𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌

Part 1

(Picture here is from an anime avatar maker app. Meet Lily!)

(Lily POV)

"YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" Luffy's scream rudely woke me up from a unpleasant rest. "IIIIII SLEEEEEEEEPT SOOOOOOO GREEAAAT!!!"

I popped the barrel lid over my head open and tried to stifle a yawn. "Speak for yourself. I can't feel my arms or legs right now..."

Standing with some difficulty, I realized we were in the kitchen of some kind of ship. Someone must have fished out the barrels we were using to survive the whirlpool earlier, probably thinking we were provisions of some kind.

A large man was out cold on the ground next to Luffy's barrel while two lankier men were staring dumbfounded at us. Behind me was a terrified boy about my age with pink hair and glasses. Poor guy must have a phobia of Jack-in-the-boxes.

"Hey, who the hell are you guys?" Luffy asked bluntly.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" the two men demanded right back.

"Your friend'll catch cold sleeping like that," my brother said as he stepped out of his own barrel.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KNOCKED HIM OUT!"

Ah, that explains Mr. Big Guy.

Luffy ignored them, of course, and helped me climb out of my barrel, carefully making sure the longbow slung across my torso didn't get in the way. "This might have been your worst idea to date, Luffy," I tell him as I work some feeling back in my limbs.

"But it still worked!" he laughed, earning a glare from me.

"Hold up!" The men drew their swords and one pointed his at Luffy. "Are you messing with us when you know good and well that we're viscous pirates? Huh?!"

"I'm starving! Got any food?" Luffy asked, completely disregarding them. I don't entirely blame him because: one, these guys aren't really a threat, and two, my brother's an idiot.

"I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

"YOU DAMN KIDS!" Out of the corner of my eye I saw both pirates raise their swords, ready to strike us and apparently the other boy down as he was standing rather close to us. He let out a scream as I slipped my bow off and blocked the blades. The tips broke off from striking the wood and ricocheted upwards, embedding into the ceiling. A small grin tugs at my lips at the sight of the pirates' shocked faces.

"How--?!"

"That thing's made of wood, but it's not even scratched?!"

"Oh, this ol' thing?" I twirl it in one hand a little and smile at them sweetly, though the aura I gave off was anything but. "It's a special kind of wood."

To my disappointment, that was all it took for those guys to scram, dragging their unconscious friend behind them. I didn't even do anything yet. "What a bunch of wimps," I sighed. "'Viscous pirates', ha!"

"Wha--what just happened?" a timid voice asked. I turned to the bespectacled boy with a slight pout and replied, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

As I put away my bow, his confusion gave way to panic. "Quick! You two gotta run! If those guys come back here with their buddies, then they'll kill you on the spot!"

"I don't care about that," Luffy said with a carefree grin. "I'm hungry."

"How can you just blow this off like that?! There are hundreds of them up on deck and they're waiting for the opportunity to kill anything!"

"Listen, Pinky, you don't have to worry about us," I said nonchalantly. "We might not look like much, but we're pretty strong. We're not sticking around, anyway. Hey, Luffy--" I turned to my brother, who was sniffing the air like a bloodhound for food "--I'm gonna find a lifeboat. Try not to eat everything and pack some food for a few days."