Dragging it Out
"Neo!"
"Huh?" Neo glanced up to the small, familiar voice calling out her name. Instantly sensing the little blue haired Tontatta, her arms opened immediately to allow Wicka to jump into her embrace. "Wicka, I didn't think I'd see you again after last night."
"I didn't either," Wicka said. "But our king allowed us to come here and see you all. I'm just glad I get to see you one last time and… Huh? What's wrong? You're eyes are grey." The Tontatta paused. Tilting her head, she stared at Neo's eyes in curiosity and in worry.
"Oh… that…" Neo adverted her eyes to the deck. "I just received some… shocking news last night. That's all."
"Shocking news?" Wicka asked as she thought about what that could possibly be.
"Wicka," Robin said, gaining Wicka's attention. "Neo knows now that she's pregnant."
"Oh, I see," Wicka said before turning her attention back to Neo with a smile. "But it will be all right. You're going to be a great mother. I just know it."
Neo blinked. She was a bit surprised that Wicka knew about it and she didn't have a clue what to say in this type of situation or if she should say anything. Typically people were happy in these situations and would say 'thank you'. But she wasn't happy. It seems like the entire world knew about this before I did. Or maybe I did know and I just didn't want to admit it. After what happened on Punk Hazard with Monet… Her thoughts trailed off. She didn't even notice she was crying again until Wicka placed her tiny hands on her cheek.
"Hey, don't cry. It'll be fine," Wicka said, gently patting Neo's cheek. "You're much prettier when you smile. I know you're in a great deal of shock at the moment, but I promise you that everything will be fine. You'll see. You just need time. Once you've adjusted you'll come to love your baby very much."
"Yeah," Neo said with clear doubt in her tone. "Sure."
Law remained quietly watching their interaction the entire time. He didn't break his gaze from her until some of the Straw Hats started taking about how impressive the ship was.
Neo also looked up at their friends before starting to look around the ship as she listened to everyone chatting happily with each other. She didn't want to be apart of it. She just wanted to go somewhere and be alone for a while. But running her eyes over how many people were on board this ship, she knew she wasn't going to be able to find any quiet space. And she didn't feel like going inside of the ship either. She wanted to be out in the open, out in nature, and still near Law, not inside some unfamiliar ship that they weren't going to be on very long. Her eyes then landed on Cavendish's horse. Without a word, she walked away from Law, feeling his eyes on her as she went, and over to a spot near the railing where no one was occupying. As if sensing what she wanted, Farul followed her. With saddle and all, he laid down on the deck like he knew she wanted him to. She then sat down with him, hugging her knees to her chest as Wicka remained on her shoulder and Farul brushed his head against her other shoulder. Quietly, she sat there and just observed the people around her. Without really realizing she was doing it, she started counting the Straw Hat crew like she always did with her own crew after a fight. Her eyes first landed on Luffy and Usopp. The two of them were admiring the size of the ship.
…
"It's massive!" Usopp said as he and Luffy glanced up at the thick mass before them.
"Straw Hat! I have four giant mercenary friends!" Hajrudin then said, coming into the two Straw Hats view. "I want to pull together all the giant tribes with them eventually and we'll revive the Giant Pirates that once terrorized the world!"
"The Giant Pirates! Those were the glory days of Master Dorry and Brogy!" Usopp said as his eyes shined like stars and he patted Luffy on the back.
"Oh yeah?! You'll be a tough enemy to fight!" Luffy said. He pressed his fists on his hips and looked at Usopp with a smile before looking back at the giant. "Then, I guess we'll see you again someday somewhere!"
"I want to go to Elbaf!" Usopp announced.
…
Elbaf? She wondered. Her mind wandered back to the Straw Hats' ship a few days ago. She remembered Usopp mentioning the giant pirates before, but really couldn't recall any of the details about the story. She rested her chin on her knees, unaware that Wicka had started braiding a small strain of her hair as she continued to watch everyone. Her eyes then drifted back to Law. He and Robin were standing with Orlumbus, the captain of this ship. She wondered how fast it was. And she wondered if the ship they were going to take was a fast one too. She could easily use her magic to push them along, if her magic would cooperate with her and actually work. Then, even if her magic was working properly, she knew Law wouldn't let her constantly use her crystals to get them to Zou faster. They didn't even know where Zou was. All they had was Bepo's vivre card to guide them.
…
"Our Yontamaria fleet numbers fifty six ships! I know we can really help you out!" Orlumbus said.
"Help us?" Robin asked.
"Luffyland! We got permission from Chief Tonta! Let us join, too!" Leo said.
"Join?" Luffy asked.
"We won't lose in a fair fight but we can't say we're champions without fighting pirates!" Ideo said, punching his fist in his hand.
"So Ideo and I joined hands and decided to get out to seas!" Blue Gilly said.
"Hey! We're going with you! Don't forget about us, brothers!" Jeet and Abdullah said.
"This fool's going to let me board his ship," Suleiman said, pointing at Cavendish beside him with his thumb.
"I'm doing you a favor so you'd better call me captain!" Cavendish snapped. He then pointed at Luffy. "And you, Straw Hat! Don't forget that I'm more experienced than you are! Even if I do go along with you, I'll be the most popular one!"
"What are you guys talking about? Do whatever you want!" Luffy said, cocking his head to the side in confusion.
"Well, the thing is, while we were staying at the palace we all became pretty good friends," Bartolomeo said.
"I'll explain. For your information, we decided to order by lot," Orlumbus said. "First, the Beautiful Pirates, with seventy five members. The representative is its captain, White Horse Cavendish. Next, the Barto Club, with fifty six members. The captain is Man-Eating Bartolomeo. The Happosui Army, with about a thousand members. The thirteenth leader is Don Sai. The XXX Gym Fighting Alliance, with four members. The representative is Destruction Cannon Ideo. The Tontatta's Tonta Corps, with two hundred members. The leader is Leo the Warrior. Just five members now. The future Giant Pirates. The captain is Hajrudin. And I'm the commodore of the Yontamaria Fleet, four thousand and three hundred members. The Adventuring Pioneer Orlumbus."
…
"What in the world is going on here?" Neo asked herself once Orlumbus finished naming off all of the people that he did. All of the talking and departure delay was making her head throb and her body twitchy. Her eyes wandered up to the sky where Fujitora's attack was still hovering over them. Why couldn't they just get on with leaving Dressrosa already? Did they forget the large pile of rubble above them? Did they forget that the navy admiral Fujitora was mere yards away from them? They all have only had a few days of rest. And they did stop Luffy from fighting Fujitora before. So what was with all this nonsense now?
Farul flicked his ear and nuzzled back against Neo's arm.
"It seems you're the only one, besides Law, who can sense how annoyed I am with all of this," Neo said. Her hand went to Farul's head. She stroked his white fur tenderly as Wicka continued to mindlessly put small braids in her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm getting upset. If this keeps up, I might unleash a storm. But I won't hurt you. I won't hurt anyone. I just want to go home already."
Instead of straight out voicing her frustration, she continued to remain silent and watched at Bartolomeo walked forward and get down on his hands and knees in front of Luffy.
"H-hey…" Luffy said.
"A big troop of 5,600 people in total! Mr. Luffy! Will you exchange cups of sake as father and sons with us seven representatives?!" Bartolomeo said.
"Father and sons?!" Luffy asked.
"That's right! You'll be the boss and we'll be your followers!" Bartolomeo said. "Will you take us under the umbrella of the Straw Hat Pirates?!"
…
So that's what this is about, Neo thought to herself. She watched as Bartolomeo got up from the floor. Her eyes remained on him as he walked away from the group and disappeared into a door. They want to basically join the Straw Hats. But Luffy's not the type to command such a large fleet. Or I don't think so anyway. From what I know about him, he won't go for this. This is just a waste of time. Time that could be used to head home.
Her eyes wandered back to another pirate who was passing out sake cups to the remaining representatives. Another pirate was moving a barrel in front of Luffy while a third pirate sat a rather large sake cup down on the barrel. All the while, Luffy remained staring as clueless as ever as to why this was happening. She sympathized with that.
…
"Now, we'll exchange cups of sake as a parent and sons!" Orlumbus said.
"That's right!" Bartolomeo claimed as he walked back over to the group with a large bottle of sake. He poured the sake into the cups that the representatives were holding. "Okay, it's all set on this side. Now…" He walked over and filled up the large cup in front of Luffy before rejoining the other representatives. "All right, we'll exchange father and son vows to inaugurate Mr. Luffy as our boss and us seven as his followers… Please, take the cup, Mr. Luffy."
…
Come on, Luffy, Neo thought. Just turn the down already and let's go.
…
Luffy picked up the cup. His lips curled down into a frown as he started into it. He then smiled and said, "I'm not going to drink this."
"What?!" the representatives said.
"Just as I thought," Zoro said.
"I don't care much for the taste of sake," Luffy said, sitting the cup back down on the barrel.
"Mr. Luffy, it's not about the taste of the sake. It's about the vow behind it," Bartolomeo said. "From now on, you'll be targeted by some very big, powerful names because of the battle here on Dressrosa! When that happens it doesn't matter how strong you guys are, it's going to be an extremely tough battle! But since you saved us, we can and want to help you all during those times!"
"But if I drink this, I'll become the grand captain of this grand fleet you all are making up, correct?" Luffy asked.
"That's right. If you have 5,600 subordinates in total, you'll finally be one of the greatest pirates! You'll become the king of the pirates eventually! But since you want to conquer the world, this number still isn't going to be enough. You'll have to gain more followers!" Bartolomeo said, holding his arms out to the sky.
"This would be the best place for you to stop right now. That line of reasoning will never work on him," Zoro said. He walked over to the cup filled with sake and licked his lips before pointing at it. "Anyway, pour this into a beer mug. I'll drink it since Luffy's not going to. It looks pretty good to me."
"Like I just said, we're not doing this to enjoy the taste of it!" Bartolomeo said.
"Why, Straw Hat? Why aren't you happy to obtain such a great military force?" Orlumbus asked. "Doesn't matter how strong your enemy is, he can't compete against the force of numbers if the numbers are high enough! I'm sure you'll need our help someday like we needed you here!"
"What I need is my space!" Luffy said.
"What?! He looks so annoyed!" the representatives said.
"That aside, aren't they preparing for a banquet in the back?" Luffy asked as he sniffed the air.
…
Neo's stomach grumbled when Luffy mentioned food. And now that he did mention it, she started craving the foods that were dancing on the wind. Stupid pregnancy cravings. She could tell that they had grilled up some fish, which Law would love, but the most powerful smell she couldn't quite place. She could easily tell it was some sort of fish and that was it. It didn't matter. As soon as it was brought out she knew someone would mention what it was.
"It smells good, doesn't it?" Wicka said like she read Neo's mind.
It did smell good to Neo. She just didn't want to admit it. And she didn't want it despite how bad her stomach was asking for it.
"They're cooking fighting fish steak," Wicka said, tying off her newest braid in Neo's hair. She had a total of fifteen small braids going across Neo's hair.
"Fighting fish?" Neo asked. "I never heard of that before."
"It's like a giant gold fish with a really bad attitude. They live around Green Bit. We catch them often to eat since they're a good food source," Wicka replied. She moved on to another section of hair and started another braid. "I'll bring you some once it's finished. I'm sure you'll love it."
"Maybe," Neo muttered. Still unaware of the braids the Tontatta was putting in her hair.
…
"He's only interested in eating at a time like this?!" Ideo asked.
"Screw you, Straw Hat!" Cavendish said. "I'm a star and more experienced than you but I'm still saying I will fly under your flag! Don't you want that?!"
"Let's just force him to drink it!" Ideo said.
"You don't know how strong we are, you stupid liberator!" Sai said, holding his weapon.
"Hey! You can't talk to him like that if you want to be his followers!" Usopp shouted. "He's supposed to be your captain!"
"So what?!" Sai demanded.
"Cut the crap!" Usopp said.
"Sorry," Sai said.
"Listen to me! I just want to be come the king of the pirates!" Luffy shouted. "I don't want to become someone big and important!"
"Hey, what is he talking about?" Law asked.
Zoro dipped his hand into the sake and took a drink. "This is pretty good stuff."
"Use a cup! You have some seriously bad manners!" Usopp shouted.
"Oh! Let me try! Give me some!" Franky said.
"Hey!" Usopp said.
"I'd like to have a little bit, too," Robin said.
"Okay, I'll have some, too!" Usopp said.
"You're right! It's good!" Franky said after dipping his hand into the sake and drinking it.
"Isn't it?" Zoro asked.
…
A soft sigh passed over Neo's lips as she watched Zoro, Usopp, and the two samurai pass the sake cup around. Her eyes then flittered back to Luffy.
…
"Mr. Luffy, what did you mean by that?" Bartolomeo asked.
Luffy grabbed onto the upper deck railing and pulled himself upon it. Looking down at everyone, he said, "Listen up, everyone! When we think we're in danger and need help, we'll shout for you to come help us! But I don't have to be your boss or a great pirate, for that to happen, correct? And when you guys are in trouble and need up, just call us! We'll come help you no matter what! I'll never forget that we fought together to take down Mingo!"
"I'm starting to understand what he's saying and what it means to be the king of the pirates to him! He's rather be free than just important!" Bartolomeo said with tears in his eyes.
A sharp whistling rang through the air just before a cannon ball hit one of the ships, causing an explosion and the ship to rock.
"What's going on?!" Orlumbus asked.
"Somebody's firing at us!" a pirate said.
"It's it the navy?!" another asked.
"It can't be! We've sewn their warships together tightly!" Leo said.
"Let Columbus take command! We're still busy here!" Orlumbus said. "Whoever it is, get rid of them!"
"Yes, sir!" one of Orlumbus' subordinates said.
…
Neo clenched her fists as more cannon fire filled the air and the ship's crew started running around in preparation to fire back. Anger started burning in her chest causing storm clouds to gather above them. This could have been avoided if they hadn't stopped to be stupid. Her bangs fell over her eyes as she mumbled, "Stop it."
She could feel Law glancing over at her. She could also feel that he wasn't going to try and stop her from releasing her frustration. She knew he knew she was upset and just wanted to go home already. It just seemed like everyone and everything was preventing that from happening.
"Huh?" Wicka tied off her twentieth braid when she felt the tension in Neo rising. Just before Neo stood up, she jumped off her shoulder and onto Farul's back. "Neo?"
"Stop preventing us from leaving," she said. Her hands trembled at her sides. Black clouds continued to roll in as thunder rumbled above in response to her mood. The wind picked up, teasing her hair and causing waves to rock all the ships in their area. She snapped, gathering a multitude of eyes staring at her. "Stop it! What's wrong with you people?!"
"What's your problem?" a pirate, probably one of Orlumbus', asked.
"What's wrong with me?!" Neo demanded. Her grey eyes turned sharp as she glared at the pirate who dare ask her what was wrong. "What's wrong is I've been away from my family and home for several, annoying months! What's wrong is I had to watch my husband get shot multiple times and get his arm hacked off by an insane nut job who was nothing but a spoiled brat acting out because he didn't get what he wanted! And now I'm stuck on this ship with you morons who want to have a party with a navy admiral basically hovering a entire country over our heads!"
"S-sorry," the pirate said as he took a couple steps back from her.
"Good! You better be! Now get those cannons working and get us out of this mess!" Neo said, releasing a sharp crack of thunder as she stopped her boot on the deck.
"Y-yes, ma'am!" the pirate said before scrambling around, shouting out orders for his fellow crewmates to start firing back on the ships firing at them.
"Dang! She's scary!" the seven representatives said as they stared at Neo in disbelief.
"She's funny!" Luffy laughed.
"How do you manage to handle a woman like that?" Don Chin Jao asked Law.
"She's usually not this, uh, tense," Law replied. "She's just been under a lot of stress lately."
Neo then turned her rage to the ships firing at them. She could take them down before the pirates on this ship even got the cannons loaded. And she was going to. She was going to strike them out of rage and frustration. But before she could bring down lightning on the ships attacking them, the floating rubble above them started falling down on the enemy ships. "Fujitora…"
"What's going on?" a pirate asked.
"The debris is only falling on the enemy ships," another pirate said.
"It's Fujitora," Neo said, her storm completely disappearing.
"Why would he do this?" Usopp asked.
"Because he's not really a bad guy," Neo said. She sighed and reclaimed her place beside Farul and Wicka. "He's good."
"That doesn't make sense at all," Usopp said.
"It might not to you, but it does to her," Law said, walking over to Neo. "Remember, she has very good instincts."
"That's right," Usopp said. "He also said that he wasn't interested in hurting her or your child. I still think it's kind of odd since he's a navy admiral. But maybe it isn't. We're still friends with Coby after all. Huh? What's he doing now?" He turned to Bartolomeo when they all heard the green haired pirate speak.
Law knelt down beside Neo. Calmly, he reached out and took her chin in his hand, lifting her eyes to him. He couldn't help but flinch at her grey eyes. He had grown so use to seeing her bright, electric blue eyes since she had come out of her shell. He hated seeing her like this.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I didn't mean to lose it like that."
"It's fine," Law said, brushing his thumb over her skin. "You know you need to speak up with your upset. And you are correct. They are being morons by having this little crew party while Fujitora is hunting us down."
"Yeah, it's okay," Wicka said and Farul released a noise of agreement. "If I was in your position I would have lashed out too. You've been away from your home for so long it's natural you'll be this home sick."
Neo nodded. It was all she could do.
…
"Freedom… freedom… that's what Mr. Luffy wants. In that case, I admire you even more, Mr. Luffy," Bartolomeo said then started crying.
Hajrudin then laughed. "So do I! Hey, Bartolomeo, let's go ahead and make the oath! He doesn't have to drink out of the parent's cup if he doesn't want to."
"He's right," Cavendish said.
Luffy jumped back down to the deck to rejoin the others.
"You can do whatever you want and so can we," Ideo said.
"You can't take away our freedom, either!" Sai said.
"That's true," Leo said.
The seven representatives sat back down on the deck and reclaimed their cups. Bartolomeo said, "Mr. Luffy, allow me to make a brief oath!"
"Huh? An oath?" Luffy asked.
"Here it goes, Mr. Luffy," Bartolomeo said, holding out his cup towards the Straw Hat captain. The rest of the representatives also held out their cups. "We now become Mr. Straw Hat Luffy's followers and we'll be his shield or pike in all weather. To repay him for what he did this time, we seven will drink out of these Sons' Cups of our own volition, devoting our lives and souls."
"Sons' Cups?" Luffy asked. The seven representatives them drank the sake that was in their cups. "What?! What are you guys doing?!"
"Yeah! Now we're official!" a pirate said. "Hurry up and prepare for the banquet!"
"It's ready!" someone cried as they carried out a large piece of meat and began to spread out the banquet that had been prepared. "Celebrate the formation of the Straw Hat Fleet with over 5,600 crew in total!"
"Yeah!" everyone cheered.
"They just do whatever they like," Robin said.
"Sons' Cups? What the heck is that?" Franky asked.
"Big Boss Straw Hat! Thank you in advance!" several pirates said.
"What?!" Luffy grabbed the big cup off the barrel and turned it upside down. "Hey! Wait a second! Despite it being empty, I didn't drink any of it, okay?!"
"Man, that was good," Zoro said, wiping his chin off as Usopp, Kin'emon, and Kanjuro stood behind him with goofy grins on their faces.
"Yeah, that's okay," Sai said. "Nothing has changed for you. We just decided to go ahead and give our loyalty to you. And when something happens to you…" Luffy bolted away from the man. "…we'll be there risking our lives of our own will. You'll lose nothing by having us, right? Now, why don't you remember our names and faces…"
"Honey." Baby Five tapped Sai on the shoulder. "Look."
"Luffy! The main dish is fighting fish steak!" Usopp said.
"Looks good!" Luffy said as he started climbing on the fish.
"Hey, that's dirty! Don't climb on food!" Usopp said.
…
"Great! The food's finally done!" Wicka said. She jumped off Farul's back and ran a few feet away from Neo before stopping and looking back at her friend. "I'll get you some food now! You're going to love it! It tastes as good as it smells!" She then ran off towards the food.
"Neo, I know you might not feel like it, but you should eat something," Law said. "You haven't eaten anything all day. You do understand, don't you?"
"Yeah," Neo said. "I'll try."
"That's my girl," Law said, cupping her cheek.
"I'm sorry. I'm not a very happy person to be around right now," Neo said, leaning into Law's touch.
"It's fine," Law said. He then leaded forward, paused, then placed a hesitate kiss on her forehead. He relaxed when he didn't feel her flinching. "I'm going to get myself something to eat. I'll be right back."
Neo nodded and resumed watched everyone laughing and having fun. Shortly after that, Wicka had returned and placed a full plate of assorted foods by her feet while another Tontatta placed a cup of water beside the plate before running off. She said, "Here you go, Neo! I picked out the healthiest foods they had! You need to take care of yourself and your baby after all!"
Must everyone keep bring that up? Neo wondered. Reaching down to the plate, she pinched a piece of the fighting fish off and put it in her mouth. Several spices erupted on her tongue. She liked it, but couldn't bring herself to show it. "It's good."
"Eat up! There's plenty to go around!" Wicka said with a smile. "If you're okay now, I think I'm going to mingle with some of the others! I really want to thank Zoroland for all the help he gave us, especially for carrying me to the Flower Field when I twisted my ankle!"
"You go ahead and enjoy the party," Neo said.
"Are you sure?" Wicka asked while she stared up at Neo. "You still seem very sad. I don't want to leave you like that."
"I don't mind, Wicka," Neo said. She reached down and allowed Wicka to take a hold of her finger. "You enjoy the party. I'm not going anywhere. We probably don't have much time left together and you should say your thanks and goodbyes to everyone while you have the chance."
"Yeah. I promise to spend more time with you before we head back to Dressrosa." Wicka nodded.
"That'll be fine," Neo said. She watched as Wicka then scampered off among the happy party people. With a heavy sigh she turned her eyes back down to her plate and resumed plucking off small parts of the fish and eating them. After a while she picked up the apple that was on her plate and gave it to Farul, which he happily devoured.
…
"Hey, stop crying already," Ideo told Bartolomeo.
"No, I can't bear to get up… I'm so moved," Bartolomeo said as his tears wet the boards below him.
"Leo, we're going to leave the port and start the banquet. What are you guys going to do?" Cavendish said kneeling down the Tontatta.
"We're going to attend the banquet." Leo replied. "And we'll get home by the Yellow Cubs afterwards. Don't worry about us."
"Are we sailing out?" Luffy asked.
"Okay! An order from the boss! Hoist the sails!" Orlumbus said.
"I'm not your boss and I didn't give you an order!" Luffy screamed. He jumped off the fish and grabbed a mug before turning to everyone. "All right guys! In the battle against the Mingo family, we won!"
"Yeah!" everyone cheered.
"We did it!" Usopp said.
"Good job, guys!" Franky said.
"Fraland!" several Tontattas said while the clanked their cups against the cyborg's.
"Zoroland, thank you!" Wicka said.
"No problem," Zoro replied.
"Rooster!" Luffy said holding his cup to him.
"Mr. Luffy!" Bartolomeo cried, bumping his cup against Luffy's.
…
After getting himself a piece of grilled fish, two onigiri, and a drink, Law wandered back over to Neo and sat down. He sat quietly taking in her in as she nibbled obediently on the food that Wicka had brought her. He was glad she was at least eating something, but he knew that it was because she was craving the food from all their delicious smells. He could feel it after all.
"Stop worrying about me and eat," Neo said when she felt him continuing to stare at her.
"Sorry," Law said before reaching for one of this onigiri. "You know I'm just concerned."
"Like always." Neo then went completely quiet after that. She just sat hugging her knees with her left arm while she occasionally picked at the plate of food that Wicka had brought to her, wishing they had crackers to go with her cheese. Her eyes locked onto everyone else as she sat there. Her mind kept placing their own crew amongst the crews before her as the people here filled the air with laughter, singing, clanking of mugs, and silverware. She knew Shachi and Penguin would most likely be dancing with each other or someone else. Jean Bart would be with Zoro, having a drinking contest. And Bepo, being the bear he is, would be joining Luffy in his game of tug of war on a piece of meat with Sai and Abdullah as if they were dogs. She wasn't surprised when Luffy won. Tero would be off on his own, eating the food he wanted and drinking solo. Topaz would be sitting with her before getting pulled off by some of their crew. Tears stung her eyes. She forced herself to take a couple slow, deep breaths. She was going to cry herself into dehydration if she kept this up.
"Hey! Cheer up, you two!" Zoro said, walking over her Neo and Law. He put his arm around Law's shoulders and pulled him upwards towards him. "Come here!"
"Stop it!" Law demanded.
"Having enough?" Ideo asked, pouring more drink into Zoro's cup.
"Oh, thanks!" Zoro said.
Law cursed under his breath from being trapped in the swordsman's hold.
"How about you?" Ideo asked, turning to Neo. "Would you like a drink?"
"Don't you dare even think about offering that to her!" Law snapped.
"Huh? Why?" Ideo asked.
"Because her people can't drink any kind of alcohol! Plus, she's pregnant!" Law snapped loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Oh! I forgot about that!" Luffy said before running over to Neo. He dropped down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Neo's pregnant everyone! So be very nice to her!"
"You got it, boss!" everyone cheered. "And congratulations!"
"I'm an uncle!" Luffy laughed.
"You are not!" Law snapped. He tried to pull himself free of Zoro's grip but the swordsman refused to let go.
"Don't even bother," Zoro said. "You're stuck with Luffy just like the rest of us. Get use to thinking of him as your brother."
"He's not my nor Neo's brother!" Law said despite the futility in speaking up.
Neo's bangs fell over her eyes. Her arm tightened around on her knees. She felt like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. And she was tempted to have it do just that.
"Hm?" Drunken Cavendish hummed as he examined Neo's gloomy disposition. "I take it you told her and that's why she's so gloomy? And most likely that's why Farul is being so close to her right now."
"I did. And you're probably right." Law nodded before glancing at Neo and the horse behind her. "You're horse probably senses the change in her mood and is trying to comfort her. I've seen other animals do that too."
Farul whinnied and nodded his head like he was agreeing with Law.
"She's pregnant?" Jeet asked.
"I guess that would explain her behavior while we were riding with Straw Hat on that bull," Abdullah said. Both men inspected the blue haired girl before them.
"Wow! That's incredible!" Ideo said. "Congra-"
"No! It's not incredible! So don't say that!" Neo snapped. She jumped to her feet and glared at all the men before her. Surprised once again by her snappy behavior, she recoiled before turning and heading off to find a place where she could get away from everyone. "Just leave me alone!"
"Hm?" Luffy blinked as he watched his friend storm away from them.
Law sighed, feeling helpless as he watched her run up the stairs to one of the upper decks near the back of the ship. He then turned and looked at all the shocked pirates. He said, "Neo's not like other people, as I'm sure you've all have noticed by now."
"Trafalgar," Cavendish said, sensing where this was already going. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. They're going to find out anyway." Law nodded. He told them all everything about Neo, earning the typical shocked reaction from them like others in the past. Without staying to answer possible questions, he stood up, turned, and headed for Neo.
…
When Neo finally reached her destination, she pulled her medallion out from her clothes and stared down at it with her shadow covered eyes. Part of her was a bit surprised that Law didn't immediately come after her. But a part of her didn't want him to come after her. She just needed a minute, or more, to herself. She knew he would come. And he did. She could sense him coming up the stairs towards her. She could sense him stopping once he got to the top of the stairs. She could feel his mind going over and over how he could possible help her. He didn't know. And she didn't know either. All she knew was she didn't want this. Then, she felt him walking over to her. Neither of them spoke for a while. He just looked out at Dressrosa as it faded away from them while she continued to stare down at her medallion. Finally, after several minutes of not talking, she spoke. Her voice was low and scared as she said, "Law… make it go away. Take it away. Please?"
Law's entire body twitched upon hearing her words. She wanted him to get her out of this new, unwanted situation just like he always did for her when she needed it. The only difference with this situation was, it was happening inside of her. And that was something he couldn't remove her from. With a heavy sigh, he said, "I can't."
Neo gripped her medallion. Tears started flowing once again. "Just take me home."
"I am, love," Law whispered. "We're going home. Just be patient a little bit longer." Hesitantly, he reached out and placed his hand on her back. And once again, he felt her flinch under his touch. Sighing internally, he started wondering if she was more upset with him than either of them realized. After all, he said he would prevent this from happening but failed. Several minutes of silence passed between them before Neo's hunger passed to him. He knew he had to get her to eat more than she did. "Neo, we need to go back to the party so you can eat some more. You skipped breakfast and have only been picking at your plate here. That's not enough. You need to eat more since you're caring for our…"
Neo flinched as his voice trailed off. Another reminder that she was facing something new. She gripped her medallion harder, the sides pressed into her skin leaving indent marks. If it weren't for all the pain she suffered in the past, she would have squeezed it until her hand bled. "Law?"
"Yes?"
"I might need time to be by myself at times. Is that all right?"
"Of course it's all right. And if you feel at any point in time that I'm crowding you, don't hesitate to tell me."
"Okay." Neo nodded.
A few minutes later, Robin came upon Law's right side. She stared out at the ocean before saying, "Looks like we can't see Dressrosa anymore. That must take some pressure off you two. You achieved your goal by taking down Doflamingo, didn't you? Besides going home, what are you two going to do next?"
Law glanced at Robin and lifted an eyebrow at her. He couldn't help but feel like that was a stupid question since she knew they were still in motion to take down Kaido. But at the same time, her question did hold some merit. What were they doing to do exactly? He knew he couldn't answer that until they got back to the crew and the Polar Tang. Because his first priority was getting Neo back to her normal self. He started to turn away from the woman then paused upon seeing she was staring at Neo. It then hit him that she was only opening a line of communication to interact with Neo. It didn't work. Neo's eyes just remained covered by shadows. And he felt a small amount of resentment from her that was aimed at Robin. It made him wonder if she was upset with everyone for knowing she was pregnant and keeping it from her. Especially Robin since she was the first Straw Hat Neo came to like.
"I think it would be best if you just leave us alone for a while," Law said as he guided Neo away from the Straw Hat pirate. "I'm going to see if I can get Neo to eat some more."
"Yeah," Robin said softly as she watched Law guide Neo away from her.
Back down on the main deck, the two Heart Pirates sat back down where Neo's plate remained untouched by everyone else. The only difference was Farul was no longer lying there. The horse had gotten up and was in the middle of the party as his owner did some bizarre flip over him. Law shook his head at the drunken pirates before turning his full attention to Neo. He took off her boots, setting them aside, before working out the stiffness he knew was in her feet. "Eat."
Obediently, without resistance or question, she started picking at her food again. This time she ate a little over a fourth of it, just enough to satisfy her doctor and husband for now.
…
Meanwhile, out on another section of the sea, two storms were rocking the navy ships that were escorting Doflamingo to his prison. One of the storms was outside. It was a typical, normal storm with thunder, lightning, and violent waves. But none of that was able to compare to the storm that was brewing inside of the ship. This one was a storm of words and shocking revelations that the navy could never have prepared themselves for.
"Fujitora is an idiot, Tsuru. It was his last chance. If he had just sided with me and helped me eliminate of all those brats, it wouldn't have ended up like this. I was holding the reins to the monsters of the world. You shouldn't have taken me down. I'm sure you people will regret this," Doflamingo said. He laid stretched out on the floor. His sea prism stone chains were still binding him around his wrists, ankles, and waist.
"Don't say such pathetic crap," Tsuru said. With her arms and legs crossed she dutifully sat in her chair across from the warlord, watching him to make sure he didn't escape. "There is no if. It's crazy to even think about it. This outcome is the only reality. You lost."
"Oh, how can I best you?!" Doflamingo asked.
"The wolf knows what the ill beast thinks. What do you think will happen to the world of pirates?" Tsuru said.
"To answer your question with another question, what do you think the unleashed monsters of lost the food I supplied them will do? Is there anyone who's at the top of the ladder in all the seas now? Who's actually ruling all the seas? Is it one of the four emperors of the sea? Or the seven warlords who cleverly live out in the seas? Or the brats from the worst generation? No. The navy, the military forces of justice, is conquering the seas! There are some strong members who we must keep an eye on, in the Revolutionary Army, the ally of the people." Doflamingo started pulling on the chains that bound him to the floor. With his weakened strength, he was still able to loosen the chains that were attached to the walls. This caused several soldiers with guns to come running over. But Tsuru held up her hand to stop them from acting.
Doflamingo continued, "The family of D have been hiding in the shadows of history. When and where are they going to show themselves? Who's going to side with who? Who's going to betray who? Tell the Celestial Dragons in the Holyland of Mariejois that they'll be dragged down. It's been twenty five years since Gol D. Roger fully explored the while Grand Line. His archenemy, Whitebeard, didn't sit on the throne but just stood in front of it and took the reins. What about now?! The number of pirates is ballooning and there's one seat that's totally empty. You know what I mean, don't you? It will start. The biggest struggle for supremacy ever in the history of pirates."
Doflamingo paused, taking in the silence around him before he spoke again. "But before all that gets started, there's something else that I'm curious about. I'm sure the navy headquarters has recently received a very important, very special package from a man named Cethin."
"And how would you know about that?" Tsuru asked.
"Because he was in my employment when he sent it," Doflamingo said. "It should have been filled with a jar of pollution stones and a complete description on how to use them against certain creatures living amongst the humans, one in particular that's invaded the navy ranks. Or so I hear. But I'm sure you're not worried about him. I'm sure he's dutifully obeyed the navy since he joined up. But…"
Tsuru narrowed her eyebrows.
"I wonder," Doflamingo continued with a huge grin, "if his loyalty will remain to the navy when he finds out that his precious princess is in danger? And that danger is coming directly from the navy he serves."
"What are you talking about?" Tsuru asked.
"I'm talking about Princess Trafalgar Neo of the Heart Pirates. It's been questioned for a long time what she really is. And I can tell you she's not human. She and her people are elementals, creatures that control the elements of water, fire, earth, and air with their crystals. And she is the most powerful of them all. Did the navy really think her devil fruit was actually real? You all are not that stupid. No devil fruit has giving its eater more than one ability. And she has five," Doflamingo said.
"Five? What do you mean by that? She only has four. She can control the elements," Tsuru said.
Doflamingo chuckled darkly. "Oh, you are so far behind. She does have control over the elements. But she also has another crystal, a solar crystal that allows her to heal wounds. It's not an all powerful crystal, but it can be a pain to deal with when you're trying to kill her. She's kept that a secret along with her wings, all signs of her royal heritage. I also hear that her people, the elementals, are extremely loyal to their royal. And I'm sure just about every single one of them will come running to aid her and the Heart Pirates when they find out the navy is going to hunt down and kill not only her but also her and Law's precious baby."
"Baby?" a navy soldier asked.
"You heard me right. It's not a rumor," Doflamingo said. "Trafalgar Neo is pregnant. She's not only going to bear a child born of elemental blood, but also the blood of a pirate. If you don't believe me, you can always ask Fujitora to confirm this. I'm positive he already knows she's pregnant. And not only that, she's also the goddaughter of Red Hair Shanks."
"You can't be serious," Tsuru said with wide, shocked eyes.
"What?!" the soldiers gasped.
"She's Red Hair Shanks' goddaughter?!" another one asked.
"How can that possibly be?!" a third one said. "Does that mean all of her people are loyal to him?! He knew about them?! For how long?! What exactly is going on here?!"
"You are taking me to Impel Down, correct? I'm sorry but I need you to give me a newspaper everyday. I want to be able to keep up with how the world reacts to the storms that are coming soon. That way, I won't be bored," Doflamingo said.
...
"You've got to be kidding," Law said as he and Neo stared up at the brightly colored sails of the ship before them. Two of them were a murky yellow, but one was a lime green with black spots, a yellow splotch, and bright red letters saying Barto Club. It also had a huge figurehead of Chopper in the back and the front figurehead was of Luffy with his arms curling around the front of the ship. Basically it looked like a floating shrine to the Straw Hat crew.
Neo sighed. She didn't care what the ship looked like as long it got them home. She glanced back over at the rest of the crews. Luffy mostly, was saying goodbye to them while allowing them to take a piece of his vivre card.
"I guess this is finally goodbye for real," Wicka said from her perch on Neo's shoulder.
"Yeah." Neo nodded.
"I hope to see you again someday! Wah! I don't want to go!" Wicka cried as she clung to Neo's cheek.
"I hope we do get to see each other again," Neo said. She placed her finger on Wicka's back, a small hug for the little creature she became friends with. "Take care of yourself."
Wicka sniffled as she pulled away from Neo. "You take care of yourself too. And I meant what I said earlier. You're going to make a wonderful mother." With that, she jumped off Neo's shoulder and joined her own people that were preparing to head back to Dressrosa.
"Yeah… wonderful," Neo murmured. Without a word she followed Law across the gangplank someone had set out for them to cross to Bartolomeo's ship. The ship that was, finally, going to take them to Zou, to home.
"All right! Look around as you like!" Bartolomeo said once they all were on the deck of his ship. "This is the Barto Club's pirate ship that's filled with love for the Straw Hats! It's called the Mister Luffy Go!"
"Is this right, guys?!" Usopp asked. "It looks like Luffy's on this ship more than ours!"
"I'm so happy to hear you say that!" Bartolomeo said.
"It's not a compliment!" Usopp said.
"Oh! Look!" Luffy said, pointing up at the lamb like face on the upper deck from them.
"I'm glad you noticed it!" Bartolomeo said. He gestured to the lamb's face. "It was the Straw Hat's first pirate ship and dear friend the Going Merry! I duplicated its bow as a homage!"
"It's eyes look evil," Zoro said.
"Take a look at this curve!" Bartolomeo said, sliding along the curved railing that went along with the curve of Luffy's arm. "I asked a woodcrafter to duplicate Mr. Luffy's Gum Gum hands just like the real ones!"
"Could it be?" Robin asked, pointing to Chopper's horns.
"Yes, Miss Robin, you have a good eye! You're right! It's a homage to Mr. Chopper's horns!"
"Then those oranges are…" Usopp said.
"Yes! They're a homage to the orange trees that Miss Nami took from Miss Bellemere's grove in Cocoyashi Village!" Bartolomeo said as he bounced through the trees.
"Sometimes oranges are just oranges," Zoro said.
"I'm so moved! Look how nerdy those details are! Everywhere you look, you feel a sense of fun! It's filled with super love!" Franky said with tears flowing down his cheeks.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Franky!" the Barto Club said.
"A nerd has stirred a pervert's mind," Usopp said.
"And more than anything, what we're thrilled about now is, in the direction this vivre card is pointing towards, we have the real Mr. Luffy!" Bartolomeo and another pirate said, pointing at the vivre card sliding on a plate under glass sitting on a pedestal then to Luffy.
"Welcome! Thank you again for coming on board this ship!" Bartolomeo said, pressing his arm over his eyes and cried.
"Boss! He's so dazzling! I can barely see him!" a Barto Club member said.
"I know! Me too!" Bartolomeo said.
Luffy laughed as Usopp said, "So they're all like that."
"Anyway, it was nice of Sabo to make a vivre card of me," Luffy said.
"Oh, that's my great Mr. Sabo!" Bartolomeo said. "He's so thoughtful and strong! What a guy!"
"Uh huh." Luffy nodded as he stared down at the vivre card he was holding. He then pocketed the paper and sat down. "Oh, I had so much fun at the banquet! I like them now!"
"Bartolomeo, just hurry up and go to Zou," Law said as he sat down on the cushioned chairs the Barto Club had currently out on the deck of the ship.
Neo sat down beside him without a word. Finally in a place where they were going to travel longer, she immediately pushed off her boots. Stretching and wiggling her toes and feet before she pulled them upon the seat with her, she resumed hugging her knees.
"Eh? Who do you think you're talking to?" Bartolomeo said.
"I'm counting on you," Zoro said as he flipped through the paper.
"Okay! Leave it in my hands!" Bartolomeo gushed with pink cheeks. He then jumped into the air. "Guys! Let's head for Zou at full speed!"
"Yeah!" the Barto Club cheered.
"Anyway, I wonder if Sanji and the others got to the island safely," Usopp said.
"Nami was with them so I'm sure navigation was fine but they were chased by Big Mom's ship," Franky said.
"I'm worried," Robin said.
"Hey, Luffy," Zoro said.
"Huh?" Luffy looked at Zoro.
"It seems like our bounties have gone up," Zoro said.
"What?! Really?!" Luffy asked.
"Oh, you didn't know?!" Bartolomeo asked while a guy rolled out a red carpet and others lined up to lead the way into the ship. "Well, I have the wanted posters of you all in my room so come on!"
"Please!" the Barto Club said.
"All right, I'll come," Luffy said.
"Hey, Trafalgar. I threw out yours but your bounty has gone up to 500 million," Bartolomeo said, sliding up next to Law.
"Oh, thanks. But I don't care about the numbers," Law said.
"But I did save Neo's," Bartolomeo then said as he held out Neo's wanted poster. "I noticed there was something you might want to know about on there."
"Hm?" Law took the paper from Bartolomeo just before the man dashed off to join the others to look at their own bounty posters. Both he and Neo looked down at the paper.
"Just great," Neo said as she eyed the number on it. "It's raised to 100 million. Godfather and the elementals are not going to be happy about that."
"Yeah, but there's something else," Law said.
"What?" Neo looked over the paper again. And then she saw it. Just above her price was the words 'Only Alive'. "What?! But why?! It doesn't make sense!"
"It doesn't make sense," Law said as he continued to carefully examine the paper as if it would change right in front of his eyes. "Unless Jory was able to change your wanted poster so they'd only take you alive. There's also the possibility that the navy really does want you alive. After all, you are the royal to your people, and your people are starting to get more noticed because of you being in the newspapers. And they'll gain even more attention once the navy reveals your secrets to the world."
"Jory," Neo whispered. She dropped her chin to her knees and stared down at the deck. "I wonder… how this is going to affect him. Cethin sent those pollution stones to the navy headquarters. If he's there, they could effect him. And they could hurt him, both the stones and the navy. Not to mention all of the other elementals living around humans. They're all unaware of the pollution stones. Since I didn't know about it the navy could come to the conclusion that none of them do. This could cause some serious problems for the elementals."
Law nodded. "I know it's hard, but try not to worry. You've been under enough stress lately. Jory knows how to take care of himself. I'm sure if he feels like he's in danger from the navy having those stones he'll leave. And since this has all started, I'm sure he'll start to try and get the word out to your people about the pollution stones. And I'm sure Red Hair will also spread the word."
"Yeah," Neo whispered.
"You should call for him," Law then said. "I'm sure he's worried about you. And it could make you feel better to see him."
"He could be busy," Neo said. "I don't want to bother him. Remember, the other pirates are also targeting the emperors. I'm sure he knows what we've been up to. He'll call for me when he gets the chance to."
"I suppose you are correct," Law said. "Why don't you just sit back and relax? Try and take a nap if you can. I know you're tried and still feeling stress over what happened in Dressrosa. You didn't get much sleep last night either."
Neo nodded. Allowing herself, she closed her eyes. Like Law said, she was still stressed out and she didn't get much sleep last night. A nap would be really good right now. And her body agreed. It didn't take her long at all to fall asleep. Her body went limp as she instinctually leaned against Law.
"She's so worn out," Robin said a few minutes later when she walked over to her two Heart Pirate friends. She then looked at one of the Barto Club members. "Would you please bring me a blanket for her?"
"Yeah, ma'am! Right away!" the man cooed before running off into the ship. Within a minute, he was back with a blanket and a pillow in his hands. "Here you go! Fresh and clean!"
"Thank you very much," Robin said with a smile. She took them from the man and turned to Neo.
"No! Thank you!" the man cried with tears of rivers flowing down his cheeks. "You are so incredible! You're almost like a mother to her!"
"A mother, huh?" Robin asked with another chuckle. With Neo leaning against Law, she placed the pillow on the seat beside her friend then placed the blanket around her shoulders, draping it carefully over the rest of her body. She then brushed her hand over Neo's hair, noticing the twenty small braids in them but didn't mention them. "She's so tired."
Law nodded. He continued to stay by her side until the Barto Club started bringing out a meal for them. Since he didn't eat much on the other ship, he and his stomach decided he should eat some more. So carefully, he shifted his position to get free of Neo before laying her down with the pillow under her head. He watched her sleep for a few seconds before finally joining the Straw Hats and two samurai.
"Looks delicious!" Usopp and Franky said as they looked down at the meal the Barto Club had prepared for them.
"Okay, everyone! You can have as many second helpings as you like!" Bartolomeo said while his crew rushed more food over to them. "Show us that you can eat as much as they say!"
"Okay, thanks! It's really, really good!" Luffy said as he and the other men stuffed their faces with the food.
"The members of the Straw Hats are enjoying our homemade dishes so much!" a Barto Club member said.
"I'm so happy to be alive!" they all shouted.
Then, several minutes into their feast, Law felt Neo's peaceful slumber turn into a nightmare. He abruptly jumped to his feet, startlingly those around him.
"What's up, Tra?" Luffy asked, his cheeks full of meat. He and the others watched as Law ran back over to Neo.
Just as Law got back to Neo, she shot up from her nap and screamed. "Law!"
"I'm here," Law said, sitting down and wrapping her in his arms.
"Law!" Neo turned to him and grabbed his arm. "Your arm! Your arm's missing! It's gone!"
"It's fine, Neo. You just had a nightmare. See? My arm's still here," Law said. He moved his arm a couple times and allowed her to run her hands over it before tightening his hold on her as her fingers curled around his coat. Felling her tremble, he started rubbing her back while softly talking to her. "Shh… it was just a nightmare. It's over, both it and the fight. You're safe here. Do you understand?"
Neo nodded.
"What was that about?" Bartolomeo asked.
"Neo suffers from nightmares because of her past. Sometimes they're about her past, and sometimes they're about something else like this one was," Robin explained. She then looked up at the dark storm clouds that were rolling in above them. "Huh? I don't like the look of those clouds."
"What?!" Usopp shrieked. "Where did that come from?!"
"It's a hail storm," Neo said, pulling away from Law a bit.
"Then do something about it!" Usopp said.
"Sorry. But I won't be able to help. My magic just cut out on me again," Neo said. "And I didn't sense it because of my nightmare or I could have warned you."
"Don't worry about it," Law said, still rubbing his hand over her back. "It's not like we haven't weathered storms before."
Neo nodded just before a large piece of hail hit the water beside the ship, sending it jumping into the air. "They're also very huge hailstones."
"Couldn't you have told us before they hit?!" Usopp shouted.
"I'm sorry," Neo said, tears came to her eyes due to another mood swing. "I didn't mean… I…"
"Ack! It's okay!" Usopp shrieked while waving his hands frantically. "It's not your fault! You were asleep after all!"
"And if I wasn't asleep I wouldn't have let this storm slip upon us!" Neo cried. She tightened her hold on Law's coat and buried her face in his chest. "You hate me now!"
"No! Of course not!" Usopp said. "We still like you! Really we do!"
"Law! Hack him into pieces! He made me cry!" Neo said. She pulled back from Law's chest, looked him in the eye with narrowed eyebrows, and pointed at Usopp.
"Ack! No! Don't do that!" Usopp said as he danced around in a panic while Luffy laughed in amusement. "Shut up, Luffy! It's not funny! Help me out here, Tra! I didn't mean to make her cry! Honest!"
Law just huffed. He didn't know how to handle mood swings, so what could he do? He knew Neo didn't really mean what she said. And while Usopp technical did break the taboo of making Neo cry, he really couldn't do anything to the sniper since the crying was caused by a mood swing. "Easy, Neo. He didn't mean any harm."
"He made me cry!" Neo said, pressing her face back into his chest.
"I know." Law nodded.
"More of them are coming!" Robin said. "Look out!"
The hail then showered down on them, one landing on the deck, easily breaking the boards beneath it.
"What?!"
"It punched a hole in the deck!"
"Mr. Luffy and everybody! Get inside now!" Bartolomeo said.
"What are you talking about?! We'll help you!" Luffy said.
"Which way should we turn?!" Franky asked while he punched away some hail. "Who's your navigator?! Give us directions!"
"Oh, we don't have a navigator since we were a land based gang originally," Bartolomeo replied.
"What?! You're in the New World, you know?! How have you managed to survive up till now?!" Usopp shrieked.
"Hello, Grandma? It's me, Gambia!" Gambia said. "The thing is, huge hail just started falling on us."
"Whenever we're in trouble, we call Grandma in our hometown," Bartolomeo said.
"I see! So she knows about the sea!" Usopp said.
"Hey, I got it! We have some chewing gum stuck to the deck, right?" Gambia said after hanging up the transponder snail.
"Yeah, and we didn't know what to do about it!" several Barto Club members said while they pointed down at the deck.
"Wrap the hailstone in cloth and cool the gum to peel it off!" Gambia said.
"All right," a man said. He then shoved a piece of hail into a bag, pressed it to a piece of gum, and pealed it right off the deck. "It came off surprisingly easily!"
"We don't need that sort of wisdom now!" Usopp shrieked.
"But…" the man with the bag started. He was cut off when a hailstone hit him in the head.
"See! You got it!" Usopp said.
"Apply sugar to his lump, she says!" Gambia said.
"Enough with her wisdom!" Usopp said.
"Oh on! The ship's going to sink! Nami, help us!" Luffy cried out while clutching his face in terror.
"We had so many ships to choose from but we got on board the wrong one!" Usopp said.
"I guess we got to deal with this ourselves," Zoro said grabbing the hilt of his sword.
"If only we had the Sunny's equipment!" Franky said. He held up his arm as a shield for Robin to stand under.
"It's so lively," Robin said.
"Why aren't you using your barrier?!" Zoro asked.
"What?! Well, Grandma says that you'll regret it if you defy nature!" Bartolomeo said just as hail knocked two of his friends out.
"If you're so scared, get back on land!" Zoro snapped.
"Are these people for real? Neo, I need you to stay here," Law said as he guided Neo under Franky's arm. "Do you understand me?"
"Okay!" Neo giggled as she watched the hail falling down on them. "Such big hailstones! Can I play with them?"
"Huh?" one of the Barto Club members stopped when he heard Neo's bells. "Did I just hear bells in your-Ack!" Before he could finish, a large hailstone hit him on the head, rendering unconscious.
"Uh, I'd prefer that you didn't with your magic out. I don't want you getting hurt. Just… be a good girl and stay there," Law said as he eyed the now unconscious man and grabbed the hilt of his sword. For a moment, with Neo's sudden playful nature, he wondered if she was going to listen to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when she just stood there with a smile on her face.
Luffy pulled himself up on the figurehead. "I have no choice! I'll smash all the hailstones up!"
"Guys! We have the Straw Hats who don't even fear God and that's like getting help from a thousand people!" Bartolomeo said.
"Our appreciation rains down like hail and snow pellets!"
"How have you guys survived until now?!" Usopp asked.
"Gum Gum Gatling!" Luffy shot out his fists, crumbling the majority of the hailstones that were falling down on them.
"I'm so happy!" the Barto Club cried.
"You do something too, you idiots!" Zoro snapped.
"We really got on the wrong ship!" Usopp cried out.
…
Author's Notes: This chapter wasn't easy. I might figure out how to edit some of the minor characters chatter out later. I didn't know what to do with it and how to insert Neo into all of this. Also, bear with Neo's gloominess. There's something I really want her to do once they're back on the sub. And she can't do it if she's happy. Also, if I go overboard with her mood swings, pleeeease do tell me and I'll back off. Never really wrote for a pregnant woman before, despite Neo being so in the original, so I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing.
Sarge1130: I just love Luffy's multitasking. It's funny to watch. Can't wait for that in English. And had to have the gorilla do something with Neo. I like how it came out. A relaxing moment for her.
Starrat: Glad ya like.
Apple Bloom: It may take a while but I think she'll be fine. We're almost caught up to the manga too. I'm split on that. I wanna continue with this, but can't since we don't have more material. I'll do a couple chapters on my on after Zou, plus some extra better developed ones, then we'll have to wait for more. I really want to work on my others stories. I feel guilty for neglecting them. But we're almost there.
