One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter Twenty Seven [Rewritten]

-Chapter Twenty-Seven-

"I don't know where it came from" Luffy confessed through a mouthful of meat, cheekily smiling at the pointed look that I gave and causing me to sigh as I shook my head with a small smile. "It was getting eaten by mystery plants while I was chasing those birds" he explained.

"Mystery plants?" I questioned with a raised brow.

"It's obviously not a wild camel" Nami said, cutting the rubber man off before he could say anymore as she now started to closely examine the animal.

"No, not with a saddle and bridle" Vivi agreed with the shake of her head as Chopper approached the camel.

"So it's not a wild animal?" I asked.

"That's correct" Nami nodded.

"Then that just makes me wonder what happened to its owner" I pondered aloud. "Maybe he was killed by those mystery plants Luffy was talking about" I theorized, sending a shiver straight down Usopp's spine.

"Don't say something so morbid when I'm trying to eat!" he cried, wildly shaking his head clear of the thought of some man being torn to shreds by a couple of plants.

"Uh...yeah, it is you" Chopper suddenly spoke up in realization. "Really? Good for you" he smiled as he started to communicate with the camel.

"Wait, so you guys know each other?" Luffy questioned before taking another huge bite out of the piece of meat he was eating.

"Uh-huh, he gave me a ride when I escaped from..." I jolted the second I felt something brush against my lower back, causing my attention to instantly snap to the swordsman beside me.

"Stop that!" I quietly hissed.

"Stop what?" Zoro feigned, grinning from ear to ear as he tilted his head.

"You know what..." I embarrassingly muttered before silently yelping the second I felt a harsh pinch through the fabric of my robe and against the underside of my thigh and dangerously close to my bottom. "You...!" I struggled to find the words I wanted to say as my face exploded with color the moment I saw that shit-eating grin of his only grow before he leaned toward me.

"You're quite fun to tease, you know that?" he breathily breathed, chuckling as I pushed him away with an embarrassed huff upon realizing that he was only bored and trying to amuse himself.

"He's a passage-carrying camel?" Usopp asked, unintentionally interrupting me before I had a chance to properly respond to the swordsman's teasing. "That sure is going to make things easy" he grinned.

"Yeah, that ought to be a real help" Sanji agreed. "It looks like he could carry three" he remarked after giving the animal a good look over.

"Camels do go hand in hand with deserts" Zoro said, just now deciding to join in on the conversation.

"Great, I'll take the first shift" Luffy smiled as he eagerly began to climb atop the camel.

"I don't think he wants you riding him" I chuckled as the camel harshly bit down on the captain's head as if to protest the rubber man's attempts to climb aboard. Working as a translator for the camel, Chopper soon explained to us that the camel didn't exactly accept male passengers. This little fact seemed to greatly upset Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji as they all angrily beat up the animal.

"Aw, it's okay—we're sorry about those mean old bullies" I cooed, sweetly rubbing underneath the animal's chin as Nami and I began to comfort him.

"Yeah, they're just a bunch of jerks" Nami cooed as well, smiling as she climbed on top of the camel with no issues. "Now, what should we call you" she suddenly pondered out loud.