~Queen Of The Sea~
11
No Borrower Nor Lender Be
Rheddii grunts in discomfort as she's all but crushed in the muscular arms of a clown pressing her face into his chest while he scoops her up and swoops her around.
"Look at yoooouuuuuu~ my little Rheddii~" he sniffled in tears of joy, smothering the red head in affection unseen by anyone of his crew…
But was nothing strange in the slightest to Rheddii.
"My lovely adorable precious little niece~ You;ve gotten so big now~ so pretty~ How old are you even now!?" He sniffs and sobs while the petite young lady struggles for breath and to break free of his grasp.
"BAH!" she takes in a few heavy and deep breaths coughing and laughing as she tries to recompose herself, "...I'm actually 18 now Uncle Buggy…so I would appreciate not being treated like a little kid…"
"Damn– Holy shit, 18 already?" Buggy muttered to himself as he carefully placed Rheddii back down to her feet, "I missed a lot of birthdays."
It was easy to forget Rheddii's age.
In fact it was even easier not to believe that she actually was the age she claimed to be.
Rheddii was a fairly small framed girl.
Petite even.
She was smaller than the average girl her age and wasn't voluptuous or curvy like most girls her age would be–
Lacking any sort of what most people would call sex-appeal.
She looked like she could easily be 12 or 13, making it rather simple for Buggy to swoop her up and carry her like he would any other kid…
The only reason he knew what she said to be true was because…well…he knew her.
It wouldn't be too far off base to say that there was a point in time where Buggy even helped raise her a little while Shanks was recovering from the loss of his lover–
Rheddii's mother–
Unsure of how to handle such a tiny baby on his own on top of grief.
The young red head really took a liking to Buggy during that time.
And while the clown acted indifferent–
Claiming to dislike children and chewing Shanks out for even coming to him for help with an infant–
Over time he came to adore her just the same–
At least when he thought Shanks wasn't looking.
In fact it was Buggy who taught her how to fend for herself with knives…
…And to throw them.
"Your aim sucks, kid." he said to her before swiping a swallow of wine, "And your presentation is god awful– Seriously, have I taught you nothing?" he scoffed.
Well that was a quick change of mood…
She pouted, puffing her cheeks while folding her arms over her chest.
"It's not like I was out to kill your men you know…" she pouts, "...I only wanted to get your attention."
"You should have killed'em~" Buggy hummed, "Woulda'got my attention a lot quicker." he laughed softly before taking another swallow of wine and heaving a sigh.
"Jokes aside…" he said softly, "...What are you doing here, Kiddo?" he asked, "What do you want?"
Rheddii's posture changed…
Relaxing into something more serious…
As well as being nervous.
"Actually Uncle Buggy…I came…in hopes of asking for a favor?"
Buggy froze mid swig as he pondered her words.
"...A favor, huh…?" he grumbled softly.
Slowly he began lowering the bottle, and his eyes would shift up to rest on her.
"...What kind of favor…?"
Xxx
Luffy happily stuffed his face as he and the mysterious Nami decided to tuck away into hiding until things calm down.
"Yum~" he hummed in delight, feeling satisfied to finally have some food in his belly, "So do you live in this big house all by yourself?" he asked.
"This isn't my house– I'm just staying here for the time being." said Nami, "Everyone's left this town because of Captain Buggy…"
"Ahhh…so you're just a petty thief."
"How rude! I only steal from people who deserve it. Like Pirates." said Nami, "So don't compare me to some scumbag petty thief."
"A thief's a thief as far as I'm concerned." said Luffy with a shrug.
"Hmph…" Nami scoffed, "My goal is to earn one hundred million berries– no matter how hard it is or how long it takes."
"What do you need so many berries for anyway?" Luffy wondered.
"It's a secret." said Nami, "...But with this chart of the grand line…that hundred million is a definite possibility."
Luffy paused for a moment.
"Wait…a chart?" he blinks curiously turning toward her, "...Are you a navigator?"
"I'm the most skilled navigator you're ever likely to meet~" Nami smirked.
"Oh wow! That's perfect!" said Luffy, "Then how about you join my crew? I've been looking to recruit a navigator!"
"Really?"
"Sure! You could be our newest crew member!"
Nami seemed to consider the opportunity for a moment…but then…something dawned on her.
"No." she said firmly.
Much to Luffy's disappointment.
"I suppose this means you're a pirate?"
"Yeah…" Luffy said softly as he placed a hand on his hat, "I made a solemn promise to the man who gave me this hat that I would form a crew and become the greatest pirate ever."
"There's nothing in this world that I despise more than Pirates!" Nami huffed as she slammed her hands down on the table.
"Aw come on~" Luffy whined, "Be our navigator!"
"I said NO!" she said, storming off in her frustration.
"...Your loss…" Luffy sighed, as he sat back down to continue eating the bread sitting out.
Best not to let it go stale after all…
And if the residents of the town really did leave their food behind…
He may as well take it for himself.
Nami leaned by the window sill looking out.
The voices of those who were chasing her could be heard below, still looking for her and wondering about where she could be hiding.
I've gotta do something about this…
She thought to herself as her eyes shifted and gazed back over to the dimwitted pirate captain she lured in with a snack.
And slowly…
The gears in her head began to turn.
"You know…I might actually consider taking you up on your offer…" she said to him, "...But only if you agree to certain conditions."
"Really?" said Luffy, "I'll do anything!"
"Well then…I'd like for you to come with me to pay a little visit to Buggy the Pirate~" said Nami, "But first–"
"Hmn?"
Within a matter of moments a rope was unraveled and swiftly tied and bound around the unsuspecting pirate captain.
"Is there a reason you had to tie me up?" he asked her.
"The rope's just for appearances." she said to him.
"Heh…well okay then." Luffy grinned, "I've been looking forward to meeting some other pirates! So let's get going!"
"Just hold your horses! What's the big rush huh!?"
And so her plan…
Had begun to put itself into motion…
Xxx
"Excuse me?" Buggy huffed with a raised brow and folded arms, "I haven't seen you in well over 10 years and you have the gall to come all the way out here to find me and ask for money!?"
"Hold on! It's not like I'm asking for free Money!" said Rheddii, "It's just a loan! One that I intend to pay you back for in full!"
"A loan?" he scoffed.
"Yeah…I promise I'll pay you back…I mean…if you'd be so kind as to lend it to me…?"
"Hmmmnnhh…." Buggy growled, drumming his fingers on his arm.
The infamous clown pirate was not only renown for being notorious…
But also greedy.
So when it came to matters of Money…
He was definitely very tight gripped.
"... And you thought to come and ask me of all people? Why not your dear old dad, huh?" he huffed, "Surely your old man could afford it– why don't you go asking HIM for money–"
He froze up as he took noticed of Rheddii's instant response.
She had doubled back and closed herself off…
Tightened up and fell into silence with her arms tightly enclosing around herself and her gaze cast anywhere but on him…
"...Oh…" he said softly, "..I see…so…you still haven't found your dad then, huh?"
"...No I haven't…" she said softly, "...But– it's not like I left home all that long ago either– so it could be I just haven't had the opportunity to cross paths with him is all!"
"Hmmm…" Buggy groaned as his grip tightened on his own arms.
Feeling a bit more like an ass than he intended to be when he mentioned her father–
Knowing full well about her past…
Buggy was certainly no fan of Rheddii's father–
But it was unfair to make her father's sins her own–
After all, even Pirates have their own code of honor…
"...Well surely you didn't swim here, did you?" he said to her, "So clearly you had a vessel before right? What about that? What happened to it?"
Rheddii sighed.
"I'm…sort of hitching a ride on a friend's boat right now…" she said softly, "Because…my original vessel was destroyed…no thanks to him." she scoffs, "The least he can do is haul me out of the ocean and chauffeur me around until it can be replaced." she grumbles, "The issue is– his path and mine are different, and if I stay too long…It could interfere with both our plans– and–" she paused, "...And…We could become too attached…"
Buggy froze up.
Looking back at her and remembering Rheddii's very limited time on this earth.
He understood why she was choosing to be alone…
But–
He still hated to see it.
That poor girl has known nothing but Loss and abandonment…
He grumbled to himself.
After they left me…
Her father left her…
It's not like it's hard to believe she'd seek me out…
But…
"Uuuughhh…" he groaned while frantically running his hands into his own hair, making his hat lopsided and crooked.
He was feeling it again.
The guilt.
And…
Sympathy…
Ugh.
Disgusting.
But…
His eyes shifted back over to her slowly.
Twitching as he tried so hard to hide the fact that she affected him.
She made him soft.
Softer than he wanted to be.
It disgusted him…
Finally…
He sighed in defeat.
"Just…give me a minute." he said to her, "Make yourself comfortable or whatever…I'll be back…let me just…see what I have." he sighed.
"Ahh– really!?" She beamed excitedly clasping her hands together, "Thank you so much Uncle Buggy! I promise you– I'll return every Berry~!"
"Yeah yeah–" he said waving her off, "Don't get too excited yet kid– It might not be very much you know– this is my treasure trove we're talking about here– and you know how I am when it comes to my treasure!" he huffs.
"Right…" she chuckled nodding, "I know Uncle Buggy…but any amount is better than no amount at all…"
"Feh…yeah….whatever…" he scoffs pouting as he searched through his collected valuables.
His cheeks were a bit flush…
He wouldn't say it…
But…
He really was touched by her and appreciated her gratitude…
That poor girl…
He thought to himself as he gathered some pieces he was willing to go without and started placing them in a small treasure chest.
The Smallest he could find, but it should still be able to hold enough.
She deserves a much better hand than she was dealt…
He sighed as he clamped down the chest with a soft smile on his painted lips.
Not that he'd ever let her see it.
"Here." he said to her as he shoved the chest against her, "It's not much…but it should at least get you a stupid non-broken boat." he chuckled, "Preferably one that won't break so easily either~" he scoffed, "Though, I'm not sure this place is really the best place to start looking…we kind of pillaged the join when we arrived." he chuckled sheepishly, "...So hold onto that for now and maybe stick with this friend of yours until you reach the next island…and try looking there." he said to her.
Her red eyes went wide as she accepted the chest in her arms, placing it to the side to throw them around Buggy instead.
"Thank you Uncle Buggy…I mean it!"
Buggy winced and tried to act tough, though the emotions would spill out of his eyes sooner or later if he didn't get rid of her quick–
Still…
His arms did begin to move in order to wrap around her in return…
…Only to be interrupted by a few of his henchmen bursting in through the tent in a panic—
To Be Continued