Chapter 6: Fight in the desert
After returning to the fireplace the group enjoyed the supper Sanji had cooked, Luffy even swallowed his full plate in an instant. "ARE YOU INSANE?" Nami, Usopp, Sanji and Chopper yelled when they saw that the plate stuck halfway his throat.
"How can you even breathe?" Ace asked slightly amused, after Luffy managed it to get the plate down his gorge and smiled happily before he asked for another full plate.
Short time later when the supper had been eaten the group pitched up their tents and went to sleep after Ace put out the fire. Soon there were snoring sounds heard from the tents.
In the middle of the night Ace woke up, because he sensed a fire source very close by the tents and he decided after some time, unable to get back to sleep, to have a look on it. When he stepped out into the cold night he saw that the fireplace was kindled and that Kid was lying before it. Upon closer inspection he noticed that she only had a very thin blanket. The cold air tickled his neck and as he saw Kid lying there he turned around and griped his blanket, before he approached Kid. After he had thrown his blanket over Kid he returned to his tent when he suddenly heard a: "Thank you."
"Don't flatter yourself...", Ace said in a cool tone turning to Kid again "I don't wanna hear you complaining tomorrow about having a cold!"
"And do you know what? You're just annoying as heck…", Kid teased with a bored undertone while pushing the second blanket aside.
"Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" Ace asked harshly, he was trying to be a bit friendlier because Kid saved his life in the desert, but she was bitching around all the time.
"You have no idea about my parents, so just get the fuck out of my sight." Kid snarled dangerously and glared furiously at Ace.
Ace knew that he just scratched on a nerve where he better shouldn't get on again. Kids glare still lingered on him when he returned into his tent, after he suddenly felt sleepy from the fresh air. So he closed the tent, laid down on his sleeping mat and fell asleep.
Although the sun was still hidden behind the horizon the Straw Hat Pirates were rudely awakened by a pot and a ladle. "Breakfast's ready?" came the first questions from three tents.
"No" answered Kid, who had pounded the pot with the ladle.
"So, don't let the bedbugs bite." Said Luffy, Usopp and Chopper while uneasy frowns where heard from the other tents of the Straw Hats.
"Oh good morning my shining star, did you sleep well?" Came the question from Sanji who looked out of his tent.
"The tent isn't comfy when the cold wind's blowing!" Nami complained stretching herself while she walked out of her tent.
"Next night I'll keep you warm Nami~Swan!" Sanji yelled madly in love, before he saw Robin coming out of her tent and he ran back into his tent.
"What time is it!" asked Zoro sleepy between two yawns, who still didn't show up after another din of the pot.
"Everyone listen! We wasted too much time yesterday! So we are leaving in 15 minutes!" Kid commanded before she realized the snores out of the four tents and she pounded again with the ladle on the pot screaming: "EY YOU DOZY DEVILS! GET OUT OF YOUR TENTS!"
"Alright! Alright!" murmured Luffy, Usopp and Chopper while Sanji hurried to Robin to bring her a cup of coffee.
While Sanji confessed his love to Robin Kid went to the tent where she didn't hear any responds yet. She opened the tent and pulled Aces' blanket, which she had thrown over him when he was asleep and yelled: "Get up!" but he just turned around, covered his ears with his pillow and continued snoring.
Kid pounded almost a whole minute against the pot (and with each second her rage grew stronger and stronger), until Ace woke up and mumbled sleepily : "…New anger management method?"
Kid, who actually appreciated the fact that Ace left her alone when he stood on one of her toes, really wanted to try not to explode, but that pirate just drove her to that point. After Kid had clobbered the ladle against Ace' head, she walked out of his tent murmuring death wishes.
Half an hour later the Straw Hats, Ace and Kid (who was annoyed as heck) left the rocks while the sun began to rise.
The sun was beating down mercilessly on the group, while they were wandering through the desert. The many groans from Luffy and Usopp didn't seem to bother Kid till Usopp yelled, after he looked through his binocular glasses: "Oi Kid there are some rock in this direction! Could we please have a break? The heat is killing me!" and pointed at them.
"Me too, and I'm still hungry!" Luffy supported the suggestion of his cannoneer.
Kid glanced in the direction where the rocks were and said: "Of course we can have a break" then she smiled a sly grin, "If you don't mind to be eaten by the desert dragons, which are coming after us!"
"W…WHAT?!" Nami, Usopp and Chopper screamed fearfully and Usopp watched anxious through his binocular glasses to the rocks before they took to their heels.
Luffy looked into the same direction as Usopp did and yelled: "COOL DRAGONS!" Luffy yelled excitedly, when he saw the desert dragons approaching them.
When Robin got into fighting stance to attack the dragons with her Devil Fruit powers Sanji said fondly: "Oh Robin~Chan you don't have to fight, my dearest, please go along and make sure that, my beloved Nami~Swan is save!"
"He's right; you should join the three cowards in case they get attacked!" Kid reinforced Sanjis love sick statement.
"Kitty~Kid you do love me, my shining star!" Sanji yelled overwhelmed with emotions of joy.
"I just don't want those wimps to be all defenseless if there show some creatures up!" Kid explained the obvious, but Sanji was in his own world, while Robin followed Nami, Usopp and Chopper.
"They look smaller than the one from yesterday." Ace commented when he noticed it, while the dragons flew closer towards them.
"Those are males, normally they are smaller and weaker, but because of their ego they always try to impress their females." Kid explained calmly.
"Doesn't matter they are still awesome as hell!" Luffy said still excited before all the dragons landed in a row on their rear legs.
"Okay then let's send them back to their females! FIRE FIST" Ace yelled after he clenched a burning fist, punched into the air towards the largest dragon and generated a firestorm.
The biggest dragon spat a huge inferno and blocked the firestorm; Ace changed his body into fire before the inferno swept across him.
"Idiot, those are dragons. You need to be a little bit more innovative than just attack them straight ahead with their own weapons!" Kid said snidely, before she drew her dagger and sprinted towards the biggest dragon, while Sanji and Zoro started to debate who could take out more dragons.
The dragon spat fire, while Kid swiftly swerved the flames before the others flew towards the rest of the group to attack them. When Kid was three meter away from the dragon, she jumped off the ground only to prop herself from the shoulder up to jab her dagger at under his jawline. The dragon roared in agony when Kid yanked the dagger out and slapped Kid away from his jaw, while Luffy punched a bunch of the smaller dragons by using the Gum Gum Gatling; Zoro and Sanji were still debating when they were attacked by three dragons and Zoro slashed two of them open, while Sanji jumped and kicked on the thirds head, what caused the dragons' skull to break; Ace on the other hand ran as close as possible to the dragons which attacked him and used the technique Fire Pillar and roasted the dragons' bellies. While Sanji and Zoro were slicing and kicking the dragons' in order to decide who the better fighter was, Kid has had escaped the flames when she pushed herself from the ground and landed on her feet some meters farther away. She turned around and saw the dragon passing higher and higher from her view. All a sudden it looked like the dragon returned in free fall, a moment Kid watched him falling before she ran away. The dragon slowed down by rolling three meters before he would hit the ground and followed Kid. As soon as the dragon was close enough it started again to spit fire. Kid dodged the flames by diving head along, pushing herself from the ground and turning a somersault in the air, before she jumped several cartwheels. While the flight path of the dragon passed Kid she jumped and held on the tail, which whipped dangerously through the air. In a blink of an eye the dragon flew vertically upwards, because that happened so abruptly Kid screamed in surprise when the air around her stood still for one second, before suddenly the air pricked like hundreds of pins on her skin. Kid clung on the scaly tail so she wouldn't fall off; while the dragon speeded up more and more the higher it flew. Kid started to swing back- and forwards, what was a simple act because the dragon concentrated fully on its speed, but on the other hand stung the air painfully. After Kid managed it to swing herself up to the dragons' unprotected belly, she jabbed her dagger into its leathery skin and the dragon roared: "GRROOARR!" before it slung Kid.
Kid tumbled towards the ground, made herself ready to roll when she would hit the ground, but then the dragon flapped its wings to curve and flew away. The blast of air by the stroke of wings let Kid spin out of her balance and she fell the last teen meters backwards.