[A/N: I wanna say sorry for not posting, and Thank you for the concern. I am fine, there is nothing to be worried about. School started back up, I have hard classes this year with a busy schedule to go with it. As well, I've been making the Chapters longer, which makes it hard to post quickly without taking up 2-3 hours of time.
As a result, I'm going to be making shorter chapters, so instead of 6 thousand words per chapter, it will be close to 3 or 4 thousand, but only for a while.
I had some chapters ready, so while I'm busy, I can just quickly post a few small ones until I'm ready to post a few longer ones.
Also, thank you so much for 225K views, and please enjoy this chapter!]
Everyone had sat down for lunch, but part of this lunch would be discussing our plan. The table in the Sunny doesn't fit everyone, so I'm glad Nami and I got in when we did. Luffy sat at the head of the table, closest to the door, and on the side across from me, starting at Luffy, was Nami, Law, and Usopp, with Chopper at the other head. On the side facing the kitchen, starting from Luffy, was Me, Momo, and Kin'emon. Behind Nami was Brook, drinking tea on the couch, and behind me was Robin, Franky, and Zoro, sitting at the bar in the kitchen, while Sanji was still cooking.
"Alas, I cannot divulge why we were being pursued," Kin'emon spoke, picking up the earlier conversation, "However, I will say that our original destination was Zou."
"Zou?" Law asked. Sanji made him some Onigiri, because I guess he doesn't like bread. Very thoughtful of Sanji. He also looked as if he had just woken up, since he wasn't wearing his hat, and his hair was a mess.
"Huh? You know it, Sir Law?" Kin'emon asked, looking to Law, as did I.
"That's a rather convenient coincidence. After I hand off Caeser and destroy the SMILE factory like we planned, Zou's gonna be the next stop on my trip." Law said, seeming slightly disappointed.
"Is that so? Really?!" Kin'emon stood. Everyone's chatter slowed down a little to listen to Law. Well, except for Luffy, who whispered and asked if he could have the last of my sandwiches, which I happily gave him. I'd had enough.
"Yeah, my crew's there. They've been waiting." He said, a small smile on his face, averting eye contact. I think he's thinking of his crew. So he does have a heart, how sweet!
"I-If so, would it be possible to accompany you there after our current mission?" Kin'emon begged.
"Me too!" Luffy cheered, sticking his fist up, "We'll all go to Wano! That'll be cool!"
I lowered his arm, which was extended in front of me, "They're talking about Zou, Luffy."
"Enough!" Law said to Luffy, right before hearing a small bang. The bang was Kin'emon bowing, his head making rough contact with the table.
"Thank you, Thank you!" Kin'emon cried, as well as Momo.
Law sighed, "Uh, sure."
"Sir Luffy, You have my gratitude for all you've done!" [Kin'emon]
"And mine!" [Momo]
"Hehe! Hey, don't mention it! Right, Traffy?" Luffy looked to Law, who rested his hand and turned his head in Usopp's direction, trying to avoid eye contact with the three.
Since everyone had finished eating, Sanji kindly took the plates and served us all some tea. I brought my plates over and asked to help, since there were a lot of dishes, but he had to practically push me back to my seat.
I sighed, my sign of giving up, and sat down, listening to Kin'emon speak, "Momonoskue and Three brave samurai, including myself, were headed to Zou before our ship was sadly destroyed. I, Momonoskue, and another samurai, managed to make it to Dressrosa."
"O-Once there, we... we were assaulted by Doflamingo." Momo mumbled next to me, "Panicked, I took refuge on a nearby ship, a dire mistake. There, I met some children being taken to Punk Hazard. Soon, I shared in their terrible fate, though I had no idea what I was in store for at the time."
"Surrounded, and quite desperate to chase the ship, I relied on the brave resistance of my fellow samurai, Kanjuro. He said, "Spare not a thought for me! Protect Momonoskue!"." Once Kin'emon said this, I noticed a few tears hit the table, as his head was hung low, "If not for his sacrifice, then all would have been lost. I simply cannot leave him to die!" Kin'emon sobbed, "I must return to save him!"
Franky and Chopper were seriously moved by the story, sending them as well into tears.
"Okay! We'll help you save him! No prob!" Luffy cheered, before Law raised his voice.
"That's enough! Stay focused! Stick to our plan!" Law barked, but of course, Luffy didn't listen.
~~~
Hearing Robin's voice pulled me from my train of thought, as I felt a stronger gust of wind blow past me, ruffling my clothes.
I stood up from the Crow's Nest and looked ahead, seeing what seemed to be an island, as I tried to swallow my fear. The island had massive boulders around its perimeter, and inside, the faint silhouette of a castle could be seen.
I come to the Crow's Nest to think, and it just so happens I was thinking of this island. Well, to better word it, what we will encounter on this island.
A factory producing Zoan-type devil fruits, a dicey trade deal, and a Warlord, not to mention whatever lackeys he has.
I gripped the edge of the banister around the Crow's Nest, when something hit me.
'Right, I never got a chance to speak to Law after the Phone Call with Joker.'
I rushed down the rigging as the ship docked near the boulders. Once I reached the bottom, however, Luffy jumped past me, grabbing my arm in the process.
I let out a worried yell as he landed on the ground, me landing on my stomach nest to him, as he let go and thrusted his arms into the air, cheering.
Zoro, Chopper, Law, and Franky headed down swiftly after, along with everyone else.
I kneeled, preparing to stand as Luffy turned towards the Sunny, "We should head into town and get a feel for the place first, right?"
"Uh-huh. But listen," I stood all the way, rubbing my nose and turning to listen to Law, "No unnecessary risks. If we fail to take out the factory, then our entire plan is ruined."
"Oh, hey! I just had a great idea!" Luffy said to Law, then ran to Nami and Momonoskue, on his left, "Hey, Momo!"
Law scoffed silently, as Luffy tried to make Momo fly, as he was in his dagon form, getting Momo to take Luffy into town, "Get off! I am not going into town! Also, I cannot fly! I am to stay here!"
"What'dyou mean you can't fly? I've seen you do it! Back in that garbage chute, remember?" [Luffy]
"I don't! I have no clue what you are talking about!" [Momo]
Luffy tried to convince everyone he flew, but truthfully, I didn't buy it.
"Surely I would remember that! And even if I could fly, I can't now! If I did, then... Then..." Momo paused, seeming to remember something, before getting very nervous, and sweating all over, "It matters not! The point is, I will never do such a dreadful thing again! I won't fly... You can't make me!"
"What is your deal?" Luffy crossed his arms, "Afraid of heights, or what?"
"How dare you?!" Momo marked, then bit Luffy on the head, which scared me a little. They bickered to eachother, and suddenly, Luffy socked him in the side of the face, then they both started sending punches.
"What the hell are those scoundrels doing?" Sanji said, being the last one off the ship and standing to my right, Nami now on my left.
"Luffy, he's only eight years old..." Brook said, standing on Sanji's right.
Kin'emon yelled for Momonoskue to stop, and that they owed Luffy their lives. He broke up the fight, and told them both, in simple tones, to have a little more restraint.
Momo cried, "Curse it all..." he then ran over and hugged me, "(Y/N)!"
I panicked for a second before patting his head, "O-Okay, okay, don't cry."
"W-Why is he picking on me?" Momo said, getting close to my chest. Though, I didn't think much of it because, as Brook said, he's eight.
"It's alright..." I said, before hearing Brook, Sanji, and Kin'emon scream, reflexively making me hold Momo closer.
"NO! YOU! DON'T! GET OFF OF HER!' They barked.
Nami put an arm in front of me and Momo, "What's their problem?" She asked quietly, hearing them yell at eachother.
Franky changed the topic, though poorly, asking about disguises, as I released Momo, giving him a quick kiss on the head, which helped him feel better suprisingly fast.
"Ah! Disguises! But of course! The men wear collard shirts! The women, wear as little as possible! In Dressrosa, this fashion is partucilarly important for women. Allow me to produce appropriate costumes, so that we may all go into the town safely!" [Kin'emon]
"I think I'm gonna like this Dressrosa place!" [Sanji]
"Me, too!" [Brook]
Nami hit all three of them in the back of their heads, while Nami yelled, "Give it a rest!" Momo got so scared by Nami, that he transformed into a human.
"Woah, scary..."
I sighed, putting a hand to my head, before hearing a new voice, "Hey."
I looked to my left, so see Law pulling something from his pocket, "better keep these, they may come in handy." He ripped a small paper into two, and gave Nami the piece, about the size of half my palm. I watched her hand, seeing it moved to the right side of her palm.
"A Vivre card?" I asked.
"Yeah. It'll take you to that place called Zou I mentioned. If anything happens to us on Dressrosa, go straight there," Law said, turning around and kneeling to the floor, not giving a bother for Nami's concern.
"J-Just in case, right? We should be fine?" Usopp practically begged, as the crew gathered around Law.
"Who knows." Law said coldly, as Luffy peered around him at the newly unrolled piece of paper.
"What's that paper?" Luffy asked, as I read the words at the top.
"A Map of Dressrosa?" I kneeled to the left of Law, so the people behind me could still see. Once I did, Nami leaned an arm on my shoulder, bending over me.
"One of my crewmembers made it." [Law]
"Kinda sloppy..." Nami mumbled.
Law pointed to the southwest corner of the island, "So, this is where we're at. The West Coast of Dressrosa. Doflamingo's palace is at the center, that's the circle right here. The SMILE factory could be anywhere. I hardly even know where to start. Just try to search for info, and move as quickly as possible without raising suspicion."
I heard someone walk off behind me.
"My team will be responsible for handing over Caeser. We'll pass through Dressrosa until we get to the Northern Shore. There, we'll cross a long bridge to the island of Green Bit."
"Why do we have to cross Dressrosa to get to an island? We can just take the ship, right? Together!" [Usopp]
"I was told that's not possible." [Law]
"My! Sounds like fun!" [Robin]
"Just... get me there safely, please..." [Caeser]
Law pointed out his team, which was Usopp, Himself, Robin, and Caesar.
"As for the Sunny security team, be wary of enemy attacks. You may have to be our decoy." Law said, turning to said team.
"Wait, what? Is that a thing?" [Nami]
"We might engage in Combat?" [Momo]
"What? I thought guarding Duty would be the safest!" [Brook]
"Well, we are in enemy territory, right? But that's okay, 'case we've got Sanji to protect us!" [Chopper]
The Sunny Security Team comprises Nami, Momonoskue, Brook, Chopper, and what should've been Sanji.
"WAH?! He's not here?!" {Chopper]
"Luffy's team is gone, too!" [Usopp]
"Tch. They're the key to this whole plan!" Law scoffed, then turneed to me, "(Y/N), go tell them the plan, and make sure they don't blow it!"
"U-Uh, right!" I said, stepping in the direction I heard them go, but stopped, and hurridly turned around, making them look at me in confusion.
"We didn't get to talk earlier but I wanted you to be careful because the biggest crime name is going to make a deal with you and he seems to happy so he must have a plan alright I'm gonna find those guys 'kay bye!" I spoke in one jumbled hurried sentence, but i knew law and Robin understood, since when I ran after the boys, they both said okay.
~~~
I ran through the rocks, remembering the plan Law told me.
'Kin'emon, Luffy, Zoro, Franky, Myself, and now Sanji, need information to the Smile Factory's locations and to stay discreet. Since I'm not there, it should be pretty easy to find them.'
I found them standing just before the City, and swiftly sprouted a trunk of wood that broke into five, hitting each of them on the head, before retracting into my arm.
'The last thing I need is the things about me revealed to our enemy...'
They all turned, angry, until they saw it's me. The only one who stayed angry was Zoro, since when I hit him, he usually hits back, "What the hell are you five doing?!" I scolded, seeing their facial expression change.
Before I could scold them further,I froze when I heard a voice yelling, which made the five stop as well, and we all turned in that direction.
It was a archway connected to a wall. The first thing that came though was a dog with what looked to be a stuffed animals arm, and what came next was...
"A toy?" I asked, walking though the group, standing in between Franky and Zoro, and watching a man chase after his dog, who he called Mario. Though, this man wasn't a man at all, but rather a toy. And the arm the dog happened to be holding was his own. No one of our group had any words of expression, running past us.
I looked dead ahead, and shuddered when I saw what I thought was the back of a lady's head, turn to give me a dead puppet-eyes stare, before being run into by the toy man, and yelling.
"A-Are they..." I asked.
"...Toys?" Luffy finished my sentence.
As we watched the toy run away, another toy resembling a nutcracker in police attire scared all of us, jumping in front of our group.
We all made spooked noises, the realization of a toy speaking and moving bothering us all, as it straightened itself to be very tall, strings hanging from it's joints.
"Just a friendly neighborhood soldier, don't mind me! Hm, that's odd! Have we met somewhere before? I know your face." The soldier said, I think looking at Luffy.
"Oh, that's it! You were in today's paper!" he said, spinning before tumbling over, becoming caught in his strings, "Ah! Oh no! My strings got all tangled up! Someone help me!" The soldier cried, as Luffy and I ran towards it.
"Is it a toy or a dude?" Luffy asked.
"Hey, Look at that!" Zoro said, and we both turneed to have our eyes practically pop out of our heads.
It looked like a wind up robot, but it was being pushed in a stroller by a human woman and toy man. I looiked around, becoming slightly more fearful as I saw teddybears, nutcrackers, and whatever toys I could every imagine walking around with humans alike. The fact that they were with humans didn't bother me, it was the fact that these toys were moving.
As well, no one seemed btohered by this. They acted as if every island had living breathing toys. All six of us had to pick our jaws up off of the floor. As if the toys weren't enough, a toy robot came through the archway from before, and cried, "A man's been stabbed in the streets!"
A woman screamed, and the toy at my feet groaned, "Oh, not again."
"Did he say again?" Zoro looked at me, and I looked back down at the toy, untangling it's strings as I picked him up.
"Alright Mr. Officer Can you tell us a little about that?" I said, pointing at the havoc near the archway, but he grabbed my hand and pulled it near him, giving it a gratious kiss.
"Thank you so much, young lady! I hope to repay your kindness!-"
Zoro pushed the Toy's head away from my hand, rougher than needed, "You got some maniac on the loose, or what?"
"No," he said, as if brushing it of, "Just very passionate woman. And they're the jealous type, y'know," he said the last part directed at me, being the only female on this team, then looking back to Zoro, "So if their lover cheats on them, for example, things get a little violent." he said the last sentence in a darker tone.
"A "little"?" Zoro asked.
"Seems like the pretty ones are especially stabby." The toy aid, before heard Luffy stretch behind me.
"Okay, the toys are alive! I'm over it now! C'mon! Let's eat!"
Before Luffy ran off, Kin'emon helped us with disguises. After some negative persuasion from Sanji, then a threat from me, I was put into normal attire. Though, everywhere you look here, women are dressed in large dancing dresses, so I was as well.
It looked like a classic dress meant for spinning and dancing in. A solid light blue color with no sleeves, but a matching cuff on both wrists. The cuffs were each connected to a piece of silk coming from the back of the dress, to give off a more elegant feel. The sleeves of the dress were short, but had layers of fabric, so they looked similar to the bottom, as well as having a normal collar.
The dress had tons of layers on it's lower half, so it could be spun by your hands without pulling the dress up, flowing very gracefully. It also meant I could be flexible in it as well, though the black heels will be a slight problem. As well as heels, I had a black sun hat on with a b;ue ribbion along the base, since everyone was wearing something related to black.
Also, after begging Kin'emon, I got a pair of sunglasses with the rest of the team, just to have fun. Luffy was happy that our glasses matched.
Sanji was wearing a dark blue suit, and black glasses shaped like a rectangle, as well as a white beard and mustache. It didn't look too out of character for him, minus the beard. Sanji didn't get sunglasses like the rest of us, since his bounty picture is drawn, and it doesn't resemble him too much. He just wore normal glasses.
Kin'emon gave himself an all black hakama with a red band around his waist, his dual swords on his hip, as well as having sunglasses, a beard, and a fedora.
Luffy had an unbuttoned shirt littered with sunflowers, and his normal blue pants on. He also had a black cover for his signature Straw Hat, and a beard accompanied by sunglasses.
Franky wore just the jacket of a tux and his speedo, making him stand out like a sore thumb. He also had a fedora, sunglasses, and a beard. Maybe people will just think he's a toy...
Lastly, Zoro wore a black suit with an unbuckled collar, with his three swords, sunglasses, and a mustache.
After we got our disguises Luffy ran ahead, as I spoke about the plan with the rest of the crew, who reciprocated it well.
He turned a corner and ran, saying, "We should eat there!"
'I am so not ready for this...'
[A/N: And so it begins...
Character development?...
Hidden talents?...
Lies and Deciet?...
Regret?
I hope you're ready for this, 'cause I sure am not! :D ]