Chapter 12
Blood. Everywhere. The smell of it filled Terin's nostrils. She looked around; she saw the crimsom water splattered in every direction. Looking down at herself, it was all over her hands and body. She lifted the sheets and slowly staggered out of her room, shaken by the sight of everything. She caught her breath.
"Sanji…" she whispered in her soft voice. He lay there, along with Nami, on the couch. A large gash was on his back while Nami had coughed up a considerable amount of blood. Turning her head, she saw Robin and Usopp knocked against the wall. The blood dripped down from a spot on the wall just above their heads. She held her hand to her mouth, closing her eyes to try and figure out what had happened. Suddenly, they shot back open.
Luffy.
She ran across the room and into his. After practically slamming into the door, she looked around. The bed was soaked the dark red liquid that already haunted her. She stepped closer to the bed, her entire body shivering. She reached a hand down to lift the blanket, but stopped hesitantly. Her hand quivered mid-air, just a hand's width away from the horrible image of what could be Luffy. Then, another hand slid across her neck and held it tight.
Terin shot up from the bed and her eyes opened. She gasped, followed by quick breaths and panting. Perspiration cover her head, and her hand clutched the blanket. Her eyes darted frantically around the dim room, everything blurry to her. But she could see no signs of blood anywhere nor on herself. Blowing a sigh of relief, she released her hold on the blanket and glanced at the clock. It was only 4 am.
'It was just a dream… just a dream,' she thought to herself. She ran a hand through her hair and stared out into the dimness of her room. Then she remembered the white haired boy. After her eyes focused, she got up and stumbled into the bathroom. There was no sign of him or that he was even there. But he was; she knew it. Leaving that matter to be dealt with tomorrow, she crawled back into bed and closed her eyes. She was already troubled enough. Quickly, she fell asleep just as her room door opened.
OoOoOoOoOoO
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" Terin's voice rang throughout the entire house, waking up every person soundly dozing. Sanji, a bit shocked from the sound, fell off the couch and rubbed his head.
'Didn't expect this…' he thought, getting up and folding his blanket together. Luffy dazedly walked into the living room while rubbing his eyes, yawning. Usopp followed him but just fell right back asleep, crashing into the floor. Robin and Nami, fully dressed, came out yawning and tired as well.
"What was that?" asked Nami in mid-yawn. Luffy looked down the hall worryingly, and took a seat at the table. Sanji jumped over to admire the girls who had just woken up, but still looked as beautiful as a field of flowers in the Spring time. His imagination was inturrupted by the stomping of Terin's feet. They all stared at her as she stood there arms crossed and tapping one foot.
"Why the hell did you cut my hair this short… SANJI?!" she asked, nearly knocking him over again. He held a hand to his heart and looked hurt. He stood up from the couch, trying to looked dignified, and walked around it to help Usopp.
"Why do you immediately come to me first when something bad happens to you?" he asked after waking up the sleepy curly haired boy. She merely glared at him, and suddenly thought of the nightmare she had. She ran a hand again through her now short hair, about as short as Luffy's if not shorter, and proceeded to the kitchen. Sanji looked confusingly at her then joined Luffy at the table, who was avoiding eye contact with Terin.
"See? I told you it'd work," whispered Usopp, who was now fully awake and sitting with them. Sanji nodded in an agreeing manner and nudged Luffy to make a remark.
"But I still feel bad about it. I think she looked better with long hair," he said, slumping his shoulders. "Why'd I have to do it anyway?" Sanji rested a hand on his shoulder and answered, "'Cause you and Robin are the only one's she won't hurt. And since we couldn't ask Robin, we asked you!" Luffy pouted and looked out the window.
Robin and Nami took their seat as Terin was half way done with breakfast. They listened to the incessant whispering of the group of men, and both found out the little secret they had.
"Don't worry about it Luffy. She wanted to get a haircut sooner or later," Usopp reasoned. "So you were doing her a favor!" Luffy brightened at the sound of this explanation, and sat readily for the food. Sanji gave a high-five for Usopp's lie.
"Well, here we are." Terin set the food on the table, put up her apron, and joined the rest of them.
"Itadakimasu!" they all said in unison. Luffy grabbed a helpful for himself and began chowing down on it before anyone could even take a bite. Mouth full, he tried saying something to Terin, who still hadn't taken a bite yet. He swallowed and finally asked, "What do you think of my haircut for you?" Terin lifted her head.
"'My haircut for you'? What are you talking about? Are you saying YOU did this to me?" she asked. Luffy nodded vigorously as Sanji and Usopp shot nervous glances at each other. Terin got up and walked around to stand behind Luffy. He took another gulp of food and continued his story, "Sanji and Usopp said you needed one, so I helped you out." Terin nodded her head VERY slowly.
Almost expectantly, Nami dropped her fork and asked Luffy to get it for her. Usopp had offered and began sliding down, but he was held by Terin's grip on the collar of his shirt. Grabbing onto Sanji's shirt with the other hand, she threw them head first towards each other. By the time Luffy got back up, Terin was putting up Nami and Robin's plate.
"Huh? What's up with those two?" Nami broke into laughter, and Robin joined her, more controlled of course. Terin sighed, and went to the backyard door. She closed it with a light slam, quieting the table. Luffy looked through the window, catching a glimpse of her sitting down on a swinging bench.
"I think something's bothering her," he commented out loud.
"You think so?" added Nami. Luffy just nodded at her, oblivious to the sarcasm. She merely rolled her eyes. He got up, the others watching, and went outside as well. When he opened the door, Terin didn't even lift her head. She was looking down at her hands, one cradling the other. He silently closed the door, and walked over to her. Without asking, he ploped himself down and looked at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked with a serious face. Terin looked up and nearly got out of her bad mood just from looking at him. She sighed, and shook her head. Luffy pouted and got up to stand in front of her. His brow was scrunched and his pout was more definite. There was no way out of this one.
"I… just had a bad dream last night," she answered trying to look away. His brows relaxed and so did his pout. He smiled brightly and she glanced at him. Her eyes started to water just by the happy look on his face. She started wiping away the tears when he grabbed the other hand involuntarily.
"Don't worry," he calmly assured. "I'll be here!" he added daintily. Her eyes watered even more as she tried not crying. He let go of her hand, blushing and smiled at her. She smiled back when suddenly a crash was heard from behind Luffy. They looked curiously to what it was; Luffy started holding back laughter as Terin stared in her usual blank expression.
I want to know how many of you caught their breathe during those beginning paragraphs... :3 Sooooo, their relationship (Terin and Luffy) have grown some more during that time. Sanji and Usopp are veeeeery mischevious now aren't they... I wonder what it was that made that crash from behind Luffy after their talk... wait until next time, my beloved readers!