One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter One Hundred and Forty Eight [Rewritten]

-Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Eight-

"Stop being so stupid and listen to me! All you're going to do is stay put because if you go anywhere or do anything, you're just going to get lost!" Nami snapped as she angrily tossed both mine and Zoro's swords over the balcony and into a nearby tree.

"Hey, stop that! What do you think you're doing?!" Zoro snapped right back.

"Nami!" I scolded as I watched how the swordsman was quick to lean over the railing in a desperate attempt to grab at the swords...only for them to fall further down the tree the second his fingers brushed against them. Without a second thought, he threw himself over the railing in an attempt to reach them—to prevent them from falling too far down and forever being lost or permanently damaged. If I'm being honest, I wasn't really that concerned about my own swords. It was her treatment of Zoro's swords that upset me since I knew how much one of them in particular meant to him—I knew how much he cherished his Wado Ichimonji because it used to be Kuina's.

"I'll put this in simpler terms for you—you have no sense of direction" Nami stressed, trying to get it through the swordsman's head why she needed him to stay right where he was. "So I'm going to go find the others with Skylar and after that, we'll come back for you."

"And why exactly do I have to go with you?" I asked, raising a questioning brow.

"Because you're easier to handle and your sense of direction is a lot better than his" she simply responded.

"Fair enough" I shrugged, seeing no reason to argue.

"Hey!" Zoro snapped, dangling from the railing of the balcony as he continued to try and grab hold of the five swords that were precariously balancing on the branches of the tree. Nami only ignored him as she dragged me back into the hallway of the building.

"Hey, you!" we both flinched as the sudden deep and authoritative voice that called out to us. "What are you doing over there?!" the Marine snapped as I silently pressed myself flat against the wall, trying my hardest to just blend in with it so as not to be seen by the man who came storming toward us. "Enough with the slacking off, little missy! Now get back to cleaning!"

"Aye, aye! Sir!" Nami saluted, ready to follow the man without question before halting and tensing up the second he suddenly stopped and turned his head in my direction.

"And who might you be?" he asked, eyes now narrowing in suspicion as he carefully examined me.

"She's...uh...she's the new recruit!" Nami nervously laughed, quick to say the first lie that came to mind as she warily watched how the man hummed to himself in thought as if he was considering her words before eventually he nodded.

"Very well then, let's get you a uniform then—it's unprofessional to be walking around without one, doesn't matter if you're a new recruit or not" and with that, he motioned for us to follow. I bit my tongue the minute I was given a standard Marine uniform to change into before Nami and I were eventually led to the doors of an old gymnasium.

"Your next assignment is to clean the old gym!" the Marine instructed as I uncomfortably pulled at the shirt of my uniform, barely paying attention to the instructions he was giving us on exactly how clean he wanted this place to be by the time he returned. It felt...strange...staring down at myself in this outfit—it was unpleasant really as I had hoped there'd never be a day where I'd ever find myself stuffed into such a uniform. Already in the back of my mind, I could hear those familiar voices whispering praises that sounded so far from comforting.

"You look just like him back in his rookie days."

"You're above wearing such a low-ranking uniform—you shouldn't be wearing such drags, he'd be disappointed if he were to see you."