Ch. 4- Bath Time

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard, Hibiscus, Daffodil, and Buttercup © Me

"OPEN THE GATE!"

KREEEEEK! The huge gate to the docks of Amazon Lily opened up for the Kuja pirate ship. Once the ship entered, Hancock, her sisters, and the Kuja crew were soon greeted by a sea of cheers and screams.

"OUR SNAKE PRINCESS HAS RETURNED~!"

"WELCOME HOME!"

"WELCOME BACK, KUJA WARRIORS!"

"ZAHAHAHA~!" Daisy laughed. "We brought back lots of loot!"

"RAN! DAISY!"

"Wow! Look at them!" said a little girl. "Aren't they great? I wanna be just like them when I grow up!"

"Gorgon Sisters~!"

"Snake Princess~!"

"Her beauty is truly unmatched!"

Hancock, Sandersonia, Marigold, and the rest of the Kuja disembarked from their ship and walked into the city. Accompanying Hancock was a huge anaconda with white-and-pink scales, blue hair, a darker blue scarf around its neck, and a horned skull on its head.

Hancock approached a woman who was standing before a traditional Japanese carriage, which was being carried by two large monkeys.

"Welcome back, Snake Princess!" said the woman. "We've prepared a monkey carriage for you!"

"Good," Hancock said. "Did anything happen in my absence?"

"No, Snake Princess," answered the woman. "Nothing at all."

Hancock stared at the woman for a moment before she entered her carriage.

"Very well, then," she said as she was carried off with her sisters following behind her.

The rest of the Kuja, meanwhile, were busy unloading their cargo. They had brought back many things, such as iron ore, grog, gunpowder, meat, and even some crops from the north.

"We looted 2 merchant vessels and a pirate ship," said Ran. "We also took some cargo of a ship from the World Government."

"Did you happen to bring back any books, Ran?"

Ran looked down and saw Elder Nyon approaching her.

"Oh, Elder Nyon!" she said. "All I have is this newspaper from Central." She pulled the newspaper that Momonga had given her. "Here. You have it."

"Thank you, child," Nyon said as she took the newspaper.

XXX

Meanwhile, at the Kuja Castle, Hancock was being welcomed by some of her servants.

"Ah, Snake Princess! Welcome home!"

"Welcome home, Snake Princess! It's truly a pleasure to see you!"

"Enishida…what in the world is this?"

Inside the palace, Hancock's maid, Enishida, had shown her a clay statue of the Pirate Empress.

"The village made this for you as a gift, Snake Princess!" said Enishida. "It was made out of clay! They worked so hard on it and even painted it! I was going to send them away, but I when saw them carrying it so carefully into the castle, they looked so cute and sweet, I thought that…"

"I see," said Hancock as she put her hand to the clay statue's smiling face. "So they made a statue of me out of wet dirt."

SMASH! Hancock threw the statue down on the floor, shattering it into pieces.

"It's garbage!" she exclaimed. "This dreadful thing would ruin the look of the whole room!"

"Snake Princess!" cried Enishida.

"Don't ever bring such FILTH into my castle!" Hancock ordered as she kept walking by. "Throw that nasty thing away and clean up the mess!"

"Y-yes, Snake Princess," Enishida said with a slight stammer before she looked to the doorway. There, she saw three small girls, about the age of 6, all with slightly round, plump faces and wearing rather skimpy clothing like the older women of the village, though not as revealing, but with different hair colors- blue, blonde, and dark brown- peeking into the room…all with big, sad, teary eyes.

"Oh, girls," Enishida whispered, her heart going out for the three children.

"Enishida!" Hancock called.

"Yes, Snake Princess!" Enishida called back as she ran to her ruler's side.

As Enishida left, the three girls also decided to leave. After all, children weren't allowed in the castle, and they happened to sneak in with the statue that they had worked so hard on making.

Truth be told…they were crushed.

"Auntie Marguerite said that the Snake Princess would like our present," said the blue-haired girl.

"Don't worry, Hibiscus," said the blonde one. "We'll just have to keep trying."

"Daffodil's right!" said the brown-haired girl. "Maybe we can try something better!"

"Thanks, Buttercup," said Hibiscus, "but…no matter what we do…it'll never be good enough for the Snake Princess."

"What are you three doing in here? No children allowed in the Kuja Castle!"

The three sisters gasped before they ran down the corridor, just as one of the guards gave chase.

XXX

"I did not see the city's defenders at the wharves," said Hancock as she was headed towards her bed.

"About that, Snake Princess," Enishida started, "there was a fierce monkey and an even fiercer wolf that had appeared from the jungle! The defenders went out to hunt them! They'll be back soon, though! I apologize that they weren't there to greet you the moment you and your sisters returned!"

"A monkey and a wolf, you say?" Hancock questioned as her anaconda slithered onto the bed, and then skillfully coiled up into the shape of a chair. "Whatever…"

"Would you like a drink, Snake Princess?" asked Enishida.

"Rice wine," Hancock answered as she sat herself on her anaconda, taking a relaxing position.

"Yes, your beautifulness," Enishida said.

"I'd like some, too!"

Hancock and Enishida looked up and saw Nyon entering.

"Granny Nyon?" Hancock said with the utmost displeasure. "What are you doing here, in MY private chamber?"

"Elder Nyon?" cried one of the palace servants.

"Where did she come from?" asked another.

"I can get enter hyere anytime I please!" Nyon replied.

"Throw this peasant out!" Hancock demanded.

"Wait, Snake Princess!" Nyon exclaimed.

"Don't you mean, 'Your Highness'?" Hancock questioned.

"Pardon me, 'Your Highness'," Nyon, reluctantly, said. "There's a ship from the World Government anchored offshore. Have they nyot come for you? They brought you a summons from the World Government, didn't they?"

"That's right," Hancock answered. "They want me to go to some petty war."

"So why are you nyot going?" Nyon asked the Pirate Empress. "Go nyow! If you do, the treaties the World Government had signed for you will hold. You are strong enough, nyow, that you will nyot be killed in battle."

"But…" Hancock said before she put a hand to her mouth in a rather scared manner. "But…I'm scared to go…! What if I get hurt?"

Nyon stared at Hancock with hearts in her eyes.

Aw~! She's like a little puppy-dog! the elderly woman thought to herself before she started to swat her hand in the air, angrily.

"DO NYOT START THAT WITH ME!" Nyon shouted.

"Elder Nyon," Enishida said, sweat-dropping.

"Right nyow," Nyon began, "this nyation is being protected by your rank of Warlord! In the past, the Calm Byelt was a powerful deterrent that protected us and our land from outside enemies."

Enishida returned with a glass of rice wine for Hancock, which she took.

"But times have changed," Nyon continued. "The people from the World Government have built ships using nyew technology that allows them to navigate these waters, but because you are a Warlord, they do nyot dare come to our island, in spite of your piratical activities! Without your title, Hancock, Amazon Lily will be just nyation of pirates that would be brought to ruin! Think of your people!"

"You worry too much," Hancock said as she took a sip of her rice wine.

"I am old," Nyon said as she took a crystal ball onto her snake staff. "I could drop dead at any given moment. Gaze into my crystal ball and behold your future!"

Inside the crystal ball, the words, "GO NOW" appeared…painted on.

"YOU DISGUST ME!" Hancock shouted. "GET THIS PEASANT OUT OF MY CASTLE, RIGHT NOW!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" said two women as they grabbed Hancock.

"Wait, Snake Princess!" cried Nyon.

Hancock stood up and approached Nyon. "Just WHO do you think you are? Your reign was over, three generations ago…Gloriosa."

Nyon growled at the sound of her former name.

"Even if I were to ruin this nation on a whim," Hancock continued as she started to lean back, her finger pointed at Nyon, "everyone in the world will forgive me. Why? Because…I am beautiful!" By this time, she had leaned all the way back, looking all the way up to the ceiling, her finger still pointed at Nyon.

"There it is! That's what the Snake Princess does when she's looking down on someone! She'll look down on you, so much, that she looks up!"

"Though you were once the empress of this nation," Hancock started, still "looking down" on Nyon, "you abandoned your people and went to the outer seas, you treacherous, old fool!" GRAB! She grabbed Nyon by her hair and pulled her up so that she could see her. "When you shamelessly returned, we only accepted you back because of the benevolence of the previous empress!"

"And that is why I live on the outskirts of the village!" Nyon countered.

"Then you should've stayed there," Hancock hissed. "It's an outrage for you to presume to tell me, the empress, what I can and cannot do!" She turned and walked over to a nearby window.

"Snake Princess!" cried Hancock's servants.

"Still," Hancock said, "I must say that I admire your passion. I will yield to you."

Nyon gasped, a smile appearing on her face.

"You understand, then, Snake Princess?" she asked. "Thank goodness! Thank you, so much! So does this mean that you will nyow go?"

Hancock simply smirked and said, "Of course not. Learn your place, fool."

Nyon gasped, this time in horror.

"Now…BEGONE!"

KRASH! Hancock threw Nyon out the window!

"DAMN YOU, HANCOCK~!"

"S-Snake Princess!"

"Weren't you being a bit too harsh on the poor old woman?"

Hancock turned to the two servants with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"It was accident," she said.

The servants immediately began to swoon, lovingly in adoration.

"Yes, yes! Of course! We understand!"

XXX

Outside, Nyon landed gracefully on her feet after she had been thrown out of the castle. The triplets, Buttercup, Hibiscus, and Daffodil, happened to see her after they had escaped the guard.

"Elder Nyon?" Daffodil questioned, bewildered.

"Where'd she come from?" Buttercup asked. "She fell from the sky!"

"What happened, Elder Nyon?" asked Hibiscus.

"I'll just say this," Nyon replied. "I may be old, but I am still a warrior of the Kuja! I have nyot withered yet!"

The three sisters just tilted their heads in puzzlement.

BONG! BONG! BONG! The sound of a huge bell ringing filled the air.

"IT IS TIME FOR THE SNAKE PRINCESS'S BATH! WHOEVER IS INSIDE THE CASTLE, CLEAR OUT, NOW!"

Inside the castle dining hall, women were leaving their plates and unfinished food behind as they stampeded out of the room and out the castle. Even the servants were starting to clear out.

Once everyone was outside, the castle gates were closed and locked up tight, so as to ensure that no one would enter.

"For the next two hours, no one will be allowed inside the castle!"

Hibiscus, Buttercup, and Daffodil were now walking down the streets together. They happened to see Ran, who was busy eating her lunch.

"Excuse us," Buttercup said. "Miss Ran?"

Ran turned to the three half-pints.

"Yes, girls?" she asked.

"Why is it always such a big deal when the Snake Princess takes a bath?" asked Hibiscus.

"Yeah!" agreed Daffodil. "Is it THAT important that nobody sees her naked? Our Auntie Marguerite has us bathe together when we take a bath!"

"How old are you three?" Ran asked as she knelt down to their height level.

"Six," the triplets answered in unison.

"Well," Ran said, "I guess I can tell you three…the secret of the Gorgon Sisters."

"The secret of the Gorgon Sisters?" repeated Hibiscus.

"That's right," Ran said.

"Auntie Marguerite never told us about that!" Buttercup chimed in.

"Well, settle down, and I'll tell you," said Ran. "You see, girls, the Gorgon was a terrible, frightening the once roamed the world's oceans. Anyone who dared to look the beast in the eye would be turned to stone on the spot!"

The girls gasped.

"After they had face many harrowing dangers," Ran continued, "the Snake Princess and her sisters managed to slay the Gorgon, but the monster's dying screams had cursed the warrior sisters."

"It did?" Hibiscus asked, earning a nod from Ran.

"What was the curse?" asked Daffodil.

"A pair of eyes were carved into the flesh of each of their backs," Ran answered the sisters. "If they were to take off their clothes in front of anyone, those eyes would be revealed, and anyone around the Gorgon Sisters would be turned to stone."

"Really?" the triplets asked.

"Yes," Ran said. "Now you know why the Gorgon Sisters never strip themselves of their clothes in front of people and evacuate from the castle when they take a bath."

Hibiscus, Buttercup, Daffodil glanced at each other. Now they wished they didn't ask Ran about this ritual.

"Don't be scared, little ones," Ran said, reassuringly. "It may sound frightening, but the Gorgon Sisters' curse is the result of their heroic deeds, so it is the pride of this nation of warriors! Do you understand, now?"

"Yeah!" Daffodil answered.

"I get it!" Hibiscus added.

"Me, too!" chirped Buttercup. "The Snake Princess and her sisters are so amazing!"

"Yeah!" agreed Hibiscus. "I wanna be just like them, when I get big!"

"So do I!" added Daffodil.

Ran just smiled at the three six-year-old girls.

XXX

Meanwhile, in the jungle, the women that were chasing Luffy and Blizzard had lost sight of them.

"Now where did the man and his wolf disappear to?" Kikyo questioned.

"They must've climbed up the mountain!" said one of the warriors.

"Maybe they escape to the village," Marguerite whispered. "After all…Luffy said that they were looking for a ship."

"What was that, Marguerite?" asked Aphelandra.

"N-nothing," Marguerite answered.

XXX

Up on the cliff face of the village wall, Luffy and Blizzard were climbing up, having finally escaped from the pack of crazy-strong female warriors, and were now formulating a plan of escape.

"Well, now what?" asked Luffy. "If we wait too long, those women might find us, again. I wish Usopp was here. He's good at running away."

As much as I hate to admit it, Blizzard thought, you're right.

Blizzard managed to make it to the top, but Luffy nearly slipped. The wolf-dog managed to grab him and pull him by his hand, but he didn't bite too hard so as not to make it bleed.

"They did say they had a pirate ship," said Luffy. "We'd sure like to borrow it, huh Blizzard?"

Blizzard nodded.

"Still…" Luffy said, "we can't just set sail. Without Nami, we'd go drifting off to who-knows where…Nami…"

Luffy felt his heart starting to ache at the mention of his navigator.

He just remembered how much he missed her.

Blizzard gently pressed his nose against his master's leg, reminding him of the situation.

"Right, Blizzard," Luffy said. "Okay, so, we're gonna have to ask these people to get us a ship so we can have them take us back to the Sabaody Archipelago."

Blizzard nodded.

"I guess we'll have to talk to the head, around here."

Blizzard nodded, again.

"The head person lives in really tall buildings, so…uh…hmm…!"

RRRUUUUUUUUUMMBLE! Luffy's stomach roared.

"All this thinking's making me hungry!" he complained.

Seriously? Blizzard thought, sweat-dropping. Are you THAT simple?

"Ah-ha!" Luffy exclaimed, pounding a fist into his palm. "Blizzard, that's it! We'll just go inside a tall building!"

Yep, Blizzard thought, sweat-dropping twice as hard. You're THAT simple.

"C'mon, buddy!" Luffy called as he jumped over the other side of the wall and fell…straight to the Kuja Castle's roof.

H-hey! Blizzard thought as he followed after his foolish master. Hang on a minute, Luffy! Wait for me, moron!

XXX

Back in the jungle, Marguerite, Sweet Pea, Aphelandra, Kikyo, and the rest were racing back to the village. They knew that Hancock must've returned by now, and they had to find Luffy and Blizzard and do away with them as quick as possible before their ruler discovered the pirates' presence.

Marguerite couldn't help but feel a slight sense of regret.

XXX

THOOM! Luffy landed on top of the roof of the castle with Blizzard landing beside him. However, the roof appeared to be too weak to hold their combined weight, so they ended up crashing through.

The villagers happened to hear the sound and looked up, wondering what was going on.

SPLASH! Luffy and Blizzard ended plunging into hot water…both literally and figuratively.

"AAAAAAAH!" Luffy screamed as he splashed about. "HELP! BLIZZARD, HELP ME! I'M DROWING~!"

After a moment, Luffy realized that the water he was in was shallow.

"Oh," he said as he stood up. "I'm okay!" He chuckled before he turned to Blizzard…who was staring ahead of himself, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Blizzard?" Luffy asked. "What's the matter, buddy?" He waved his hand in front of the wolf-dog's eyes.

No reaction.

Luffy looked into the direction that his dog was staring and saw…that it was Hancock, bathing herself in the hot water. That is, until she heard Luffy's cries.

It's her…! Blizzard thought, a blush flooding his furry cheeks and a tiny rope of drool seeping from his jaws. It's really her! The Pirate Empress…Boa Hancock! She really IS the most beautiful woman in the world! He shook his head, trying to suppress his…perverted thoughts. And…we just FELL INTO HER BATHTUB! CRAP!

Hancock stared at Luffy and Blizzard, her long, black hair covering her…chest region.

"A man and a wolf…!" Hancock gasped.

"Hey," Luffy said, all of a sudden, pointing his finger at the Warlord. "That thing on your back…I think I've seen it, before."

SPLASH! Hancock turned to face Luffy full, her arms covering her chest. Blizzard gasped, his teeth clenched…when he saw the angry look in the empress's eyes.

"You…" she hissed. "You saw it!"

Uh-oh, Blizzard thought, his ears falling besides his head.

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