Chapter 4: "Fortune Teller"

"It is absurd to divide people into good or bad. People are either charming or tedious."
-Oscar Wilde

...

Ayame did not try to hide her scowl. Foul, undigested lump. She thought, covering her face with her hand. She let out a sigh and listened to his running mouth with a strained smile.

"I heard that you were in a shipwreck with a lot of passengers - And I heard that you didn't make it! Oh, but I'm so glad you're all right!" He rambled on, waving his arms around childishly as his manly tears slide down his cheeks.

"Thank you for your concern." She said formally, and crossed her arms as his ship went beside the Straw Hat's ship. If he wasn't a marine, Ayame would have hired a hit-man to get rid of him. However, her boss had warned her to be kind and formal so the marine captain would not find out she was working a man's job. Jagger could not bear the thought his 'fiancée' doing a man's labour. For now, he suspected that Ayame is a wandering fortune teller.

Jagger looked at the other pirates, glaring at the males exclusively. "AND YOU MEN! If you so much dare touch my woman - I swear, I'll kill you!"

"You got it all wrong." Ayame told him, biting back insults. The way talked about her was bile on her taste buds. "They saved me."

The marine captain sighed in relief, calming his raging emotions as he smiled. "Oh, thank goodness!" He yelled and looked at them one last time. "Thanks." He said meaninglessly like a reluctant child thanking his arch enemy for sharing his crayons.

"Please let me allow you to come aboard, my dear! I have prepared your room!" He instantly grabbed the roped ladder, tossing it with a flick of his wrist, and dropped it down.

...

Straw Hat Ship.

"Bye." Ayame said strangely. She wasn't at all a people-person and found speaking to be difficult. She went to climb on the ladder, her large coat hiding all her packages.

"WHAT! With that creep?" Usopp questioned with bewildered eyes and ran to her side, pulling her back. He looked up at Jagger, who danced like a fool and ordered his men to make way with his bamboo stick. The man's furry eyebrows made the snipper's skin crawl.

Usopp pulled her aside and whispered, "We haven't seen each other in over a month! Stay with us! Heck, join us!"

She whispered back. "You know I can't do that - especially now. He'll go after Rikku." And she shoved something into Usopp's hands. He looked at her but she made no inclination that she did anything. Usopp discreetly shoved the crumbled note in his pocket.

Sanji perked up too. "Yeah, and I disapprove of you being around those men! Who will feed you amazing first class food but me!?" He ran to her other side and clutched her left leg, causing Jagger to shout at the blonde furiously.

"DON'T TOUCH HER, CURLY BROWS!"

"MIND YOUR OWN SHITTY BUSINESS, THICK BROWS!" Sanji yelled comically at the marine.

"I think both of you need to start worrying about your own eyebrows..." Nami frowned, then she return to the situation at hand. "Yeah, and I don't trust that pervy-looking man beside the captain." She said, looking at the Lieutenant who had been staring intensely at the navigator's bosoms. "Stay here." She beckoned.

"Ayame!" Luffy said. "Join my crew! I want a fortune teller in my crew!" He stomped his foot like a child.

"I'm not a fortune teller..." The girl muttered to him, and glance back at the pirates. "Thanks for the hospitality..." She started to climb up the ropes. It was better not to upset a marine, especially a deranged one like Jagger. "Take care Usopp."

Once she made it up to the ship, Jagger made a terrifying face to his crew and they backed away in fear. Turning to his little dame, he smiled. "I've missed you!" He went down to his knees and hugged her waist. Ayame sneered a bit and resisted to knock him out flat.

The vessel sailed away causing Luffy to whimper for his loss.

...

Logue Town. Ayame.

Once Ayame arrived in Logue Town, she got off the Marine vessel unintentionally ignoring Jagger's sweet words as she walked away until she was far from him so she could hide the bag of weapons. Her original wig was tossed the moment Jagger's voice was heard.

"Oi, Ayame!" A gruff voice was heard.

She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. "Junior..." She said heavily as a sweat drop trailed down her head. She was in trouble by the tone he was using. "Miss me?" She tried to appeal to his humour.

He scoffed. Rikku Jr. was the spitting image of his father; brunet, dark eyed and tan. "You wish, lil' lady. Our client has been waiting for an hour. An hour! Why are you always late!?"

"I'm not late. It's exactly two-thirty."

"Idiot. It's three-thirty-five! And where's the damn wig?"

"Jagger happened."

"That damned stalker." He shook his head, sneering. "Now hop to it!" And she fled to her client.

...

Ayame looked at the sword shop then to the paper in her hand. This is the place. The store didn't look much from the outside and when she was about to go in, she saw Zoro and a tall girl with blue hair with a familiar insignia on her outfit. Marine.

Ayame went to pull up her mask then she realized she didn't bring it as it would look suspicious to the locals. A sigh escaped her lips as she pulled out her shades, deciding to try and avoid them.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" He muttered.

"I have your deliveries. From Rikku." His eyes nearly popped out as the delivery girl pull out a duffle bag of weapons, placing it carefully on the counter. "Also some used weapons." She said, handing him some unused daggers and he nodded gratefully.

"Sorry," he gruffly said. "I forgot that Rikku's apprentices' was comin'. Though... I thought he trained boys." The man said, looking at her up and down, sizing her up.

Ayame nodded, playing her role if she was asked. "He does... I just wanted to help out his son, Junior..." She lied smoothly with a soft smile.

"Ah, his lady friend?" He wiggled his eyebrows and her genuine smile was wiped off her face.

The girl nodded forcibly. "Sure..." she trailed, not in the mood to deny. Tilting her head away from Zoro's view when she had caught some movements in the corners of her eyes, just in case he happened to see her. The only thing anyone could recognize her is by her hair: curly and pink.

He brought out 10,000 Beli in a bag and gave it to her discreetly. "Give it to your boy, girlie." He winked at her and Ayame nodded slowly with a strained smile. She hooked the string to her belt. She wore something simple - something easy to run in.

She turned around to find Zoro and Tashigi gazing at her with a raised brow. Frozen in time, Ayame stared back. Her first reaction was to cover her face; so she quickly grabbed a fist full of her dainty curls to cover her lower face. And her second reaction was to run away. She quickly dashed away like a terrified gazelle. Only less magnificent as one.

The two looked her oddly as she shuffled out of the store with their eyes burning her back.

Awakening from her reverie, Tashigi bolted right after her. "H-Hey wait a second! What did you just sell!? You could be fined if-" the woman yelled, running out from the store. Her dark eyes searching for that little girl. "Huh? Where did that girl go?" She asked no one in particular and glanced both ways to find those pink curls.

"Bolted through those doors like a common thief..." Zoro sighed, shaking his head. "Amateur." He added before slipping out of the Marine's eyes.

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