One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter Forty One [Rewritten]

-Chapter Forty-One-

"Clever trap, wasn't it?" Luffy hummed in thought as he and Usopp leaned up against the bars of the cage that we were all now trapped inside.

"Oh yeah, no way of seeing that one coming" Usopp nodded.

"That was the most cliché thing a villain could ever do in all of history" I deadpanned.

"What are you two talking about?" Nami frowned. "Skylar and I told you it was a trap in the first place! I can't believe what idiots you are!" she angrily snapped, frustrated by how dense the two were.

"Hey, you okay?" Zoro softly asked, worriedly checking me over for any damage that might have been caused by the fall. "You seemed pretty shaken up by that fall" he remarked.

"Yeah..." I sheepishly smiled, blushing as I scratched the back of my head. "I'm not exactly a big fan of heights...or falling for that matter..." I confessed.

"Hm, I don't know many that are" he hummed. "Well, maybe one" he said as both our gazes drifted toward the captain.

"Something's wrong...I feel weak all of a sudden..." Luffy suddenly groaned as seemed to just slouch right over as if he no longer had the strength to properly stand.

"Really? What's a matter—you hungry or something?" Usopp asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he is" I said, raising an eyebrow when Smoker suddenly stood from where he had been quietly sitting as he grabbed hold of his Jitte from behind his back.

"Luffy" Zoro warned, also having noticed the Marine's sudden movement.

"Luffy!" Nami gasped, startled the second Smoker suddenly struck the back of our captain's head without much warning.

"Hey! What was that for?!" I snapped. "He wasn't doing anything wrong!"

"I-I'll take you on if you want me to, you smoke-filled freak! I d-didn't do so bad against the bald guy, you know?" Usopp sputtered out. "S-so I'll just wait over here in the corner until you let me know when you're ready, o-okay?" he babbled as he started to slowly back away from the Marine.

"What's wrong?" Luffy weakly groaned. "I feel so helpless...it's like when I fall into the sea..." he bemoaned, tongue now lulling out as Smoker pressed the tip of his Jitte against the rubber man's back as if to hold him in place.

"Alright, just what have you done to Luffy?!" Nami frowned.

"The tip of this staff is made from a substance called Sea Prism Stone, a rare mineral that supposedly exists at a certain sea in the distant corner of the world" Smoker calmly explained over the lit cigars clamped between his teeth as puffs of smoke escaped past his lips. Barely did he even bother casting a glance towards Zoro who now looked just about ready for a fight. "Not much is known about it, but it's believed to give off mystical energy on the same wavelength as the ocean itself—basically, you can say it has the solid form of the sea."

"So it affects Luffy the same as if he had fallen into the ocean?" Zoro questioned as I started humming in thought.

"Oh!" I snapped my fingers in realization which caught everyone's attention. "Sea Prism Stone—that's what they use to make the prison cells for Devil Fruit users, isn't it?" I asked before shrinking back and away from the peculiar stares that I was now receiving from the others.

"Skylar, you know about that stuff?" Nami curiously asked.

"I...um...read about it once..." I nervously answered, not exactly lying as I quickly waved a dismissive hand and motioned back toward Smoker. "Continue, please" I said, now just wanting all of the attention off of me as quickly as possible.