Ch. 2- Meeting the Gang! Aika's Fears?

One Piece © Oda

Monkey D. Aika, Sicily "Spike" Clayborne, Mark and Will Clayborne, Shino Kurohana © Me

Alex Shawshank and the Six Feathers © Yellowpikmin88

It was nighttime at the apartment complex where Luffy and Aika stayed. In fact, it was well passed midnight. In one room, Aika lies on her bed, her eyes wide as she looks out the window…and she sees the grinning crescent moon outside, snickering almost evilly as it seemed to glare down at her.

She whimpered as she clutched at the ends of her blanket, unable to sleep in this unfamiliar room in this unfamiliar city…but the only thing that made it worse…was when a red substance started seeping out of the moon's teeth…like blood!

"KYAAAAAAAAAAA!" Aika screamed as she leaped out of bed, ran to the door, dashed across the living room, opened the door across from her, and then leaped into that bed, which held Luffy inside.

"OOF!" Luffy cried as his sister jumped onto the bed, clinging to his chest. "A-Aika, what's going-"

"I don't like it here, Big Brother!" Aika said as she looked up at Luffy with her big, wet eyes. "It's too scary! The moon is creepy, and nothing in my room smells right! I miss Kumi, and Big Sis Nami, and Blizzard, and everyone else!"

With that, the poor girl broke down in tears. Luffy sighed as he hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead in the hope of comforting her.

"I know, Sis," he whispers. "I miss Nami and everyone else, too."

As Aika sobbed, Luffy continued to comfort her as best as he could. After what felt like hours…Aika cried herself to sleep in Luffy's arms. The Straw Hat Captain sighed as he looked out the window, sadly.

'Nami…everyone,' he thought. 'I hope you're doing okay without us.'

XXX

The following morning, Luffy and Aika are out walking with Maka and Soul, and right now, the former is telling the Meister and her partner of Aika's current dilemma. Luckily, Aika was a bit far from them, so she couldn't really hear them.

"Wow…I didn't even think about how much this would effect her," said Maka, almost guiltily.

"It's not your fault," Luffy said. "She's not used to this, is all."

"I don't blame her, really," Soul added. "I mean, if I were her, I'd feel nervous about being in a new place, far away from all my friends, too. I mean, if Maka is with me, it's different."

"I'm sure Aika will get used to things soon, Luffy," Maka reassured.

"Man, I hope so, Maka," Luffy replied. "I really do."

"Well, maybe meeting the others will do her a world of good," Soul smiled.

"Yeah," Luffy said, smiling as well.

Soon, the quartet arrived at the park, where they saw Black*Star, Tsubaki, Death the Kid, Liz and Patty, Blair, Shino, Spike, her two little brothers, Mark and Will, Alex Shawshank, Logan, Katherine, Jason, Vanellope, and Kutaro waiting for them.

"Hi, guys!" Maka called.

"Hey, Maka!" Shino greeted.

"Hey, it's Luffy!" Tsubaki exclaimed.

"Luffy!" Mark and Will cheered.

"Yahoo!" Black*Star hollered. "Long time, no see!"

"It's good to see you again," Kid added.

"Good to see you guys, too!" Luffy grinned. "Shishishishi!"

"What brings you all the way down to our neck of the woods?" Spike asked.

"Well, it was kind of an accident, more or less," Luffy said. "Anyway, since I'm here, there's someone I want you to meet!"

He then scoot over a step, revealing Aika standing behind him. Almost immediately, everyone swooned upon seeing her.

"Well, isn't she the cutest little ladybug you ever laid eyes on?" Shino asked.

"Ladybug…?" Aika asked, blushing slightly as she looked at Shino.

"Everyone, meet Luffy's little sister, Aika," Maka said.

"Sister?!" Liz repeated. "Since when?!"

"Since a few months ago, actually," Soul answered. "We were shocked about it, too."

"Hi, Aika," Tsubaki said as she squat down in front of Aika to reach her height level. "I'm Tsubaki Nakatsukaa. It's nice to meet you, too."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Aika said before her nose twitched. "You smell nice…like camellia blossoms."

Tsubaki giggled at this.

"Aren't you sweet?" she asked. "That's actually what my name means."

"And I'm her Meister, the great and powerful Black*Star! Yahoo!" Black*Star exclaimed, striking a pose. "You'll never see a star shine brighter than me!"

"…Really?" Aika asked. "Then…how come your name is Black*Star then? It doesn't sound like you'd shine very brightly."

Upon hearing that, Black*Star fell down in a comical fashion, causing Spike to snicker.

"I like this kid, already!" the werewolf-witch said, causing Aika to smile.

"I'm Death the Kid," said Kid as he walked up to Aika. "I'm a Gun Meister, and these two are my partners, the Thompson Sisters, Elizabeth and Patricia Thompson. I just call them Liz and Patty."

"Hi, cutie," Liz smiled.

"Hi-hi!" Patty chirped.

"Hi," Aika greeted, her confidence growing. "It's nice too meet you."

"I'm Spike," Spike greeted as she approached Aika, along with her brothers. "I'm Shino's weapon partner. My real name's Sicily, but just call me 'Spike'." She then gestured to Mark and Will. "These two here are my little brothers, Mark of Diamonds and Will of Spades."

"Hi!" Mark greeted.

"Hi there!" Will added.

"Shino Kurohana," said Shino, taking his hat off and putting it to his chest while bowing his head. "I'm Spike's Meister. It's nice to meet you, Aika."

"Hi," Aika said, shyly, her blush intensifying.

"Looks like you've got yourself a little admire, Shino," Spike whispered with a small giggle.

"You're not mad, are ya?" Shino asked, putting his hat back on.

"Nah," Spike said. "It's not in me to get mad at little kids."

"Hey! You get mad at me all the time!" Mark interjected.

"Yeah, I do," Spike replied as she pinched his cheek and pulled it. "The reason why is because you always act like an annoying little butt-hole!"

"Ouch! Lemme go!" Mark cried.

"The name's Alex Shawshank," Alex said as he came up next. "A pleasure."

"Nice to meet you," Aika said. "Wow…I'm meeting so many people at once. It's…kind of overwhelming."

"I know the feeling," said Alex, gently petting Aika's head. "How do you think it was for me when I met Maka and the rest?"

"Pretty difficult?" Aika asked.

"It took a while, but I took to them like a duck to water," Alex answered.

"You took to me and the others pretty quickly, too, remember?" Luffy asked as he pet Aika, who giggled.

"I'm Logan Owlfeather," said Logan before he turned to Katherine, Jason, Arya, Kutaro, and Vanellope, "and these 4 are Katherine, Jason, Arya, Kutaro, and Vanellope Evergreen."

"Together, we're…" Kutaro started.

"The Six Feathers!" Vanellope exclaimed.

"It's a little name they came up with for us," Arya said. "Cute isn't it?"

"Shishishishi!" Aika giggled.

"Hey, you wanna see a magic trick?" Logan asked.

"Sure!" Aika answered. "I love magic tricks!"

"Okay then!" Logan said as he held up his hands. "Kutaro! Vanellope! Why don't you show Aika your newest spell?"

"Okay!" Kutaro said. "Ready, sis?"

"You bet!" Vanellope said before she and Kutaro stood face-to-face, the latter forming a fireball in his hands. Then, he threw it up into the sky, and as it began to descend, it grew bigger and bigger and bigger, the heat intensifying with its size!

"Uh…shouldn't you do something about that?!" Aika asked, worriedly.

"Now Vanellope!" Kutaro exclaimed, and his sister soon jumped into the air, putting her hands up to the fireball…which began to slowly freeze until it was just a giant ice-ball, now.

"That still doesn't stop it from crashing on us!" cried Aika.

Logan then held up his ocarina and blew into…causing a black imp-like creature to appear.

"Whoa…!" Aika whispered in awe.

"You summoned me, Master?" Rolo asked.

"Take care of that, won't you, Rolo?" asked Logan.

"With pleasure!" Rolo answered before he morphed into a giant lion with a mane that shined like golden light, and then he roared at the ice-ball…causing it to shatter into snow!

"Wow~!" Aika and Luffy exclaimed in amazement, the former running around and jumping with glee.

"That was incredible, guys!" Maka said.

"Very cool," Soul grinned. "Literally and figuratively speaking."

"Glad you liked that," Logan said.

"Thank you!" Kutaro and Vanellope said as they took their bows.

"So…who's the starry lion-imp?" Aika asked, pointing at Rolo, who had reverted back to his original form.

"Oh! That's Rolo Starswirl," Logan replied. "He's a mage that was once the guardian of the Zodiac."

"…Huh?" Aika muttered in confusion.

"I'll explain later," Logan replied. "Rolo, this is-"

"I know, Master," Rolo said. "This girl is Luffy's younger sister, yes?"

"That's right," said Logan.

"So…is this everyone?" Aika asked.

"Yeah, you're missing a few people," Luffy added. "Where's Crona and Ragnarok? They're not here."

"Oh, right!" Maka said. "Crona wanted to come, but he was too busy helping Professor Stein and Marie at their house."

"Well, in that case, let's go there, instead!" Luffy said.

"Uh…Luffy?" Soul asked. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"How come?" Luffy asked.

XXX

Later on, everyone had arrived at Dr. Franken Stein's laboratory…in the middle of the graveyard.

"Aika?" Luffy asked. "You can let go of my leg now."

Aika had a vice grip around Luffy's leg, a terrified look in her eyes.

"Scary graveyard…!" she squeaked.

"See?" Soul asked. "I told you it was a bad idea."

"Poor thing's scared to death," Katherine said.

After prying the little Wolf Girl off Luffy's leg and knocking on the door, the group entered Stein's laboratory.

"Hello~!" Maka called. "Professor Stein? Crona? Marie! Anyone home?"

"We're in here!" called the voice of Marie Mjolnir.

Soon, the group arrived in the drawing room, where they found Marie sitting down on the sofa, having a cup of tea. The moment the female Death Scythe saw Luffy, a wide smile formed on her face as she stood up.

"Luffy!" Marie exclaimed. "Well, isn't this a nice surprise?"

"Hi, Marie!" Luffy said. "Good to see you again! Shishishi!"

"And you, too," Marie said before she looked down and saw Aika. "Well, now, who's this?"

"Marie, this is Aika," Maka said. "She's Luffy's younger sister."

"Hi," Aika greeted, smiling sweetly.

"Well, hi, Aika!" Marie said, crouching down to the six-year old girl's height level. "I'm Marie Mjolnir. It's very nice to meet you."

"You, too," Aika said.

"By the way, Marie," Luffy said.

"Yes, Luffy?" Marie asked as she stood up straight.

"I don't know what it is," Luffy started, "but…you seem different."

"Different?" Marie asked, although she had this knowing smile on her face. "How so, Luffy?"

"I dunno what it is," Luffy said. "It's just…you've got this…glow about you."

"Do I?" Marie asked. "Well, maybe it's because-"

KABOOM! An explosion shook the whole house, causing everyone to gasp in shock. A door opened, causing smoke to come billowing out. Everyone coughed as Shino went up to open the windows in order to let smoke out freely.

"Dammit!" Shino cursed, fanning away the smoke with his hat. "What just happened in there?!"

"Another experiment gone awry, Mister Kurohana."

Everyone turned to see Dr. Franken Stein and his adopted son, Crona, both of them smudged with soot on their faces and clothes. The former just nonchalantly twisted the screw in his head while the latter had a look of comic shock on his face.

"Hey, it's Professor Screw-head!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Luffy!" Maka cried. "Be respectful!"

"Ah…it's you, Luffy," Stein said as he kept twisting his screw. "I thought I heard your voice a moment ago."

Click!

"Ahh, that's better," Stein said as he felt his screw click into his skull.

"Hi, Luffy," Crona said, dusting the soot off his sleeves. "Good to see you, again."

"You, too, Crona!" Luffy said. "Oh! Crona! Screw-head! I want you to meet my sis!"

On that, Aika soon came and stood beside him.

"This is my sis, Aika," Luffy said.

"H-hi," Aika said, her confidence suddenly fading when she saw Stein.

"Aika, eh?" Stein asked.

"I didn't know you had a sister, Luffy," Crona said.

"He didn't even know until a few months ago," said Soul.

"Hi, Aika," Crona said, shyly. "I'm Crona."

"Hi, Crona," said Aika. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hey, wait a minute! You're forgetting about me, Crona!"

"Huh?" Aika muttered. "W-who said that?"

"I did, little girl!"

Suddenly, Crona grunted and twitched as his back started bulging, and not long after, a large, black figure jumped out of his skin and landed before Aika.

"BEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Ragnarok roared, standing on his two new legs.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Aika screamed as she ran and hid behind Luffy, who glared at Ragnarok, the weapon having a toothy grin.

"Real funny, Ragnarok," the Straw Hat Captain said, sarcastically as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Thank you," Ragnarok said, nonchalantly.

"It wasn't funny to poor Aika!" Maka scolded.

"Yeah, dude!" Jason added. "You scared her half-to-death!"

"Ah, come on!" Ragnarok said. "Why can't I have a little fun, once in a while?"

"Ragnarok, get back in my body, right now!" Crona said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ragnarok said as he soon fused with his Meister again…turning into his smaller, cuter form as he did.

"Oh…he looks…cuter!" Aika said. "Shishishishishi!"

"Hey!" Ragnarok said with an angry blush on his face. "I am not cute, you little twerp!"

"Now, now," Marie said. "Let's not fight. How about we all sit down and have some tea? Besides, Luffy, we could use this chance to catch up!"

"Sure!" Luffy said. "Shishishi!"

XXX

Later on, everyone is sitting down to some tea and cookies, and all the while, Luffy regaled the group with stories of his passed adventures, such as his battle in Dressrosa against Donquixote Doflamingo, and when he reunited with his other older brother, Sabo.

"You have another brother?" asked Kutaro.

"Yeah," Luffy said. "Until recently, I thought he was dead since 12 years ago. He just didn't find me and Ace because he lost his memory during that time."

"That's awful, Luffy," Maka said, sadly.

"And you're not mad at him for forgetting all about you?" Shino asked.

"I know I would be if he were my brother," Spike said.

"Nah, I'm not mad at Sabo," Luffy replied. "I could never be mad at him. Besides, he had a real bad shock. If I were him, I probably would've lost my memory, too."

"Makes sense, kinda," Arya mused.

"Plus, I have Aika, now, too," Luffy said. "She just…filled this void in my heart, you know? I'm not saying she's replacing Ace, it's just…"

"We understand, Luffy," Tsubaki said. "I'm sure having Aika around is a joy to have."

"It's not just a joy," Luffy said. "Now that I have Aika with me, it's a big responsibility. I have to be there to protect when she needs me most. Sure…I've never really been a big brother, before…but now that I am, I realize that maybe it's something I'm meant to be."

Everyone smiled at this…but then, the warm moment was interrupted by grunting sounds. Everyone turned to see Aika and Ragnarok, having a tug-of-war over a plate of Marie's fresh-baked cookies.

"Gimme back my cookies, Ragnarok!" Aika shouted.

"Who says they're yours?!" Ragnarok asked. "I saw 'em first!"

"They were on my plate!" Aika barked. "Gimme 'em!"

"Aika…Ragnarok…"

The fighting pair looked up to see Stein…giving them a rather ominous stare through his glasses, his right lens shining with the sunlight while the left eye glowered down at them.

"Let's not fight, all right?" asked the professor, a grin on his face. "Otherwise…I might have to dissect you both."

"Yes, sir!" Aika and Ragnarok squeaked in fear.

"Frank," Marie scolded while Stein twisted the screw in his head again.

"Ah, sorry," Stein said. "Damn, I just can't get this thing in right, can I?"

"Big Brother?" Aika asked. "Mister Screw-head is creepy."

"He is, but he's not a bad guy," Luffy smiled as he pet her head gently, causing her to look at him. He grinned and chuckled, causing her to smile back at him before she hugged him tightly. Upon seeing that, everyone felt their hearts melt.

Aika may've been in an entirely different world…but she knew that as long as she had Luffy with her, she'd be all right.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Sorry I took so long with this one. I've just been stuck for so long!

Anyway, review, please!