Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Honestly, if I did, it would go to hell in a spectacular ball of flames. That's how bad it would be.
"Luffy-san! Zoro-san!"
They looked up from their conversation to see a pink-haired boy walking towards them. An excited smile spread across Luffy's face. "Coby!"
Coby made himself comfortable on a chair next to them. "Hi, guys."
As Luffy and Coby struck up a conversation, Zoro looked over the youngest boy. He was taller than last time, and definitely more confident. The boy used to be a stuttering, shy mess.
"What mischief have you gotten yourself into since I was last here?"
Luffy immediately launched into an animated explanation of what they'd done since Coby's last visit. Zoro raised an eyebrow at the teen's enthusiasm. All morning Luffy had been more subdued than usual. Compared to his usual bubbly personality, Zoro could safely say that Luffy was depressed.
Yet, now he was back to normal, if not more excited than usual. It was a strangely quick change.
"—and then Zoro got lost, so we got caught!" Luffy pouted. Zoro focused back onto the conversation and saw that Coby was chuckling at his idol's story.
"We wouldn't have gotten caught if you hadn't been laughing like a damn lunatic, you moron."
The teen frowned at Zoro. "But I was having fun. Of course I was laughing." He looked at the swordsman as if he were the idiot. Zoro only rolled his eyes.
"What is this?!"
Zoro and Luffy looked up at the high-pitched shriek. It came from an abnormally large lady standing at one of the other tables in the lounge. There was a small boy next to her, nervously scuffing his shoes on the floor. The woman shoved a large finger in front of the boy's face.
"Dust! I thought I told you to clean this table before I sat here!"
"But I did—"
"Shut up! A beautiful woman like me deserves a spotless place to sit! Clean it again, you little shit, and by the time I come back there better not be a single smudge left!
She walked off in the direction of the cafeteria, and the boy was left shaking and rubbing his hands anxiously on his pants.
Zoro scowled. There were a lot of bastards like that here, who thought they were better than everyone else. Although, while Zoro could hardly fault them for it as it was a part of their illnesses, the swordsman had little patience for them.
He was suddenly yanked up, and was barely able to catch his footing and keep himself from falling. He looked at the person responsible and found it was Luffy. Of course. Who else? Luffy was pulling him over to the boy at the table.
They stopped in front of him, and the boy looked up at them nervously.
Luffy grinned. "Hi! I'm Luffy, and this is Zoro!"
"Uh..h-hi. I'm…I'm Coby."
The cheerful teen plopped down onto a seat next to the table, and said, "Man, that lady was loud. Ugly, too. Who was she?"
Coby started, and began fidgeting. "That's…that's Lady Alvida. You sh-shouldn't call her u-ugly, she gets r-really mad when p-p-people insult her appearance. She thinks she's th-the m-most wonderful person o-on earth."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Narcissistic personality disorder?"
Coby nodded, then grimaced. "I-I...I shouldn't be talking about it to you. She's r-really sensitive about her d-disorder. And I n-n-need to clean the t-table again anyways."
"Why?" Luffy was frowning. "Why do you listen to her? Why can't she do it herself?"
"W-well, that's…"
Luffy stood, a determined look on his face. "You don't have to listen to her. She can't order you around."
"But—"
"No. You're not her slave, she can clean her own damn table. She has no right to treat you like that."
Luffy had an angry light in his eyes that Zoro had never seen before. Coby looked shocked that someone would get so worked up for his sake.
Just then, Alvida came sauntering back into the room. She sneered at Luffy and Zoro.
"What the hell are you doing here? This is my table. Get lost."
Luffy only crossed his arms. "No."
Alvida was shocked. "No?"
"No," Luffy repeated. "I can sit wherever the hell I want."
The woman turned purple with rage. She whirled around to face Coby. "You," she hissed. "Why did you let them come here?"
Coby look terrified. "I-I-I—"
"Don't be scared of her Coby."
The young boy looked up at Luffy, surprised. Zoro figured that he'd never stood up for himself; he'd always been afraid. The green-haired teen decided not to say anything and see how everything would play out. Coby stared at Luffy for a few moments, then seemed to be inspired by something in Luffy's expression. His face hardened in determination, and he faced Alvida, albeit with that lingering fear still showing in his eyes. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"You're a big, ugly hag, Alvida! You're mean and rotten! I do what you say without question, and you still treat me like shit! But not anymore," Coby shuddered and whispered his next sentence. "I don't take orders from selfish bitches."
There was absolute silence. The entire room had focused on them during Coby's shouting.
Zoro nodded resolutely. It was about time the kid did something for himself. He'd seen the woman and Coby in the lounge and cafeteria occasionally. It was always the same. Coby was always like a frightened little puppy, with an abusive master.
Alvida stood stock still. "Why, you—"
She took a step towards Coby, but Luffy placed himself in front of her. He glared at her, and Zoro could honestly say that he'd never seen anything more terrifying.
"Don't you dare take another step."
Alvida couldn't resist a shudder at the dangerous tone. Zoro finally stepped forward. "I think it's about time you leave." She looked at him, then huffed and stomped out of the room. There was a long, awkward silence.
"I'm hungry."
This, of course, came from Luffy, and the tense atmosphere was shattered. Everyone went back to their previous activities, periodically glancing back at them.
Coby stood there, staring at his shoes. "Th-thank you, Luffy-san."
Luffy smiled at him. "No need to thank me. You're the one who told her off."
Zoro snorted. "About time someone put her in her place." He smirked at Coby. "Well done, by the way."
Coby turned red, and looked back at his shoes.
"Thank you."
Luffy pouted. "You're leaving already?"
"Yes, Luffy-san. I promised Helmeppo that I'd help him unpack."
"Unpack?"
Coby turned to Zoro. "Yeah, he just moved in with me." He grinned excitedly. "We're roommates now!"
Zoro shook his head. "Make sure that pompous brat doesn't try anything." Coby laughed. "Zoro-san, he's not so bad anymore. And even if he was, he couldn't hurt me."
The swordsman smiled. Coby really had grown.
As Coby departed, Luffy waved wildly, both hands making big sweeping motions. Zoro smirked at his friend's actions. Once Coby's car was out of sight, the younger teen turned to Zoro.
"Wanna go mess with Smoker?"
They started walking back to the cafeteria.
"You know, one of these days, Smoker isn't going to let you get away with your mischief. He does have the authority to put you under room arrest, after all."
His response was a pout and a childish huff. Luffy grumbled something unintelligible under his breath. They walked in comfortable silence until they reached their destination. They opened the doors, and were immediately assaulted by the sounds of loud chattering. The cafeteria was wide, with a large number of circular tables scattered around.
They found their way to the window that showed the kitchens. A man with an eccentric, pompadour hairstyle was behind the counter and waved as they approached.
"Yo, Luffy, Zoro!
Luffy bounded over with a large smile on his face. "Hey, Thatch!" Zoro followed at a much more leisurely pace, and nodded at the man in greeting. Luffy was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "What's for dinner today? Does it have meat? Can I have the leftovers when everyone's done? What—"
Thatch laughed. "Calm down, kid. We're having steak so, yes, it has meat. And we'll see about the leftovers." He gave them each a plate and waved them off.
The moment they sat down, Luffy began stuffing the food into his mouth. Zoro would never understand how the teen ate such an enormous amount of food without bursting. One would think he could stretch.
"Hey, Ace, that's my meat!"
Zoro sighed. It seemed Luffy was arguing with 'Ace' again. Luffy was holding his plate close to him, glaring at the space to his right. As Luffy continued the quarrel with his supposed brother, Zoro leaned back and closed his eyes. The black-haired boy often spoke to thin air, allegedly communicating with his siblings, 'Ace' and 'Sabo'. Zoro had asked Marco about it, but the guard only adopted a surprisingly sad expression and said that he should ask Luffy.
However, the elder male didn't want to bother Luffy about it, nor did he want to get the story from someone else. He figured it would be a sensitive subject. If Luffy wanted to talk to him about it, he'd be there. Until then, he could wait.
"Dammit, Ace! Give it back!"
Happy (early) New Year to you all! Hope you have a great start for 2014. :)
About Alvida; if you or anyone you know has NPD, and are offended by the way I wrote her, then I am so very sorry. Please tell me how someone would act if they have that particular disorder, because I am only writing her how I imagine someone would act. My only reference is reading about the disorder and its symptoms.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thank you sooo much for your support and encouragement. I especially appreciate your reviews; they make my day, and they're what motivate me to write. They're the reason I wrote this chapter so soon. Until next time!
-Spoons