~Queen Of The Sea~
8
Beware Of Captain Buggy!
-
"Ugh…I'm so hungry…" Zoro groaned.
"Blame yourself." Rheddii grumped, "You idiots ate all the supplies I had."
"Not that it was really much supplies to begin with…" said Luffy.
"We could have rationed it! If you idiots didn't have the appetites of dogs." she groaned.
They each sighed in defeat…
"Check it out…it's a bird…" said Zoro as they all looked up and found the creature soaring high over head.
"I know! Let's eat it!" Luffy beamed.
"What!? Eat it!?"
"How the hell are we supposed to catch it!?" asked Zoro.
"Just leave that to me!" said Luffy, "Now…Gum Gum…ROCKET!"
Like a slingshot, the young pirate captain fired himself upward…
Directly on course for the bird–
Much to their surprise.
"Sure…makes sense." said Zoro.
"Though…knowing Luffy…something is gonna screw up…" said Rheddii.
And right she was…
That bird turned out to be even bigger than expected…
And was now carrying the struggling captain away.
"YOU DUMBASS! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON NOW!?" Zoro huffed as he and Rheddii began rowing like mad men.
"I TOLD YOU SOMETHING WOULD SCREW UP!" said Rheddii
"I BLAME YOU! YOU JINXED IT!" said Zoro.
As they rowed for their lives–
Or rather–
For the life of the fool-hardy Captain Luffy–
They came across some men struggling in the sea.
"Hey! Wait! Stop! Men over board!"
They began waving for help and Zoro released a grumble.
"I can't believe I'mm finding Ship wreckees at a time like this!" Zoro huffed, "I can't stop! You're just gonna have to jump in!"
"WHAAAAAAT!?"
Amazingly enough though…
They did wind up making it.
"I'm actually impressed you made it on board!" Zoro laughed.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US!?"
"Keep going Zoro! Keep up that pace if you can!" said Rheddii, "I still see Luffy."
"You can see that far!?" he asked her.
"Huh? Oh…yeah…I've always had pretty sharp eyes I guess…it comes in handy sometimes."
"Hah! Good to know!" said Zoro.
However…
As if their luck couldn't get any worse–
The stragglers they rescued turned out to be trouble themselves.
"Stop the boat, now…!" said the middle man, "The three of us are members of Buggy The Clown's Pirate crew!" he said to them, "This boat is ours now."
"Huh?" Zoro groaned in annoyance.
Wait…
Rheddii froze up and slowly glanced back at them.
Did he just say…
Buggy…!?
"Wait– STOP!" Rheddii said quickly stepping between them.
"What the HELL are you doing!?" asked Zoro.
But Rheddii didn't move an inch.
In Fact…she seemed different.
Determined…
And Confident.
"...I know Buggy….personally." she said firmly, her burgundy eyes narrowing into mid-lid.
"And believe me when I say…if you hurt me…you'll be real sorry." she said to them.
"Oh yeah– you really think so, you little brat!?" the men scoffed, "And just what do you have to do with our Captain, Buggy!?"
She smirks.
"Well…do you really wanna take the risk of testing me to find out…?"
They froze up for a moment…
Feeling a bit deterred by her unwavering confidence.
She just seemed so sure…
That they really did begin to question if the risk was worth taking.
"Good job– you distracted them…" said Zoro, "Now…just leave the rest to me~"
Xxx
"Ha ha ha~ So sorry~ We had no idea you were the famous Pirate Hunter Zoro~" the stray crew members changed their tune quickly as soon as Zoro put them in their place.
"More than that…If Buggy found out we had even dared to try and hurt Rheddii– he'd have our heads for sure."
"Huh…so you mean…you really DO know this Buggy Guy?" asked Zoro, "It wasn't just a bluff?"
"I'm surprised you DON'T know him…Pirate Hunter…" Rheddii sighed, "But to answer your question…yeah…I do."
"Tch…well whatever the story is– I don't really care right now." said Zoro, "Thanks to his goons here…we lost sight of Luffy." he gruffed, "So just keep paddling."
"Yes sir!"
"Don't worry, Zoro…" said Rheddii, "He may be out of your sights…but I still see him." she said to him, peaking his curiosity when he noticed that she remained focused in one direction…while her eyes glowed a blazing red.
"...I know where he's going…we'll spot him soon enough…once we hit land."
Red Eyes…
Zoro wondered curiously.
…What kind of power does this girl have exactly…?
"So…any ideas about what we do now?"
"Good question…if Captain Buggy finds out a girl stole our boat and our treasure we're history–"
"Worse than that if we pile on almost hurting Rheddii on top of that!"
The three Buggy crew mates began to grumble and mumble amongst themselves…
"So who is this Buggy guy then?" Zoro finally asked, now that he was reassured that they'd find Luffy soon.
"You've never heard of Buggy the clown!?"
"Nope."
"He's the ruthless captain of our Pirate ship…and he's eaten one of the devil fruits!" said the crew member, "But above everything else? He is one truely terrifying man…"
"Who? Good old Uncle Buggy?" said Rheddii with a grin, "Nah~ He's no threat~" she giggled, "He's nothing but a big old goof ball!"
"MAYBE TO YOU!"
"Uncle, huh…?" Zoro muttered.
Rheddii couldn't help but giggle.
Seems I'm getting a bit of mixed reviews about this guy…
Zoro thought to himself, his eyes shifting between the people around him.
On the one hand…
Rheddii seems to be giddy about this man…
On the other…
The guy's own crew mates seem to be afraid of him…
Interesting…
He grinned.
I guess I'll just have to meet the guy…
And find out just how strong he is for myself…!
To be Continued