One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter Nineteen [Rewritten]

-Chapter Nineteen-

"Hold on" Zoro said, one hand held up before suddenly lifting and flinging me over his shoulder. "Okay, let's go" he firmly nodded.

"W-what?" I sputtered out, cheeks flaring up in embarrassment the moment I felt his hand press against my lower back and dangerously close to my bottom. "I can run on my own, you know!" I exclaimed, the flush on my face already beginning to spread the moment I heard his laughter.

"It'll be quicker this way" I couldn't tell if that was a jab at my ability to run—which wasn't that bad—or a lame excuse as I quietly huffed, crossing my arms. Turning my gaze forward ahead of me, I watched how the Marines gave chase as a cloud of smoke weaved its way through them before eventually morphing itself into Smoker.

"Not good, here he comes! Not good!" Luffy loudly whined as he pushed himself to run faster. "Not good" he repeated, getting more frantic and louder each time as the pounding of everyone's feet and his panicked screams now filled the one quiet air before eventually...

Silence.

Within the blink of an eye, everything and everyone grew deathly silent—their voices quickly becoming lodged within their throats due to shock as their feet came to a screeching halt.

"You again!" Smoker grounded out.

"Just give it up" the mystery man from earlier grinned, suddenly appearing between us and the Marines in the blink of an eye much to my and everyone else's startled surprise. "While you may have the power of smoke, mine is fire—a fight between the two of us would be pointless, it would probably go on forever" he said, grin growing cocky now as flames now engulfed the tips of his fingers.

"Alright, looks like mystery man has Devil Fruit powers" Zoro noted

"What? No way—I wonder what gave it away?" I sarcastically asked, mocking surprise before snorting at the swat a received on my lower back.

"Your sarcasm is not needed" he huffed, though the smile in his voice gave away how amused he really was.

"Who is this guy anyway? And why is he helping us?" Usopp asked.

"That you, Ace?" Luffy suddenly inquired, causing my eyes to widen as I hit a balled-up fist against the palm of my hand.

"Oh!" I exclaimed in remembrance, finally recalling the many wanted posters and news articles based around this particular man—Portgas D. Ace was his name and he was a well-known member of the Whitebeard Pirates if I remembered correctly.

"You haven't changed a bit, Luffy" Ace smiled while casting a glance back at our group.

"Is it you, really?" Luffy asked. "Whoa, did you eat a Devil Fruit or something?" he inquired, sounding rather surprised by the other man's fiery display.

"Yeah, the Flame Flame fruit" Ace nodded. "Anyways, now's not the time for chatting," he said, waving his hand as if to shoo us away, "you guys got to get out of here—I'll catch up" he assured us while turning his attention back towards the Marine. "Don't worry about these guys, I got them. Go on."

"Let's go!" Luffy firmly nodded, already starting to run as he gave the order.

"Yeah, coming!" Usopp agreed, quick to follow after the captain.

"But, Luffy" Nami called out as the rest started to follow after as well.

"Who is that guy back there?" Sanji asked, finally voicing the question that was clearly on everyone's mind.

"Hey, when are you planning on putting me down?" I asked—being carried over someone's shoulder like a sack of potatoes wasn't exactly the funniest experience in the world. Already could I feel my stomach starting to ache in protest to the repeated jabbing of the swordsman's shoulder.