☆
we walked through the town together, me in the middle and ace and luffy each by my side. they were discussing luffy's crew as he began describing each of them. i found myself trying to savour the moment for as much as i could, this really did remind me of how things used to be back then. when sabo was alive.
"hey y/nn? earth to y/n!" luffy said, waving his hand in front of my face. "y-yeah? sorry.. i was zoned out.." i said with a nervous laugh, "well anyway.. as i was saying before, what's your job in alabasta anyway? gotta have something to do with your occupation yeah?"
"yess! i'll be staying here for a few days only though... maybe a week? after that i have to go to the navy headquarters... they summoned me for some reason.."
"THE NAVY?!!!! WHAT FOR!!!!!!" both ace and luffy shouted.
"well.. it might have to do with my devil fruit. after all, having a doctor who can heal an entire army with one touch makes you unstoppable." i sighed. luffy and ace immediately stopped walking and ace grabbed me by the hands and held them close to his chest. "y/n. you can't join the navy. we're pirates for gods sake!"
"yeah! how will we be able to ever meet again? you'll also just get punished if you're seen with us! please y/n!" luffy begged, "we finally met after so many years too!"
i was too shocked to speak, "i-.. i know... but i don't want to anger the navy.." i frowned and ace dragged me along with him, "i'll introduce you to pops. why don't you join the whitebeard pirates y/n? he'll keep you safe and we can stay together forever."
"hey! y/n join my crew we're so much cooler!!" luffy whined and tugged my arm i blushed and laughed, "don't put such a hard choice on me!"
"fire fist ace! your head is mine." some man said but we continued walking.
"ace you've strangely matured since then.. you're like, the complete opposite of the kid ace i remember. what happened while i was away?" i asked, changing the subject.
ace blushed, "well.. i don't think i changed that much."
"reallyy? you haven't bullied me or luffy this entire time. that's so unusual for you.." i giggled and he turned his head away, "c'mon i wasn't that mean.."
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"
"you were such a tsun-tsun!" i laughed and so did luffy, agreeing with me.
"i was not!" he yelled, face completely red.
luffy began laughing even harder, "HE STILL IS AHAHAHAH!"
"HEY LUFFY!-" just as ace turned to look at luffy, he saw the bandits trying to jump and attack you three so he immediately pulled you away and luffy dodged from reflex.
"hey watch where you're aiming that sword!"
"you're our target idiot!" one of them said and attacked again except this time i kicked him in the face, "don't scare us like that, you jerks!" and then luffy deflected the bullets they shot at us.
i was standing there in shock, i thought luffy didn't change since we saw him but i really did underestimate him. his gummy fruit was pretty useful in battles like this!
suddenly someone swung their sword at me but i was too distracted to move in time. immediately ace was inbetween us and held his sword with his bare hands, "woah there! why are you attacking an innocent lady? haven't your parents taught you not to hit girls?"
"h-huh?!"
"gum-gum... BAZOOKA!!!!" and with that the man was thrown away into.. god knows where.
"c'mon! let's go to your ship luffy!" ace said as he dragged me away, "i dunno where it is."
"HUH??" me and ace exclaimed
"oh wait! there it is!" he said with a smile and we both let out a breath of relief, "HEY GUYS! OVER HERE!" he waved.
"hey luffy! take y/n and go without me!"
"no need to tell me twice!" he said, grabbed me by the waist and shot his arm to the ship. and before i knew it we were flying towards it, "AAAAAHHHH!!! SAVE ME ACE!!!!!!!" we were going so fast i couldn't see what was happening until we knocked into two people.
"eughh... my .. head it's.... spinning...." i whimpered, having fallen ontop of luffy who was ontop of the people we knocked into.
"TONY-KUN! SANJI-KUN!"
"hehe sorry about that sanji, choppar!" luffy laughed, standing up as if nothing happened and i fell right on my face as my eyes spun in circles.
"do you not learn your lesson?! i'll- WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LADY!" some guy said and helped me up, then got on one knee, "will you marry me.. mon amour?"
"h-huh?" i shook my head and my face turned pink in embarrassment, "but i don't know you yet.."
"no problem, chérie! we can get to know each other on our wedding day-" suddenly luffy punched his head, "what're you doing, sanji?!"
suddenly everyone in the ship froze and i slouched my shoulders in both tiredness and confusion.
"l-luffy? is that really you?" a girl with ginger hair asked worriedly, backing away.
"GUYS! BACK AWAY! I THINK THAT MIGHT BE AN IMPERSONATOR!" a guy with a long nose yelled, his legs shaking in fear, "i'll have you know, fake luffy.. that i have 4000 men working under me.. yeah...so don't you dare mess with us!"
"yeah! usopp is so cool!" a.... pet said.
"l-luffy.. is this your crew?.." i said tugging on his shirt nervously and staying close to him.
"yeah! guys say hello to y/n! she's who i told you about! my childhood friend, remember?"
"CHILDHOOD FRIEND?! SHE GOTTA BE MORE THAN THAT! I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU ACT LIKE THIS BEFORE, LUFFY!" usopp yelled worriedly.
"whats up with you guys?" luffy frowned and crossed his hands, acting as if theyre being unreasonable as if he hasn't literally done the most out of character thing ever for him.
...care for a girl sanji is harassing....
they all facepalmed at his obliviousness, "oh that's right! ace!" luffy said as he rushed away and i was suddenly alone in front of this group of people analyzing me. i jumped in fear and ran after luffy.
the ginger girl sighed, "ace, is it really fine to leave him?"
luffy turned around, "yeah! i'm sure he'll catch up.. some way!" he laughed and suddenly ace jumped into the ship, scaring luffy and making him fall on the floor again. "hey luffy and y/n." he said cooly.
"ace! y/n! this is the crew i was talking about!" luffy said cheerily.
"oh! thank you for taking care of my brother!" ace said with a smile, crouching on the railing. i bowed down a little, "thank you for taking care of luffy.."
"eh? not at all.." they all said, bowing back.
the crew spoke together with ace and i just continued scooting towards the two boys until i noticed a ton of ships heading straight towards us, "l-luffy.." i said, tugging on his shirt and pointing there.
"baroque works.. those are the billions ships!" a blue haired girl said.
"i'll take care of them.." ace said cooly and jumped out of the ship and into the water. "ace!"
he then defeated them in a "i'm showing off to look cool in front of my lil bro's friends" way.
☆
the crew and ace were discussing some things i wasn't really paying attention to. i lied on the crows nest and admired the beautiful sky.
suddenly ace appeared in front of me, having used his fire to fly up here. "yo, y/n! being a loner as always?" he chuckled, "shut up.. i'm just- too.. anxious to greet them.."
"hmm? well i guess some things never change... you and your social anxiety." he said, sitting beside me, "you sure you're gonna go to the navy? you could just join my crew. y'know when you go there they'll threaten you to join them if they have to... they're not exactly known for taking no as an answer.
you'll become part of the navy." ace frowned at the thought. he didn't think the navy title fit you, pirate is much better.
i didn't answer him. i know ace and luffy aren't bad pirates.. but pirates are pirates. pirates hurt people, and i'm a doctor who heals people who've been most of the time assaulted by pirates. i don't want that title on me as a doctor.
"y/n. i'm serious. you can't join the navy." ace said, now fully turned to me and his face void of emotion. he took my hand harshly and pulled me towards him. i frowned and tried to pull away but he wouldn't budge,
"ace.. i can't... pirates.. th-they're bad.." i said, gulping quietly and not looking at him in shame. "so you think me and luffy are bad?" his grip on my hand tightened and it began to hurt.
"ace you're hurting me." i whispered, avoiding his question. he immediately let go, "i'm sorry.. i-i don't know what took over me-"
"it's okay.. i understand where you're coming from. we haven't seen each other in so long.. i'll think about your offer okay?" i said standing up shakily and he didn't answer. i hopped down of the crows nest and down on the ship and surprisingly we had arrived at their destination.
"hey y/n! wear this! you'll have to cover your body from the scorching heat!" luffy said, excitedly handing me a white cloak. "thank you.. luffy.." i said quietly and wore the cloak. i took notice of the slowly forming bruise on the hand ace was gripping earlier. i put my other hand on it and slowly healed it fully, a beautiful white glow emitting from my hand.
we all hopped down the ship and as they were about to walk away luffy and ace noticed my hesitance, "sorry guys.. but the people who hired me wanted to meet me at a special place. it's not far from here so don't worry." i said but both of them frowned.
"you're already leaving? it hasn't even been a day!" they said at once and i frowned, nodding with them, "i didn't know i'd be meeting you guys today.. otherwise i wouldn't have made the meetup time so early. i'm sorry.."
luffy ran to hug me and i hugged him back, "promise we'll meet soon again! promise!"
"i promise luffy! i have a feeling we will anyway." i smiled and noticed ace frowning from afar, awkwardly staring at us. when luffy pulled away i went to hug him as well, " don't feel guilty. i'm not mad. let's meet again soon okay?" i said softly against his chest and he nodded, hugging me back.
"goodbye guys! i hope to see you all again!" i said and waved goodbye. ace and luffy were waving furiously and sadly while the rest gave short waves and smiles.
☆
i walked and walked, the heat was basically killing me but i didn't give up because i knew if i paused now i'd just get cooked alive. i continued walking until a small hut in the middle of no where was visible and i sighed in relief. this is where the people wanted to meet me.
when i swung the door open i saw a lady sitting on a sofa reading a book. her beautiful tanned skin and black hair stunned me for a moment. "so you've arrived." she checked her clock, "and in time." she said with a smile and i smiled nervously back. "y-yeaah.. it's really.. hot out there."
"mm... my superior sent me here to pick you up. so you're to work with me. nice to meet you. i'm robin." she said, putting the book down and standing at her full tall height.
"i-i'm y/n.. but i think you might've known that already." she nodded in response and motioned for me to follow her.
we walked side by side until we arrived in front of a carriage where she told me to enter and sit in the back which i did. she sat in the front with the driver and so we left.
it was colder inside the carriage, as the ceiling was covered so i was able to fall asleep peacefully, listening to the camels hooves against the sand and quiet conversations of the driver and robin.
☆
"wake up y/n-san." robin said, shaking me awake.
"h-huh? are we already there?" i asked groggily and she nodded, "let me introduce you to my superior. follow me."
we walked through the city, which seemed to be the capital and into a huge building. the citizens outside were chanting, "CROCODILE! CROCODILE!" at a man who stood above a huge amount of defeated pirates. "woah.. did he save the town from those pirates?" i asked, pointing at the man.
"yes! amazing isn't he?" robin complimented, but i spotted no emotion in those words. as if she was pretending. i shut up after that and followed quietly. whoever this crocodile guy seemed like a good guy.
☆
i sat patiently on a chair in a dark room, swinging my legs back and forth as i waited for robin's superior.
suddenly the door swung open, "you must be... y/n." the man with a deep voice said. when i looked up i noticed that it was the same man who had defeated all those pirates before. i immediately stood up and nodded, "my name is crocodile. excuse me for being late, i had some.. business to attend to."
"n-no it's no worry at all! it's nice to be in the shade for once..." i awkwardly laughed, toying with my fingers.
"you must already know why i wanted you here. my people have been.. impacted horribly by the lack of water and many of my men have been injured by bypassing pirates easily for that reason. i'll pay you a hefty sum to heal them." he said looming over me with a dark look on his face. even though he did those heroic actions earlier, he sure didn't look the part...
"it's okay sir crocodile! i don't require a lot of berries. i'm just happy to do my job." i smiled and waved my hand and he nodded, "the hospital is just a few blocks away. you'll see it easily. goodbye." and with that he left.
deep inside i wasn't getting a good feeling from this, but i shrugged it off and went to work.
☆
after an entire day of healing people nonstop i was completely exhausted and ready to sleep and regain my energy for the next round which is tomorrow. when I was about to open the door to the room in the hospital that I was given to work in, crocodile came in clutching his arm that was bleeding. he didn't seem to mind the pain and wasn't whimpering at all.
"I got Injured by some petty bandits. can you heal this?" crocodile asked but it sounded more like demanding than asking to me. I furiously nodded my head and motioned for him to die down on the bed.
"hmm? can't you heal me immediately? I have places to be." he said impatiently. I shook my head, "my devil fruit takes my stamina. so the bigger the wound the more it'll take up... ive been healing people all day so I can't heal fully you until I at least sew it shut..." I said tiredly. he nodded quietly and lied on the bed. I unwrapped his clothes from him which he didn't seem to mind, he probably just wanted me to do my thing so he can leave.
crocodile stared at y/n as she began taking out some products and removing his shirt. she began cleaning his scar first and then got to sewing. the entire time he didn't flinch which kind of freaked her out but she shook the thoughts off of her head and continued. when she finished she finally sat down and beside crocodile and hovered her hands over his arm before pressing softly on his muscles. crocodile sighed quietly, the touch of her cold hand against his horribly warm hand was a nice contrast and so was her healing. the feeling was euphoric and a warm feeling washed through his body. a nice one, not like the ones from the horrible heat from the sunshine. not that he minded it much, since he's a sand person and all.
damn those pirates.. how did they find out water was his weakness? he killed them the second they stabbed him and made sure to hide their bodies somewhere no one would find them. the coat you discarded off earlier had some blood from it as well.
you wiped your forehead when you finished healing him, "and we're all done!"
"thank you, y/n. what a useful ability you possess..." he said as he stretched and you blushed, looking away. "i-it's nothing.. just doing my duty."
crocodile then turned to look at you. your form was smaller than his but then again so was everyone, but he was exceptionally huge. suddenly a unfamiliar feeling swarmed through his body, a feeling of affection and desire. he clutched his chest in confusion, not understanding what was going on.
"crocodile? are you alright?" you asked, rushing to his side and putting your hands on his shoulder and he immediately flinched. a nice shiver went through his entire body.
he looked down at you, suddenly feeling his heart swell with emotion before sighing, "what is this..? the closer I am to you.. the more desire I feel." he rasped, making me tilt my head in confusion.
the taller man didn't elaborate, choosing to leave the room. "I'll see you later, y/n." and with that he left the room.
☆
another day has passed. by now i was pretty tired so robin took me to a room in the casino where i could rest, but on the way there i heard loud screaming. that sounded similar to luffy's.
i pretended to go to sleep in the room robin put me in and sneaked out a while afterward.
i walked in the halls of the casino and into the place that had the most sound. It sounded like a waterfall was happening in there as well. when i peeked through the door i saw a bunch of crocodiles surrounding a cage. a cage that included luffy. i could hear him scream and shout. on some rocks sat the blue haired girl and sanji too.
water was slowly filling up the room. i immediately ran quietly inside. i hopped and kicked 2 of the crocodiles away from the cage, "LUFFY! what are you doing here?!" i exclaimed, running towards the cage and touching it but i quickly felt like putty under it and fell on my knees, "ah.. whats wrong.. with this..." i let go and looked up where i saw luffy looming over me worriedly, "ARE YOU ALRIGHT Y/N- euuueeh...." luffy collapsed as well when he touched the bars, "don't tell me... are these sea prism stones?" i asked and luffy nodded.
"who cares about that! what are you doing here?! i thought you had work in a hospital!" luffy asked. "who cares about this?!" the others inside the cage yelled.
"umm.. well i was hired by a man under the name crocodile. he's the one that owns this casino." i said as i stood up. my socks and gloves were all wet and slowly slipping down so i took them off.
"crocodile?! crocodile hired you?!!!!!" everyone shouted.
"..y-yeah..." i said, feeling shy under their gazes. " Y/N! crocodile is the man i'm trying to fight right now!" and then luffy explained the situation.
"oh my god.. i'm so sorry princess vivi..." i frowned and i noticed the smokey dude behind luffy at last and my heart dropped. he was glaring very hard as if he was saying "i know who you are and i will use this information against you".
"what's a navy doing here..?" I asked nervously, feeling uncomfortable under his.. death glare.
"WHOO CARES ABOUT HIM!!!" luffy huffed, "was he holding you captive somewhere?! are you okay y/n??!!!!!" he yelled childishly, but he didn't care as he was incredibly worried for you. crocodile isn't a man you can trust.
"luffy you're the one whos held captive right now... and no i wasn't forced to do anything. i was working in a hospital as the agreement said and occasionally i'd heal either him or his men, but it was mostly citizens that i healed.. if that even makes it any better..." i sighed, "i never knew i'd be working with a pirate." i got gloomy and sat in a corner with my knees to my chest, tapping the water with my right hand.
"nevermind that! can you actually give us a hand in defeating these crocodiles?!" princess vivi said, "and don't feel bad! you healed my people too! thank you for that."
I blushed and nodded
☆
crocodile and ace seem to get attached! ^^
thank you SO much for 40+ votes and 550 reads!! we are also at spot 711 in #one and many other impressive scores!
also I wanted to mention that I'm only 13 so I would appreciate criticism a lot and this is my first book I write ever too so I'm just having fun with it .