disappearing into the streets. Smoker may have stood back up, but by this time she couldn't even make out the shore anymore.
"Perona!" Nami shouted, "could you tighten the ropes up on the main mast?! We can't reach them because they keep blowing away!"
"Don't order me around," came the petulant reply. But nonetheless, the ghost-girl sprang 20 feet into the air to catch the ropes one by one, wrapping them on the appropriate beams and tying them off. She'd sailed a boat by herself for years—she could tie knots while sipping hot coco.
For a while, the ship mates exchanged no words except for the occasional directions given by Nami, their navigator. Because Perona could fly, she found herself assigned to the ropes higher up on the ship, forcing her to stash her parasol and precious Kumashi below deck for fear of dropping them into the sea. Not that the umbrella would have helped her keep out of a downpour like this, anyway. Her hair soon got soaked to the roots, matting against her face and neck.
After a while, the winds lessened, and soon Nami declared that ship was on a steady course. Hearing this, Sanji went into the kitchen and came out holding a barrel of liquor, and as the rest of them looked on curiously, he gave a mischievous smile.
"How about a toast to celebrate our departure, eh?" setting down the barrel with a thud, Sanji placed his right boot onto the lid, declaring, "To find the All Blue."
The rest of them took the hint.
Luffy, laughing in excitement, put his foot down eagerly. "I'm gonna be Pirate King!"
"To draw a map of the world," smiled Nami as she did likewise.
Zoro grinned. "To become the greatest swordsman."
Even Usopp, who looked highly shaken by all these awesome statements, added his own piece, "t-to become a great warrior of the sea!"
Then, Perona found that they were all staring.
At her.
She frowned.
Her bright and happy future as the marine's number one outfit provider had just gone down the drain. The Tennryubito were out to get her, and that meant all the marines were out to get her, too. Her boat was gone, all the clothes and stuffed animals she'd made over the years were gone, all but her basic sewing kit…gone. And what was worse: she was standing out in a storm on a pirate ship, her clothes soaking wet and her hair clinging unflatteringly against her face. She felt cold, wet, and lost, with the hard truth slapping her across the face: Princess Brands didn't stand a chance against the World Government. Her business was ruined.
With all of this going on, she didn't have the slightest idea on why she'd even come back to this ship at all.
She lifted her eyes from the deck to look at Luffy—the boy grinned. Same as always.
The rest of them, well, they smiled at her, too.
Perona sniffed her nose disdainfully, unwilling to admit that in reality, these smiles were what had drawn her back.
"To be known as the best designer…this world has ever seen."
She placed a neatly polished, red boot onto the barrel, meeting their brightening faces with a smile of her own. A simple smile, not very big, nor very haughty. She couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled like this.
Luffy grinned from ear to ear.
As one, the Straw Hat crew yelled as they broke open the barrel, "Onward!"
A/N: Onward!
Yes, finally! They're off to the Grand Line! Epic adventures await!
As a sort of preview-spoiler: the main villain cast of the Thriller Bark Arc will probably be making its appearance soon...yes, they'll appear before the actual Thriller Bark Arc. like I said, it's AU. Expect stuff to be un-canon! XD