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Rose

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet..." — William Shakespeare

"Ooooooi! Come back!"

"Would you just leave me alone already?!" She shouted, flabbergasted by the ongoing pursuit as she led the way through the trees outside her village. She knew the forest better than anyone else on the island, and her bare feet didn't hesitate over the dirt below. "I don't want to join your stupid crew!"

"My crew isn't stupid!" came the indignant response. The hairs prickled on the back of her neck as the sound of the boy's voice proved just how close he had gotten. "My crew is awesome! We're going to sail the Grand Line and I'm gonna become King of the Pirates! You should join us!"

She would have scoffed aloud, if she wasn't so focused on maintaining her hurried pace as she ducked under branches. They're awesome, huh, she mused. His crew couldn't have been that great— she had only seen him with two other people, and every Pirate Captain she had ever seen brought a way bigger posse than that. Neither of them had managed to keep up with the two of them, anyway.

Fingers grazed the back of her shirt before a rubber arm wrapped around her waist—

"Woah!"

Instantly, her upper half dissolved into a flurry of colourful flowers. The flowers scattered behind her as her legs continued running forwards unimpeded. "You'll have to do better than that," she tittered.

As her body began to reform outside of his grip, she heard the boy sputter out, "So cool!" through a mouthful of petals.

She couldn't help it—

"Right?!" She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes shining with mirth. He was still right behind her, his clothes now dotted with delicate petals. "I wish I could say the same about your creepy arms!"

"Shishishi! I'm just a rubber man!" He laughed as he swiped his arms towards her again. More prepared for it this time, his hand passed through her stomach without resistance. Orange petals, the same shade as her shirt, stuck in the gaps between his fingers. "Woah! Am I holding your stomach now?"

"Don't be stupid!" she said—

And then she promptly tripped over an upended root, her attention too focused on the boy behind her rather than the trail ahead. He let her fall, and she hit the ground face-first to the sound of his laughter.

"Shishishi, you're pretty dumb!"

She righted herself with a huff, and glared sharply at the boy and his straw hat. "Being rude doesn't make me want to join your lame crew. I don't get your strategy, here."

"I don't have a strategy," he said dumbly.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that much was obvious. Why would you even want me in your crew? You don't even know my name."

"What is it, then?" he asked.

"That's not the point," she responded with a scowl. "You don't know anything about me, besides the fact that I ate the Ueki Ueki no Mi."

"I didn't know that," he denied with a shake of his head. "I just thought you looked cool as a tree!"

She grinned at the compliment— she did look pretty cool as a tree. "That can't possibly be enough of a reason to want someone to join your crew."

"Why not?"

"Well—" she paused. "I don't have a good answer to that, actually."

The boy grinned, his wide smile taking up most of his face. "Then you should just join my crew!"

"You're dumb," she announced. "I'll join your stupid crew on one condition."

"ALRIGHT!" he cheered, his hands tossed high into the air. "Now turn into a tree again!"

"Oi. I haven't told you what the condition is yet, dummy," she responded with another roll of her eyes— anymore of it, and she might get dizzy. She crossed her arms across her chest and tried to look taller than she really was. "I want flowers."

"Flowers?" he repeated. His arms were still held into the air, his joy unimpeded by her lack of reception. "That's easy! I can get you lots of flowers, no problem!"

She blinked. She blinked again. "It's that easy?"

"Sure!" was his fast reply, smile endlessly bright and his head nodding furiously. "I'm gonna sail the whole Grand Line, so I'm sure we'll find tonnes of flowers! You can have as many as you want!"

"Deal," she quickly said, and stuck out a hand for her new captain to take before he could change his mind. "As long as I can have as many plants as I want, I'll join your crew."

His hand wrapped around hers, his grip tight and his smile brighter than anything she had ever seen. "Shishishi! Deal! Now will you be a tree again?"

"One more thing," she said, and laughed when his grin turned into a pout.

"You already said 'deal'! We shook on it, like men!" He shook her hand, still encased in his own, pointedly up and down.

"You're right," she promptly agreed. "I just don't know your name, is all."

"Oh!" he shouted. "My name's Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

"You mentioned that part," she pointed out with an amused smile. "Funny how that came before the name."

Luffy laughed, his eyes closed with the force of his smile. "Shishishi! I guess I forgot!"

"My captain is dumb," she lamented, her words betrayed by her own twinkling eyes. "Nice to formally meet you. My name is—"

"TERRA!"

With wide eyes and an innocent whistle, she poked her head over the railing to meet Nami's rage. "Yes, Nami dearest?"

The redhead was seething, her tightened fists raised and wagging at the girl above. "Why is there a tree in the bathroom!?"

"I have no idea what you mean," she innocently replied. "There's always been trees in the bathroom."

"I MEAN THE ONE IN THE SHOWER, IDIOT!"

"My babies need water!" she cried, and pointed towards the front of the ship where Luffy was napping against the masthead. "Take it up with Luffy if you've got a problem! He says I can have as many plants as I want!"

Nami mimed strangling her. "We're surrounded by water! The shower is for people, not plants!"

"I can't hear you over the sound of our captain's orders," she sang in response, and rolled back over to lie on the deck. "I'm busy photosynthesizing now, let's talk later!"

Thunderous steps pounded up the stairs, and Terra rolled to her feet with a yelp as Nami and her swinging fists came into view. "DO YOU THINK I'M AN IDIOT, HUH?! OI— GET BACK HERE, YOU WEED!"