*on the bed, having chills*
SHIN: (looks at lump on the bed) Poor Gene. (shakes her head and turned to the readers) Oh! You're here. Welcome to the Chapter Three of the 'Twin Thieves' and the second installment of the 'BITTER ARC'.
*moans*
SHIN: (points at Gene) She's having a flu. A-nasty-cold-turned-flu type. She fought an ice-cold weather up the mountain and she won. She also won the nasty cold which evolved into flu.
*groans*
SHIN: (saw Twin Thieves' one and only review) Oi, Gene, a review. (reads) Oh, thank you, Ho-ho-Noa-san. You're the very first review of this story. Gene would be so happy if she doesn't have flu right now. About the pairings, I'll have two pairings: ZoLu and SanNa. Well, that's what I have in mind while I was thinking and writing this story.
DISCLAIMER:
SHIN: No, she does not own.
CHAPTER THREE: REALITY CHECK
LIFE…
Would be so meaningful
If one puts meaning
So happy, exciting and lasting.
An aching back and a throbbing head. That's the first thing Luffy felt when he woke up. Disoriented, tried to process where he is and what happened, when he did, his eyes grew wide and sparkled with unshed tears, he wiped them with the back of his right hand. Or that would happen if the said hand were not being squeeze to death by another hand that that was not his. Stiffly, he turned his eyes towards the owner of the hand and saw a bloodied face and a dress of a girl, scared that the girl must be dead; he tried to wake her up by shaking her hand grasping his.
"Hey." he said softly.
To his relief, the girl shifts and, after a few seconds, opens her eyes. She wipes her eyes with her other hand and groggily asked, "Where~?"
Big mistake. Happenings of last night flashed through her mind and, petrified, she shrieked and crawled backwards. Having forgotten that they're on a bench, stumbles out of it. With Luffy on tow.
Big mistake number two. When Luffy fell down with the girl, he saw the shack and remembers. He screamed. Both of them, relieving their own nightmare and forgetting their manners, yelled at the same time when they saw each other. They sprang apart at a record speed and stared at each other. The girl, Luffy realized, must be older than him by a year or two. Minutes passed and only the singing of the birds could be heard, Luffy spoke, "Who're you?"
The girl looked at him, up and down. Tattered clothes and slippers are his ensembles. "Nami. And you?"
"Monkey D. Luffy." he answered. Still looking at the shack and wondering if he'll go back inside and smell that gagging stench of his brother. Nami traced his stare and softly asked, "Who's he?"
He looked at her and blankly answered, "My brother."
DEATH…
Would be so mournful
If dearest one will past away,
San, lonely and hypertensive
If one accepts it into ending.
Two days passed after the horrible nightmare, policemen found two bodies in separate place: one raped and killed and the other brutally murdered. Reports said that these two have children with living with them, but they never found any children's bodies. Many said that the children were whisked away and killed somewhere by the killers and some said that they were just missing.
Policemen preferred the latter.
Luffy and Nami, the alleged dead children or reported missing ones, were somewhere in downtown and wandering nowhere. They both decided that they must go away from there or the killers will hunt them down. Or in Luffy's case that will happen and Nami couldn't leave him alone because of fear. Must go far away to forget it and start from the very scratch. But who could forget such happening to their beloved love ones? No one.
For Nami. Muffled screames, shaking of the bed and dripping of blood were symptoms of a horrible nightmare. Because of that silhouette.
For Luffy. Cracking of a branch, footsteps running and the gagging smell of blood were his. All because of that shadow.
Contemplating about that, they have forgotten to do something: eat breakfast. So, it's no surprise when they heard the grumbling of each other's stomachs. They stop-dead on their tracks and gawked at each other. 'Who would feed us?' the thought keeps running on their minds. Nightmare or no nightmare, they must eat in order to live and start all over again.
Nami, while finding a solution for the one of their problems, sighted a man not too far from their position. Checking him, Nami nodded and turned to Luffy and told him to stay put and wait. Luffy frowned, confused as to what she'll do. Nami composed herself and strode purposely towards the man….
And passed him.
She went back to Luffy. "Go and walk. Don't look back." And walked he did.
"Nami, what did you do?" he asked, still confused.
She showed him a wallet. "We'll have food"
Luffy frowned. "What?"
Nami turned to him. "I snatched his wallet."
LIFE and DEATH…
Would be the beginning and the ending
So great to have but desperate to loose
Today, you're here; tomorrow, you're gone
But only He, who knows where and when…
MUSIC: Hideaway by dream
SHIN: Let us pray for the Gene's health. (prays)
(groans) I'm not dying.
SHIN: Yeah, I can see that.
Shush, you! Awww…my head.
SHIN: If Gene's health becomes better, next installment shall be tomorrow. R&R