-Chapter Sixteen-
"You do realize that the one that needs to hear that warning the most has already abandoned ship?" Zoro pointed out, motioning toward the captain who was already running off toward the city as if he couldn't be bothered to wait another second.
"Need meat now!" he shouted, voice growing faint the further away he got.
"Get back here!" Nami snapped.
"I think he's too far gone to hear you, amazed he actually had the energy to run all the way to the city considering how "weak of hunger" he was earlier" I said, standing up on my tippy toes and watching as his figure got smaller the further he got. "Look at him go" I lowly whistled, amazed by his speed.
"Of course, food is his greatest energy source it seems" Usopp rolled his eyes. "Besides, he doesn't know the meaning of control" he stated as he leaned against the railing.
"What now?" Vivi asked.
"He's easy to find, just look for the area with the most commotion—that's where he'll be" Sanji answered with a dismissive wave, not the least bit concerned about the captain's separation from the rest of us.
"He's right" Usopp and I agreed.
"Ugh! I at least wished he would remember that he has a bounty on that rubbery head of his!" Nami groaned as she grabbed her head in frustration. "Especially since we're in a big country like this" she added.
"Forget about Luffy, he can take care of himself" Zoro said. "Now, let's go find some food—we can get to work after that" he said, already working his way down the ladder and onto dry land.
"Hungry as well I see" I said, following right after him. "Glad to know you have your priorities straight" I smiled, giving his back a strong pat the moment my feet touched the ground and I was right next to him.
"Don't act like you're not starving also" he said, arms crossed as he gave an amused grin the moment my stomach growled.
"Heh, you caught me" I weakly chuckled, smile now strained as one hand dropped and pressed against my stomach as if attempting to silence it. "If we don't hurry and find a place to eat, I might just have to eat my shoe similar to our dear captain" I dramatically sighed, attempting to lighten the mood as I draped myself against the swordsman—one arm propped atop his shoulder while the other fell over my eyes.
"What are you? An unruly pup?" he snorted, causing the corners of my lips to twitch.
"I must warn you, Carue and I can't go with you" Vivi said, now the only one still aboard the ship.
"Not up to it?" Usopp asked.
"No, we would be too recognizable" she explained with a shake of her head.
"Makes sense" Zoro nodded.
"No worries—I'll take care of all of your shopping, Vivi, my love!" Sanji swooned with a goofy smile plastered all over his face. It faltered though once Carue suddenly started to quack up a storm.
"What's wrong, Carue?" Vivi worriedly asked as the duck frantically started to hop up and down while pointing one of his wings in a certain direction. "It's Mr. Three's ship!" she gasped upon spotting the...oddly designed ship that was docked not that far from us.
"Mr. Three?" I questioned.
"That's right, you were passed out during that time" Usopp realized. "It was back at Little Garden" he explained.
"Ah" I nodded in understanding. "Does he have any Devil Fruit powers I should be aware of?" I asked as I thought back on the fun that was Little Garden and my encounter with Mr. Five.
"Yeah, but I thought we had taken care of that creep for good already..." Usopp muttered with a nod.
"I'm certain it's him" Vivi nodded. "That ship couldn't even run without Mr. Three's Wax Wax Fruit powers" she pointed out.
"Wax Wax Fruit, huh?" I hummed, easily able to assume what kind of ability someone with a Devil Fruit like that might have.
"I can't believe that bastard's here" Sanji growled.
"This isn't good because he's seen most of our faces" Zoro frowned.
"That may be true, but Usopp here has a plan and it's all going to be alright" Usopp suddenly grinned.
-Later-
Sanji, Chopper—in his deer form—and I all followed closely behind the others who were currently gathered up underneath a large and totally inconspicuous blanket that certainly no one was staring at.
"This isn't suspicious looking at all..." I sarcastically muttered, practically shrinking under the gazes of the people around us.
"Yep, this surely was a great idea..." Sanji muttered right back as he irritably blew out a puff of smoke. If I'm being honest, the way that everyone seemed to just gawk at us in bewilderment made my skin crawl. In fact, it almost made me want to crawl underneath that blanket as well just to escape their unwavering gazes. But...I felt that would have only earned us even more attention if I were to do that. It was nothing short of a relief the moment we reached the outskirts of the city and were able to take refuge behind a deteriorating wall.
"Finally..." I heavily sighed.
"Looks like it's safe to come out guys!" Usopp proclaimed the moment he peeked outside the blanket and saw that the coast was clear.
"Thanks, we figured that one out" Zoro growled as he irritably threw the blanket off and crossed his arms.
"Looks like my ingenious disguise worked like a charm" Usopp proudly praised, practically patting himself on the back.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure that's what it was" Nami sarcastically agreed.
"Yep, you all were totally invisible—not a single soul paid any attention to us" I deadpanned.
"Well then, it looks like you should be safe from prying eyes for a while, my dear" Sanji sweetly cooed at the saddened princess. "Hello, there?" he blinked upon not receiving a response right away.
"Ah, yes, Sanji—what were you saying?" Vivi quickly asked as she snapped out of whatever daze she was in.
"What is it, Vivi?" he questioned. "Something wrong?"
"Beli for your thoughts?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Sorry for that, but I'm just really relieved now, nothing else" Vivi confessed. "From what I've seen so far, I know that at least this town is doing alright" she sighed, closing her eyes in relief as the tension in her muscles lightened up a bit. "I can't exactly start resting easy, but it's a good sign" she breathed out, lips quivering as tears now pricked the corners of her eyes.
"It does seem that this place is a really peaceful town" Nami remarked.
"Vivi, you did say you had a plan in stopping the Rebel Army, didn't you?" Zoro questioned. "Well, what are you going to do? What do we need to do to help?" he pressed on. "If you really want to stop this thing before it starts, it's better to act quickly."
"Well, I agree with that, but the only agreement I made was for you to bring me here to Alabasta" Vivi argued, quick to brush off our continuous offer to help.
"Quit it—are you still thinking like that?" Nami scolded as she struck the back of the princess' head.
"Nami!" Vivi lightly whined, wincing as she rubbed the newly formed bump on her head.
"We've traveled this far together, after all, we're not going to run away and leave you now" Nami huffed.
"She's right" I agreed. "We're here so we might as well help—it'd be kind of shitty of us to just up and leave right now after everything we've been through together" I shrugged with a slight smile. "Plus, you're our friend and it's obvious that this certain group of pirates aren't really ones to just abandon their friends."
"Skylar's right about that" Usopp nodded. "Vivi, come on, you're practically one of us now" he added.
"And I want to see this Warlord of the Sea" Zoro suddenly confessed, earning a glare from Nami as I jabbed my elbow into his side.
"You didn't need to bring that up!" Nami hissed. "Now listen, we're not going to abandon you" she sternly said as she turned her attention back toward the princess.
"They're trying to kill us too...well, everyone except for me" Sanji reminded us with a sly grin.
"Yeah but..." Vivi trailed off, clearly at a loss for words as she silently looked between us all.
"It's settled then" Sanji clapped.
"Besides if this country gets destroyed then we'll be at a big reward for returning you here in the first place, you understand?" Nami asked, her tone far more serious and vastly different from what it was just mere seconds ago.
"Um...yes...?" Vivi nervously nodded.
"You're such a good friend" Zoro scoffed.
"Clearly the best of friends that any girl would be proud to have by their side" I sweat dropped.
"Thanks, you two" Nami innocently smiled. "Oh, and I haven't forgotten about your debt to me either, Zoro" she suddenly and sweetly cooed toward the swordsman.
"Debt?" I questioned with a raised brow.
"You—!" Zoro tensed.
"Even as a ghost, I'd still haunt you for my money" Nami cutely giggled.
"You lousy..." he sneered.
"You better pay me that 400,000 beli."
"What?! It went up?!"
"And it will go up even higher if you don't pay me quickly."
"I'm sorry, but what's this about a debt?" I asked. I don't recall Zoro ever being the greatest with money even when we were kids, but I wouldn't have expected him to wind up in debt so early in life.
"Oh, well it's quite an interesting story" Nami said, already turning toward me and brushing off the angry swordsman that was currently glaring holes into the back of her skull. I listened closely as she gave me a brief rundown of what exactly happened to cause Zoro to owe her so much money.
"Wow, remind me never to borrow money from you" I whistled once she finished her tale, causing her to giggle.
"Usopp, do you think you can talk some sense into this woman for me?" Zoro suddenly asked the sharpshooter beside him as if the young man would back him up.
"Thank you..." I barely heard Vivi breathe out in relief over the commotion of everyone else.
"No" Usopp refused.
"Nami's right about this" Sanji was quick to butt in, obviously taking the ginger's side in this ordeal without a second thought.
"What?!" Zoro snapped.
"I mean, it was pretty dumb of you to borrow money from someone like Nami" I said, scratching the back of my head.
"Not you as well!" he frowned.
"Was that an insult?" Nami inquired.
"N-no" I hastily sputtered out. "I'm just saying that he had to have known you long enough by that point in time, so he should have expected something like this" I explained as I held my hands up in defense and shrunk away from the ginger who now hummed in thought as she mulled over my words. "He's clearly in the wrong" I added, causing her to slowly nod.
"Alright, you're off the hook this time" she responded, causing me to instantly sigh in relief.