***Amaya's POV***
I woke up early and headed down to bake a strawberry cake, since it was Dadan's favorite flavor. This isn't the first time I've bribed her, and it probably won't be the last.
I used ingredients I found in the kitchen, also taking note of which spices and herbs we were running low on. I will collect some more later today.
I made one large strawberry cake, three small cakes, and one mini cake. Once I was done, I went back to our room with the food in my hands. I placed them down by my things and went back to sleep next to Ace.
A little while later I was woken up by Dogra and Magra yelling at the boss to come here. They were standing at our door, so they finally noticed that there was another kid.
I stayed comfortable on my spot on the floor but was paying attention. I heard Dadan enter the room and notice that there were more bodies than kids she was in charge of watching.
She counted 1,2,3 a couple of times before switching to our names. "Luffy, Ace, Amaya, huh?" She would name us looking at each in turn before getting stumped on Sabo's figure under the blanket. She repeated it about twenty times before losing it.
"Ace! Luffy! Who is this?" She yelled.
Luffy sat up. "Who's what?" He asked before falling back asleep.
Ace sat up next. "It's still early. You're too loud." Ace complained before laying back down.
Sabo sat up then just laid back down.
"How come there is one more kid? Who are you?" Dadan questioned.
Sabo sat back up, and I made myself too.
"Are you talking about me?" He asked, rubbing an eye. "I'm Sabo! Hey, you must be Dadan!" He spoke while slightly waking up.
I walked over to grab the large cake I made while she was still focused on Sabo.
"Sabo? I've heard that name before." She claimed.
"Oh yeah? That makes it easier! Thank you for taking care of me from today!" He said with a smile.
"'Taking care'? Don't tell me that you're gonna stay here."
Knowing where this conversation was about to become an argument. I stepped in.
"Dadan," I called, getting her attention. I held up the cake for her. "This is for you. As a thank you for letting Sabo stay here I'll make you one every week!" I said with a smile, hoping that she'll agree peacefully.
She paused looking at the cake before looking back and forth between Sabo and I. She grabbed the cake from my hands. "Only because it would be a waste otherwise." She said leaving the room.
"Thank you, Dadan!" Sabo called to her back.
They closed the door, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew, that went better than I hoped." I said.
"So you can bake too?" Sabo asks.
"Yup, I help out at a bakery in town sometimes, so I've picked up quite a few recipes." I smiled.
"Nice, you've got many talents. Too bad we couldn't try any of that cake though. It looked good." He sighed.
"That's not the case." I said, going to pick up one of the small cakes. "I made small ones for you guys too."
At the mention of food Ace and Luffy also popped up.
"Food!" Luffy yelled.
I grabbed the rest of the small cakes and handed one to both Sabo and Luffy who came over. I then walked over to Ace to hand him his.
He was about to say something to show that he was too cool for it I'm sure, so I shoved the cake in his mouth not giving him the chance.
"Ama's cakes are the best!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Yeah, it was really good. Thanks Amaya." Sabo compliments.
"Glad you liked it." I looked over to Ace to see him happily munching on his cake.
When he noticed me looking at him, he faced the other way. "It's not terrible, so I'll finish it." He stated.
I laughed before going to pick up the mini cake I made. I walked back over to the blanket and woke up Chi.
"Chi, I made you something."
"Chi?" She called slowly, raising her head. When she spotted the cake, she jumped towards it. "Chi!" She sounded before digging in.
I smiled at her eating.
After eating, we all raced out of the house, hearing Dadan complain about us not doing housework in the distance. Well she complained about the boys anyways.
Luffy was still hungry and I hadn't eaten yet, so our first stop was finding something to eat. We stopped by the river and caught a huge fish. Well Sabo and Ace did, since Luffy and I couldn't swim.
I helped cook the fish with seasoning, so I was able to eat part of it. Since Luffy didn't help, Ace didn't give him anything.
"So Luffy," Sabo got his attention from drooling at the fish. "You ate a devil fruit right?"
"Uh-huh."
"No wonder you can't swim." He comments. "Here you can have this." He gave Luffy the large fish tail to eat.
"Thank you!"
"You're too generous, Sabo." Ace said.
"Well, that's not a bad thing." Sabo replied.
"I agree." I smiled as I joined in.
"So what fruit did you eat?" Sabo asks Luffy.
"Gum-Gum!" He answered, still smiling at his food.
"Gum?" Sabo question.
"Yeah," Luffy stretched out his mouth and eat the huge tail in one bite.
"In exchange for the ability to swim, your body turned into rubber? So crappy!" Ace comments.
"It's not crappy! I can use a lot of unbeatable attacks."
"That's good. Good for you, but it's not as useful as Amaya's Smoke Smoke fruit." He answered nonchalantly.
"Yeah, I gotta admit. Her's is pretty useful." Sabo agreed.
"Well I actually didn't eat the Smoke Smoke fruit." I said, taking a bite of meat.
That got Ace's attention, along with the others. "Huh? What do you mean?" Ace asks.
"Well the fruit I eat is actually the Copy-Copy fruit. I can copy any other devil fruit I've been in contact with under two conditions." I explained.
"That's so cool," Sabo said.
"What are the conditions?" Ace inquired.
"Well besides meeting them, they have to stay alive, but the second one is kinda embarrassing. I have to receive a kiss from the holder."
"What!" They all exclaimed, hurting my ears.
"Geez, you guys are so loud." I whined.
"So that means someone kissed you, so that you could use the Smoke Smoke powers?" Sabo wondered.
"Yup!" I answered, taking another bite of food.
"Who was it?" Ace asked.
I swallowed the food. "Someone Garp had watch me when I was with him for a few years. He watched me for about a week or so. When he left, he gave me a kiss on the head. Ever since then I've been able to use his devil fruit."
"So it doesn't have to be mouth to mouth?" Sabo said.
"Thankfully not. That would be so awkward otherwise."
Eventually we moved on and Luffy showed us his Gum Gum Balloon. Ace and Sabo kicked him around until he was eaten by a crocodile. They then saved him.
Walking back to the house, Luffy was pouty about the whole thing, so Ace bribed him with extra meat from the crocodile that they were carrying. He cheered up instantly and forgave them both, which shocked Sabo at the quick change.
I told them that I would catch up with them later, and went to scout the pirates that were tracking us. I checked the out hiding place for the gold and Gray Terminal to find that there were thugs and pirates just about everywhere.
I was spotted, but I eventually gave them the slip. I returned home and told the boys what I'd found out.
"I guess we'll have to lay low for a while." Sabo comments.
"Who cares? We'll just fight if they find us." Ace says.
"That's true, but we don't have to look for trouble ourselves." Sabo retorts.
"Avoiding that area would be best for now. I don't think I could even enter the city at this point." I sigh, thinking of all the money I was losing from not being able to work at the bakery this weekend.
"I agree with Sabo and Ama!" Luffy comments.
"You. Shut up." Ace told Luffy.
Over the next few weeks, we would spend time in the forest hunting animals and sparring. On occasion we would make trips to Gray Terminal or encounter some pirates.
I was able to sneak into the city to work once, but she had to let me go since we had become well known for our wrongdoings. I sighed, but I knew it would happen sooner or later.
***A couple days later***
We all decided to head out into the forest to train. Ace and Luffy went first. Luffy went to throw a Gum Gum Pistol, but his aim was majorly off. Instead of hitting Ace, his fist ricocheted off the ground and back into his own face.
"Now tell me," Ace started to say. "What are you doing?!" He yelled while kicking him in the face.
"One point." Sabo calls out while I place a tally next to Ace's name on the scoreboard.
Next up was Ace against Sabo. They were closely matched. Blocking and hitting at nearly the same speed. They both jumped back giving each other some space before looking at each other with determined expressions.
I bet Ace was thinking about refusing to lose, and Sabo thinking about wanting to get stronger. Who knows, but that's what their faces read. They both jumped high in the air. Ace ducking below Sabo and gaining the upper hand. Sabo took the hit and lost the round.
"Woah, It's always a close match between Ace and Sabo!" Luffy said, watching the match in slight awe before getting fired up.
"Chi," Chi agreed with me nodding along.
"Sabo! You're fighting me next!" Luffy calls.
They paired off with some space between them before Sabo started to dash towards him. "Shouldn't you run? I have no mercy!"
Luffy chuckled before saying "Gum Gum Shield!" He started to stretch out his fingers.
I sweatdropped. Luffy that is not a defense by any means.
Sabo stopped in front of Luffy, stretched his fingers further, then snapped them back at Luffy, which sent him tumbling away.
Ace sighs. "Like I keep saying, is there any point in having that power?"
Luffy ignored him shouting. "Man! It's not working! It was so close! One more time!"
I laughed. "Sure Luffy, I'll go against you." I said.
He lit up as he got in position. I placed Chi on Ace's shoulder before walking over myself. I gave a nod to let him know I was ready.
He came over, trying his Gum Gum Pistol again. He was closer this time. It went to the right of me, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards me. When he started to fly towards me, I pulled back my left fist and socked him right in the cheek once he neared.
"Point!" Sabo calls again with a smile at the fight.
"Ah! One more time!" Luffy calls.
"No! The rule is only 100 matches per person a day." Ace says.
"In that case I've got one more." I spoke. "Who else?"
Ace and Sabo nodded, showing that they each had one more. Seeing that they glared at each other before getting into a fighting stance. Then in an overly dramatic way they played a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who would go against me.
Ace had rock while Sabo chose scissors. Sabo sighed, and Ace smirked at the win. He passed Chi to Sabo before walking over to the battle area with me.
Ace didn't hold back. He fought as hard as he would have against Sabo. I matched his movements and dished out just as many. When we weren't getting anywhere, I started to use the Smoke Smoke power. I fizzed into smoke, snaked up his arm, then socked him in the jaw.
"Point!" Sabo laughed. "Let's see. Luffy lost all his matches. I've won 33, Ace 35, and Amaya hasn't lost. Grr I lost by two!" He graped at himself at the end.
After training, we grabbed some crocodiles. The boys and I then split. They went to sneak into town to sell the crocodile skin, and I headed back to grab my journal and book on engineering.
During my free time away from the boys, I've been starting to learn enough to understand the blueprints of an aircraft that was in the journal. It was small, built for two people at most, but it would be perfect for me to get to the other seas once I leave the island.
While I had already kissed both the book and the journal, it was nice to physically see the images, instead of having to mentally recall them. After a while, I decided to head to the scrap heap to start gathering materials to build my plane.
When I arrived at the edge of the forest, I saw the boys talking to themselves. I went over and heard them arguing.
"I'm not hiding anything!" Sabo said.
"Oh you aren't?" Luffy asks.
"Yes, you are! Tell us, Sabo! We can't have secrets between us!" Ace yells.
I walked over and joined the group. "What's wrong? Why are you yelling at Sabo, Ace?"
"Some guy called out to Sabo, when we were in town, so we are wanting to know what the deal was. So"
"'Tell Us!'" Both Ace and Luffy yelled at him.
I gave a small smile of encouragement. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is, Sabo. Can you tell us what's up?"
He looked to the side with a little sweat on his face. He eventually gave in.
"The son of a noble." He said.
"The son of a noble!" They both exclaimed. "Who?"
"I am!!" Sabo yelled at their stupidity.
"Oh, and?" They both asked again with uninterested looks.
"You're the ones who asked!" Sabo raged.
I laughed. "See, I told you it wouldn't be that big a deal."
"Chi!" Chi agreed.
Sabo then went into more details. "I'm not an orphan and I didn't grow up in Gray Terminal. The man who called me today was my father. I was lying to you guys. I'm sorry." He said.
"You already said sorry so let's forget it." Luffy forgave immediately.
"Let's hold up on forgiveness until we know what his motive is." Ace said facing the other way. "If you were living as a noble, why would you like this way?"
"The reason I ran away was," he paused, seeming to get lost in memories for a second. "They love those who can maintain their status and defend their property. Not me!" He explained. "If I can't marry a woman from the royal family, I'm worthless. That's why they made me study and take culture lessons. They would argue about me not doing well. I had no place in that family. I'm sorry for you guys, but even with parents I was alone."
"I see." Ace said, understanding.
I went over to Sabo and gave him a hug. "Well you're not alone anymore." I pulled back and gave him a smile.
He blushed slightly, but I was distracted by Chi who jumped over to him and rubbed against his face before jumping back.
"Amaya," he trailed off before standing up. "Ace! Luffy! Amaya! Let's go to sea someday! Let's get out of this country and live freely! I wanna see the world and write a book about it! Let's become stronger and stronger and become the best pirates ever!" He said with the biggest smile.
Luffy, Ace, and I all gave huge smiles in return.
"I'm gonna become one. You don't have to tell me to!" Ace said. "I'm gonna become a pirate and defeat others and become infamous! It'll be the proof of my life! It doesn't matter if all the people in the world reject me or despise me, I'll become a great pirate and show them what I can do!" Ace finished talking about his dream.
"I'll become a pirate who flys!" I said. "I'll continue my family's legacy and build an aircraft! I'll become the strongest in the sky!" I smile largely at my wish.
"I got it! All right then! I'm gonna become King of the Pirates!" Luffy yelled out his dream.
Ace and Sabo were both slack jawed at Luffy's claim. I gave a small smile, knowing that one day it would come true.
Ace scratched his head. "You fool...I was wondering what you'd have to say." he sighed.
Sabo started to bust a gut, laughing. "You're funny, Luffy!" He cried out. "I can't wait to see how you turn out in the future!" He suddenly stopped laughing and turned semi serious. "We can all become pirates but isn't it a problem that we all wanna become captain?" He suddenly asks the group.
At his question the other two seem to realize for the first time too.
"I hadn't thought of that." Ace said.
"No need to worry about me." I said, getting their attention. "I have no desire to become captain." I said with a smile.
"Sabo, I thought that you'd wanna be the navigator on my ship." Ace said, glancing at him.
"You guys can come aboard my ship!" Luffy stated happily.
"No thanks!" Both boys yelled at him.
"Huh!? Come on!" Luffy yells out. "Come aboard! I said 'come aboard', so you gotta do it!" He whined.
"That will never happen!" Ace shouted.
"Yeah, never!" Sabo agreed.
"What did you say!" Luffy yelled. "Fine! I'll just keep Ama then!" Luffy cried out.
Huh?! Don't drag me into this Luffy! I thought but froze when the other two looked at me too.
"Amaya wouldn't want to be on your ship!" Ace called out.
"How about we ask her?" Sabo said.
"Amaya, who would you rather be your captain?" Ace asked me.
"Umm, I don't think I should say, or if I could even choose at the moment. Sorry guys." I tried to avoid the question.
They all sigh but understand that I was suddenly put on the spot, except Luffy.
"You should be the chef on my ship, Ama." Luffy says.
I shake my head. "Nope, besides you wouldn't want me anyways."
He looks at me confused. "Why?"
"I don't know how to make any meat dishes." I stated. While I could season it fine, I didn't know how to make any balanced meals.
His face was one of horror. "You're right! I need a chef who cooks lots of meat!" He exclaims.
Sabo laughs at the interaction and Ace shakes his head.
"Come on," Ace calls, leading us to a tree stump in the forest. He grabs four little red cups seemingly out of nowhere along with a bottle of sake.
Where did that even come from? I wondered. I'll never get used to the world of anime I guess.
"Let's just leave the question of captain for later. Maybe we'll set out independently." Ace said, setting the sake on the tree stump.
"Ah! You stole that from Dadan!" Luffy mentioned.
"Did you guys know?" Ace asked, opening the sake. "We can become brothers if we exchange this cup of sake!" He poured some in each cup.
"Brothers? Really?" Luffy grinned.
"When we become pirates, we might not be on the same ship, but our brotherhood will always be there." Ace explained. "Whenever, wherever, we'll always be bonded!"
"I like the idea, but are you guys okay with me becoming a sister of yours?" I ask, uncertainly.
Both Ace and Sabo blush at the idea and shook their heads side to side.
"No, I don't want Ama as my sister!" Luffy wailed. "But I also want her included!"
The other two nodded in agreement.
I was glad that I was important. Even if it wasn't to the degree of being a sister. "In that case, how about I drink to childhood friends? I'll promise to always be your friend and look after you!" I asked.
"That sounds great!" Sabo agreed.
Ace nodded and Luffy continued to smile.
"So from now on, we're brothers! And childhood friend!" Ace exclaims.
We all clink out cups and drink.
"Chi!" Chi squeaked happily for us while we all smiled at one another.
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Hope you enjoyed! Until Next Time...
World_Imaginer