Recap:
The large crowd continues to chase you around town, Luffy desperately trying to get out and you smacking him in the back of the head over and over again for getting you involved in this situation.
Meanwhile, back at the restaurant, the man from before was even more irked having been slammed into the ground. But seeing Luffy ahead gave him all the more reason to join the chase for him. "Luffy!" he shouts, "It's me!"
Now just who was this man?
During this time, the rest of the Straw Hat crew, has been in the outskirts of Nanohana, and have received proper outfits for their journey in this hot desert country. Well, aside from Nami and Vivi, who were dressed in dancer outfits.
"Maybe we shouldn't have let Sanji shop for us... The goal is to blend in with the crowd.." Vivi chuckles nervously, staring down at the rather exposing outfits. "These are dancer outfits..."
"What do you mean?!" Sanji exclaims with hearts bulging in his eyes, and his hands clasped together. "Dancers are common people! No one will think you're a princess dressed like that! I even have one for my ocean princess!" he says showing off the light turquoise-blue outfit similar to Nami's and Vivi's he purchased.
"But we're going to be walking through the desert.." Vivi argues.
"Don't worry, if you get too tired I'll be happy to carry you... hehe~"
"The ladies look great, but," Sanji turns to Zoro who was eating a large piece of meat and sat by Usopp and Karoo, with Chopper and Mist on his right. "You guys don't look like pirates anymore! You look like thieves!"
Zoro was wearing a zebra patterned vest-like cloak along with an orange draping hat on top. Usopp was dressed in a long green covering and had a similar top as Zoro's but a mustard yellow color. Sanji had a light faded blue vest-cloak with a white shirt and hood underneath. Chopper had a mini version of this outfit, but the material was a light purple and lined with a darker shade, and without a hood. Mist was wearing the same long cloak as Usopp but it was a dark blue color, and had no head topping.
"Huh?" the pink haired male spoke seeing Chopper was lying on the ground and holding his nose. "What's wrong, Chopper-kun?"
"My nose hurts..." he cries. "It feels like it's going to fall off."
"Oh that makes sense Tony-kun.." Vivi replies feeling bad for the small reindeer. "Your nose must be very sensitive, and Nanohana is known for it's perfumes. Some are very potent."
"Like this~?" Nami asks as she squirts a bit on her neck by Chopper. "ACK DON'T DO THAT!!" he cries cringing away from the orange haired female.
Mist just facepalms lightly. "Anyways, Vivi, now that we have the supplies we need, which way are we going?"
"First we need to stop the rebels, before this land becomes bathed in blood." Vivi begins. "So we're heading to the base to find their leader. It's an oasis known as Yuba. And going to Yuba means-"
"Hey hide!" Zoro suddenly shouts, shocking the female as he pulls her behind the rubble of the building they were all hiding in. Zoro peeks out and sees it's the Navy. "There's some kind of ruckus over there."
"It's probably some dumb pirate." Mist replies. Before anyone else could add to the matter, they look and see Luffy running with you on his shoulder, the two of you screaming as the large crowd of soldiers follows you both.
'IT'S YOU TWO?!" Everyone thought in unison. Luffy suddenly skids to a stop when he spots Zoro. "Oi Zoro!!" he shouts happily.
"Eh?! The rest of the Straw Hat crew?!" one navy soldier exclaims watching as Luffy runs over to his crew members. "Hey you guys are all here!!" he says happily making you deadpan.
"Don't lead the rest of the soldiers to them dummy!!" you shout still fighting from your captain's babysitting. The rest of the crew gathered their supplies quickly and ran ahead of you and Luffy.
"Move!" another voice shouts, revealing to be Smoker as he shoots his fist towards you two. "White Blow!!"
"Heat Haze!" And in an instant, the smoke is dispersed, with bright flames residing in it's place. You and the rest of the crew looked back in shock, and even Luffy was wide eyed, as the flames began to clear, it showed the same man from inside the restaurant from before.
"You, huh...?" Smoker narrowed his eyes at the raven haired male, a smirk falling onto his expression. "Give it up." he replies. "You may be smoke, but I'm fire. A fight between your Devil Fruit and mine would never end."
"W-Who is this?! Why is he helping us?!" Usopp stutters, seeing how strong this man was, he wouldn't want him as an enemy for sure.
"Ace?!" Luffy exclaims, shocking you as Luffy even managed to forget you were on his shoulder. Taking the chance, you moved off and now stood, letting out a sigh of relief. "Eh? Ace??" you repeat looking at the freckled face male as he turns to face Luffy.
"You haven't changed a bit huh?"
"Ace?! That really is you Ace?! You ate a Devil Fruit?!" Luffy asks, appearing to be rather shocked still.
"Yup~!" Ace replies. "The Mera Mera fruit!" as he says this, the navy soldiers have started to gather around in hopes of trapping the rest of the crew.
"Captain Smoker! We're preparing to secure the perimeter!"
The flames continue to grow on Ace as he faces Smoker. "Anyways, we don't have time to talk like this! I'll catch up! You guys run!"
"Let's go!" Luffy shouts, running ahead as you follow with the rest of the crew.
"We're leaving the island already?!" Usopp shouts carrying one of the bags as he runs. "No!" Vivi shouts back. "We're going to sail the ship up the river into the interior! The desert lies beyond that! Nanohana was just a stop for supplies!"
As Smoker watches the crew run off, he looks back at Ace, unsure of exactly why he was helping Luffy out. "Explain. Why are you helping out Straw Hat?"
At this, Ace can't stop himself from smiling. "It's natural for an older brother to worry about his bungling kid brother, isn't it?"
"He's your brother?!" you and Mist screech at the same time. The rest of the crew was just as shocked as the two of you. Luffy had a brother?! And why was this the first they were hearing of it?!
"Yup! He's my older brother!" Luffy says with a wide grin. "His name is Ace!"
"Having a brother is pretty surprising, but what's he doing in the Grand Line?" Zoro asks, carrying a barrel of water on his shoulder.
"Ace is a pirate!" Luffy replies, a feeling a joy within him. "He left three years before me to find the One Piece!" At the moment, the crew was in awe watching Ace fight Smoker. Nami was the first to snap out of it however.
"A-Anyways! We need to head back to the ship now! Let's escape before they come after us!"
"Yes Nami-swan~!" Sanji says, running with the rest of the crew. You were running a bit slower to keep up with Luffy who was looking backwards as he was lightly jogging.
"I never thought I'd see him here!" There were two separate paths ahead. "Everyone, go left!" Nami shouts, the whole crew moving to the left. Well, except for you and Luffy of course.
"Ah, Luffy! We're going the wro-"
"Wooow!! They're up really high!" Luffy cuts you off, still running backwards with a barrel of water in his free hand.
"Luffy!"
"Whoooaaa! Look at all the smoke rising up!"
"Luffy!"
"I bet Ace is going to win! No way will Smoke-"
"LUFFFY!" you scream, making the male flinch as he stops. "What is it Y/n?! Geez stop getting distracted, we have to get to the ship-EH?!"
Luffy finally looked back, and saw that you two were now in a small alleyway where there were just buildings, the rest of the crew and the Going Merry not in sight.
"That's weird... Why are we the only ones here?" he asks, sitting on the barrel with his arms crossed over his chest, his head tilted to the side.
"I'm going to kill you..!" You hiss smacking him in the back of the head. "I tried to tell you! We went the wrong way and now we're lost!!"
"Sheesh! I guess letting you escape was pointless." You and Luffy looked up at the top of the building, seeing there was Ace, smirking as he looked down at you and Luffy.
"Yo!"
"Ace!!" Luffy grins, as Ace hops down, hands on his hips. "It's been a while Luffy."
"Yeah!" Luffy hopped off the barrel, and both brothers rested their shoulders at the top of the barrel, preparing to arm wrestle. "How many years has it been?!"
"Good question," Ace replies. "It looks like you're still going at your own pace, just like when we were kids, Luffy."
And that was the cue for the two of them to begin, both straining against one another's strength. "You too, Ace!" Luffy says slightly strained. "I was surprised you ate a Devil Fruit!"
You were watching the two in awe, seeing Luffy was starting to have the advantage. "Like when you'd sneak into the fields, eat one hundred watermelons, and spit out the seeds like a gun and run!"
Ace grits his teeth, as he then grabs the advantage. "That was you!" he says, making you sweat drop. 'Well... It was kind of obvious...'
The two continued to struggle until the barrel broke from underneath, both brothers still clasping their hands tightly. "Looks like we're evenly matched now."
"Um, I don't mean to interrupt," you begin, clearing your throat and catching the attention of both brothers. "But, Luffy, everyone's waiting for us. We should get going."
"Hm? Oh right!" Luffy nods in agreement. "You guys can catch up while we're walking-" Before you can even finish, Ace comes over to you.
"Sorry. I guess I didn't introduce myself to you." Ace smirks. "I'm Ace. Luffy's older brother. Nice to meet you."
"Y/n. Nice to meet you two." The male reaches up and gently pats your head, making you blink in surprise at the small action. Luffy watches this, a bit glad to see you and Ace were getting along so well. "A-Anyways, you guys can catch up while we're walking-Oh!"
Once again you're cut off when Ace puts an arm around your shoulder, "No no I'd like to know more about you~ You seem awfully close to Luffy. So there must be something wrong!" he laughs in a joking manner, walking forward with you and leaving Luffy to tail behind.
What was the reason for Ace's behavior? Well for one thing, Luffy would never think about finding his way back if he was lost, and with Ace. Secondly, he saw a certain gleam in his eyes when he heard you talking to him. That was enough for him to become curious of you.
Meanwhile, Luffy now was sticking his bottom lip out in a pouty manner, his arms crossed over his chest. 'Meanie Y/n... Meanie Ace....'
"Oh that reminds me! What brings you to this country?" you ask, making the freckled male raise an eyebrow.
"Didn't Luffy get the message I sent to Drum Kingdom?" he asks looking back at his pouty brother which nearly gave him a heart attack. The only time he'd seen him make that face is when he got more meat....
Wait.
That didn't mean....
Ace stops walking, removing his arm from around your shoulder and staring intently into your eyes. "What are you doing??" you ask, confused as you tried to back away a little bit.
"Are you.... made of meat?" he asks poking your shoulders, and picking at your strands of hair.
"......Huh?!"
"Oh wait, maybe your bo-"
"NO!" And with that there was a slap sound echoing throughout the alleyway.
At the Going Merry, the crew let out a sigh of relief, dropping their baggage onto the deck. "We made it...!" Mist says panting slightly. Sure he could've used his power to instantly get here but he didn't want to leave everyone behind. Not to mention he was normally in the water, so on-land stamina wasn't his strong suit.
The rest of the crew was running round the deck, unfurling the sails and planning to sail away from Nanohana and head to the interior. However, just as Usopp said the words "Let's sail!" it all dawned on the crew that something was wrong.
"You know...." Usopp begins.
"I feel like we're missing someone..." Sanji continues.
"Yeah... Two people to be specific..." Mist continues.
"THAT IDIOT!" Everyone screams in unison, seeing their missing captain and crew mate.
"My poor ocean princess~!" Sanji cries, "Don't worry I'm coming to save you right now-"
"DON'T!" Nami hits him in the back of the head just as he was about to jump off deck. "We can't risk getting split up again! We have no choice but to wait for them!"
"But... Will they really be okay?" Mist asks hesitantly. "I mean, if Luffy didn't even make it to the ship.."
"Stop being pessimistic!!" Usopp cries, comical tears streaming down his cheeks. "I don't even wanna think about what would happen if we left both of them here!!"
Meanwhile, Smoker was still in Nanohana, contemplating on what to do in order to catch the Straw Hats. "Alabasta is a large country. If we let them get away now, we'll never find them..." he mutters to himself. "Portgas... Why did you have to interfere?"
"Smoker-san! I'm sorry I'm late!" Tashigi comes running towards the male, sword in hand.
"Where have you been, Tashigi?!" He asks, irritated. "Well, no matter. What do you make of this? Vivi was with those guys."
"V-Vivi?! The princess?!" Tashigi exclaims. "What was she doing with a bunch of pirates?!"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. On top of that, one of them is wreaking havoc in this country." He finally stands, blowing out a small puff of smoke. "You know I despise the Seven Warlords, right?"
"You're referring to Crocodile then?" Tashigi asks frowning. "But right now he's working with government forces."
"He's always been sharp. However, he's not one to take orders from the government." Smoker narrowed his eyes in disgust at the thought of the man. "Tashigi, remember one thing. Once a pirate, always a pirate!"
You were now walking on the right side of Luffy, who was in the middle, with Ace on his left, his right cheek now having a red hand print on it. "Now then," you begin. "What are you up to Ace?"
"Um... I'm doing some minor work right now." he replies, still rubbing his cheek where it was red from the light stinging pain.
"Minor work??" Luffy repeats, "What do you mean??" he asks leaning forward so that you were blocked from Ace's line of vision.
"Well, I'm a member of the Whitebeard pirates now." he turns around, showing off his back where the purple Whitebeard logo was on. "This is the mark of the Whitebeard pirates. It's my pride."
Ace hands Luffy a small canteen of water, before asking. "Luffy why don't you join the Whitebeard pirates? Your friends can all come along too of course."
Luffy lowers the canteen from his mouth. "No." he says bluntly, making Ace laugh, "I figured. Just thought I'd ask." he tips his hat slightly. "Whitebeard is the greatest pirate I know. I want to help him become King of Pirates. Not you, Luffy."
"Oh Y/n, want some water too?" Luffy asks turning to you.
"Hmm?" you reply. "Oh thanks."
You take the water canteen, and proceed with drinking it. "And I know Ace. That just means we'll have to fight!" he says before patting you on the back rather harshly, like slap level. "Right Y/n? Right? Right?"
You choke on your water, spitting it out. "That hurt!!" you cough, now water all over your chin. "Oh allow me~" Ace takes the chance to grab the canteen from you and wipes off the water on your face with a small handkerchief from his pocket.
"Oh, thanks Ace." you say, not really fazed by the action. Luffy, however, was now staring at the two of you rather intensely before stretching his arm and wrapping it around your waist, forcing you to his side.
"Y/n! Stay with me! I sense danger!" he says making you tense.
"Really?! Where?!" Meanwhile Ace just sweat drops seeing the two of you. 'That's really his best excuse...? And she believes it?' Then again, since when was Ace an expert on love?
"Anyways, let's look for your friends." Ace says, continuing to walk forward. You go to do the same only to remember Luffy had his arm stretched and wrapped around you. "Luffy I don't see anything. You can let go now."
"No."
You blink in surprise. "What???"
"No."
You swore you could feel Luffy's grip actually tighten. "Luffy-"
"I said no!" He huffs, lifting you off the ground a few inches high, and carrying you at his side. "O-Oi Luffy!! I told you I can walk on my own!!"
"No! Stay with me!" Luffy says making you even more irritated. "I am!! Now put me down! I swear why do you do this all the time?!"
"Because I like holding you!!" Luffy shouts back.
"But I don't get to hold you!!" You shoot back.
"Then if you hold me can I hold you?!"
"No way! Just because I get to hold you doesn't mean you automatically earn the right to hold me!"
"EH?! But you just said you would!!"
"I didn't expect you to take it literally-!"
"But I'm an idiot!! Of course I'll take it seriously!"
"Well I see that now!"
"HEY!"
"WHAT?!" Both you and Luffy scream at the new voice, wondering who was intruding on your rather important argument. And of course, there were now surrounding men armed with guns and swords, waiting to pounce on the three of you.
"Oh...." you and Luffy both say in unison.
To Be Continued.....