Night Terrors | One Piece

Nighttime Declarations

After a few more words were exchanged Kana left, heeding the call of some drunken fool near the bathroom. Shiori, the girl, was left alone with her thoughts. She went to take another sip of her drink but frowned when she found it empty, glancing around she saw no other barmaid on the floor but Kana who was terribly busy.

Shrugging, Shiori stood up. Placing down a few beri, she made her way towards the exit when a voice called out.

"Hey, brat!" Shiori ceased walking.

Taking a step back, she looked over her shoulder to see a red-faced Marine, grinning and waving her over to his comrades. Shiori saw no reason to object and happily trotted over to their table.

When she was close the Marine reached out and threw his arm over her shoulder, grinning widely. "Tell me your name, little missy."

Shiori could smell the alcohol on his breath but said nothing about it, instead she just smiled. "Tohara Shiori, and what's your name Marine-san?"

The Marines who weren't as drunk looked surprised by her eagerness to talk to their friend and laughed at her innocence. It was endearing to men who'd seen all manner of horrors out on the rough seas of the Grand Line.

"My name?" The Marine was so close that their noses were practically touching. "HA! As if I'd tell you, pipsqueak." He just grinned.

Shiori looked at him in confusion, "Why not? I told you mine."

He snorted. "'Cause that's not how the world works, little missy."

"It's not?" Came Shiori's lazy drawl, it was clear she was losing interest in the conversation as a frown appeared on her smiling face. Another Marine laughed at her reply.

"You're an amusing, kid, any interest in becoming a Marine?"

"None."

He burst out into hearty laughter again, his friends joining in. A third spoke up, this time a woman. "What do you wanna become then, Shiori-chaaan?"

Shiori was grateful that someone used her name, even if it was sarcastically. There was nothing wrong with 'Little Miss' and 'Hun'. They just weren't her name. Shiori looked the woman in the eye, processing her question.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" The second Marine spoke again, "You don't want to be anything?"

Shiori shook her head. "Nope."

"Jeez kid, get a hobby." The woman joked, chuckling away. A few more Marines joined in while Shiori just stood there silently.

Then she sighed, feeling a slight ache in her legs. Shiori was growing stiff from standing still, so she walked over to their table and sat on top of it. Earning another round of laughter from the red-cheeked Marines.

By this point, most of the pub's other customers had stopped their conversations to listen in to Shiori's with the Marines, as said Marines were very loud, making it difficult not to accidentally eavesdrop.

"You're a lazy brat, aren't you?" Some random shouted out to Shiori before bursting into laughter as if they'd said the funniest thing, and apparently, everyone agreed as soon the whole pub was in stitches.

Kana even chuckled a bit. Shiori simply shrugged, not bothering to deny it. She was beginning to feel her eyes droop. She wasn't quite sure what they all found so amusing but pegged it on the alcohol in their systems.

"Hey, little miss." Shiori turned to look at the first Marine who had spoken to her, who'd gestured her over and then refused to give his name. "Become a Marine."