Chapter 18: I don't own One Piece.

Today is a cold rainy day, and I can't really empathize with Tashigi that much at the moment. I would love to travel around and be boiling hot in a desert kingdom. I probably wouldn't wear as many clothes. Why would you wear a jacket like the one she's wearing In that place?! Just watching the anime makes me feel exhausted from imaginary heat.

.

.

Tashigi's Heart 18: A Refreshing Cold Towel

.

.

Today has just been unbearable. The people here are thugs and swindlers. The men are out to deceive and manipulate, and the women... well what can I say... the majority dress like … like … like the are trying to get a man's attention. I feel embarrassed for them. Half of them cover up so much you can't tell the difference between them and the men. The other half ... Do they really disvalue themselves so much that they would wear hardly anything just to get a stranger's money and attention. It makes me sick. They all make me sick.

One kid tried to pull a theft right in front of me. He tried to steal from one of the shop stalls, but He failed and then attempted to escape. He crashed into me, crying and looking very disappointed in himself. I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him, he was a kid after all, there are some things you can let slide as long as that person is sorry for what he has done. I was about to let him go, when the Captain grabbed him from the scruffy front of his clothes, and lifted him high above his head.

"Let go of what you stole! Now! Or your face will become my new boot polish!"

In absolute terror, the boy let go of, "MY WALLET!" I yelled.

I made sure that before I arrived everything that was of any value on me was hidden, but that kid had still been able to find my wallet from just bumping into me once. After that incident I decided to keep a wary look out for any pickpocket who came near me.

.

.

We have now been here for a week and still no sign of the Strawhats. They had been ahead of us, we were sure. So why hadn't they arrived yet. I had suggested to smoker that they could have already arrived and traveled inland, but he was sure that they hadn't, and that we were to wait for them. So we waited, and found that after a week we were still finding trouble makers everywhere. Did this town bread liars and thieves.

I thought I might enjoy looking into the creations of the tradesmen in this town, but the majority of the artifacts here were fakes and cheap budget copies that they were trying to sell for ridiculous prices. I was approached by one salesman who saw Shigure on my hip and tried to sell me one of his swords as an upgrade. He had no clue what he was talking about, and seemed to assume that I would like a smaller more girly sword.

"You've got to be kidding me! Selling a sword like this for 2,000 berries is nothing short of stealing. Come on do you even have a permit to sell these?" It was strange really I had been here a week, but I was still treated like an idiot. These salesmen they always seemed to try pitching to me, because I look like a foreigner, and foreigners I suppose they think to be gullible. How unfortunate for him. This guy had got a lot more than he had bargained for in trying to deceive me. Ha ha!

"You had better not pull another stunt like this again, do you understand me?" That serves him right. Shake in fear, for what you were trying to do is illegal. I hide a small triumphant smile as I turned away from the salesman. What a relief that not all people were like that.

My left hand twitched and rested on my sword's hilt. I can't shake off this feeling like someone's watching me. I glanced round again. Nothing, Grrr! Stop being so paranoid Tashigi! It's probably just a passer-by who thinks you look weird. Well compared to everyone else and the way people dress here I obviously look Foreign, but I'm not going to be caught off guard or persuaded into wearing any of these degradable outfits just to fit in with the crowd.

"Hay! Tashigi?" I know that voice well. I quite sure every time he opens his mouth the whole street can here him.

"Captain Smoker." I answered. This looked amazingly familiar, Captain Smoker looked very impressive with three men draped over his shoulders like sacks of grain.

"Here," He pulled off the scruffy, dirty, weed-like bodies and dumped them on the ground in front of me as if delivering the mail. "Idiot small time pirates!" He grumbled, "They made the mistake of thinking they could act like hot shots on my watch. So I was forced to teach them a lesson."

"Your dedication is inspiring! Not a single pirate rogue will ever escape with you around." Great... what was I going to do with three pirates in the middle of a town we weren't even supposed to be in.

"If you've done chattering, have the Alabasta royal army take care of this scum." Okay, so that's how we will do it.

"Yes, Sir!" I answered.

"So far I haven't heard anything about Strawhat Luffy and the rest of them having landed on this island, but don't let your guard down. They will show up, I'm sure of it."

I don't know if the Captain was supposed to be talking to me or just confirming it with himself. 'Well, I'll take your word for it.' Smokers intuition has yet to be proven wrong. Now I've got my work cut out for me. My Captain is one of the most reliable men out there. He takes his job as seriously as I do mine, and when he's working he doesn't let anyone stop him or get in his way. A lot more Marines need to be like that, but I hope that Smoker doesn't find to many more criminals, or the Royal Army might have something to say about interfering in internal affairs.

We weren't supposed to be here, but that doesn't mean we should hold back on delivering justice to those who are abusing the system.

.

.

This heat was only just bearable. I think because it was a hot and dry atmosphere it wasn't as bad as the humid temperature that we had been having previously on the ship. Everything was hot and dry and dusty in this desert kingdom, and my face was beginning to feel like that too.

I wiped off the dirt, sweat, and sand from my face with a fresh cold towel. This was definitely worth it. After I had finished running this way and that for the Captain, obeying his superior whims, I had decided to spend some of my money on a few cold drinks, and some freshly made food on sticks. Yum! And After I had finished, I got given a towel that I think they had been keeping in a freezer of some sort. Wow! It was so NICE! Just what I needed to wipe away the bothersome day.

I have never really appreciated the different weather conditions that I was used to in the East Blue, but after coming all the way out here I now realized just how wonderful it was to live in a place which didn't make you sweat every 10 minutes of walking, and a place where the wind didn't blow sand and dust into your face whenever you turned down a different street. My face and hands felt horribly dirty and dry, having had all the natural oils and moisture in my skin sucked up by the beating sun. This towel was..

"TASHIGI!" I could hear the Captain yelling about something again. He really needed to take a break and not get so upset about everything. I had been very grateful when we had first arrived, when he had prevented my wallet from being stolen, but he has been like this all week. It was time for him to calm down. The Strawhats would turn up eventually, and make a massive impact on the town, leave it partially ruined, and that would be the time for the Captain to yell in the streets.

"Yes, Sir." It probably was nothing. "Would you like a cold towel it's quite refreshing this desert kingdom really is hot."

"Catch that guy! It's Strawhat!" What! STRAWHAT?!

"Yes, Sir!" my eyes tracked the being running away from my Captain. Red shirt, a Straw hat, the sound of flip flops running towards me. That was definitely him. Seven steps away, he won't have time to turn or slow down. I raise Shigure... "I've got him!" Just as second before my blade could pass through him he sprung up off the ground and into the air landing on a nearby roof as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Wow! How did he manage that?

"Tashigi! Gather the marines at once! Search every inch of this place for the rest of his crew." The captain yelled as he became smoke and then materialized on the top of the building. He might just gain on the Strawhat kid.

"Right!" I confirmed. "Come on!" I called out to some of the marines around me. We will make them regret ever being Pirates.

The Strawhat's crew is here, that is all four of them. We need to find out if there are any new recruits. Wait, that must mean Roronoa Zoro was in the city somewhere. We will find you all and flush you out! Just you wait. I'm coming.

.

.

Yay! They have finally met up with the Strawhats again. i don't know about you, but some of my favourite episodes of One Piece is when Smoker and Tashigi are trying to capture the Strawhats. They are just so funny and fast paced.