A/N:Partial credit goes to EvanderAdvent.
Last time:
"Alright, guys! Raise your spirit! We're heading for Yuba!" Usopp spoke, as though he's our captain.
"AYE!" we all agreed.
Hang on... Aren't we missing someone?
"Aren't we missing someone?" Usopp voiced out my question.
Oh wait... That's right... The idiot who got off the ship before us...
"LUFFY!" we all answered to our sniper's question.
"That numbskull!" Nami growled.
"Now that I think about it, he wasn't in Nanohana at all... And Chopper-kun and I were searching all over for him, too," I muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"What?!" they, except for the young reindeer, gasped.
"You stupid rubber idiot... WHERE DID YOU GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!"
Just how hard is it to find an idiot pirate who happens to be your noisy captain? When you don't hear any loud noises that says trouble, it's RIDICULOUSLY EXTREMELY hard! You have a whole crew searching the WHOLE town for him, and you have nothing! What is this?! When we find that rubber idiot, I will make sure he suffers from the heat WITHOUT water! Which are now in one of my Dream Eater's possession in their card. Anyway, WHERE IS THAT RUBBER IDIOT?!
"I found this incredible treasure when exploring some ancient ruins!" I heard a merchant seller whispered to a customer. I turned to see what they were talking about. "If you take one bite of this mysterious golden apple, you can live for a thousand years!"
'Who the hell would believe that shit?' I wondered.
"Sorry. But I've no interest for living a thousand years. It's enough if I can live through today," the customer reasoned. As he walked away, I couldn't help but feel like I've seen him before. But where?
"A golden apple?!" Huh?
"Live for a thousand years?!" What?! "Really? Really? Really? You say you found it in some kind of ancient ruins?!"
'Are you two serious?!' I mentally asked Chopper-kun and Usopp.
"Yes! Of course! It's a legendary treasure left over from ancient times," the merchant said.
"With one bite you can live a thousand years!?" Chopper-kun repeated.
"Yeah. Nothing I say is ever wrong."
"Awesome!"
"Oi oi oi!" I called, not wanting to have my own nakama get ripped off by the merchant. "You can't believe him."
"Why not, Xion?!" Usopp asked.
"For one thing, if such a thing does exist, he shouldn't be selling it. Also, if that apple is from ancient times, shouldn't it be a rotten golden apple? Even if this is the Grand Line, it doesn't mean that everything stays the same. Maybe the climate and the time period stays the same, but apples are like us people; they have to die out some time," I reasoned.
"But... But..." Chopper-kun tried to give me the puppy-dog eyes in his human form.
"Are you even going over what I just said?!" I snapped.
"She's right, you know," Zoro agreed, pulling up a curtaim nearby. It revealed to be a man painting a red apple with gold paint.
"Come on, guys! Let us go!" Usopp whined, as Nami and I dragged him and Chopper-kun away from the shop. "We can live a thousand years just by taking a bite from that apple! Don't you get it?!"
"Enough of your dumb ideas! We have to find Luffy!" Nami said.
"We're already done shopping! And besides, what's living for a thousand years going to do for you?! Don't forget our occupation!" I added.
"Speaking of which, I wonder where the hell Luffy ran off to," Zoro said.
'I wouldn't know. But when I find him-'
"Monkey D. Luffy?" came a voice, grabbing my and my crewmates attention.
"There's a chance he might be in this town," the customer from earlier said. "I've been looking around here for a while now."
"I've never seen him," the person he's talking to replied. "Oh yes, if you're looking for someone, maybe you should try the restaurant down the way. The master there is well connected around town."
"Thank you," the customer bowed. "A restaurant, eh? I was getting hungry, anyway."
"Who was that?" Chopper-kun asked. "He looks really, really strong."
"And why's he looking for Luffy?" Usopp asked.
"A bounty hunter?" Nami guessed.
"No. There was something on his back. Looks like a pirate mark," I pointed out.
"That's no ordinary pirate mark," Zoro said. "As a former bounty hunter, I can never forget that mark."
When he said that, curiosity got over me in many ways and I ran over to that guy.
"Xion?" Nami called.
"You guys look for Luffy without me," I said, catching up to him.
"Oi, Tashigi!" came a deep voice. I froze when I heard that name.
"Captain Smoker," followed a familiar voice. I slightly turned my head to see the owner and saw that it was her.
'Why is she here?' I wondered, hiding in an alley near-by before she and the guy smoking see me.
The smoking man roughly put down two men that was on his shoulders. "A couple of pirate-wannabes," he identified. "They started mouthing off and dancing in front of me. I cleaned up their act."
"Even though we're this far off place, your vigilance against pirates is as relentless as ever," Tashigi stated.
"If you have time to waste talking, why don't you get the country's Royal Army to taek this trash away?"
"Yes, sir!"
"There's been no news of Straw Hat Luffy landing here yet. But don't let your guard down! He'll show up sooner or later."
'I have to hurry up and find Luffy!' I mentally said. 'But first, that guy... I need to speak with him first!' I looked back at where that customer went and, after making sure my hood was still up, ran off after him.
*MEANWHILE, WITH LUFFY**GENERAL'S P.O.V*
While his friends are looking for him, Luffy is wandering around in the desert, ridiculously lost. When he got off the ship, he stupidly ran past Nanohana. He stopped by at a shed of some kind and was given food from a theif, after certain things happened between the two. After eating the food, and he ate too fast, he is helplessly wandering around the desert, trying to find a way back to Nanohana.
"WHERE'S THE TOWN~?! WHERE THE HELL IS THE FOOD~?!" he desperately asked no one in paticular. Just when it looks like it was the end for him, he saw a town up ahead. And where there's town, there's- "Food! FOOOOOD!" And he ran off towards the town. Hopefully for him, it's not a mirage.
*BACK IN NANOHANA**XION'S P.O.V*
When I got to the restaurant, the entrance was packed with people. I doubted that anything good or crazy happened since it was quiet.
"Hey. Did something happen here?" I asked a random citizen.
"Well... A customer suddenly died in there," he replied.
"What was that?!"
"Yeah. He died while conversing with the master of this restaurant. He's a traveler. Everyone's saying he may have unwittingly eaten a Desert Strawberry."
"A Desert Strawberry?"
"You're a traveler, as well, aren't you?" I nodded at his question. "Desert Strawberries are a poisonous breed of spiders that looks like a strawberry. If you eat one, you'll die in a few days. And after a few hours, a contagious poison will spread from the corpse."
"Such a spider exists?! Guess there are a lot of things in the desert I never knew about, besides sandstorms, scorpions and cobras," I muttered.
"I happen to have a book on what travelers needs to watch out for in the desert. I can just give it to you," he insisted.
"Really? That'd be very helpful. Thank you."
"No thanks needed. Anything for the safety of others." He gave me the book from his bag. "But man. Just look at the way it happened as his arm was lifting a piece of beef to his mouth. He froze just like that. Only comes to show you how powerful the poison of the Desert Strawberry is."
'Just froze?' I mentally repeated. "Excuse me... What do you mean by 'just froze'?"
"Exactly as I say. Look at him." He moved a little so I can see through the window. "His hand is still holding that fork. And his arm is still up."
When he said that, it was clear then, especially with all the plates stacked up near him. I walked into the restaurant and made my way over to the corpse. I heard people saying how crazy I am. Why wouldn't they? After what I heard from that guy, it's reasonable for them to say such a thing.
"Guess you haven't changed, huh?" I whispered when I got close enough. "You kind, hot-headed IDIOT!" I punched him hard in the head, I broke both the plate and the counter.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" all the bystanders questioned.
"The guy's not really dead!" I yelled at them.
"Huh? What?" the person in question spoke, raising his head.
"AHHHHHH! HE CAME BACK TO LIFE!" they all shouted.
"Ow." The customer rubbed in head in pain.
"Um... Are you alright?" a female customer asked.
In response to that, he just grabbed her skirt and used it to wipe his face. I felt sorry for her.
"Man... Damn... I fell asleep," he then admitted.
"YOU FELL ASLEEP?!" everyone around us repeated.
"T-that's impossible! In the middle of a meal and a conversation?!" a random bystander nearby said.
"And he just starts chewing again..." another bystander continued.
"Well, this guy just has a mess up sleeping system," I muttered.
"Hm? Oh, Xion. It's been a while," the customer who fell asleep said, noticing me.
"Do not just act so casual in this situation!" I yelled at him, wacking him in the head.
"Oi, oi. Why are you so worked up? In fact, the same goes for everyone else," he questioned, rubbing his head and still chewing.
"THEY/WE WERE WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" we all answered.
"You hired comedians or something? And if you did, I didn't think you'd come to the Grand Line for this kind of stuff, Xion."
"Again! Do NOT just act so casual in this situation!" I snapped.
"Well, no... I don't even know the girl you're talking to. But in any case, I'm glad you're okay," the guy he was talking to, who I assumed would be the master of the restaurant, said. The next thing you know, he went back to sleep.
"OI! DON'T JUST GO BACK TO SLEEP!" we all yelled at him, with me wacking the idiot in the head to wake him up.
A few minutes later, Ace, the name of the sleeping customer, finished his meal.
"Ah. I'm full. By the way, Oyasan. This guy hasn't come to this town has he?" Ace took out a wanted poster. The poster had Luffy's name and face on it. "A pirate wearing a straw hat."
"I guess you don't have a problem with eating in public, Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' second division, Portgas D. Ace," came a familiar deep voice.
"W-whitebeard!? The Whitebeard Pirates?!" the master repeated.
"That dumbass guy is part of the Whitebeard Pirates!?" a random customer asked.
"I knew I'd seen that mark on his back before!" another customer said.
"But what does that make the hooded girl in black?!" asked another customer.
"Is she also part of the Whitebeard Pirates?!"
"What business does an infamous pirate like you have in this country?" Smoker asked.
"Now that he mentioned it, why are you here, Ace?" I asked.
"... I'm searching. For my little brother," he replied.
"Little brother?"
Before I can ask who his little brother is, I heard something. And it sounds like 'food' and then 'restaurant'.
"So then... What should I do?" Ace asked Smoker.
"Sit there and let me arrest you," he suggested.
"Rejected. I'd rather not."
"Then tell me. What's your relationship with that girl in a black coat?"
"We're friends. And rivals," I answered for him.
"Are you also a pirate?"
"I don't know. Do I look like one to you?" I challenged.
It was silent for a while. The silence was broken by a familiar voice and a bad vibe I was starting to get.
"Gomu Gomu no..."
'Why do I have this feeling that's telling me to move?'
"ROCKET!" My question was answered when a certain idiot just rocketed himself in and attack Smoker while he was at it. Before I know it, Ace and I were hit by Smoker and we went through both the counter and the wall. Or should I say walls? No, maybe buildings.
"That asshole... Who the hell was that? Jeez..." Ace complained, as he got us out of the rubble.
"That happens to be my idiot captain, whom I was looking for before I saw you," I answered, dusting myself.
"Captain? Then you did join a pirate crew," he said, as we made our way back to the restaurant. We stopped when we noticed that we interrupted a family's meal.
"Our apologies for interrupting your meal," we bowed in forgivness.
"But just who the hell is you captain, exactly?" Ace continued, as we continued to walk back to the restaurant.
"The one you were looking for. From that wanted poster," I replied.
"Huh?" He was confused at my answer. That confusion disappeared and was replaced by a smile on his face when he saw Luffy, which brought a confusion to my face.
"Oi, Lu-"
"STRAW HAT!" Smoker came out of nowhere and slammed Ace's head down to the rubble.
"Ace! You okay?" I asked, picking him up.
"Yeah." When we look back up, we saw Luffy running away from Smoker. Ace suddenly ran off when this happened. "Wait, Luffy! It's me! Hang on! Oi! Luffy!"
It became quiet for a while.
"Um... You have to pay for them," the master of the place told me.
"Huh? Oh. How much?"
"Adding the damage, it's B865,900."
'That's too much!' I mentally complained. Luckily, that's all the money I had on me. Giving the guy his money, I went after Luffy, Ace and Smoker. Before that, however, I went back to the hideout to warn everyone.
"Guys! We got trouble!" I shouted, as the hideout was in my sight.
"Xion(-nee)?"
"What's wrong, Xion?" Nami asked me.
I stopped running when I got to them. "Luffy... is being chased... by a Marine named Smoker..." I said in between pants.
"WHAT?!"
"Have to find him... before we all end up... in the Marine's clutches..."
"Hey. Get down," Zoro said, pulling me and pushing the others in our hiding spot. I was about to ask why when we heard noises from the Marines. And that kind of noise can only mean one thing.
"How did that idiot get them all to chase after him?!" I questioned.
"You might not know if it is him," Usopp said.
"It might be some other dumbass pirate," Sanji added.
That was what they hoped, until Luffy ran passed out hiding place with the Marines shouting 'HALT, STRAW HAT!'
"IT WAS YOU!" they all shouted, agreeing with me.
Just then, Luffy turned around and saw us. Before we knew it, HE RAN TOWARDS US! THEREFORE BLOWING OUR COVER!
"IDIOT! Don't come here until you've lost them!" Zoro and I shouted.
"Hey. What should we do?" Usopp asked the obvious.
"Isn't it obvious?!" I asked, as us girls and Sanji were putting our supplies in bags.
"Our only option is to run," Nami said.
"What's taking you so long?! Let's get going!" the rubber idiot, who I will kill in the future, ordered us.
"YOU MORON!" we all shouted.
"Halt! You won't escape!" a Marine said.
"Yes we will! Zero Gravity!" I shouted, summoning Miraculous Blossom and turned off the gravity behind us. Thanks to that, the Marines are helplessly floating in mid-air.
"Everyone fall back when you get to the ground!" I heard Smoker's voice say.
"Captian!"
"The Straw Hat is mine!"
"Ah! He caught up with me!" Luffy panicked.
"White Blow!" Smoker's arm turned into smoke and was catching up to us.
"KAGEROU!" Fire came and intercepted Smoker's attack. We all stop and look to see that Ace saved us.
"You again..." Smoker muttered.
"Give it up," Ace suggested. "You may be smoke, but I am fire. With our abilities, a fight would be pointless."
"That guy has a Devil's Fruit ability?" Zoro spoke.
"Who the hell is that guy? Why is he helping us?" Usopp demanded.
"Ace!" Luffy knows him? Now that I think about it, Ace was calling his name back at the restaurant.
"You never change, Luffy," the fireman said.
"Ace... It's Ace! You ate a Devil's Fruit?!"
"Yeah. It's the Mera Mera no mi. Anyway, we can't talk like this! I'll catch up later! You guys run for it! I'll keep these guys busy! Xion, you're welcome to join if you want to," he told us.
"I have to watch over my nakama, Ace," I reasoned with him.
"Then go! All of you!"
"Let's go!" Luffy and I ordered, as we ran back to the ship.
"But, Luffy, Xion..." Nami called.
"Who the hell is that?" Sanji asked for her.
"Wait, Luffy, Xion! Who was that?" Nami asked.
"Is he someone you two know?" Vivi questioned.
"I'll explain when we get back to Going Merry," I answered. "I don't know about Luffy, though."
"Well you see... He's my brother!" Huh?
"BROTHER!?"