"i could use some hygiene."
⚓︎
"wow," i marveled at the picturesque garden, taking in the grandeur that surrounded us. a colossal well sat at the garden's heart, surrounded by meticulously manicured bushes shaped into the form of playful bears.
"i need to meet the gardener here for sure," i muttered, my curiosity piqued by the ornate sculptures.
"i've never seen a house this big before!" luffy exclaimed, his eyes wide with amazement.
"it's impressive, right?" usopp bragged with pride. "kaya's given me an open invitation to drop by anytime i want."
"all of this just for one person?"
i joined luffy as he eagerly rushed over to the well, with zoro and nami following closely behind. usopp leaned back casually, explaining, "well, she lives here with her butler and a few other staff."
luffy whistled as he peered down into the well, and i did the same, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.
zoro, flinching from his previous stance, quickly reached out to grab the back of my clothing, preventing me from falling. "be careful, you dimwit," he cautioned.
"thanks," i replied with a nervous smile.
nami's attention seemed elsewhere as she mused, "money really shows you who people truly are. most people only care about themselves and what's theirs."
"sounds like someone i know," zoro quipped sarcastically, and i couldn't help but playfully hit him in the chest, silencing his jab.
nami tilted her head to the side, her eyes calculating. "and a small staff makes for easy pickings."
zoro raised an intrigued eyebrow, loosening his grip on my clothes. "why, gonna rob the place blind?"
nami smirked and replied, "at least a little blurry," with her back facing us as she walked away; her steps oozing confidence.
i couldn't help but mumble, "she's so hot."
zoro retorted, "you're hotter," glancing at me.
i grinned at his response and prodded, "what did you just say?"
"nothing," he replied hastily, clearly unwilling to delve into that conversation.
"you know i heard that, zoro," i teased him further, "you think i'm hot?"
zoro, seemingly caught off guard, stammered, "i don't know what you're talking about."
"you're not denying it!"
"am i supposed to?" he retorted, clearly unfazed.
"you're—" i began, but the sound of a knife whizzing past usopp interrupted me. the knife struck the leaf beneath him, narrowly missing its mark.
"the hell are you doing here, usopp?"
"buchi, leave the kid alone," a voice interrupted from the left side. a tall, lean man stood there, dressed in a dark blue cargo jumpsuit. a peculiar metal mask (decorated with gems) covered his nose and mouth, leaving only his eyes and hair exposed, which was tied back into a long ponytail.
'his eyes look familiar... do i know this guy?' i tilt my head.
"buchi, buddy, listen to renji! kaya's expecting me," usopp defended.
"another one of your lies," buchi said, taking a handful of usopp's clothes and pulling him closer aggressively. "you ain't welcome here, and you know it."
"i know nothing of the sort. i'm here to give kaya an extra-special gift."
"both of you shut up! you're distracting me from perfecting these bushes." 'renji' said in an irritated tone, his gloved hands grasping grass shears.
"how about you shut up, you gardening-obsessed freak—" buchi was interrupted by a voice.
"usopp!"
the rest of us, who had been watching the whole scene unfold, shared the same bewildered look.
"weird," i muttered under my breath.
a woman and a man approached. the woman, visibly unwell, clung to the man for support.
"what a wonderful surprise!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.
"hmm," usopp shot a triumphant smile at buchi, silently conveying an "i told you so." with confidence, he tore buchi's hands off him and walked over to the woman.
"kaya! happy birthday!" he greeted her warmly, his expression filled with affection and concern..
"you remembered," kaya's expression softened.
"of course I did!"
as they exchanged heartfelt words, i couldn't help but make a quiet joke to my fellow straw hat pirates. "i ship them already, haha, you get it? ship? since we're pirates and all..."
the other members of the crew glanced at me with concern, wondering why i was making jokes at such a moment.
the man kaya was holding onto fixed his glasses with a flick of his fingers, a touch of annoyance in his demeanor. "usopp, we've had this discussion. you mustn't show up unannounced."
"nonsense, klahadore," kaya interjected with a smile, clearly happy to see usopp.
"have you come to tell me another story? i do love hearing about your adventures," she inquired, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"i'll do you one better. i brought some of my crew!" usopp proudly pointed at us, gesturing to the group.
luffy turned to us, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "is he talking about us?"
"one of them is even my childhood friend! i met you after they left!" usopp grinned, excited to introduce us.
"dude, that just makes me look bad," i lamented, my eyes closing as i sighed. when i opened my eyes, i caught renji, the gardener, looking at me with widened eyes. he quickly composed himself, standing as if nothing had happened.
i couldn't help but wonder, 'does he know me as well?'
"it's so nice to meet you all. you must stay for dinner," kaya smiled warmly at us.
"miss kaya, it's rather last minute. i'm afraid the kitchen hasn't prepared for any extra guests," the butler, a tall, composed man, defended with a hint of concern in his voice.
"please, klahadore, it's my birthday. it can't be too much trouble, can it?" kaya's expression saddened, tugging at the heartstrings.
the other staff members didn't seem to share the butler's sentiment, especially the blue-haired lady, who wore an expression of clear disapproval.
klahadore's stern expression melted into a small, affectionate smile. "of course, miss kaya. anything for you."
luffy, ever enthusiastic, chimed in, "alright! when do we eat?"
klahadore's deadpan response was quick, "you don't, not dressed like that."
"sham, kindly show usopp and his friends to the guest suites. you will bathe and change before dinner."
usopp couldn't help but sniff himself when klahadore emphasized the word 'bathe,' much to the amusement of sham, the blue-haired lady, who smirked and took the lead to guide us to the guest suites..
"a bath does sound nice," nami said, casting a smile at us before following sham.
"i could use some hygiene," i added, readjusting my bow and arrow slung over my shoulder.
"alright!" luffy shouted enthusiastically before trailing after nami. i followed him closely, then turned to zoro, who appeared distracted, his gaze fixed on klahadore with an odd expression.
"what's wrong, zoro?" i inquired.
"i'll tell you later. let's go."
"alright." i took one last glance at renji, who seemed to have locked his gaze onto me ever since usopp had introduced me as his childhood friend. i couldn't help but think,
'i'm too tired for this shit.'
renji is an oc made by me! you'll get to know how he knows (name) in the next upcoming chapters! which by the way will be uploaded after my exams (most of them got postponed so we'll have to suffer for a bit longer than expected 😭) thank you all so much for the love and appreciation for this book <333 take care!