~Y/n pov~

"I thought I'd die.. Well, I'm really swanny." The weird man grinned, "To think I was saved by pirates who are total strangers.. I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life!"

Vivi stared at the man blankly.

"So you can't swim?" Luffy asked.

The man nodded, "That's right. I ate a devil fruit."

"Really? What kind?" Usopp asked curiously.

"Well.. since there's no need to rush until my ship comes to pick me up.. I'll show up." He stood up and whacked Luffy in the face.

I stepped away from him when he did that and eyed his cautiously.

"What?!" Zoro drew his sword and got ready to fight.

"Wait. I told you that this is entertainment." The man now had Luffy's face.

What a dangerous power...

"That's me." Luffy gaped at him.

"If I touch my face. I got back to me." The man touched his face, "This is the power of the Clone clone fruit I ate!"

"The voice too." Nami commented.

"And the body." Usopp added.

The man touched all of our faces.

"I can mimic anyone." He told us, switching between our faces, "Bodies too!"

He transformed into Nami and then flashed us her chest.

Nami punched him in the head, "Stop it."

"Hey, are you alright?" Luffy asked the man.

"Well.. sorry, but I can't show any more of my power..."

"Awww.." Luffy pouted, "But you're awesome!"

"Well, if you insist." He started showing them random faces.

I sighed and sat beside Zoro.

Zoro shifted and wrapped his arm loosely around my waist.

"How stupid." Zoro stated.

"That's my ship." The man jumped onto the railing, "Goodbye."

With that, he was gone.

What a weirdo.

The ship sails said Mr 2. So he was one of them...

"So he is.. Mr 2, Bon Clay!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Vivi, you didn't know his face?" Luffy asked.

"No... I've never met Mr 2 and Mr 1 as well as his partner. I don't know their powers either... though I've heard rumours." She slid down the wall and sat on the floor, "Mr 2 is.. a ballerina with a large frame who talks like a woman. He always wears a swan coat that has 'Bon Clay' on the back."

"You should've noticed." I told her bluntly, "What's wrong?"

"Ones of the faces... it was my father's face."

"If someone were too, for example, mimic the King, you'd be able to do quite bad things.." Zoro commented.

~*~

We had finally arrived.

Zoro had the idea to draw an X on our arms and covered it with a bandage so we'd be able to tell who was real in case we got separated.

As soon as we docked, Luffy jumped off the ship and ran off.

"Food!" He yelled.

That's never good.

"Get back here!" Nami yelled after him but after a few seconds he was already out of site.

"What should we do?" Vivi asked.

Sanji smirked, "Don't worry. Find where the most commotion is, and he'll be there."

Nami sighed, "I wish he'd at least realise he has a bounty on his head."

"Forget about him. Let's just eat first and worry about that later." Zoro stated.

We all climbed down the ladder.

"I can't come with you." Vivi told us, "Someone might recognise me."

Nami nodded.

"Leave it to me, Vivi!" Sanji yelled.

Vivi told us we needed to buy clothes appropriate for the desert's climate.

We still had no idea where Luffy went.

"Let's meet back here in ten minutes." Nami told us as we split into groups.

Sanji and Chopper were in one group and I was going with Zoro and Usopp.

We had managed to sneak Vivi in without anyone recognising her.

She decided to go with Nami.

~*~

Sanji had given Vivi and Nami a dancer outfit.

He tried to give me one too but when Zoro and I glared at him he stopped.

"I love these kinds of clothes." Nami smiled.

She likes it?

"I know I asked you to shop for us, Sanji.. but aren't these outfits for dancer girls?" Vivi smiled nervously.

"It looks marvellous." Sanji gushed as heart appeared around him.

"But I asked for commoners clothing.." Vivi trailed off.

"Dancers are commoners too!" Sanji countered.

"But compared to them, you two clearly look like bandits." Sanji said to Zoro and Usopp, "But not Y/n. She looks good in everything she wears."

I raised an eyebrow at Sanji.

I was wearing similar clothes to Zoro and Usopp.

Looking good wasn't a priority.

My body couldn't handle the heat so I needed to cover up as much as I could.

It was weird I couldn't handle the heat but I'm okay with my fire.

"How are you any different?" Zoro asked Sanji.

"Chopper, what are you doing?" Usopp asked the reindeer, who was laying on the floor.

"The smell is killing me.." he mumbled.

"Is he not well?" Nami asked.

"The perfumes gotten to him."

"Perfume?" Nami smirked and sprayed some at Chopper.

Chopper yelled.

"Stop that." I grabbed the perfume off Nami.

"That's mine." Nami whined.

"Not anymore." I smirked at her, daring her to say anything else, "Are we going to a place called Yuba?"

"Yes, but first is a trek through the desert." Vivi explained, "It will likely be much more difficult than you imagine right now. There's no telling what might happen. One wrong step in this burning land, and there's no guarantee you'll survive."

We all sat down for a while.

Luffy was still not here.

We had to find him before we left.

There was a sudden yelling.

We all got behind the wall and waited.

"It's the navy." Zoro told us.

"There seems to be a big commotion." Usopp commented.

"Some idiot pirate must be running around town or something." Sanji stated.

I suddenly heard Luffy yelling.

"Get back here, Straw Hat!"

Luffy ran past a few times before noticing us.

"Hey, Zoro, Y/n."

He started running towards us, the marines following him.

"You idiot! Get rid of them first." Zoro yelled at him.

We quickly ran after Luffy so we wouldn't be caught by the marines.

I grabbed onto Luffy's arm to stop him from getting into more trouble.

He always gets lost too. At least he's not as bad as Zoro.

Smoker was just behind us.

"Heat haze." A man with an orange hat jumped down and blasted fire at him.

My eyes widened.

That's just what I need! Someone else who can use fire.

"You may be smoke, but I'm fire. A fight between your power and mine would never end."

"He has devil fruit powers?" Zoro asked.

"Ace?!" Luffy gaped at him.

"You haven't changed a bit, Luffy." Ace replied.

"Ace? Is that you, Ace?? You ate a devil fruit?!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Yep! The Flame-Flame fruit. You guys run, I'll catch up."

We quickly ran.

"Who was that guy?" Usopp asked.

Ace.. Luffy had told me about him before.

One of his brothers, though not by blood.

"Wait, Luffy.. who is he?" Nami asked as we continued to run.

Luffy grinned, "He's my brother."

"Go left!" Nami yelled when she realised the path split in two.

I noticed Luffy was distracted and went the other way.

Sighing, I followed him.

"Huh? Where did everyone go?" Luffy asked when he came to a stop.

"They went the other way." I told him, "You were too distracted."

"They did." Luffy laughed, "My bad."

"I guess my letting you escape was pretty much pointless."

I looked up just as Ace jumped down from the roof.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Luffy." Ace grinned.

"You too."

They both wrestled on top of a barrel.

No one won and they just ended up destroying the barrel.

"I was surprised you ate a Devil Fruit, but besides that, you're the same. Like when you'd sneak into the fields, eat one hundred watermelons, and then spit the seeds out like a gun and run!" Luffy started telling a story.

"That wasn't me. That was you." Ace replied, "So, who's this?"

"Oh, that's Y/n." Luffy grinned as he introduced me.

"Where did you friends go?" Ace asked.

"They're probably on the ship." I told him, "Luffy ran off."

Ace laughed, "That sounds just like him."

"Ace, what are you doing here?" Luffy finally asked.

"Huh? You mean you didn't get the message I sent to Drum?" Ace raised an eyebrow, "Well, never mind. I'm a member of the Whitebeard pirates now. I'm here on minor business."

"Whitebeard pirates?"

"This is the mark of the Whitebeard pirates. It's my pride." Ace showed us the purple tattoo on his back, "Luffy, won't you join the Whitebeard pirates?"

Was he seriously asking that?

"No." Luffy refused.

Ace laughed, "Well, I thought I'd ask. I plan to help Whitebeard become King of the Pirates. Not you."

Luffy grinned, "I'll become the King of the Pirates."

"You can catch up later, right?" I asked, "We need to go."

Luffy nodded and grabbed my hand to pull me along before he stopped when he realised he didn't know where he was going.

"That's what I thought..." I smiled, "I know the way to the port."

~*~

When Luffy noticed the Going Merry he stretched his arm out towards it, his other hand wrapping around my waist.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact.

Luffy went flying straight into Sanji and luckily I avoided hitting anyone or getting injured.

"Sorry about that Sanji." Luffy just laughed.

"Do you not learn your lesson? I ought to gut you whole!" Sanji shook Luffy back and forth.

"Are you okay, Sanji?" I asked.

"Yes, my goddess." Hearts appeared in his eyes when he looked at me.

I only talked to him to distract him from Luffy.

Luffy jumped up and stood next to me, glaring at Sanji.

Sanji looked away and stood up.

"Where'd Ace go?" Luffy asked while looking out at the sea and the small disappearing bit of land, "Oh well. He'll be fine. He's strong."

"Ace is strong?" Chopper asked.

Luffy grinned, "Yeah. He hadn't eaten the Flame-Flame fruit a long time ago, but I still never beat him in a single fight."

Nami gaped at him, "There's a flesh and blood person you could never beat?!"

"I guess the big brother of a monster is an even bigger monster." Usopp muttered.

"That's right! I lost all the time. But I'd win now if we tried." Luffy bragger.

"Who can win now?" Ace asked, jumping onto the railing behind Luffy.

"Ace!"

"Oh. Thank you all for taking care of my little brother." Ace thanked us.

"Eh? No, not at all." Everyone replied simultaneously.

They were probably shocked because he was being so polite.

"He might be a bit much for you to handle too, but.."

"No, not at all."

"You probably have lots of catching up to do. Why don't you come in? I'll make you some tea." Sanji offered.

"No, that's okay." Ace rejected his offer.

"Baroque works." I stated when I noticed some ships coming towards us.

"Fire Fist Ace and Straw Hat Luffy! Don't think you can get away!" Someone yelled.

"Luffy, I'll take care of them." Ace jumped onto his small boat.

His feet set on fire.

So that's how the boat works.

That's so cool.

Ace when rapidly towards them and then threw fire at them, destroying the ships in one blast.

He's good.

~*~

"What happened, Nami?! Where did your dancer outfit go!?" Sanji yelled when he saw she wasn't wearing it.

I was lying on the deck, unmoving.

It was too hot.

I was lying in Zoro's shadow to try and keep cool.

"You too, Vivi?! Why are you dressed like that?!" Sanji continued to yell.

"In the desert, any exposed skin will wind up terribly sunburned." Vivi explained.

"Let's get ready to leave." Zoro started to move.

The shade.

I quickly pushed myself up and slowly followed after Zoro, standing in his shadow.

Zoro stopped and raised an eyebrow at me, "What are you doing?"

"Y/n gets like that when it's too hot. She can handle the cold really well but when it starts to get warm she can't handle it." Luffy explained.

Zoro sighed, "C'mon."

He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the edge of the ship as everyone else finished preparing.

I leant my body against him weakly.

These weird looking creatures suddenly jumped out of the water.

"Turtles?" I asked as I stared at the weird creatures, "No..."

"Are those seals?" Luffy asked.

"Kung Fu Dugongs." Vivi exclaimed when she saw them.

"If you want to come to the shore beat us first. Or else go back to the other shore, cowards." Chopper translated for us.

"I can't sit quietly when someone calls me a coward." Usopp jumped towards them.

He got easily beaten up by them.

Luffy jumped towards them next and beat them all up.

"Winning is bad, too." Vivi told us before noticing Luffy had beat them all up.

The Kung Fu Dugongs all bowed to Luffy and looked up at him with sparkling eyes.

"It's a Kung Fu Dugong rule that if someone loses, they become the winner's pupil." Vivi sighed when she saw what had happened.

"Alright, everyone! After me!" Luffy grinned and started teaching them how to throw punches.

They all eagerly copied him.

We all stepped off the ship and watched Luffy.

They all stood behind him in rows when he turned to face us.

"Are you bringing them with us?!" Zoro yelled.

"You can't Luffy." Nami told him sternly.

"They can't travel across the desert." Vivi added.

They quickly grabbed onto Luffy's legs, trying to stop him from going.

Chopper tried to negotiate with them and we ended up giving them almost all of our food.

"Luffy, do you understand the situation?" Nami frowned at him.

"They said they were coming with me, so why couldn't we let them?" Luffy asked sadly.

"We couldn't go to any city with that big of a group! You're so dumb!" Nami scolded him.

I walked just behind Zoro and to the side a bit, walking slowly in his shadow.

Zoro kept looking back and walking slightly slower for me.

After a few minutes of this, he sighed.

He crouched in front of me, "Get on."

I got onto his back and he stood up, holding onto my legs so I didn't fall.

"Thanks." I muttered, resting my head on his shoulder and letting my body relax.

Vivi stopped walking when we came across this wrecked town.

"Is this the town of Yuba?" I asked her.

"No. This is Erumalu." She looked at me, "It used to be known as the City of Green.."

"City of Green?" Luffy asked as he stared at the town.

There was no green in sight (apart from Zoro's hair).

"The sight of this town explains everything."

We walked through the town.

Well, everyone else walked.

"For three years, not a single drop of rain has fallen." Vivi stated sadly.

Three years?

"But even without rain, what about the river we just crossed?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah! Couldn't they just pipe water in from that big river?" Usopp added.

"The answer to that is up ahead." Vivi told us ominously and continued to walk.

Vivi explained about the dance powder and how the King was framed.

The wind picked up and there was a weird noise.

I buried my face into Zoro's shoulder to stop sand going into my eyes as the sand blew past us.

After a few seconds, it stopped.

The wind was strong.

I lifted my head up.

Luffy looked at something and then ran off.

We all followed after him.

There was someone's skull.

"What did the citizens of this country ever do?" Vivi frowned, "These people have worked so hard to live, being natives of a desert land who are forced to fight with nature. Yet he destroyed their lives. What gives him the right to do that?!"

Ace dug a hole and placed the skull in it, burying it.

"Let's go to Yuba." Vivi stated determinedly.

"Is that where the rebel army is?" I asked.

Vivi nodded, "I'm going to persuade their leader to stop the rebellion."

We continued to walk through the heat.

Luffy grunted, "Burning up... Sweat won't even come out..."

He was trailing behind the group and he using a stick while he walked.

I'd help him if I wasn't dying.

"Quit moaning so much, Luffy. You'll only tire yourself out." Nami told him.

Luffy ignored her and continued to groan.

"Too hot.." Sanji was pulling a sled with Chopper on.

"It's 'cause of all that fur... You should take off that animal suit.." Usopp told him.

"What was that, you jerk?!" Chopper yelled, transforming into his bigger form.

"Oi, stop that." Sanji glared at Chopper and waited for him to go back small before continuing to drag the sled.

Ace was walking by himself.

I waved my arm at his to get his attention.

He raised an eyebrow and walked over to me.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." He responded.

"Here. You carry her." Zoro dumped me on Ace's back.

Ace didn't seem to mind.

I smiled at him, "Luffy talked about you a lot."

Ace smirked, "Oh really?"

Zoro had wandered off to give us privacy.

"Your fire powers are really cool.. I want to ask you a favour."

"What is it?"

"I can also use flames but I can't control them at all. I was wondering if you would help me."

Ace grinned, "Why not? So... what's going on with you and Luffy? Or maybe that swordsman?"

My cheeks turned bright red and I averted my gaze.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Ace gave me a 'really' look.

"Nothings happening."

"Not yet."

I looked away from Ace so he couldn't see my flustered expression.

Sanji was suddenly looking at me and we made eye contact.

"You're so cute when you blush." He gushed, though he had no idea why I was blushing.

Ace just laughed at my flustered expression.

"Just wait."

I turned my attention back to him when he started talking.

Sanji went back to his conversation with Vivi.

"I'm sure they both like you. Wait it out and see what happens."

Why was he suddenly giving me advice?

"If you say so.." I trailed off as I stared into the distance.

All I could see was sand and more sand.

"What can you do? With your fire?" Ace asked curiously.

I held my hand out in front of us and made a small flame on it.

"About this much. If I try to make it bigger.." I made the fire bigger and watched as it flickered and started to go out of control, "That happens."

"I won't be here for long but I can try and teach you control. You'll probably have to figure out a lot of it for yourself though." Ace nodded.

"That's okay." I grinned, "I'm just glad that you're going to help me."

~*~

"So hungry." Luffy whined as he stared at the meat cooking on the fire.

"Don't be so greedy!" Sanji smacked his hand away, "It's still raw! Don't eat that!"

I sighed at Luffy's antics.

At least it was cold now since it was nighttime.

We were all gathered around the fire so no one was cold.

"It was so hot during the day! What's going on?!" Nami shivered.

"With nothing to block out the temperature, the desert scorched during the day but falls below freezing at night. The desert is fraught with unpredictable dangers." Vivi explained to her.

"I'm so cold." Usopp shivered.

"Cold weather doesn't both me." Chopper stated as Usopp suddenly grabbed him, "That's because you were such a warm suit!"

"Get off!" Chopper tried to push Usopp away.

I shuffled closer to Zoro when I noticed he was shivering.

He smiled gratefully and shuffled closer.

Luffy came bounding over and tackled me down.

"You're so warm." He curled up in my lap.

I wrapped my arms around his waist as he snuggled himself into my arms and my warm body.

Maybe my body was so warm since I could use fire.

But it's not fair that I can't handle the heat at all.

I noticed Ace smirking at me from the corner of my eye.

My cheeks were turning red again as I quickly looked away.

The food was soon done and we all quickly ate before curling up near the fire.

Zoro leaned up against a rock and pulled me into his lap for warmth.

I leant my head against his chest and drifted off to sleep with Luffy in my arms.

~*~

I was abruptly woken up when Luffy suddenly moved.

He was awake and couldn't stay still.

"Luffy, what are you doing?" I asked.

He got up and replied with something but I didn't hear it because I was distracted.

I had noticed the wind had picked up a lot and it became colder.

"Sandstorm!" Vivi yelled.

I pulled Luffy back down and held his head down.

I rested my head on his and closed my eyes.

We were already behind a rock so we should be fine.

Zoro was still sleeping somehow, even in a sandstorm.

~*~

When it was daytime, we set off walking again.

This time, Luffy carried me.

When everyone else fell asleep at night, I trained with Ace for a few hours.

I'd already improved my control slightly but I knew I couldn't use it in battle yet.

I sighed and rested my head on Luffy's shoulder.

"Hey, Sanji! Let's have lunch." Luffy grinned.

"Not yet. Not until Vivi says so."

"Come on, Vivi. Let's eat! I'm out of strength." Luffy tried to persuade Vivi.

"But we're only one-tenth of the way to Yuba, Luffy." Vivi replied.

"You're so dumb! Have you heard of this proverb? If you're hungry, eat."

"Luffy, you made that up."

"Did not."

"You're a bad liar." I laughed.

He pressed him cheek against mine, "Shush."

"Then why don't we take a break at the next rocks we find?" Vivi sighed.

I quickly jumped off Luffy knowing he was going to run off and do something crazy.

I'm too hot and tired to deal with that.

Luffy grinned ran in front of everyone, "Let's play rock, paper, scissors. Whoever wins carries everyone's stuff!"

They played and Luffy ended up winning.

He's so silly.

"Heavy... so heavy.. and hot.." Luffy huffed as he trailed behind us, carrying all the bags.

"Zoro." I whined at him.

He sighed, "Okay, okay."

He scooped me up and held me like a toddler.

I rested my head on his shoulder and looked forward.

Zoro held me in place with one arm.

Usopp stopped and looking into the distance, "There are rocks over there."

"Really?" Luffy quickly ran in that direction, disappearing from sight.

"Are you okay?" Zoro asked me when he noticed my eyes drooping.

"Yeah.. just tired and hot."

The swordsman nodded in understanding and held me closer.

I closed my eyes and relaxed.

The rhythm of Zoro's walking calming me.

I was almost asleep but I was startled when I suddenly heard Luffy yelling.

"Bad news! There's lots of hurt birds that can't move! Chopper!" Luffy yelled.

Chopper nodded and they both ran off.

We kept walking at the same pace.

"Birds?" Vivi gasped.

This doesn't sound good.

When we got there, we realised the birds had stolen all of our stuff.

Vivi apologised and told us they tricked us.

Why didn't she mention any of these things earlier?

They seem really important.

Sanji yelled angrily at Luffy as we had lost all of our food.

Luffy noticed the bird and ran after them.

After a few seconds, he was out of sight.

Great... we've been separated and in the desert of all places.

We all decided to sit and wait and just hope that Luffy came back.

I want to sleep but I also want to make sure Luffy is alright.

He can't really take care of himself.

I sat curled up next to Zoro.

"He had a horrible sense of direction but always runs off." Nami huffed.

"Isn't he hungry from not eating anything?" Sanji realised.

There was a really loud noise in the distance and the ground started rumbling.

Something started coming towards us.

"Luffy?!" Usopp exclaimed.

He was coming charging towards us on a camel.

Everyone stood up.

It was a good thing we were in the shade.

"A Sandora dragon!" Vivi exclaimed when she noticed this huge purple lizard creature.

"What's that?" I asked her.

"They're the largest of the reptiles living in the desert and they wait under the sand for their prey!"

"He really does have a gift for attracting trouble." Ace stood up and walked in their direction.

Sanji and Zoro were ready to beat it but Ace stepped in and easily beat it.

Another one appeared that Sanji and Zoro knocked out.

Luffy reached us and jumped off the camel.

"So, what's with the camel?" Zoro asked.

"I dunno. It was getting eaten by a mystery plant."

"It doesn't seem to be a wild camel." Nami noticed the saddle on its back.

Chopper started communicating with him.

"That's great. We can ride it?" Usopp grinned, "That'll make things easier!"

"Yeah, that'll be a real help." Sanji agreed, "Looks like it can carry two people."

"Then, I'll be the first one." Luffy tried to climb onto the camel but it bit his head.

"I am a freedom-loving, hard-boiled, compassionate camel!" Chopper translated, "Thanks for helping me out of that pinch. I can give you a lift, but no men allowed."

"This guys a punk."

Sanji, Luffy and Usopp started beating it up.

"I'm sorry." Nami smiled and pet the camel, "You're a good boy! What should we call you?"

This camel was super creepy. No way in hell was I getting on it.

"Idiot."

"Moron."

"Doofus."

"Lashes it is, then." Nami smiled, climbing onto the camel.

"What a lame name." I stated.

"Shut up." Nami huffed.

"That's such a weird name." Zoro stated.

Vivi got on behind Nami and they started walking again.

"Let's go then." Zoro lifted me up.

"Thanks, you must be very tired." I mumbled quietly to him.

"It's fine." Zoro smiled, "Besides, you look really tired. You should sleep."

"But.."

"No. Sleep or I'll put you down."

I huffed but got comfortable anyway.

Zoro moved slightly, making sure I wouldn't fall.

He was holding me like a toddler again.

His back probably hurt. Especially because of the way he sleeps during the day.

Zoro tilted his head slightly and pressed a kiss against my forehead.

I was so tired it didn't even register in my brain.

I'm not sure how long it had been, but the soft crunches of the sand and the quiet talking soon became silence as I fell asleep.

~*~

I opened my eyes and rubbed them.

It was dark now.

We had reached some place.

There was a man digging a hole.

What is he doing?

"This is bad. It's almost no different from that Erumalu city." Zoro commented.

Zoro noticed I was awake and placed me down.

"Where's the water?" Luffy panted.

"Wasn't this supposed to be an oasis city, Vivi?" Sanji asked.

"The sand has raised the ground! The oasis has been swallowed up!"

Other than the man, there was no one else in sight.

"Are you travellers? You must be exhausted from your trek through the desert. Sorry. This town is a bit dried up." He continued to dig, not even facing us, "There are plenty of inns here. They are this town's pride, after all."

"We came because we heard the rebel army was in this city.." Vivi trailed off.

"What business do you have with the rebel army?!" He turned to face us with a glare, "Curse you! Don't tell me you're hoping to join the rebellion?! If you're looking for those fools, they left town long ago."

"They what?!"

"A sandstorm hit the town just now, but it certainly wasn't the first. The sand has dried up after three years of drought, and sandstorms began to frequent this town ever since. Little by little, the oasis of the past was swallowed up, leaving what you see now. The rebel army moved its base to Katorea."

"Katorea?!"

"Where's that, Vivi??" Luffy asked with a serious expression, "Is Katorea close by?!"

"It's an oasis next to Nanohana." Vivi explained.

Wasn't that the first place we visited...

It'll take ages to get back there.

The man walked closer to us, "Vivi? Did you just say Vivi?"

"Wait, old guy! Vivi isn't the princess." Luffy shouted, totally blowing her cover.

Zoro whacked Luffy on the head, "Don't tell him that, moron!"

"Vivi, is that you? You're alive! Thank goodness." The man started crying, "It's me! Don't you recognise me?"

"Toto?" Vivi gasped.

"That's right." He smiled.

"Vivi. I have faith in His Majesty!" Toto told her, "He's not someone who would ever betray the kingdom. Don't you agree?"

Vivi stared at Toto with teary eyes.

"This rebellion is ridiculous! Those fools!" Toto yelled, "So many times... I tried to stop them. But they won't listen to what I have to say. The rebellion won't stop."

He offered us a place to stay for the night.

I noticed Luffy stayed up and helped dig the hole.

Since I had already slept, I decided to train for a few hours by myself.

Ace had disappeared and gone somewhere.

I guess he isn't that different from Luffy after all.

After a few hours, I decided to try and get a few hours sleep as it was almost daylight.

I found Luffy unconscious and the hole being dug was way bigger.

He used all of his energy helping Toto even though he's barely eaten today.

I picked Luffy up and went into the room where everyone else was.

They were all asleep.

Luffy clung to me tightly in his sleep.

I crawled into one of the beds and decided to get a few hours sleep.

~*~

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5063 words

A/n getting to the good stuff like Alabasta. This took me so long to write Oof.