"Bastards! I guess that's rebel soldiers for ya," Sanji says as he began to run away dragging Luffy with him.
"I've never seen such a display of strength!" Usopp piped up while running after the blond chef.
Ryoko clued in on the scene and sprinted alongside Ace off to the side, swinging wide before splitting up. Ace ran after the group while Ryoko ran around the side of the city wall. Ryoko quickly hopped on the back of the large gecko and began to ride on its shoulders as it ran after the group. As she approached the group she pulled her mask to the side with a bright grin on her face, "That went well!" She says having only really seen the outcome.
Luffy sent a big grin to the girl on the gecko, "yeah it did!" he says as they kept running until two dunes were between them and the town. The pace slowed down for the sake of those who had to walk. The heat began to take its toll on the group once more as they walked, each of them feeling rather uncomfortable with the sun beating down on them.
Eyelash, carrying Vivi and Nami, walked at the front of the group. Luffy walked next to the camel with Usopp behind him, leaning heavily on his walking stick. Sanji walked behind him and Zoro dragged the makeshift sled with Chopped on it behind him. Ace and the gecko, who still carried Ryoko, walked at the back of the group.
Ryoko leaned forward on the gecko's head as she brings out a water skin and gently tapped the front of the gecko's snout. The gecko's mouth opened and she poured a bit of water in the creature's mouth before capping the water skin and tucking it away. "Thanks for still carrying me Sunny." She says rubbing the gecko's head affectionately.
Ace glanced over at the girl, "Did you really give it a name? You do know you are gonna have to leave it here more than likely." He points out a bit begrudgingly, not wanting to upset the girl.
"You're just jealous Sunny is carrying me around and not you," Ryoko says sticking her tongue out at the freckled man who chuckled at the sentence. This caused a click in her mind, "I mean- you- uh-" She whines in frustration as her sentence wouldn't go together easily, she took a deep breath of the hot desert air and sighed hiding her face in the frills of the gecko, "I meant you wanted to ride on Sunny instead of walking." she whines before peeking out from her hiding place.
Her eyes darted from Ace towards the front of the group where yet another less intense fight over water had begun. Usopp pulls the barrel and straw out of Luffy's grip causing water to splash onto the ground. Ryoko sighed and moved past Chopper and Zoro before hopping off the gecko behind Luffy and Usopp, "Stop spilling water you slob," Usopp exclaimed as some hit the sand.
"What's the big deal? Ace brought plenty of water for everybody." Luffy says putting his hands on his hips.
"Well, we still have to conserve our supplies. So quit hogging all the water for yourself." Usopp says still holding the small barrel.
Luffy pouts a little and glances over to the chef, "Why is it okay if Sanji does?"
The blond chef smiled holding a cigarette in his mouth while motioning to his water skin, "This is for the lovely ladies of the group, so if they get thirsty or dehydrated and call for water I can bring it to them in a heartbeat." he says.
Ryoko deadpans at that and sighs before slinging both arms over Usopp and Luffy's shoulders, pulling them to either side of her chest in partial headlocks, "Listen here. Yes, conserving water and food is important, however, Usopp you shouldn't pull the straw out of Luffy's mouth, a few dribbles of water is better than the splash that just happened."
Luffy grinned and stuck his tongue out at Usopp around the girl's chest, who simply sighed, "And Luffy," He looked up at the girl as he was addressed, it was quiet for a moment as she sighed, "Try to make the water last okay? sip at it, not gulp it." She says before releasing both boys out of her hold and glancing toward Sunny.
Sunny looked at Ryoko seemingly blankly, however, Ryoko smiled softly at the creature before climbing back on the gecko's shoulders carefully. It almost seemed like the gecko helped her to keep from rubbing the, still not completely healed, burn on the scales.
As Vivi began to tell a story about her childhood, Ryoko watched the mischievous captain who has slowly begun to shift to walk beside Usopp before snagging the waterskin out of his bag and running ahead while laughing. Usopp ran after him trying to reach for the waterskin "You give me that water back right this minute!" Sanji ran after the duo also trying to get the waterskin back.
Ryoko chuckled softly, "Really... he still acts like a child, at least he has moments of being serious when it counts."
"It's Luffy what did you expect?" Ace says with a smile as he watched his brother run around with the two other boys trying to retrieve the water.
Ryoko laughed softly, "Yeah, I suppose so. I'll stop it in a little bit if they can't work it out themselves." she says before having Sunny stop and climbing off their back, "For now though, Sunny I think you should go back home." The gecko looked at the girl, "Oh don't look at me like that, my friends are around to be able to help me if I need it, I just don't want to keep you any longer than I have. Thank you." She says before reaching up and petting the creature on the head before it took a few steps back and turned around and ran off. "Stay safe." She whispered before jogging briefly to catch up and walk next to Ace once again.
Ace looked over to the girl as she pulled her mask over her face again, "Sunny will be fine." he comforts, only receiving a silent nod from the girl.
Both of them tensed as they looked back at the group while Luffy crouched in front of something that had appeared out of the sand. Ryoko quickly unsheathed her brother's weapons as she quickly moved towards the scene, "Don't poke that thing!" She exclaimed a bit too late as the sand shifted quickly with a giant scorpion appearing out of the sand with Luffy standing on its back.
As the stinger pulled back and began to rapidly go to strike down towards the young captain, Ryoko lept upwards towards the tail managing to hook both blades into the joint below the telson. However, she had let the handles go for a split moment as she didn't have the right grip for the needed leverage, and quickly grabbed onto the opposite handles and pulled to the sides severing the telson from the creature. She then hooked the blades into the weak point at the base of the tail and kicked the stinger so it would land just past the three other boys.
The stingerless tail suddenly flicked causing the sickles to get dislodged and Ryoko to go flying into the air after the stinger. Ace, who had been watching intrigued by the three others who had swiftly begun to beat the scorpion to death, ran forward and leaped up, grabbing onto Ryoko as she fell. He then pulled her to his chest as he hit the sand and rolled with her to break her fall, both sickles having lodged into the sand behind them. "You alright?" He asked the girl as he separated from her.
Ryoko had ended the tumble now lying on top of Ace, as soon as she realized this she quickly rolled off of him and to the side, her face bright red beneath her mask, "Yup." She says quickly, cursing the heightened octave she spoke in.
Ace stood up as Sanji called him over in order to cook the scorpion up as food, which he was more than happy and able to do.
Ryoko lay on the hot sand looking up at the sky as her heart pounded in her chest, to the point she could feel it in the veins of her neck and head. An unfamiliar feeling settled in her stomach for a few moments, before fading with the pounding heartbeat, as Sanji walked over carrying two claws of the scorpion.
"I brought you the best part Ryoko dear!" Sanji exclaimed happily as the woman sat up and carefully took one of the claws from him.
Ryoko looked at the size of the claw, and knew she wouldn't be able to eat it alone, "Thank you Sanji, I really appreciate it." she says before Sanji spun away to bring the other claw to Nami and Vivi. Both girls let out a scream at seeing the claw that was brought to them, causing Ryoko to chuckle as she stood up. She shifted her mask and took a bite of the meat of the claw, as she retrieved her weapons and tucked them away, before beginning to break pieces of the armor-like exoskeleton of the claw to access more of the meat.
"You guys are a bunch of inconsiderate jerks!" Nami yelled looking back at the group, "Let's go eyelash!"
"whoa, why's she so angry," Luffy asked looking up from his spot on the exoskeleton.
Ryoko nearly choked as she had to stop herself from laughing as Chopper, Usopp, and Zoro all unanimously agreed on not knowing why she was so upset. "Let's keep up with them alright?" She suggests as she began to follow the camel and the other girls while still eating the meat from the claw.
The group quickly hurried after the mask-wearing woman who followed calmly after the camel, humming a faint tune as they walked.
Ryoko narrowed her eyes as she looked out across the dunes, "If we need to find a place to rest tonight, with stone to keep us a bit more protected, I see a rather large outcropping just a bit to our left." She called out to the group as she really wanted to get into the shade of those rocks at that moment, but would settle for resting once they got there.
"Where? I don't see anything." Usopp questioned looking around before pulling his goggles over his eyes and shifting the focus, "I didn't even notice those." he mutters
Ryoko chuckles, "Ah well I have the sight of an eagle," she says rubbing the back of her neck, "I'm pretty good at looking for things if I really try, and of course if I know what I am looking for."
Luffy's eyes shined, "Do you really have eyes as good as an eagle?! That is so cool!" he says clenching both fists together while looking at the woman.
Ryoko sighs, "It's a little more literal than that Lulu. I know I didn't tell you, guys, much other than my lack of being able to swim, but my devil fruit grants me an improved range of vision."
Zoro looked at her, "Is that all it lets you do? See further?" he questioned causing the woman to deadpan.
"...No? It would really suck if that was the case. Losing the ability to swim at the cost of just seeing further. While I am sure there is a fruit out there like that, mine is not it." Ryoko says with a sigh.
Luffy's eyes were wide, "What can you do?!" He asked excitedly.
Ryoko looks down for a moment as she rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, "So... Here's the thing... I don't fully know?"
"How the hell do you not know?" Zoro questioned looking at the girl, eyes narrowed.
"Leave her alone mosshead!" Sanji exclaimed causing the swordsman to glare at him instead.
Ryoko stuck the claw into the sand and kept walking, "I just don't okay? I know I can turn into something but I'm really not sure how." she says adjusting her mask, "So leave me alone about it. I'm not proud of it, I haven't worked on figuring it out either. I haven't had the reason to, even if I have had the time to."
Ace walked over and set a hand on her shoulder, "No one can make you find out what you can do. Follow your instinct in how to use it, you'll figure it out eventually." He says causing the others to begin walking ahead of them to catch up to the camel, once they were a bit further ahead he turned to look at the girl. With his free hand, he reached up and shifted the mask off of her face to look at her. "How long have you had this fruit that you are upset you haven't figured it out?"
The woman didn't meet his eyes, "It was a little while before I met you the first time." She paused, "Twelve or eleven years ago."