Toffee tightened the wrap on her arm with a small smile, relieved this arm wasn't the one Chopper had bandaged for her the previous night, and pulled down her sleeve once she was certain it was secure. This was the decision they had all decided upon for telling friend from foe once they set foot on the shores of Alabasta; the Port Town of Nanohana being the groups first stop as the Going Merry carefully docked.
"Listen, guys! Use self control and try not to act on instinct too much!" Nami cautioned, her hands moving to rest on her hips.
"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji automatically agreed with a chirp.
"The guy who needs to hear that the most is already gone," Zoro muttered with exasperation as he watched Luffy rush across the sandy plains while screaming about food.
"GET BACK HERE!" Nami bellowed, unleashing a small growl when Luffy ignored her.
"I think I'll follow him. Luffy! Wait for me!" Toffee called out. Hopping off the ship and sprinting after Luffy with her arms stretched behind her, the gray haired girl had only made it half-way before falling flat on her face, this causing Zoro and the others to sweat drop at Toffee's usual clumsiness.
"Wow. Luffy actually stopped long enough to help her up..." Usopp mumbled out in mild surprise.
"I'm not sure if I would call that helping," Nami sighed out, pinching at her forehead since Luffy's arm had come shooting back to lift Toffee up, and he was now dragging her screaming form through the air. Apparently he had continued to run while 'assisting' her. "I suppose this way Toffee can keep an eye on Luffy and make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble..."
Zoro shook his head at this and stared blankly ahead. "The only question is, who's going to look after Toffee and make sure she doesn't get into trouble?"
Nami, Usopp, and Sanji exchanged looks before unleashing heavy sighs and slumping where they stood, having already decided the girls graceless, shy, and naïve nature probably led the twenty-two year old to end up in countless dangerous situations; Vivi only smiling sheepishly at the Straw Hats' slightly over the top reactions of concern while Chopper tilted his head in confusion.
"I think your scaring the towns people, Luffy," Toffee mentioned as the dark haired male charged through the crowded streets of the bazaar, causing people to quickly move to the side before they were barreled into.
"There! I found a restaurant!" Luffy excitedly exclaimed while sniffing at the air like a bloodhound. Toffee couldn't help but let out a small "oh no" when a grinning Luffy's arms stretched out, latching onto one of the buildings and launching himself toward it-much to the great alarm of the wide eyed populace.
Quickly running up to the door, Toffee covered her mouth seeing that Luffy had some how caused a massive hole through the wall along with the buildings directly behind it. The straw hat wearing male seemed completely oblivious toward the chaos he had created, having taken a seat at the main counter where he chanted 'food' happily and clinked his silverware together.
"I-I'm so sorry about the damage caused to your restaurant!" Toffee cried out, bowing over and over again in front of the nervous looking owner once he had placed a large amount of food in front of the ecstatic teen.
"Y-you really have other things to be worrying about. Like those two guys this kid just sent flying..." the man stuttered out with multiple beads of sweat pouring down his face.
"Eh? Two guys I sent flying? When did I do that?" Luffy inquired innocently.
"Probably when you made the hole..." Toffee mentioned meekly, hoping Luffy hadn't severely hurt whoever he had apparently hit when propelling himself into the eatery.
"Hole?" Luffy mumbled through a mouthful of food, blinking for he had just noticed the depression. "That's pretty weird to have in your building, mister. No wonder this place is a mess!"
"IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT IT IS!" the customers shouted angrily, narrowing their eyes at the carefree boy. However fear suddenly replaced the anger the people wore, and they abruptly fled to a corner of the room. Toffee blinked at their sudden strange behavior, understanding why when seeing a heavily irritated man wearing an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, stomping toward them.
"Luf- Oi Luf-!" the shirtless male started to shout out, only for his face to be painfully slammed into the ground by the person behind him.
Why is Captain Smoker here Toffee pondered in alarm, tensing up where she stood. She couldn't help but glance over at the unknown male considering he wasn't moving. Smoker must have been really determined to catch Luffy if he had knocked someone out cold.
"I've been looking for you, Straw Hat! So you did come to Alabasta," Smoker muttered, his eyes narrowing down at the male. His right eye ended up twitching when his presence wasn't acknowledged. "Quit eating!"
Toffee nervously stepped forward and gave the white haired male a small smile. "Luffy's only focus has been on food since we docked, so it'll probably take him a moment before he reacts to your presence..."
"Why are you with Straw Hat, Toffee of the Shadow Strikers?" Smoker mumbled, turning to the woman with an indifferent expression.
"You can just call me Toffee, you know," the gray haired woman chuckled out awkwardly, rubbing at the back of her neck. "And I guess I sort of became a part of the Straw Hats..."
"You went from being an assassin to a pirate...?"
"Y-yes? Is there something wrong with that?" Toffee asked with an innocent tilt of her head.
An anger vein formed on the back of the tall and muscular marine captain's head. The girl really was an idiot and possibly just as insane like the rest of her family! What sort of sane person would go from one dangerous profession to another position that was that more risky?! More so when they had the chance to be free from a life of crime if Toffee had really left her family behind like she had claimed.
Smoker opened his mouth to chastise the woman, his words getting caught in his throat when Luffy spit pieces of his food into his face.
"You're that smoke! What're you doing here?!" Luffy randomly cried out to the badly twitching Smoker.
"Bastard..."
"Hold it!" Luffy interrupted when the captain leaned forward as if to attack. Shoving the remainder of his food into his mouth, Luffy looked at the owner and gave a small bow, saying through a mouthful of food, "Thank you for the meal!", and then fled from the establishment.
"Erm, want a hanky for your face?" Toffee offered sheepishly after pulling a simple light blue one from her waist bag.
"Stay there." Smoker instructed gruffly, surprisingly taking the fabric from Toffee and then charging after Luffy.
I almost feel like I should do what he says Toffee thought with a wobbly smile. Toffee let out a small "huh?" when the dark haired male was soon pursuing after them, (even apologizing when he had bumped her arm when he rushed by), shouting for the straw hat wearing male to wait. Luffy sure is popular around here...I wonder how that guy knows him?
"They ran off without paying..." the owner muttered, more in bewilderment from the odd events that had taken place than anger.
"Um...I'm sure this isn't enough to repair the damages to your restaurant, but maybe it will help a little." Toffee expressed softly, placing a small bag of beli in front of the surprised bulky male. She had made sure to take out a few pieces for herself just in case.
Of course Nami gave that to me earlier for any supplies I needed, and she'll probably kill me when she hears I gave it away Toffee decided, inwardly crying as she made her way for the door. However seeing marines running for the restaurant, she flipped around and headed out the man-made holes instead.
Toffee had a feeling Luffy would be okay on his own, but she needed to find a change of clothes. Those marines had most likely been informed by Smoker about what she looked like and had been wearing, and they would be searching the town for her now that she had fled.
Spotting a clothesline with various forms of apparel upon it, Toffee smiled and took a silken long sleeved pink shirt, a pair of purple puffy pants with a V-shaped waistline, and a simple white turban. Sending Heartless into the nearby house, she climbed through an open window when he gave her the okay that the residence was empty.
"Wow! Its so comfy!" Toffee chirped after discarding the clothes she had been wearing. Leaving what little money she had left on a nearby table, the pink eyed female made sure the gladiator sandals she sported were tight before dashing out of the abode with Heartless remaining close to her side just in case they ran into trouble.
Glancing around after leaping up onto one of the roofs for any sign of the rest of the crew, a small bead of sweat trailed down the side of Toffee's head since she could make out Luffy fleeing from a good number of marines...and he was heading directly for his friends-who had been hidden behind a broken stone wall-even with the danger following him.
"Oi! Why the hell isn't Toffee with you?!" Sanji screamed after following behind Luffy when he rushed past them.
"Hmm...She was at the restaurant. She hasn't met up with you guys yet?"
"That should be obvious!"
"Glad I found you guys before you boarded the ship!" Toffee chimed in, her sudden appearance beside Usopp making the sniper yelp and jump from surprise.
"SO YOU DID LEAVE HER BEHIND!"
"Eh? But Toffee's fine, though. Right?"
"Mhm! I didn't have any trouble with the marines at all!"
"See!" Luffy laughed out with a grin, his nonchalant demeanor further annoying Sanji who's forehead was covered with throbbing veins.
"I-I think we have bigger problems, guys!" Usopp gulped out when turning around to see Smoker sending a cloud of dense smoke toward them at an alarmingly fast rate.
"White Blow!"
"Heat Haze!"
These sudden yells alarmed the group as a burst of flames had stopped Smoker's attack from connecting with Luffy.
"You may be smoke, but I'm fire. Your powers don't stand a chance against mine," the mysterious man proclaimed with a confident smirk to the fuming marine captain.
"Ace...?!" Luffy cried out, his dark eyes completely wide.
"You haven't changed a bit, Luffy," the man known as Ace claimed, turning to look at the gaping teen with a grin. "Well we can't talk like this. You guys run. I'll catch up to you. I need to stay here and stop these guys for you."
After Luffy gave the okay to do as the dark and curly haired male instructed, the group quickly continued on their way back to the Going Merry. Luffy had taken to running backwards, a grin on his face as if he could still see the man they had left behind. Toffee wasn't sure what was going on, but it was clear this Ace person meant a great deal to him.
Once they had reached their destination, before boarding the ship, Vivi gave instructions to Carue to head for Alubarna to deliver a letter directly to her father. The princess wanted him to know not only that she was alive and back in her home country, but about all of the information Igaram and her had gathered on Crocodile and his true devilish character.
"So who was that guy anyways?" Usopp questioned when Carue was out of sight and they were all safely on board.
"Oh! Ace is my brother!"
"That guy back there...was your brother?!" nearly everyone gasped out in shock.
"Well I'm not surprised you have a brother, but why is he here in the Grand Line?" Zoro asked with a raised brow.
"He's a pirate. He's looking for the One Piece. Ace is three years older than me. So he left the island three years earlier."
"What are the odds of the both of you eating a devil fruit...?" Sanji mumbled.
Luffy laughed at this and gave a wide grin. "I know! I was surprised too! He hasn't eaten one before. Even then, I could never beat him in a fight. Ace is really strong!"
"Not even once...? Against a regular human?" Nami whispered out in amazement.
"The monsters brother must be one hell of a monster..." Usopp voiced in awe.
"Yeah! I always got my ass kicked, but I could beat him now!"
"Just who...can you beat?" Ace mused, kicking Luffy off the rim of the ship where he sat and landing where his younger brother had once been in a cat-like crouch. He then turned to Luffy's crew and lowered his head in a bow. "Hey everyone, thanks for taking care of my brother."
"No kidding." was the simple reply as Toffee and everyone returned the male's polite bow.
"So why are you here, Ace?" Luffy asked, straightening his hat once back on his feet, not bothered at all by the surprise attack.
"Huh? Didn't you get my message in Drum?" Ace inquired, merely shrugging it off when Luffy seemed confused. "Anyways, I'm glad I saw you. I'm here for a silly little task, so I'd figure I'd try and meet up with you. Luffy...will you come join the Whitebeard pirate crew? With your friends too, of course."
"No way."
Ace wasn't perturbed by the simple reply and unleashed a loud laugh. "Just thought I'd ask."
"Wait...Whitebeard?! So the mark on your back is real?!" Usopp couldn't help but gulp out, remembering the purple bones formed in a cross behind a purple skull with a white mustache.
"Yes. It's my pride and joy. Whitebeard is the greatest pirate I've ever known. I want to make him the Pirate King...Not you, Luffy...!"
"That's fine. I'll just fight him." Luffy calmly voiced, his words causing Ace to smile.
Taking a drag from his cigarette, Sanji turned to the dark haired male, "Why don't you come inside if you want to talk? I'll make some tea,"
"Oh no. Don't worry about me. This'll only take a minute," Ace turned down amiably.
"I don't see Smoker-san and those other marines anywhere," Toffee spoke up, scanning the banks when they started to get further away. They wouldn't be able to catch up to them, now.
"Yeah. I threw them off with my Flame-Flame power," Ace said with an almost mischievous grin, this earning impressed gazes from Chopper and Usopp that he could handle so many men all on his own. Reaching into his pocket, Ace tossed what looked like a simple piece of paper at Luffy. "I wanted to give this to you. Always keep that with you."
"This piece of paper?"
"Yup. That paper will let us meet again. You don't want it?"
"No! I do!"
Ace chuckled at the quick response. "Having a dumb little brother...makes an older brother worry. He probably gives you guys lots of trouble, too. Take care of him for me..."
"What? Your leaving already?!" Luffy said with disappointment when Ace hopped off the ship, landing on a small boat, that was fit for only one person, that he had tied to the Going Merry.
"Yeah. I told you, I only came to do that. 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 second corps. My subordinate. He committed the worst possible crime on a pirate ship...crew mate killing." Having been staring off into the distance, Ace turned back to Luffy with a grin. "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 the Pirates' Summit."
"See you later!" Luffy exclaimed with a smile, not looking sad as he waved goodbye to the departing male.
"No...no way! How could someone that sensible be Luffy's brother?" Nami gasped out, seeming a tad flustered.
"I was sure he would be as irresponsible as Luffy," Usopp agreed with a look of disbelief.
"Brotherhood is a wonderful thing..." Chopper sniffled out.
"What a great guy. Cares about his brother..." Zoro voiced, a little sentimental himself.
"I don't get it...The seas a mysterious place..." Sanji sighed out.
"Please, everyone..." Vivi spoke up sheepishly, afraid the remarks might end up causing Luffy to feel insulted if he overheard.
Toffee giggled at the conversation going on and smiled softly. "Luffy must have been happy getting to see his brother after so long." she mused considering the captain didn't take his eyes off Ace until his form vanished from all of their sights.
"Here you go," Nami said with a smile. She had just finished sewing the piece of paper Ace had given Luffy behind the red ribbon attached to his hat.
"Thanks, Nami! Now I don't have to worry about it. I'll never lose it," Luffy exclaimed happily.
Approaching Luffy, Vivi handed the male some more appropriate desert based clothing. "Wear this, Luffy-san. You'll get sunburned if your skin is exposed,"
"Why are your clothes so skimpy then?" Luffy pointed out, glancing from the princess to Nami who were both wearing clothing more typical to a dancers.
"We're going to wear coats, too," Nami replied, rolling her eyes when Sanji shouted out his disapproval at the idea. "I noticed you already changed your clothes, Toffee. Since you don't have any other items on you, I'm assuming you didn't spend the money I lent you?"
Nervous beads of sweat started to pour down the back of Toffee's head when Nami extended out her hand with a pleasant smile. She had been dreading this moment. "Erm, not exactly...I sort of gave the money to someone who needed it more..."
"So you didn't buy any supplies...You just gave the money away as charity?" Nami hummed out, the glint in her eyes making Toffee gulp. And it wasn't long before the red-head had Toffee by her collar where she shook the petite girl violently back and forth. "Have you forgotten your a pirate?! You're not supposed to just give things away!"
"B-b-but! The poor restaurant owner had a massive hole in his establishment! And he was still nice enough to fix Luffy a meal even after the damage!"
"Then it's your fault!" Nami growled out, dropping Toffee to the ground and placing a well deserved punch upon Luffy's head that caused him to yell out a "yowch!"
Usopp shivered while he had taken to hiding behind Zoro. "Nami's always so scary when she gets like that..."
"That's an understatement," Zoro muttered out with an indifferent gaze, his focus turning on Vivi who was kindly helping a dizzy Toffee off the ground. "Vivi. What's our next destination?"
"Once we cross the Sandora river, we'll be heading for a place know as Yuba. That's where we'll find the leader of the rebels."
"So I just have to kick his ass, right?!" Luffy declared, punching his fist forward.
"Would you stop that!" Vivi groaned out as that always seemed to be Luffy's decision to everything. "I want to persuade the rebellion not to shed any more blood..."
"A rebellion of 700,000 people? Will they stop?" Zoro mused with a smirk.
"Will they...stop...? We'll discover everything on the way to Yuba...Exactly what the Baroque Works has done to this country! Exactly what the Alabastan people have gone through...!" Gripping at the long light blue skirt she wore, Vivi continued, "We can stop the senseless violence...! I won't let Baroque Works do what they want to my country!"
"Vivi..." Nami voiced softly, looking at the princess with concern
"I'll make a special desert crossing lunch for you, Vivi-chan~" Sanji sung out.
"Whoa! This sounds exciting!" Chopper exclaimed.
"Sorry about that..." Zoro apologized with a grin.
"Okay! I understand! Let's go to Upa!"
"That's Yuba, Luffy..." Usopp muttered with a sweat drop.
Laughing lightly, the smile that had been on Toffee's face fell slightly when she noticed Vivi's gentle brown eyes had an almost distant look to them. She seemed to have gotten lost in her thoughts about something or possibly someone.
Maybe it's just me...but I wonder if Vivi knows the person we're going to meet?