Well, finally Mamori talks to Chopper. I'm sure all of you have been waiting for it.
"No, nope, no way. I don't know anything about it," Luffy denied as he waved his hand in front of his face whilst looking away and whistling. "Not at all. Not me."
A large grin spread across my muzzle as I watched the scene, relaxing back on my hinds as the boat sailed on.
"Hey, why do you keep looking away? Look straight into my eyes," Sanji told him as he stood in front of Luffy. "Now let me ask you. How is it that the rations for nine that I had saved up to take us to Alabasta suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night?"
Luffy didn't say anything so Sanji knelt down in front of him, gripping his face and tilting it to the side. "Resistance is futile, you'd be a terrible poker player... Hey, there's something around your mouth."
"CRAP! LEFTOVERS!" Luffy yelped as he pulled his head back and used his hands to cover his mouth.
"IT WAS YOU!" Sanji screamed as he kicked Luffy violently across the deck, sending him flying straight by me.
My body shook with silent laughter at the whole ordeal, although this wasn't the drugged up laughter from the night before. This was genuine laughter; the drugs had worn off thankfully. I had woken up a little groggy not long ago but I was fully alert again now.
'I shall not accept drugs from strangers anymore,' I vowed to myself for the tenth time.
"Oh, Nami! Can you believe that asshole? You gotta buy me a refrigerator with a lock!" Sanji cooed at Nami.
"…Yeah, I'll think about it. Our lives probably depend on it," She sighed as she looked to the side of the boat.
I noticed that Vivi was also looking that way so I turned my head to see what they were looking at, still only being able to use one eye due to the annoying bandage around my face.
I blinked in confusion as I saw Usopp, Chopper, and the duck on the side of the boat with fishing rods out the side. What's so weird about it? It took me a few more seconds to notice that they were all shaking and look to be chewing as well….
'Hahaha!' I giggled. 'Them too? Sanji is going to be pissed.'
A few minutes later found Usopp, Chopper, and Carue twitching on the deck, matching bumps on their heads. The rest of us were sprawled around listening as Vivi began to explain something.
"Hero?" Nami questioned her. "Crocodile is the hero of Alabasta!"
"Basically the 'Shichibukai' are pirates working for the World Government," Vivi explained. "Whether the Shichibukai crush pirates for treasure or the Marines crush pirates in the name of justice, the people's gratitude doesn't change. After all, their town's attackers are driven away."
"I get it now…" Sanji muttered. "So the people would never even dream that the hero of Alabasta is actually trying to take control of their country."
"So cut out Crocodile!" Luffy called out as he pumped his fist. "I just need to kick his ass, right!"
"Yes… First we'll stop the rebellion," Vivi confirmed. "If we can drive the Baroque Works out of Alabasta… My country will be saved."
"Wait, hold on," Usopp butted in. "How the heck does this Baroque Works' system work anyways? Mr. this and Miss. that…"
"The system is simple," Vivi told Usopp. "At the top is Crocodile… 'Mr. Zero'. There are thirteen 'agents' who take orders directly from the boss, 12 men and 1 animal. All their names are 'Mr.' plus a number. They are paired with female agents who compliment their particular powers. Mr. Thirteen and Miss. Friday are special in that they punish other agents for failure. All the agents above Mr. Five and up are called 'officer agents'. Most of them have devil fruit powers; they don't act unless that business is extremely important. Below them are the frontier agents, they command the basic units. Their job is to raise funds for the company around the entrance to the Grand Line. That is the secret criminal organization 'Baroque Works' in a nutshell."
My nose crinkled more and more the further she got into the speech. I had a very basic understanding of this already, minus most of the details. While she had been talking I had been quietly glancing at our new crew member, Chopper. After my 'off my face' moment last night I hadn't got to meet him at all. I haven't even had a chance to have my stare off with him.
"I get it now! Look out Crocodile!" Luffy yelled once more as he got excited. "I just need to kick his ass, right!"
"You didn't understand a word she said did you?" Sanji deadpanned.
"Then that means… If the takeover of Alabasta is the Baroque Works' final plan… Then, the 'officer agents' should all be…" Nami started to mumble.
"Yes… They will all be together," Vivi answered for her.
I sighed and shook my head. I didn't see why they were worrying so much about it right now. What will happen, happens. Simple. I gently pushed myself back up to my feet and waddled over to where Usopp and Chopper were, planning to go meet our new crew member.
"Hey Mamori," Usopp greeted me as I sat down in front of him and Chopper, my head inclining in greeting towards them. I then set my one blue eye on the reindeer, watching him eerily as I tried to get a good reading of him.
I saw the sweat breaking out on his head as he wiggled around a bit under my scrutiny.
"H-hello…" Chopper spluttered as he stared at me wide eyed, like he was ready to run any second.
'He's a bit flighty,' I snorted to myself as I tried to flash him a smile to reassure him.
"I-I'm not flighty!" Chopper snapped back at me.
My brain came to a screeching halt as I stared awkwardly at him for a few seconds.
'...Wait… What… Did he read my mind!' I yelped as I stared at him, the hairs on the back of my neck rising up slightly.
"I didn't read your mind! You just told me!" He argued much to my shock.
'O-Oh… Oh. Oh!...' Was all I could splutter at him as silence echoed between the two of us. I could see Usopp watching us curiously out of the corner of my eye. 'Y-you know what I am saying!… Or thinking… However you look at it…'
"…Yes…" He answered, unnerved by my reaction.
'Oh… Oh my…' I gulped to myself before scurrying nervously up to my feet. I then dipped my head before blubbering, 'I-I'm sorry but I gotta go!'
With that said I spun around and my heels and scrambled awkwardly away, my mind a flurry with a million thoughts spinning through it at once.
I pressed my face against the wood of the cabin as the sounds of the waves echoed around me. My breathing was hitched and slightly panicked as I tried to calm myself down a little.
'Oh no, no, no!' I moaned as my ears pressed themselves back against my skull. 'This shouldn't be happening! This can't be happening!'
I squeezed my eyes closed as I tried to control my flow of emotions that were assaulting me.
'What am I going to do! What will they think if they find out… What happens if I let my old identity slip out in front of Chopper… To them I am just a dog. I act like a dog around them all the time; I've slept over their legs, slept on their beds, licked them, and nipped them! What would they do if they found I used to be human?' I mentally debated. 'I'm not a human anymore. Mamori and Braylie are like two whole different people… I don't want them to think any different of me or to treat me any different…'
I gently peeled my head off the wood, casting my gaze out the back of the boat where I was sitting while I watched the blue sea that was spread all around us. My chest heaved with a deep intake of breath before I slowly let it out in a sigh.
'This is not good…' I sighed to myself. 'So not good…'
It was the day after my freak out; I had hidden from the others for the rest of yesterday and this afternoon. I felt like a huge bitch already. God knows what Chopper thought of me. Or what the others thought over the whole thing. Chopper probably thought I hated him because he was neither human nor animal… A 'monster' as he calls himself. That truly wasn't the case, it was nothing like that. I'm more of a monster for letting him feel that way for my own selfish reasons.
I couldn't bring myself to apologize though. I just couldn't. What if I said something wrong? What would he think of me for being a human in an animal's body? What if the others found out?
A sigh echoed out of my chest as I stuck my head around the corner of the cabin, watching some of the others down on the deck. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper all seemed to be giggling about something.
'What trouble have they gotten themselves into now,' I sighed gloomily. 'I should really go try and talk to him… What harm could it do? I don't need to tell him anything about myself…'
I hesitated, my tail dropping listlessly in-between my legs as I mentally battled myself. In the end I slipped back around the corner of the building and went back to hiding somewhere. I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I felt bad. I felt so, really, really extremely bad and guilty.
It had been just about five days now. Five days since I figured out Chopper could talk and I'd avoided him like a leper for the last few days. Most of the time Chopper seemed to be with the others as well, making me have to avoid them all like lepers as well. I had gotten some odd looks from all of them and they had tried to come to me a few times, but I had the advantage over them. My hearing allowed me to hear them coming from a far distance, giving me enough time to slip away and hide somewhere from their sight.
I felt like a real bitch though, Chopper hadn't done anything to deserve my shunning of him...
'I shouldn't keep this up…' I sighed as I rolled over onto my side. 'I need to suck it up… So what if they know? So what if it slips out? There's nothing I can do to change that fact. Mind you, I've been saying that the last five days and it doesn't seem like I am going to do anything any time soon.'
I blinked sadly a few times, the top of the bed I was hiding under swimming in my vision. Yes, I was hiding under a bed. A very, very childish thing to do admittedly.
I heard a lot of commotion coming from up on the deck, almost tempting me out of my hiding place. It then went silent for a bit longer before the sound picked up yet again. I crawled out of my hiding place, stalking quietly up to the door as my ears twitched. It sounded like there was a stranger on board… What the?
I jumped up so that my front paws rested on the door handle before I wiggled my paws to twist the door knob and unlatched the door.
The door swung open on the deck to an odd sight. I noticed that everyone was on the deck and there was some odd dude dressed like a swan….
"THIS IS MY POWER!" He cried as he dove towards Luffy. I watched in confusion and anger as he slammed his palm straight into Luffy's face, sending Luffy flying back past me.
"LUFFY!" Everyone on the deck gasped as Zoro and I sprang into action.
"What are you…" Zoro gritted out as he slipped in an attack position, pulling his katana out.
I bolted across the decking as I headed straight for the weird swan guy, my ears flat back as my eye flashed dangerously.
"WAAAIT! WAAAIT! WAAAIT! I told you this was my show!" The swan guy called out in Luffy's voice… No Luffy was wearing his clothes… But Luffy was back behind me…
'What the fuck is this!' I snarled as I skidded to a stop in front of the swan version of Luffy, the hairs on my tail standing up as I growled softly.
"What!" I heard Zoro gasp from behind me as he also halted his attack.
"Stooooop joking aroouuuund!" The Luffy version of the swan called out in Luffy's voice.
I was beyond confused now. Why is it that nothing normal can happen on this bloody ship!
"HUH! It's me!" Luffy yelped as he scrambled back up behind me.
"They're identical!" Usopp cried out as he watched from the distance.
"Surprised? Surprised? Gaaahahaha!" Swan Luffy laughed as he touched his face with his left hand as his face changed back. "Touch my left hand and it goes back to normal! This is the power of my 'Mane-Mane' fruit!"
"The voice…" Nami muttered.
"Even the physique was the same!" Usopp pointed out as his jaw dropped.
"Woooah! Cool!" Luffy called out in awe as I continued to growl and eye the new person suspiciously.
"Well, it's not necessary to punch you for it to work," Mr. Swan guy said as he walked around and touched Usopp's, Chopper's, Nami's, and Zoro's faces as well. When he came to me and tried to reach down to touch me, I dodged back out of the way, yanking my head away from him. I then shot forward, snapping my jaws at his fingers but he managed to pull his hand away in time to save himself from a nip.
"Nasty doggy, that was rude…" He muttered at me as he scrutinized me.
'I'll give you fucking rude,' I spat back as I pulled back my gums to flash all my teeth quickly at him. 'Who the hell are you!'
He shook his head and turned back to face the others as his face shifted to between Usopp, Zoro, Chopper, and Nami, "If I just touch your face with my right hand I can imitate anyone just like this!"
"And your bodies too," He said as he yanked open his top while in Nami's form.
'Sweet mother have mercy!' I yelped as I swung my head away from him, the sight burning my mind. 'I didn't need to see that!'
BANG
"Stop it!" Nami shrieked as she hit Mr. Swan over the head.
"Ouchie!" He whined as a large bumped showed up on his head after he turned back to normal.
"I'm so sorry but that's all I can show yo-" He started to say but was cut off.
"You're awesome!" Luffy called out as Chopper, Usopp, and himself sat in front of the Swan guy.
"Do some more!" Chopper joined in with Luffy.
"Veeeery well!" He swung. "I've also got perfect memory!"
I noticed that Zoro and Nami had moved aside, the latter sitting down and lying against the boat while Nami just leaned against the railing. I slunk over in their direction, plonking my weight down on my ass as I continued to glare at the Swan guy.
"Every face I've touch…" He said as his face switch between all sorts of different faces. "I've never forgotten one!"
"Ridiculous," Zoro snorted from beside me and a huffed in agreement.
"How do you like my super-special talent!" Mr. Swan sung out as he changed back to himself and spun around. "I never usually show people!"
"COOOL!" Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper all called out.
Next thing I knew, the four had their arms linked over and they were kicking their legs while singing some nonsense tune. I watched them all pissily, my tail slapping against the deck in annoyance. They didn't even know this guy! How could he be safe?
"Someone kill them," Nami hissed as she turned away from the sight before pointing to something on the horizon. "Hey! There's a ship coming this way! Is it yours?"
The swan guy quickly detached himself from the others and sprung neatly up onto the railing as he smiled back down to us.
"Oh me my me, it's time for me to go already! Too bad," He sighed sadly. "Do not be sad my babies! Separation is inevitable. Never forget me!"
"AWWWW!" Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy cried out at his farewell.
"Length of time means nothing to true friendship," He pointed out as tears gathered in the corner of his eyes.
I glanced to the side and shared a deadpan look with Zoro. This was getting beyond ridiculous.
"WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN!" Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp all yelled to him, waving as he jumped back onto his boat.
"Let's go lovies!" The odd swan guy called to his crew as they started to sail off at a fast pace.
"Yes sir!" His crew answered. "Mr. Two Bon Clay, Sir!"
Silence echoed around the deck as everyone seemed to slowly process what his crew just said as they disappeared on the horizon.
"MR. TWO!" Everyone but Vivi and I gasped.
"That was… Mr. Two Bon Clay!" Vivi yelped in shock.
"Vivi!" Luffy called up to her. "You didn't recognize him!"
"No… I've never met Mr. Two or the Mr. One pair," Vivi wailed in despair as she collapsed to her knees. "I didn't know that he had any powers either! But I did hear rumors about him… That he was a huge okama*, talked like an okama, wore a swan coat which had 'Okama way' written on his back…"
"You should have noticed," Usopp, Zoro, and Luffy pointed out bluntly as I shook my head.
"One of those past faces he showed off from memory was my father's!" Vivi cried out. "What in the world… Will he use my father's face to do…!"
"Well, if you got to be ruler, he could definitely do some bad things with it…" Zoro theorized out loud.
"We just let a dangerous guy get away," Usopp felt like adding, as if we didn't already know that.
"He was our enemy…?" Chopper finally asked in confusion.
"Well… He will be dangerous if he turns into an enemy!" Nami said. "Assuming he finds out we're his enemies. If he uses his memory to turn into one of us… We won't be able to trust each other."
'And that is why I didn't let the creeper touch me…' I sighed to myself although I saw Chopper throw me a glance out of the corner of my eye.
"Really?" Luffy asked, dumbfounded.
"Wait a minute," Zoro interrupted with a smirk. "She may have a point, but there's no need to be afraid of him. I think we're lucky that we met him. Now we can use counter-measures."
Everyone on the deck was being loud again, but that was nothing unusual around this ship. But this time something felt wrong so with a sigh I crawled out under the kitchen table and walked up to the door.
Jumping up on my back legs I opened the door again like last time, pushing it open and walking around to bow of the ship where everyone else was.
I mentally deadpanned at what I saw. There were at least a dozen marine ships on the horizon.
"Alright! L-Let's shoot 'em down with the cannon!" Usopp declared as he pointed at them.
"No, it would be faster to go over there and kick their asses!" Luffy objected, waving his arms. "No wait, I need to eat first!"
"Stop getting so worried, they're nothing," Zoro interrupted them, leaning back against the railing.
"Yeah, all of us lost sight of out true objective. There's only nine of us," Sanji started to explain
I looked around, a bit confused as to what was going on. I needed to stop hiding so much and get more involved in things.
"So tie them on tight," Zoro instructed as he used his teeth to pull the bandage on his arm tighter.
Everyone else was back on the main deck around the mast, tying their own bandages on their arms. For me it was on my front leg, I had gotten Nami to tie it on for me after she took off my other bandages. I have a small scar above my eye from the cut, but my vision was fine.
"I see…" Vivi hummed as she looked at her own bandage.
"As long as we can see these, we don't need to doubt each other," Nami said with a smile at our plan.
"Does he really look like us that much?" Sanji asked, having not been out on the deck when the swan guy came aboard. "When he does that 'Mane Mane Fruit' thing…"
"He doesn't look like us," Usopp snorted. "He is us. Too bad, you really should have seen it."
"I'm not interested in okamas," Sanji snorted as he lit a smoke.
"Now that we know he's among the enemy we can't allow for any careless individual actions," Zoro pointed out and I flinched in guilt. I know for a fact that the tension between Chopper and myself had not gone unnoticed and if I kept up that attitude I currently have it could get us in trouble.
"Hey, what should I do!" Chopper questioned Zoro, much like an eager puppy.
"Just do what you can, nothing else," Usopp lectured, making a pose. "Run away from enemies you can't beat! Just do your best!"
"You're just telling that to yourself," Sanji sighed.
"Quack!" Carue agreed with Usopp.
"What I can do… Got it!" Chopper concluded. I fought the urge to deadpan; Usopp was already corrupting poor Chopper.
'If you run into any trouble we'll help you, just ask. You don't have to do it all yourself, we all seem to work better as a team,' I said shyly after a short moment of hesitation.
Chopper jumped when I addressed him, spinning around to look at me with wide, shocked eyes.
"O-Okay," He stuttered as he continued to stare.
"Did Mamori say something to you?" Usopp asked Chopper, looking back and forth between us.
"Y-Yeah… She said that if I run into any trouble you guys will help me if I ask…" He replied nervously, still shocked about me talking to him.
Usopp looked at me with wide eyes before recovering and declaring, "That's right! Captain Usopp with save any of his followers if they need it! What real man wouldn't?"
I deadpanned again before slithering over to Zoro and sitting beside him. I think I'd said enough for now… At least I was being friendly.
"We're coming up to the harbor," Nami announced. "Let's stop in that inlet to the West. We have to hide the ship."
"Okay! Whatever happens from now on, this left arm…" Luffy started to say as everyone got up and moved into a circle on the deck, putting their left arm into the circle. Chopper and I both jumped up onto a crate as I sat back in a begging position and stuck my left leg awkwardly out. "Is proof of our friendship. Now! Let's go onto dry land! TO A RESTAURANT! Then to Alabasta!"
"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOT!" Nami screamed in reply causing me to sigh.
"What should we do? Nanohana is a large town," Vivi question us all as we stood around the front of the boat, finally in solid ground again. As soon as the boat had docked Luffy had took off before we had so much as had time to blink and he started screaming about food while he ran off. Idiot. "It will be very hard to search for Luffy!"
"Don't worry Vivi, we'll just look for the noisiest spot in town and he'll be there," Sanji consoled her and I mentally laughed at how accurate his statement was.
"Haha!" Usopp laughed as well. "You got that right!"
"Anyways," Nami interrupted. "I wish he would pay more heed to the bounty on his head, especially in a big country like this."
"Just let him take care of himself," Zoro butted in. "Let's go eat. We can think things through after that."
"Wait!" Vivi gasped, indicating to another ship hidden in the cove. "That's Mr. Three's ship!"
"What!" Some of the others yelped as I stared suspiciously at it.
"Hold on… You mean he's not dead…!" Usopp mumbled.
"That ship can only move through the power of the Doru Doru* fruit. He must be in the kingdom," Vivi explained.
"All the more reason to hurry up and get Luffy and food supplies," Nami sighed. "But if Mr. Three is anywhere around here someone should watch the boat."
Zoro's eyes automatically flicked over to me and the others eyes followed him. I twitched, glowering at the green haired man. Really! They were going to try and leave me behind again?
"Please Mamori?" Nami cooed, clasping her hands together.
I glanced to the side, avoiding her gaze as I sweat dropped.
"Please?" She asked again and I audibly sighed before turning my gaze towards Chopper.
'Tell them I'll do it, please,' I asked him, still a bit unnerved about being able to talk to someone else. 'But they'd better bring me back something to eat and they'd better not get in too much trouble.'
With that said I quickly spun around and trotted up to the boat, easily launching myself off the ground and back up into it. I heard Chopper conveying my message in the background as I found a comfortable spot on the front deck where I could watch for any people coming towards the boat.
I listened lazily as they left, finally giving me a chance to think to myself again.
'So… Things are going to blow up soon again it seems,' I sighed to myself. 'I can hardly remember anything about this whole arc… And nothing after it has finished. I only remember sand, lots of it. Heat, desert, Crocodile, huge crocodiles, and something about some birds. All the facts that I can recall are really vague, leaving a lot to my imagination. I'm very useful, no?'
"Hurry up! The marines are coming!" I heard a loud voice call out, causing me to snap to attention. I quickly scrambled up to my feet, stumbling a bit as I woke up from my nap. "Get on and raise the anchor!"
"Man! I never thought I'd meet Ace here!" I heard Luffy muse to himself.
I braced my paws against the railing of the ship as I started at them all with wide eyes, confusion clouding my mind.
Most of the crew seemed to scramble back up into the boat, issuing orders quickly as they tried to set sail quickly. I flicked my gaze around them all; not fully understanding what was going on yet.
My attention was snagged by Vivi and Carue who had yet to board the ship; it looked like the two were talking about something. I caught a few words like 'father', 'desert' and 'Alabasta'. Vivi then handed Carue a note and I watched as Carue took off running away from the ship.
My confusion doubled as I attempted to kick start my sleep clogged brain, but I was interrupted when I noticed Usopp struggling to tie to some of the ropes. With a jumbled shake of my head I pushed away from the railing and ran over to Usopp.
"Brother! That guy back there was your brother!" Usopp yelped as we all stood before Luffy.
"Yep, he's my brother!" Luffy chirped as he perched on the railing.
"Well I'm not surprised you have a brother," Zoro admitted as he stood before Luffy. "But what is he doing out on the Grand Line?"
I tilted my head, waiting for Luffy's reply. I remember something about a guy called Ace that was Luffy's brother… But the name was the only thing I knew.
"He's a pirate," Was Luffy's reply. "He's looking for One Piece. Ace is three years older than me so he left the island 3 years earlier."
"What are the odds of both of you having Devil Fruit powers?" Sanji snorted, shaking his head.
"I know! I was surprised too! Haha!" Luffy laughed as Usopp also shook his head.
The thought of Luffy's brother scared me actually. I don't think I could keep up with two of Luffy… Lord help the world.
"He hadn't eaten one before," Luffy claimed. "Even then, I could never beat him in a fight. Ace is really strong!"
"Not even once? Against a regular human!" Nami yelped.
"The monster's brother must be one hell of a monster," Usopp theorized.
"Yeah! I always got my ass kicked!" Luffy laughed.
'I don't think that's something to brag about Luffy,' I sighed to myself before jumping a bit when I remembered about Chopper, glancing to the side. I meet Chopper's eyes as he watched me curiously, jumping when I looked at him too. He quickly looked away and I done the same. Things between us were going to be a bit awkward for a while I see…
"But I could beat him now!" Luffy added on.
"That's a groundless statement," Zoro pointed out.
"Who…" An airy voice asked for seemingly nowhere causing me to jump up to all four feet with a start. Suddenly a youngish man landed on the railing besides Luffy, causing him to fall off. He was wearing only a pair of shorts and an odd, orange cowboy hat. My hackles went up straight away at the sight of a stranger on the boat, causing me to take a step forward with a soft growl. These kinds of things never ended well. "Can you beat?"
"Woah!" Luffy yelped. "ACE!"
'This is his brother?' I asked myself, taking a step back on dropping off my growling. I kept a careful eye on the stranger though.
"Yo," Ace addressed us casually causing me to blink.
"Hey everyone, thanks for taking care of my brother," He added after a second, bowing his head.
"No kidding," The others around me bowed back to him, but I stayed where I was, still watching him warily, yet curiously.
"So why are you here Ace?" Luffy asked him rudely causing me to notice the differences in the manners department between these two brothers.
"Huh? Didn't you get my message in Drum?" Ace asked him.
"Drum?" Luffy questioned.
"Ah, never mind. No biggie," Ace shrugged it off. "Anyways, I'm glad I saw you. I'm here for a little task. I figured I'd try to meet up with you. Luffy… Will you come join the 'Whitebeard Pirate Crew'? With your friends of course."
I folded my ears back against my skull as I glared at Ace. Not only did he invite himself on board, he suddenly tries to get us to join another pirate crew. He has some manners but not all of them I see.
"No way," Was Luffy's blunt reply causing my muzzle to twitch as the urge to smirk washed over me.
"Ahahaha," Ace laughed in good nature. "I just thought I'd ask."
"Whitebeard?" Usopp gulped. "So that mark on your back is real?"
"Yes, it's my pride and joy!" Ace nodded. "Whitebeard is the greatest pirate that I've ever known. I want to make him the Pirate King… Not you Luffy."
"That's okay!" Luffy replied. "I'll just fight him!"
Ace was silent for a second, but he was still smirking before Sanji suddenly asked, "Why don't you come inside if you want to talk? I'll make you some tea."
"Oh no, don't worry about me," Ace said, waving his hand. "This'll only take a minute."
"Those Marines haven't come after us at all," Nami suddenly commented.
"Yeah, I threw them off track with my Mera Mera* power," Ace admitted before throwing a piece of paper at Luffy. "Here, I wanted to give you this."
"Huh?" Luffy muttered, looking at the paper in his hands.
"Always keep that with you!" Ace insisted.
"It's a piece of paper," Luffy stated the obvious, causing me to laugh.
"Yup," Ace replied, not even phased. "That paper will let us meet again."
"Wow…" Luffy said.
"Don't you want it?" Ace questioned.
"No! I do!" Luffy claimed.
"Having a dumb little brother makes an older brother worry," Ace stated causing me to shake my head. I think I do enough worrying about him for at least 5 people, so Ace shouldn't have to worry too.
I decided to make a silent statement so I walked forward to stand beside Luffy before reaching over and rubbing my head against the outside of his thigh. Luffy's hand reached down automatically to pet the top of my head as everyone's attention switched to me. I kept my head rested against Luffy's leg, my sharp blue eyes staring at Ace. I kept my face as straight as I could as Ace surveyed me. After a few minutes her smirked at me before looking back to Luffy.
"Well Luffy, it seems like you have some loyal companions that really do look after you but he probably gives you guys a lot of troubles too. Take care of him for me," After Ace had finished his sentence he jumped off the railing and off the side of the boat causing me to bolt forward, my front feet on the railing within seconds as Luffy came up beside me. I saw some little boat tied to the side of the Going-Merry and Ace was perched on that.
"What!" Luffy yelped. "You're leaving already!"
"Yep," Ace replied.
"You can chill out here a little longer! I haven't seen you in so long!" Luffy protested.
"I told you, I only came to do that," Ace said as he secured a rope on his boat. "I'm chasing a major criminal right now. He's been calling himself 'Blackbeard' lately but he originally used to be a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, and my subordinate. He committed the worst possible crime on a pirate ship… 'Killing a crew mate'. I'm the Commander so I have to finish him off. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't be back here in this part of the sea. The next time we meet will be at the pirate's summit."
I flicked my ears as everyone else behind us muttered things but I kept my eyes on Ace as he set sail, waving as he pulled away from Going-Merry.
"See ya!" Luffy called out as he waved. After Ace disappeared from sight Luffy stepped back from the railing and I did the same. The others quickly got into a conversation about where we were going next but I trotted off, ready for another nap before we got anywhere.
*Okama is the Japanese word for a male cross dresser.
*Mane Mane Fruit: Paramecia class. "Mane" literally means "imitation" but labeled as "Clone Clone Fruit" in the official Subs and Dubs.
*Wax Wax Fruit: Paramecia class. Derived from the Japanese word for candle, "kyandoru".
*Mera Mera fruit: Logia class. Named after the sound of fire when it burns, it's called the Flare Flare (4Kids and FUNimation Sub) or Flame Flame (Viz and FUNimation Dub) fruit.
Beta Read by praeses