Chapter 16

The declaration that Luffy made about Rose's recruitment was only met with the sound of the campfire crackling for a few seconds until Ace spoke up. "Luffy, when exactly did you recruit her?"

"Just after we left Drum Island and had a party for Chopper joining."

Ace nods at this while keeping an amused grin on his face. "Were you drunk when you recruited her?"

"Yea, why?"

He can't take it anymore and bursts out laughing.

Luffy starts getting irritated at the sudden laughter and glares at him. "I'm being serious! Quit laughing!"

Ace quickly recovers while he waves his hand dismissively. "Sorry, sorry, but tell me did you ever talk to Rose about this?"

"No, I forgot for a bit."

Ace immediately loses his smile at Luffy's explanation. "You really did forget?"

He nods as if nothing's wrong. "Yea, I forgot for a while, but now I remember."

"If you forgot, then why didn't you ask her again on the way here?"

"She was avoiding me because we had a fight when I was drunk. She never told me what we fought about though."

Ace pauses at the story before he plants a hand on his face. "You idiot…"

Luffy tilts his head at his brother's frustration. "What's the matter?"

"What you guys fought about was her joining the crew…"

Luffy widens his eyes at the answer. "Wait, what?!"

He slowly nods as he takes his hand away from his face. "She knew that you forgot and played it off like it didn't happen. She probably thinks that you only recruited her because you were drunk."

Luffy widens his eyes at this before he scowls at him. "Then I'll recruit her again! That means you can't take her with you!"

Ace blinks at the declaration before he smiles and pats his brother on the shoulder. "Relax; I never wanted to take her with me."

Luffy immediately calms down at his brother's reassurance then he tilts his head in confusion. "Really? Then why did you say that you wanted to?"

Ace chuckles at how his plan played out. "I wanted to make sure that you recruited her, but I didn't expect you to get so annoyed."

Luffy's eyes shot out as he remembers the 'mystery feeling' he's been having all day. "You noticed too?! I've been feeling like this for half the day, and it keeps coming back! I don't know how to get rid of it!"

Ace widens his eyes at Luffy's blunt statement before a small smirk forms on his face. "Oh really? Tell me, when did you first get annoyed?"

"When I watched you talking to Rose and hugging her."

Ace nods at this and keeps going. "Did you feel them again when I was around her?"

Luffy widens his eyes as he looks back to all the times he got annoyed today and realizes that it was true. "Yea, exactly! What's going on here?!"

Ace laughs at his brother's confusion before he smirks. "You my little brother, are jealous."

Luffy raises an eyebrow at the name of his mystery emotion. "I'm jealous? I don't like it, how do I get rid of it?!"

Ace does the best he can to hold back from laughing before he gives Luffy some advice. "Here's what you gotta do: First, you gotta wrap your arms around her. Then, you have to tell her exactly what you're feeling."

Luffy begins to tilt his head as he processes the easy instructions. "Really? That's it?"

"Yup, just be persistent and she'll join your crew."

Luffy's smile quickly grows back before he nods. "Great, thanks Ace!"

Ace nods before he ruffles his brother's hair. "It's what big brothers are for. Go get some sleep now. We got a big day tomorrow."

"Ok, good night." Luffy goes next to the large gecko, that's been asleep this whole time, and uses him as a pillow before he falls asleep.

Ace chuckles at how everything played out before he lies down on his back with his hands behind his head. He looks up at the night sky with a small smile as his thoughts drift towards his second brother. *Have you seen what's been happening here Sabo? I can't believe I actually gave our little brother girl advice. You might've liked this girl; she can be as crazy as Luffy. Too bad we couldn't tease Luffy about this together…*

He quietly sighs at the time he could've spent with his lost brother before he goes to join Luffy in his sleep. *It's fine Sabo; I'll make sure Luffy gets enough teasing for the both of us if they get together. For now, we'll have to enjoy the show. Tomorrow that girl's going to get a run for her money that's for sure.*

"Achoo!" Rose sneezes on the deck of Barbarossa's ship and sends herself flying off the moving ship. She quickly catches herself with her wind before she can damage the sails again. She sighs in relief before she looks down at where Nami and Vivi are while the rest of the boys are inside sleeping. *Damn, these flying sneezes are getting on my nerves.*

"You ok Rose?" Nami asks as she and Vivi watch her float back down to the deck.

Rose nods then looks up at the newly replaced sail that she and the others brought back. "Yea, I'm ok. I didn't damage anything this time."

Vivi walks up to Rose and feels her forehead. "You've been sneezing a lot today. You're not getting sick are you?"

Rose calmly takes her friend's hand off her forehead and gives her a reassuring smile. "Relax, I'm not sick. Someone's probably either thinking or talking about me."

Nami quirks an eyebrow at the excuse. "What now?"

"I read in a book that sometimes when you sneeze it means that someone's either talking or thinking about you."

Nami and Vivi both exchange odd looks to one another until Rose chuckles. "Relax, it's just something I heard. It's probably the sandy air or something."

The freckled girl looks around and sees the rope piled up by the mast. "Still, I don't want my sneezing to break any more of this crew's stuff. Maybe it's best if I camp out here tonight."

The navigator and princess both look at Rose in utter shock as she grabs the long rope. The brunette ties one end of the rope around her waist, but before she can tie the other end to the mast Vivi grabs the rope. "What are you doing?!"

Rose takes the rope back from her friend and ties the other end to the mast to give her about a meter of space to move around. "Making sure that I don't sneeze off the ship in my sleep." *As long as I don't phase through the rope, it should work.*

Nami widens her eyes at the explanation. "You can't be serious! You don't need to sleep out here!"

Rose casually shrugs off her worries. "Relax, I'm just doing it so I won't sneeze through a wall in my sleep." Rose looks at the sky, that's more relaxing compared to the New York sky she had to sleep under back home, before smiling at the girls. "Besides, once you get the hang of it, sleeping outside's pretty nice."

Vivi blinks at how she acts like she's used to sleeping outside, before she sadly stares at the rope. "Still, it can't be comfortable with the rope. It's pretty lonely out here too."

Rose shrugs as she takes off her backpack and sits down with her back to the mast. "It's not that bad. I didn't make the rope too tight and I have those to keep me company." She points to the millions of stars above them with a calm smile to assure them that she's fine.

Nami looks up at the stars and sighs in defeat. "Alright, I guess we have no choice."

Rose's smile widens at the agreement, but it quickly fades when she sees the girls sitting next to her on both sides. The freckled girl turns her head from one side to the other to see that they're both getting comfortable. "You guys don't need to stay out here. I'm fine on my own."

Vivi shakes her head as she relaxes her back on the mast. "It's alright, I don't want to leave you out here."

Nami nods in agreement. "Me neither, and like you said, it's pretty fun out here."

Rose blinks at their persistence before she gives them a small grin. "Ok." She digs into her bag and takes her sheet out for the three of them to share.

Vivi and Nami happily wrap themselves in their share of the blanket while Rose stays warm in the middle of them.

Once Vivi's situated, she turns to Rose. "Thanks for the sheet. Are you ok with the rope?"

Rose nods as she makes sure that the knot holding the rope around her waist doesn't bother her. "I'm good, like I said it's not too tight."

Nami snickers at the comment. "Too bad Luffy's not here. His arms are probably a lot more comfortable than that rope."

Rose widens her eyes at the thought as an image of her sleeping in the captain's arms shows up in her mind. She quickly shakes her head from the embarrassing thought with a small blush decorating her freckles. "Not happening! My days of him reeling me down are over!"

Nami can only laugh at the quick denial before Rose tiredly sighs. "Whatever, I already said that it's not like that between us."

Nami keeps a smirk on her face as she remembers how her captain's been acting. "Oh really? Then how do you explain today?"

Rose widens her eyes at the question. "You noticed it too?!"

Vivi looks from Nami to Rose in confusion. "What's been going on today?"

Rose turns to her to explain what's been happening. "Luffy's been in a bad mood today. What does that have to do with this Nami?"

"Haven't you noticed that he's only been like that around you and Ace? Like when Ace was standing with you while the rest of us were playing rock, paper, scissors."

Rose widens her eyes at the explanation as she thinks back on how Luffy's been upset around her and Ace. "You mean Luffy's jealous?"

Nami quickly nods while her two friends are frozen with shock.

Rose's the first to snap out of it before she bursts out laughing. "Hahaha, oh my god, that joke was amazing! I didn't know you can make jokes like that Nami! Hahaha!"

Nami quickly whacks her on the head, but her fist goes through her. "I can make jokes, but that wasn't one of them!"

Rose catches her breath and gives her a small smile. "Sorry, but there's no way Luffy's jealous."

Vivi tilts her head at the freckled girl's blunt denial. "How can you be so sure?"

"If he was jealous from me hanging out with Ace, then wouldn't he be jealous of Sanji? Unlike Ace, Sanji actually flirts with me and Luffy doesn't act strange at all."

Nami pauses when she realizes that Rose is right. She thinks deeply about what could have been different and comes up with a theory. "Well, you don't really react to Sanji's flirting, so maybe he didn't see a problem with it. Did something happen with you and Ace today?"

Rose tenses up when she remembers Ace hugging her earlier today with Luffy watching them. *Wait a minute, if Luffy saw me react to Ace's hug then could he really be-?! What the hell am I thinking?! That's impossible!*

She quickly shakes her head at the assumption. "Luffy's not jealous over a girl! He was probably upset about carrying your stuff along with dealing with the heat!"

Vivi and Nami look at the freckled girl in confusion before she quickly turns the topic around. "Anyway, what about you two?"

Nami quirks an eyebrow at the change of subject. "What do you mean?"

"Do either of you have any one that you're interested in?"

Nami laughs at the question. "No way. Sure they're interesting, but I'm not into them that way. And you Vivi?"

Vivi widens her eyes at the spotlight drawn on her before she shakes her head. "We're all good friends, but I don't have those kinds of feelings for them."

Rose quietly sighs at the princess' answer. *I kind of saw that coming. Wait, what about Kohza?* A smirk begins to grow on the brunette's face as she gently nudges Vivi by the shoulder. "Doesn't have to be someone in the crew. What about any Alabasta boys?"

Vivi freezes at the question when the face of her childhood friend appears in her mind. She looks away from her friends with a small blush on her face. "Well…"

Nami and Rose widen their eyes at the blush as she turns away from them. Vivi quickly lays down with her back to the others and pulls the sheet over her head. "There's nothing like that! I'm going to bed!"

Rose and Nami drop their jaws at the retreat, but don't say a word when they realize that she won't come out.

Nami smirks at the new challenge that appeared as she high fives Rose for the question. "Nice one."

Rose nods in excitement of the possible pairing as she settles in her makeshift bed. "I learned from the best. Let's get some sleep too."

Nami nods then looks at how all three of them can easily fit under Rose's sheet. She looks down at the large sheet for a moment then turns to Rose curiously. "Not that I don't appreciate how big this sheet is, but why did you get one so large?"

"I'll tell you later."

The redhead widens her eyes at the dodged question, but she lets it go before following the princess into a deep sleep.

Rose takes a look at both of them to make sure that she's the only one awake, then sighs in relief as she looks up at the stars, and drifts into her thoughts. *Glad I turned that conversation around. I can't imagine how they'd react if I told them Luffy saw Ace making me blush from a hug... Would that really be all that it takes to make Luffy jealous?!*

She shakes her head to get the idea of Luffy being jealous out of her head. *That's crazy! There's no way Luffy would be like that about me of all people! We're just friends, we're not even crewmates! He barely knows me, and does he even have a type?!*

She rakes her hands through her hair in frustration of the confusing situation she's in. *Shit, I gotta calm down and make this straight. If Luffy was actually jealous it wouldn't be about love. If anything, he's probably mad that I've been keeping Ace from hanging out with him thanks to the training. That makes a lot more sense than him being jealous over me. Wait, why am I so worried? It's not like I have feelings for Luffy… Right?*

She quickly shakes her head to stop herself from getting too deep into her thoughts. She turns around to make her backpack into a makeshift pillow then lays her head on it. *Enough, if I keep over thinking things I'll go nuts. I'm not joining his crew anyway so there's nothing to look into.*

She sighs again for what feels like the fifth time tonight before following her friends into a quiet slumber.

On January 10th, the wall clock in Rose's foster home revealed it to be 10:30 at night when the sixteen year old brunette made it inside to warm up. Rose doesn't bother to take her jacket, gloves, and hat off as she walks through the hall, with her backpack and shopping bag holding her birthday presents in hand. She stops just before she passes the doorway to the living room, and looks inside to see all three of her foster family watching TV.

She takes this opportunity to rush to her room and place the backpack down on the bed. She digs into her shopping bag and takes out a small, used, telescope and a grey lock box out with a smile. She chuckles at her birthday presents as she sets up the combination for the box. *That pizza job has really been making things better for me. I can actually splurge on some decent gifts now.*

She takes the leftover earnings from today's shift out of the backpack and puts it in the lockbox, then stores both gifts under the bed. She goes into her backpack, takes out the One Piece manga volume 22 that she borrowed from Timothy, and places the book on the dresser for later. She manages to stuff the empty shopping bag into her backpack and seal it when her door slams open.

"I knew something smelled gross. When did you get here?" Rick asks as he barges into her small bedroom while his daughters smirk from the doorway.

Rose immediately loses her smile at her intruder as she takes her jacket off. "I just got back." She walks past him to put her jacket away when her foster father grabs her by the arm.

"You've been coming home late a lot and you're acting even weirder than usual. What are you up to now?"

Rose clenches her teeth at the tightness in his grip, but she doesn't complain about the pain as she answers him. "Right now, I'm trying to put my jacket away."

Rose pries her arm off and goes to the closet to put her jacket away while she keeps her gloves and hat up. *No way in hell am I telling them about the pizza job. They make fun of me enough for street performing.*

He scowls at the dodged answer then grabs her and slaps her across the face. "Don't be a wiseass you little bitch. What have you been getting yourself into?"

Rose ignores the pain in her cheek as she narrows her purple eyes at him. "Why the sudden need to act like you care?"

"I don't want to deal with cops dragging you back here for being a stupid brat."

Rose scoffs at his rotten remark as she pulls away from him. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of ruining your perfect reputation as a security guard."

Rick punches her in the gut hard enough for her to slump over. "I already told you not to be a wiseass!"

Rose groans at the aching pain in her stomach as she holds it with one arm and grabs the wall with the other to pull herself up.

Marie chuckles at the hunched over girl then tries to figure out what could be so important for her to hide it. "It must be some secret for her to want to keep it locked up. Maybe a boyfriend?"

Laura laughs at her twin's assumption. "Now that's something to see. What kind of guy would be into her? He'd have to be crazier than she is to fall for her."

Rose clenches her fists at the insults as she walks up to the girls while she gives them a glare that makes both blondes jump back in fear. "Stay out of this!"

Marie regains her composure and goes to slap her but she dodges and punches her in the face. Laura retaliates for her sister by punching her in the face, but she steps back to dodge. Before Rose can punch back, Rick goes up from behind and twists her arm behind her back. Rose gives him a back kick to the gut to get him to let go, but he kept a grip on her arm as he steps back. He groans at the strong kick, but he stays persistent as he slams the girl's side to the wall. Rose keeps struggling by back kicking him and punching him in the face with her free arm. He doesn't budge on the kick, but he takes the punch to grab her free arm then starts dragging her out of the room.

As Rose is being half dragged out of the room Marie walks up to her and slaps her across the face. "Never mind crazy, your boyfriend would have to be blind so he wouldn't run from your ugly glare."

Rose growls in frustration as she struggles to break free, but her foster father keeps an iron grip on her arms as he drags her through the hallway.

Rick tightens his grip around her to keep her from squirming out as they head towards the door. "Since you like staying out so much, maybe you should spend the rest of your birthday out there. Marie, open the door."

"With pleasure daddy." Marie quickly runs ahead to open the door for her father.

Rick throws the brunette girl out the door and watches her fall on her hands and knees. Rose quickly turns around to charge them when Laura rushes to the doorway, and throws Rose's One Piece manga at her head.

"Happy birthday Rosie." Laura's final remark was the last thing Rose heard before Rick slammed the door in her face.

Rose rubs her aching head to try to sooth it then quickly grabs the book to see that it wasn't damaged. She stares at the door to her foster home sadly, but doesn't try to open it for she knows that they already locked her out for the night. *Leave it to those three to ruin today... At least they left me some reading material this time.*

She gets up and goes up to the top floor of the apartment building where the doorways to the rooftop and the supply closet are held. She goes into the supply closet and into the far corner of the room where a shelf full of cleaning supplies are kept. She reaches into the back of the shelf to grab the sleeping bag she keeps hidden there every winter.

She spreads the bag out onto the floor of the closet, that has just enough room for her to lay down, then wraps herself in the bag. She snuggles deep into the bag as she contemplates how her birthday wound up like this. "Rick never cared about when I came back before. Is he just finding new excuses for a fight now? All the more reason to keep those three from knowing about the pizza job…"

She sighs in frustration of how her night turned out when Laura's comment about if she had a boyfriend pops up in her head. *"The guy would have to be crazier than she is to fall for her."*

She quietly sighs at the remark as she stares at the dark ceiling sadly. *Like I didn't know that already Laura... At least I know better than to drag someone that deep into my life. Who needs love when I got anime worlds to explore anyway?*

She chuckles at her final thought when she grabs the manga, and reads what the One Piece world has to offer for the rest of the night.

The sun begins to rise for the next morning when Rose was the first to wake up with a small frown. She quietly sighs from the bad memory she experienced in her dream as she sits up. *Stupid dreams, like I don't have enough to deal with… At least they're out of my life now...*

She looks down at the rope tied around her stomach and quickly unties herself. She quietly gets out of the huddle and stretches her limbs from sleeping on the wooden deck. Nami and Vivi stir from the lack of space in between them and shuffles to make up for the lost warmth at the cost of the sheet shifting off them.

Rose looks down at the two friends, who wouldn't let her sleep out here alone, and softly grins at them. *Thanks for keeping me company.*

She makes sure that they're tucked into the sheet when Barbarossa walks outside. The pirate captain looks at the freckled girl in confusion. "Huh? What'd you sleep out here for? We have plenty of room."

Rose grins at him while she softly speaks. "I appreciate it, but I didn't want to risk breaking your stuff with my sneezing again."

Her grin begins to grow as she looks around at the vast surroundings. "Besides, why sleep indoors when I can have both my friends, the desert, and the night sky as my sleeping companions?"

Barbarossa widens his eyes at the brilliant point and laughs boisterously. "Hahaha, you're right, they make wonderful companions! I like your attitude kid! You'd make a great sand pirate!"

Rose giggles at the compliment before she starts lifting herself into the air. "Thank you, but I'll stick to being an astronomer. I'm gonna go practice my flying, I'll let you know if I see anything."

Barbarossa nods as he watches her fly high above the ship then gets to work on steering the ship towards the village.

Everyone else begins to wake up as the hours roll by and the crew continues to travel through the desert. Nami and Vivi wake up to the noise to see everybody up and about.

"What are you guys doing?" The girls turn to see Chopper walking in front of him with curiosity in his eyes.

Vivi gets up and stretches herself. "We slept out here last night. Any news about us reaching the village?"

"Not yet."

Nami gets up and places the sheet in Rose's bag then looks around up to see that Rose is flying around just above the crow's nest. "HEY ROSE, DID YOU SPOT THE GUYS THERE?!"

Rose jolts at her name being called then looks down at Chopper and the girls. She flies down to them and shakes her head. "Sorry, I couldn't see them."

The ship suddenly stops, so everyone who isn't a sand pirate looks around to see that the pirates are dropping anchor.

"Ido village is a few miles ahead." Everyone who isn't a sand pirate looks at the front of the ship to see Barbarossa pointing ahead. "Your friends might have already made it to that town."

Usopp looks ahead at the village that's small from where they're standing then turns to the captain. "Wait, you're not coming with us?"

"Nope, you see this realm belongs to my people. We live and die out here in the desert and we'll continue to do so."

Vivi nods as she looks around then pauses when she sees Rasa up on the rope ladder frowning down at her. She remains silent under the sand pirate's glare as she looks ahead.

"What are you guys going to do now?" Sanji asks while Barbarossa just smiles at the guests who have helped him.

"Nothing much, we'll keep living on this ocean of sand and live our lives freely."

*Wow, they're like us in a way.* Nami grins at the thought as she and the rest of her companions start getting off the ship. "I see, thanks again for your help."

"No problem, take care!" Barbarossa and most of the other sand pirates wave them off as their friends continue walking.

"See you around! Let's sail again sometime!" Rose says as she walks backwards while she waves at them.

Nami waves to them then takes Eyelashes' reins and slowly drives the camel towards the village with Vivi sitting in the back.

The princess looks back at the ship and widens her eyes when she sees Rasa waving at her from the ship. Vivi tears up, when she feels slightly forgiven for what Rasa was put through, and waves back to her with a smile.

Usopp waves them off then turns to the group. "You guys really think Ace and Luffy could be at this village?"

Zoro casually shrugs as he keeps walking. "Who knows? With their luck they're probably there now and stuffing their faces."

Rose holds back from giggling at the assumption for she knows that it's true. She looks ahead at the village and starts getting nervous when she recalls last night's conversation about Luffy. She shakes her head to try to get rid of her worries and keeps on walking. *Dammit, Nami's stupid comment keeps getting to me. Whatever was making Luffy upset yesterday is surely gone by now. Ace must've helped him out with it so there's no need to worry.*

She nods to herself then softy grins at knowing that Ace and Luffy were able to spend more time together than in the storyline. *If my information was able to help Ace in any way then maybe they'll have more time in the future too. Only time can tell I guess.*

She keeps the small smile to herself as she keeps journeying through the desert with her friends in hopes of finding the two brothers.

At the outer wall of Ido village a young man in a white jacket and long pants sits under a canopy. He enjoys an apple from the pile of fruit next to him then looks through his telescope for any invaders. He scopes the area then stops when he spots Barbarossa's pirate flag through his telescope.

"T-that's a desert pirate flag!" He drops the telescope and stumbles to get up. "I gotta tell big bro!"

He quickly runs into town as fast as he can in order to find his comrades.

Meanwhile, in a small inn, a blonde, thin man, a short chubby man, and a large chubby man who are imitating the rebels are dining with the mayor.

The mayor happily smiles at his companions as he watches them eat. "You men truly are rebel soldiers. Ever since you and your comrades arrived Camus all the attacks have ended."

The blonde man known as Camus grins as he takes another gulp of his drink before he places the mug on the table. "Of course, pirates would be crazy to take the rebel army on. Just leave everything to us mayor."

The chubby man quickly nods. "Yes, you're right. But the rebel and the royal armies are going to clash soon. Won't staying here interfere with your work?"

The fake rebel dressed as a boxer and sitting next to Camus continues eating while he smiles at the mayor. "Nope, we can't leave a place that lets us eat all-"

Camus kicks him in the face before he can finish his remark then turns to the king with a reassuring smile. "What my friend meant was that there's no need to be concerned. You see, we may be rebels but we haven't completely lost faith in the king."

The mayor starts relaxing at his reassurance, but still keeps a worried look on his face. "I see, we have faith in him as well. We were hoping things could be handled carefully."

Camus raises his hand up to stop his worries. "Say no more. We promise to keep your village safe no matter what happens with the king. All we ask in return is booze and food."

The mayor brightens up at the agreement then bows his head. "Of course! Have as much as you need!" He gets up and starts leaving. "I must go attend to some other matters. Thank you again."

Camus smiles at the leaving mayor as he watches him leave then he takes a swig of his liquor again.

The fake rebel that Camus kicked gets up and looks at the doorway that the mayor left from. "Hey big bro, if we stay here while the real rebels are about to fight won't they get suspicious?"

Camus takes a bite of his food then swallows before he scoffs at the question. "Get real. We can't leave until we can take everything that we can get from this town."

The rebels starts to relax as they get back to their meal when the rebel that was on lookout rushes into the inn.

"Big bro! Terrible news!"

Camus swallows what's in his mouth then frowns at the comrade who rushed in. "What do you want?"

"Sand pirates are on their way here!"

The three fake rebels who were eating freeze at this.

The boxer stands up and looks at him in shock. "What?! Then what do we do?!"

The fake rebel dressed as a sumo wrestler and in a kimono, who was silent the whole time, stands up and looks at them in shock. "What are you talking about?! There's no way we can go against real pirates!"

"We can't just run away though!" The lookout retorts back then turns to Camus. "What's the plan here big bro?"

The other impostors turn to their leader but they all freeze when they see him packing some food into a sack.

Camus ties the bag to the end of his rifle as he carries the gun over his shoulder. "Alright, let's run away."

His lookout looks at him in shock. "What?! But what will we do after that? We'll just live on the edge of starvation again."

Camus doesn't waver as he frowns at his subordinate. "Shut up, staying alive is all that matters! We'll just go to another village. Now come on."

He starts heading to the doorway, but he stops him his tracks when he sees a large purple gecko blocking his path. "What the-?!"

"Whoa, look at all the food!" The fake rebels turn to Luffy's voice in shock to see him and Ace eating as if they were there the whole time.

"You cowards have some guts to call yourselves rebel soldiers." Ace says after he swallows his food then turns to the impostors. "If you ask me, it's pretty messed up for four grown men to pretend to be rebels."

All the rebels except for Camus glare at the intruders as they get ready to fight.

"It's none of your business! Who the hell are you anyway?!" The sumo wrestler says.

The boxer clenches his fists as he looks around. "How did you guys get in here anyway?!"

"Through the door." Luffy says as he points to the doorway at the opposite side of the room that leads to the same hallway.

"Well, get out you food thieves!" The lookout says as he and his two comrades charge at the pirates.

The two brothers however, easily overtook them and left them knocked out with growing lumps on their heads. They got back to their meals while they ignore Camus, who is just staring at his knocked out comrades in pure shock.

Luffy and Ace finish their dishes at the same time and reach their plate towards Camus. "More."

Camus flinches then quickly nods as he takes their dishes with a nervous smile. "O-of course!"

He rushes to give them the seconds and watches the brothers quickly chow it down.

Luffy finishes his food in a flash then smiles at the fake rebel. "The food here's great!"

Camus quickly nods as he gives the rubber man more food from his sack. "Yes, thank you…"

He looks at his knocked out friends for a moment to contemplate his options on how to deal with them and the sand pirates. When he comes up with a solution he goes on his hands and knees and bows to the two brothers. "I deeply apologize for the rough handling. I realize now that you two are no ordinary travelers. If you're willing I have a request. As you saw, we stand no chance against the sand pirates. Please lend us your help in protecting this village."

Luffy tilts his head at the idea, but before he can say anything Ace covers his mouth with his hand and starts speaking. "We're not against the idea, but it'll cost you."

Camus starts smiling widely at how his plan is turning out then he nods. "Yes, anything you want!"

"We need food and water for our travels." Ace says as Luffy happily nods to the demand while his mouth is still covered by his brother's hand.

Camus quickly nods at the agreement before he runs off to get his payment ready for them. Ace takes his hand off of Luffy's mouth and gets back to eating. "Sorry about that Lu, didn't want you saying that we'd do it for free."

Luffy casually eats with a smile. "Don't worry about it. We get a lot of free food now."

Ace chuckles as he finishes his meal. "Yup, once we take care of the sand pirates we can go back to finding your crew."

"Sounds good to me." Luffy says after he scarves down the last of the food.

Camus makes it back with a sled full of various kinds of food and a barrel full of water. "Will this be enough for you fine gentlemen?"

Luffy quickly nods. "Yea, this is great, thanks!"

Ace gets up with a smile and latches the sled onto the gecko. "We'll go take care of those pirates now. Thanks for the meal."

"Oh no, thank you for your help." He sees the two brothers off as he watches them ride their gecko out of town.

The fake rebel sighs in relief as he sits down and finishes of his forgotten liquor. *That take cares of that mess. Now we won't have to leave.*

He goes to tends his comrades' injuries while he's full of relief that he doesn't have to worry about the pirates anymore.

Ace and Luffy happily ride their gecko out of the village and towards the direction they were told that the desert pirates are coming from. Ace looks around for the sand pirates that they're supposed to fight, but pauses when he sees a familiar camel on the horizon. "Hey Lu, isn't that the camel that took Nami and Vivi?"

Luffy looks over his brother's shoulder in confusion, but freezes when he sees the camel along with the rest of his crew. "Yea, it's them!"

He jumps off the gecko and starts running towards the crew. "Hey guys!"

The group pauses when they see Luffy running towards them with his brother riding behind him.

"So he really did make it there." Nami says as she watches her captain run towards them.

Sanji looks at the food that Ace's dragging with interest. "How did they score that?"

Usopp looks at the food with no belief that Luffy managed to get it. "Ace probably did it."

Luffy reaches the group with a large smile. "So this was where you guys went. How did you guys wander off?"

Zoro twitches an eyebrow at the assumption. "You and Ace were the ones who disappeared on us!"

"We were?"

The rest of his crew groans at their captain's ignorance but they let it go.

Ace makes it to them on his gecko then gets off the animal. "So you guys were the sand pirates?"

Rose shakes her head before she looks over the gecko with interest. "Nope, we just left the sand pirates."

Luffy pauses at Rose's voice when he remembers Ace's instructions to recruit her. He turns to Rose and runs up to her with a smile. "Rose!"

The freckled girl pauses and turns towards Luffy only to be pulled into a tight embrace by the captain. Most of the group was slack jawed at the sudden action as they watched Rose freeze in shock with her face heating up.

Sanji glares at Luffy and goes to stop him when Ace holds him back with a smirk. *Do it Luffy!*

Rose snaps out of it and tries to pull herself free but Luffy doesn't let her. "Luffy, what are you-?!"

"I'm full from lunch."

Rose stops struggling at the captain's statement and looks at him in pure confusion. "Huh?"

The rest of the group shares an equally confusing look as Luffy keeps listing off what he's feeling. "I'm glad I found everyone, I feel hot, and I-"

Ace cuts him off by whacking him on the head. "That's not what I meant by 'what you're feeling' you moron!"

Luffy lets go of the brunette in his arms and rubs his aching head. "But you said that if I do this then she'll join my crew!"

Rose and the others became completely speechless at the statement and have no idea on how to respond.

Rose's the first to calm down as she places her hand on Luffy's forehead to check for a fever. "Doc, I think Luffy's overheated!"

Chopper widens his eyes at the diagnosis. "Really?!" He goes to approach them but Usopp grabs the back of his jacket to hold him back.

Luffy scowls at his friend's disbelief and takes her hand off him. "Stop it, I feel fine! I'm not drunk like last time either!"

Rose widens her eyes at the declaration. *Oh crap, he remembers?!*

Sanji and Usopp, who were the only ones that didn't know the secret, dropped their jaws at the declaration and spoke simultaneously. "You asked her to join when you were drunk?!"

Luffy nods as he turns to them. "Yea, I forgot for a bit, but Ace helped me to remember."

*He what?!* Rose clenches her fists at how Ace ratted her out then quietly sighs. "You really remember our fight?"

Luffy turns back to her with a frown. "Yea, you should've told me that's what we fought about!"

"I already told you why I didn't. I don't want to argue about joining the crew again, because It's not happening."

Luffy widens his eyes at this. "Eh?! But I did what Ace said, and told you what I was feeling while hugging you!"

Ace groans at the explanation and covers his face with his hand. "Those weren't the feelings you were supposed to tell her..."

Luffy turns to his brother with a look of confusion on his face. "Then what feeling was I supposed to tell her?"

"Yea Ace, I'm dying to know as well. What exactly did you tell him?" Rose asks as she starts glaring at him while she cracks her knuckles.

Ace flinches when he sees her purple eyes piercing through him then takes a step back. "Umm well…" He doesn't see her glare wavering any time soon as she approaches him, so he decides to run.

"Get back here dammit!" She chases after him while the others blankly watch.

Luffy tilts his head at chase between the two logia users, because he has no idea what's going on. "Why's Rose so mad?"

"She didn't want you to remember, because she didn't want to fight with you for the whole trip." Nami says as she gets off the camel.

"But I still want her to join the crew."

Usopp sweat drops at his captain's stubborn attitude. "That's why she didn't want you to remember..."

Vivi sighs before she looks at the food and changes the subject. "Luffy, how did you and Ace get so much food? You didn't steal it did you?"

Luffy lets go of the argument then turns to Vivi with a smile. "We didn't steal it. The fake rebel army gave it to us."

Vivi widens her eyes at this. "Wait, what do you mean fake?"

Luffy shrugs as he grabs a drink from the barrel. "They called themselves rebels but they didn't look that tough. They asked us to go and protect the village from the sand pirates for them."

Nami looks at him in shock. "They must've faked it to get free food. Wouldn't they have been found out though?"

Luffy shrugs at the assumption. "Don't know, they looked pretty weird. The town looked pretty safe though."

Vivi clenches her fists at the thought of people using the rebel army's name in order to get free food. "Rebel soldiers aren't meant to be bodyguards nor was their name meant to give them free food…"

Sanji light up his cigarette and puffs a smoke before he turns to the princess. "Should we go teach them a lesson Vivi?"

Vivi keeps her fists tight as her hood covers her eyes. She remembers how her kingdom wasn't able to help the Oasis Rasa grew up in and how her kingdom can't help every town. She lifts her head when she comes to a conclusion. "There's nothing wrong with villages seeking help in order to keep themselves safe."

Nami blinks at the explanation. "Does that mean we're going to let them go?"

Vivi shakes her head with a smile. "No, I want to test them first. If these impostors truly wish to protect the village then it should be fine to leave them as is."

Zoro quirks an eyebrow at this. "So you want to test their character then?"

Vivi nods. "Yes. So, I hate to ask but would you all be willing to fake an invasion?"

Sanji quickly nods with hearts in his eyes. "We'd be more than happy to help Vivi-chwan!"

Luffy grins at the idea. "Yea, it'll be fun!"

Chopper looks at his captain in confusion. "If you were hired to get rid of us then shouldn't you stay out of it Luffy?"

Nami quickly shakes her head at the question. "This shouldn't be a problem. We'll just tell him that he was pretending to help them or something."

Usopp widens his eyes at the idea then tilts his head in thought. "Yea, that can work." He pauses when he looks back at the chase between Rose and Ace. "What about them?"

Nami sweat drops at the sight of Ace is running in circles to avoid the wind girl's wrath. "Maybe we should let them settle things. If they keep running in circles then they shouldn't get far."

Luffy nods as he turns around and walks ahead. "Ace said that he's not going to take her with him so it's fine. Let's get going."

The others widen their eyes at the comment as they watch their captain walk ahead. They look at each other for a brief moment before they run after him.

Nami looks back at where the chase is happening with a smirk. *Looks like making him jealous worked. Great job Ace!*

The navigator keeps a smirk on her face as she and the others head towards the village where the fake rebels reside.

Meanwhile, Rose continues to relentlessly run after the freckled man with no signs of letting him off easy. "Quit running asshole!"

"No way!" Ace quickly side steps to avoid her kick and keeps running.

Rose clenches her fists in frustration before she flies after him and manages to go in front of him to punch him in the nose.

Ace falls on his butt while he cradles his aching nose. "What's with you and aiming for the face?!"

Rose narrows her eyes at him as she lands while she crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm the one asking questions here! Why the hell did you tell Luffy about the fight?!"

"I didn't!"

"Then how did he remember?!"

Ace hesitates for a moment before smirking. "You noticed yourself how Luffy was acting strangely yesterday."

Rose widens her eyes at what he said but keeps on a poker face. "What does that have to do with this?"

Ace widens his eyes at the oblivious question then makes it clear for her. "Didn't you notice him acting like that around us? He's been jealous that I was getting close to you."

Rose freezes at the answer for a moment before she shakes her head. "Ace, the last thing your brother can be is jealous. You of all people should know that."

Ace twitches an eyebrow at her refusal to believe it then gets up. "It's true! He was completely jealous yesterday and last night too!"

"Then tell me, what happened last night to make him jealous?"

Ace pauses at the question before he smirks at how he managed to make him jealous. "Last night I made him the most jealous out of the whole day. I was messing with him by telling him how since you weren't in his crew, I was going to ask you to come with me."

Rose drops her jaw at the explanation. "You did what?!"

Ace pauses and raises his hands defensively to avoid the risk of getting punched again. "Relax, I wasn't serious in taking you with me. I was only messing with him. You should've seen his face though. If I wasn't his brother then he might've tried to kick my ass."

Rose freezes at the explanation as a small blush starts creeping onto her face. *He was that mad when Ace threatened to take me with him? So he really was jealous? Wait…*

Ace quirks an eyebrow when he sees her lips curl up into a smile then flinches when he sees her laughing. "What the hell?!"

Rose clenches her sides from laughing so hard as she makes sense of it all in her mind. *Luffy was just angry that Ace might steal his nakama! What captain wouldn't be mad if someone from another crew was getting close?! This makes so much sense now!*

Ace starts getting nervous when he sees her still laughing at his explanation. *Oh my god, I think I broke her!* He goes up to her, but is completely confused about what he should do. "Hey, are you ok?!"

Rose nods as she finally stops laughing and keeps a small smile on her face. "Yea, I'm fine. Things just make sense now. Still…"

She flies up to his height to distract him before she smacks him upside the head. "You shouldn't have made him remember."

Ace rubs the back of his head then frowns at her. "You're still going to refuse him?"

She nods as she looks around for the others. "Yup, it's for the best." She pauses when she sees that they got left behind by the others. "But right now, we need to find them first."

She lifts herself and Ace up with her wind then starts flying them towards the village.

Ace looks at the village in shock then looks at her in confusion. "Wait, we're heading to the village?"

Rose nods as she looks ahead to the town. "Yea, knowing Vivi, she probably asked the crew to test those fake rebels that gave you food."

He quirks an eyebrow at the declaration. *Wait, did we tell her that we got the food from fake rebels?*

He shrugs it off as they get closer to the village. Once close enough to the outer wall, they see the villagers on the outer wall watch the boys in Luffy's crew surround the fake rebels, so that they can't run.

Rose looks at a nearby boulder to see that Eyelashes and the girls are hiding behind it. She quickly lands the two of them next to them in order to avoid getting spotted. "What's the big idea of leaving us?"

Nami and Vivi jolt at Rose's voice then turn around to see her and Ace standing behind them.

Vivi sighs in relief that they're ok then turns back to the show. "Sorry, but we wanted to test the fake rebels to see if they're worthy of staying."

"They're acting pretty spineless though." Nami says as she peeks over the rock to see Camus and his companions looking at the pirates nervously.

Rose looks over the rock to see that the boys have the fake rebels surrounded. "So if they fail then we get to kick their asses?"

Vivi nods as she looks at the rebels. "Yes, but let's see how it goes a little longer."

Ace smirks at the show as he goes to sneak into the town. "Maybe what they need is a push."

The girls look at the freckled man in confusion as he goes off to sneak past the wall. The girls look at each other for a moment then go back to watching their friends surround the impostors.

Camus looks at Luffy's face in utter dread. *That guy's the 30 million bounty pirate?! But we already fed him! Wait, where did his companion go?!*

He looks around to see that none of the crew members with him resembles the freckled man that traveled with him. He looks back at the serious look in Luffy's eyes causing fear to dwell in his body. *He looks so much scarier than before! Is this really the guy who was stuffing his face before?!*

"Come on rebel soldiers!"

"You can do it!"

Camus snaps out of it as he and his henchmen look back at the villagers to see them cheering for them.

"Hey!" The group turns around to Luffy's voice to see him glaring at them. "If you don't want to get hurt then move."

The four impostors cry comical tears as they stay frozen in place

"Um, well." Camus tries to come up with something to say when his look out turns to him.

"What do we do now? We can't escape."

Camus tries to come up with a correct answer but freezes when he hears Ace's voice mixed through the cheering villagers.

"Hey guys."

The four fakes freeze at the freckled man's voice as they looks around to find him but they can't.

"What's going on? Aren't you with the crew?" Camus asks softly so that the cheering villagers can't hear.

"I'm not, we were just travelling together."

"If that's true then help us."

Ace snickers at this from his hiding place behind the wall as he keeps going. "This isn't my fight it's yours. Try to get through this on your own."

Camus widens his eyes at this but keeps trying to convince him. "We can't do that! We're fakes!"

"If you're men, then act like it. How long are you gonna keep up this petty crap of yours?"

Camus pauses at this when his comrade that's dressed as a boxer turns to him. "So what do we do big bro?!"

Camus nervously turns to him as he tries to figure out what to do. When he figures out what he has to do he narrows his eyes at the pirate. "We have no choice but to lie our way out of this!"

The other impostors look at him in confusion as he steps up and glares at Luffy. "Listen you, we have to warn you!"

The pirates and the villagers look at the fake rebel in confusion as he points to the village. "Listen up, we're not the only rebels here! Through these walls there are over 100 million more soldiers like us just ready for you when you come in!"

The villagers look at him in confusion as they stop cheering for them.

Usopp sweat drops at the lie and mutters under his breath. "That was worse than a kid's lie."

"You're not one to talk." Sanji says as he grabs a cigarette and watches how his captain will react.

Luffy stares at him intensely until his eyes bug out from the shock. "WHAT?! 100 MILLION?!"

Sanji and Usopp face plant from their captain believing the terrible lie then they stand up and yell simultaneously. "THAT WASN'T EVEN BELIEVABLE!"

"What?! That was a lie?!" Luffy says as he turns to them in shock.

Chopper, who was silent this whole time in heavy point, sighs in relief in knowing that it was a lie. "That was close."

Zoro turns to him in disbelief. "You believed him too?!"

Chopper nods but stay quiet while Luffy glares at the impostors.

Luffy gets his fists ready as he narrows his eyes at the rebels. "How dare you trick me?!"

Camus steps back in fear as Luffy pulls his fist back. "Gum gum pistol!"

Luffy throws a punch square in Camus' face that sends him flying ten feet backwards.

Camus' three men just stare at their collapsed leader in utter shock as Luffy's rubber arm pulls back. "What the hell?!"

The villagers look at the Camus' state in utter shock as they talk among themselves.

"That pirate's a devil fruit user?!"

"One hit knocked him out!"

Nami looks at Luffy in shock from her hiding place then groans. "Luffy you idiot! You didn't need to go that far! The plan won't work if he knocks him out."

Rose shrugs when she sees Luffy walking towards the others while cracking his knuckles. "I wouldn't be so sure. Looks like a turn around's coming."

Nami and Vivi look at her in confusion then looks back to see Luffy still going towards the other fake rebels.

The villagers look at the pirate in fear when a group of kids start calling out to Camus.

"Big brother Camus get up!"

"The pirates are coming! Hurry!"

In Camus' daze from the punch, he remembers how he used to cheer to the warriors of Alabasta as a child as he listens to the children's pleas. He starts snapping out of it then looks up at the wall to see the villagers and the kids relying on him.

*"How long are you gonna keep up this petty crap of yours?"* He pauses when Ace's words ring through his head again and forces himself to stand up.

He sees Luffy cracking his knuckles to get ready to attack his subordinates. Before Luffy can touch any of the subordinates though, Camus rushes to the scene and grabs Luffy's arm before he can punch anyone.

The henchmen, pirates, and villagers look at Camus in shock as the fake rebel glares at Luffy. Camus narrows his eyes at Luffy as he clenches his free hand. "Yes, we're not real rebels. Even though all we wanted was to be the heroes that we saw as kids, we wound up as scoundrels. Even if I can't live my dream I can't let those kids' dreams die. If I have to live the rest of my life with those kids seeing me as a scoundrel then I'd rather die as a hero today!"

Luffy smirks at his enemy's speech just before he was punched in the face by the fake rebel leader.

The rest of the crew that are in the act look at Luffy in shock as they watch Camus knock him down.

"Bastard!" Sanji starts walk up to them but the fake revolutionary that's dressed as a sumo wrestler blocks them off.

Usopp looks at the large, nervous man in confusion. "What's your deal?"

The sumo wrestler steels his nerves as he stands his ground. "You won't pass!"

Camus looks at him in shock as he keeps going. "Your dream is my dream big bro! We may have been scoundrels since we were kids but you were always there to protect the weak!"

The sum wrestler raises his fist up and tries to punch Sanji to the ground, but the chef jumps back in time to dodge. Sanji looks in shock to see that while the impostors words are strong he's still tearing up in fear. "No matter what, I'll stay on your side big bro! If you're staying to fight then so will I!"

Camus softens at his friend's speech before he sees his other two subordinates getting ready for action.

The two rebels glare at the pirates. "We don't have anything to lose!"

"Guys…" Camus begins to feel touched by the sentiment before he glares at the pirate that's still down. "So that's how it is! We're not leaving so come at us!"

Nami smiles at the show from her hiding spot. "Looks like they're not running. Though it looks like they're only doing it because they're backed into a corner."

Vivi nods as she looks at them. "Yes, but I don't think they can change that easily unless they have a good reason deep in their hearts."

Rose nods as she turns to the princess. "So that means they're ok?"

"Yes, I can entrust this place to them. At least for now."

Nami smiles at this as she takes a mirror from her pocket in order to reflect the sunlight into Usopp's face as the signal.

Usopp cringes at the flash in his eyes then realizes that it's the signal. "Sanji, we gotta go!"

Sanji turns to him while just then realizes what he meant.

Meanwhile, Camus keeps his stance ready to wait for the pirates to attack. "So what's it gonna be pirates?!"

Luffy grins at the determination in Camus' face as he sits. "Shishishi, this is great. Now I can face Crocodile without worrying!"

The fake rebels and the villagers look at Luffy in confusion as they watch the rubber man stand up. "Man, this is a rel-"

"Shut up and come on!" Sanji says as he grabs Luffy's shoulder and runs away with the others. Sanji keeps a smirk on his face as he runs away while yelling loud enough for everyone to hear. "THOSE BASTARDS! THOSE REBEL SOLDIERS ARE TOO FRIGHTENING!"

Usopp follows in suit as he yells while running. "I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH STRONG PEOPLE BEFORE!"

Zoro rolls his eyes at his friends' acting as he runs after them with Chopper.

Camus looks at the fleeing pirates in shock, as he stands still. "What just happened?"

He snaps out of his daze when he hears the villagers cheering for the four of them. The four protectors softly smile at the cheering crowd as they go back into the village with a renewed ambition to protect their people.

Meanwhile, Ace rushes out of town before he can be spotted and catches up to his brother and the rest of the group. "Hey Luffy."

Luffy smiles as he turns to his brother. "Hey Ace."

"How long are we gonna keep running? They can't see us now."

Luffy shrugs as he laughs at the fight. "Until we're tired."

Rose chuckles at the blunt answer when Luffy turns to her. "Rose, join my crew!"

Rose loses her smile as she remembers her situation then shakes her head. "I'm not joining you Luffy!"

"I refuse your refusal!"

"I refuse your refusal to my refusal!"

"Then I refuse that too!"

"You can't do that!"

"I just did!"

The rest of the crew sweat drops at the childish argument between Rose and Luffy, but they don't stop them because they know neither side will back down.

Zoro quietly sighs at the argument as he keeps running, and speaks more to himself than to anyone else. "This trip just made itself even longer…"

TO BE CONTINUED