Memoirs of an OC - Transition: Cherry Tree
Transition, Cherry Tree
Or:
Step Up - A New Breeze
…
NEW WORLD, FIMBUL
"Fuu!" shouted Luffy, grinning widely as he was running towards the girl he had called.
Really. “grinning widely as he ran towards her” sounds a bit less awkward.
"Luffy…" turned back Fuu, smiling back at her grinning captain, "What is it?"
(Fuu): You're ruining my “wandering around prettily in the forest”-scene, you little brat!
"Do you know where Ace is?" asked him with a very cheerful tone.
"No, I didn't see him since yesterday night…" answered Fuu.
(Fuu): Remember? I slapped him in front of everyone, and he went off somewhere, completely ruining my dramatic moment!
"Hum…" paused Luffy in a sulking expression,
Why is he sulking? I swear, the people in this story have a limited range of expression-modes: Sulk and either Rage or Embarrassment depending on the situation.
but his usual grin soon came back at full speed, "Well, doesn't matter… here, take it!"
And Luffy pinned a black cowboy hat adorned with two antagonist blue smileys onto Fuu, who barely managed to bring back her hands on it before it fell down.
You mean she caught it?
"Ace's hat…?" wondered she, a bit surprised at examining the object she had instinctively caught back.
Did you really have to examine it to figure out that it's Ace's hat?
"Yeah!" grinned Luffy, "We went back to the Ice Palace this morning:
WHAT? You went exploring in the palace and we didn't get to go with you? You bastards! I had to sit through Ace whining instead!
Nami wanted to find the Queen's treasures… So we took back our stuff at the same time!"
I have a question. Why didn't you do this after you defeated the queen? Why go there several days later?
Hum, so that's the reason why he's back to wearing his patched-up blue short pants and his red vest…?
Well, that, or he just decided to change his clothes. After several days, you just know the clothes start to go a bit... funky. Maybe Nami went “Whooa there, skunk-boy. No snugs until you change your damn shirt!” or something?
Well, not that the white outfit the Queen had invited us to wear had had a great impact on his usual looks, especially considering the way he was wearing it, but…thought Fuu while gazing at Luffy's outfit.
Enough about the clothes! I don't give a damn about their clothes.
She was also still wearing the long Greccian-styled white dress she had put on at the Ice Palace for the dinner with Queen Jadis and then replicated with her power when the White Which magic had disappeared - taking their clothes away in the process, unfortunately…
We know! Get on with it!
Lost in thoughts, Fuu's eyes wandered on Ace's hat.
(Luffy): … Uh, Fuu? Are you listening to me? Hello? *waves arms around* Ah, crap, she's doing that thing again... *wanders off*
Now that I think about it, it's true that Ace had his hat on at the dinner… And even if he had hung it on his back, it was still denoting a lot with the white tuxedo he was wearing:
Um. It was what with the white tuxedo? *looks up 'denote'* Hm. From dictionary.com:
de·note [dih-noht]
-verb (used with object), -not·ed, -not·ing.
1.
to be a mark or sign of; indicate: A fever often denotes an infection.
2.
to be a name or designation for; mean.
3.
to represent by a symbol; stand as a symbol for.
I'm confused. What are you trying to say? That the hat stands out? That it doesn't match his clothes? Fine, we'll go with that. That's what it sounds like, anyway.
the contrast was even more shocking than for Luffy's straw hat, hihihi…
Why is this important?! I don't give a damn!
After that, hum, I remember he still had it when he had landed in the Royal Courtroom with the Ice Dragon, but the hat flew away during his fight against the Queen, and we didn't think much about it afterwards…
I don't think much of it now! If you hadn't told me that they brought his hat back now, I would have just kept on thinking that he was wearing it all along. You didn't even mention that he lost the hat in the story itself!
I guess he'll be happy to find it back: he and Luffy are really some hat-oriented fashion maniac, hihihi…
Stop giggling in your head, you airheaded brat! It's annoying!
even if it will denote again with the white suit he's still wearing…
I'm sorry, but who gives a crap? I don't give a damn if his hat doesn't match his clothes! Besides, it's a black hat and he's wearing white clothes! It's not like he's wearing purple parachute pants and wants to wear an orange and blue-spotted sombrero.
"So you're going to wake up Ace and I'm going to wake up the others!" instructed Luffy while pointing at the hat, "Nami said the Log Pose has registered the direction of the next island so we're leaving soon for the next adventure, shishishi!"
Finally!
And the over-excited adventure lover dashed towards the village plaza to go and do his part of the job, abandoning Fuu where she was with a mere wave of his hand.
Oh my… That's Luffy for you I guess… But he's going to be chewed hard-core if he's waking up everyone so early in the morning, especially if he uses his usual… Luffy-like way of waking up people…
Which is... what, exactly?
It's only dawn, and that's been nearly five days that everyone is partying, so I guess all our nakamas are still groggy from the lack of sleep…
Not to mention suffering from alcohol-poisoning! Good grief, five days of non-stop partying?
Hum… and now that I think about it, how come he puts me in charge of going to WAKE UP his NARCOLEPTIC big brother, huh? Sigh… what a family…
Hey, Marco showed you the fool-proof way to wake him up earlier, so you have no excuse to whine.
And with one last weary sigh, Fuu put the cordon of the black hat around her head to let it rest on her back while she walked away in quest of WhiteBeard's Second Commander.
The sun was barely up in the sky, and the huge pile of burnt wood at the centre of the plaza was still smoking from the immense fire around which everyone had celebrated their victory against the White Witch for nearly one week.
Wait, she's on the plaza? I just assumed that we started where the songfic ended, among the trees! Establish where your characters are before you throw them into huge-ass monologues!
Fuu swiftly crossed the plaza still sprinkled by the sleeping silhouettes of the party members - pirates, centaurs, nymphs and other magical creatures - while careful avoiding to wake them up.
I don't think you have to worry about them. I think they're dead.
I'm the type to wake up early even if my night was short,
Oh? How very special you are. It could also be that you didn't drink as much as the rest of them did.
but it's true it's only been some hours since the party finally finished… I even wonder when Luffy and Nami could have found enough time to make a round-trip to the Palace… they pulled out an all-nighter I'm sure - well, a nearly five-night all-nighter for Luffy…
Five all-nighters? I really don't see Luffy staying up that long just because.
but then again, it's true Nami can be overly motivated as long as treasures and money are involved…
And while Fuu was inwardly laughing at the scene that Nami should have made this very same morning to shake awake an overly sleepy Luffy - the mikan-haired navigator with Berry-shaped eyes probably dragging behind her their still-sleepy elastic captain - she took the lane towards the nearby forest.
Oh, now we're at the end of the songfic, I see.
"Ace…?" called she, her hands cupped around her mouth while scanning the surrounding woods, vaguely remembering that it was the direction he had taken the night before when everyone had left the plaza to go to bed.
Yeah, the guy randomly walked into the forest when it was time to go to sleep. That's not weird at all.
I slept at the beaver's inn with Robin, but it had already been decided that the guys will spend the night outside since there wasn't enough rooms - well, Nami never came back but… spending the night out is her decisi…
Nami chose to sleep on the ground with Luffy instead of in a bed? Somehow, I just can't see that. Ah, no. Of course not, she was out in the palace getting treasure, I guess.
Fuu's cheeks suddenly became a little redder.
Now that I think about it, Ace had drunk way too much, yesterday, grr! How dared he ask me to spend the night with him? No but seriously, how can he ask something like that?
Uh, he's a creepy bastard?
Oh, well… I guess my slap shook him enough to get his head back together, since he left to go and sleep alone, tsk…
Fuu's steps stopped momentarily at the same time as her mind was tripping over her last thought.
Alone…? … really…? Could he have… invited… another girl?
The Spring breeze ruffled Fuu's hair-curls a few seconds…
I don't care if your hair is curly! Unless your hair has suddenly become neon-green, I don't care about it!
And she suddenly started walking again, as if in a rush to get her thoughts out of her head, as if she could have abandoned them where she had been standing previously and now walk away from them, farther and farther from them with each new step.
No, of course not… It's not possible! It's… not… possible, huh…?
Grr, why is it bugging me? There's no reason for me to feel preoccupied by such a thing: Anne and the other girls from Marco's team have already told me that he's used to 'associating' with tavern girls, so even if he spent the night with a beautiful nymph, it's none of my concern… none… none of my… Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Okay, that's enough, I stop thinking about it, I stop…
It doesn't work like that. If I tell you “don't think about an elephant for the next five minutes,” you'll damn well think about an elephant, even if you think about not thinking about an elephant.
Hopefully for Fuu, her train of thought was stopped by the scenery in front of her.
Great. Why are we admiring the trees all of a sudden?
Her steps had brought her to other side of the woods,
Wow, that was a small forest.
near the coast line, at the place where countless plum trees and cherry trees were full in bloom.
Japanese plum and the cherry trees don't blossom at the same time, you know. I know, I know, the spring came in a flash, but still.
And Fuu raised her hands to gently grasp one of the sakura petals that were twirling in the warm breeze.
The Hundred-Years-Winter curse had been lifted when Jadis had been defeated and time had flown again to catch back to the lost seasons, making the fields rejuvenate and the whole valley bloom.
Everything had now the soft fragrance of Spring and nature had resumed its peaceful harmony…
Wow… Cherry trees in full blossom: it's really breath-taking… On this one, I'm really happy to have ended up stuck into a JAPANESE manga, hihihi…
Hum… And the morning sunlight is so warm, like a soft veil… Hum, such a bliss… Heavens must feel like this!
Grinning like at an idiot at the surrounding scenery, Fuu slowly closed her eyes to focus her sensations on the faint murmur of the wind and on the fleeting aroma of the sakura buds…
I didn't really read any of that. It's just filler.
She slowly raised her arms above her to stretch the muscles on her body which were still feeling numb after her short night of sleep, seeking the peaceful contact of the breeze on her skin… but something else came in contact:
"KYAAAA!" screamed Fuu of surprise when she suddenly felt something pulling her by her arms and lifting her from the ground.
Sadly, the force dislocated both her shoulders and she was in agony.
"Morning'…" murmured the teasing voice of the one who had attracted her into the cherry tree.
BONG. Fuu's fist had rung on Ace's head, making a frightened couple of blue tits nesting nearby fly away at full speed.
So, the birds weren't afraid until after she punched him? Her scream didn't even make them flinch?
"What do you think you're doing?" ranted Fuu while trying to make her heartbeat quiet down after the surprising take off she had experienced, "What's the idea with catapulting people somewhere without their authorization? You're decidedly not brothers for nothing, Luffy and you!"
WhiteBeard's Second Commander was indeed sitting on a high branch of the huge cherry tree, his back resting against the trunk, and he had effortlessly pulled up the hazelnut-haired girl to make her sit on his lap in the heart of the pink-blooming tree.
Exactly how high up was he sitting, if he could reach her like that?
"Oh, but I'm definitely sure this Baka-Otouto is not doing it with the same intention as me…" retorted Ace with his usual crooked smile, while massaging his neck.
Damn right.
"Intention?" paused Fuu, stopping her second raging fist to take a fully perplexed pose, tilting her head to the side.
He means sex, honey.
"Hum hum…" nodded Ace while running his arm behind her back to pull her on to him.
See?
Wh… Ace? blushed furiously Fuu while trying to push him back.
But her hands bumped into his chest without any effective result,
She's hitting you to try to get you to let her go, Ace. Stop it!
except the one of making her blush a bit more and avert her eyes from his nude torso, which was now showing between the unbuttoned parts of his white shirt and the undone ends on his silk tie - last remnants from his Ice Palace outfit.
Why is he still wearing that?
"… like wanting to thank you for having jumped off to come and pick me up when I fell from the griffin…" explained Ace in a teasing tone while softly grabbing Fuu's chin between the thumb and fingers of his free hand to force her to look at him, "You really like me, hum?"
Yeah, that was a pretty damn dumb move, wasn't it?
DOKI. To this sentence that sounded more like an evidence than like a question, Fuu became scarlet and tried to struggle to leave Ace's arms… but in vain.
She doesn't want to be there. Let her go.
WAAAHHH! Why is he bringing that up now? I don't even know myself why I dived in darkness at that very moment… Idiot! IDIOT! Don't ask me such an embarrassing question! It's true that when I thought about it afterwards, I could have just made you float from the distance with my power, but… but… but I was so panicked that… that I… Grr!
"No… not at all…! I… I would have done the same for anybody…" protested Fuu in an embarrassed mumble, not even daring to raise her eyes towards the one who didn't seem eager to let go of her despite all her efforts to push him back.
I know. He's creepy.
"Hum… Really?" provoked Ace, his usual irritating
Hey, who added thought-narration to the regular narration?
teasing smile floating on his lips, "And what about the kiss on the Moby Dick during the battle against the Marine Admirals?"
WAAAAAAAAAHHH! Make him stop right here! Make him stop to ask such embarrassing questions!
Here's an idea, Fuu. Why don't you tell him this? “Stop it. You're making me uncomfortable. Also, let me go, damn it.” If you don't tell him to stop, he'll think that you don't have anything against it, because he's a creepy bastard who doesn't understand body language.
Why is he bringing back all the times during which I had cracked up because of anger or pain and acted without giving it a single thought? Is he trying to make me feel even worse than I already am?
And first of all, that kiss doesn't count! It wasn't a kiss… just a diversion… I had definitely DEFINITELY not given it a single thought, not a single one… That wasn't a real kiss! That doesn't count!
"That… it… it was a mere diversion strategy! It doesn't count!" countered Fuu, beat red with shame and starting to hammer Ace's chest with her fists once more to try and force her way out of his arms.
This is starting to make me uncomfortable...
"Ooh?" jested Ace while raising an amused eyebrow at hearing her attempt to justify herself, "Then here is one that counts…"
Ace? Wh…
SHIN.
THUMB!
Ace had brought his lips against Fuu's, tenderly holding her closer onto him to cut short to any attempt to counterattack.
Confounded, Fuu could now feel his lips softly caressing hers and his warm skin pressed onto hers.
Ace's fingers had interwoven into her hazelnut hair-curls, fatally attracting her closer and closer against him.
Gradually, Fuu's fist softened against Ace's chest…
And irremediably, she felt her eyes beginning to close down, slowly, meekly, when suddenly:
"A…CE…! FU…U…!" shouted - yelled - a voice under them, like a thunder-shock breaking the spell.
That didn't really sound like a yell. More like static on the radio.
CRASH. Ace's face had collapsed on Fuu's shoulder at the shock, and Fuu had frozen.
Fire flushed into her cheeks at full speed, but she was still too stunned to speak or even think about what had just happened.
And on his side, Ace finally drew his face farther from Fuu and shot a glance at the ill-timed visitor.
"Luffy…" grumbled he with a world-weary tone, inwardly cursing the timing of his little brother.
"Ah, found you!" exclaimed Luffy while pointing at the two silhouettes he had just discovered on the high branch of the cherry tree, "What are you doing up there, the both of you?"
Wh… what are we… doing… up there… the both… BOTH…? !
Fuu had finally recovered from the shock.
You know, the shock came a bit late, don't you think? Also, weren't you supposed to be afraid of heights?
She briskly turned her head towards Luffy, then towards Ace who was still holding her on to him, panicked completely and even blushed a few more tones on the scale from white to scarlet, and finally struggled really hard to get off of Ace's arms.
Yeah, because that's a good idea to do when you're up in a tree.
BADABAM. Fuu's impatient and desperate revolt caused a general loss of balance, and she and Ace smashed brutally on the grassy ground under the cherry tree.
Ouch… Huh? It doesn't hurt as much as I would have thought…
Fuu re-opened her eyes and gazed at Ace who was now lying flat under her, for having - unsuccessfully - tried to break their fall.
If she didn't get hurt, I'd say he was pretty damn successful in breaking her fall. His own, on the other hand... Oh, and I think this is the third scene where she falls and lands on top of him. Get a new routine already!
Surprised and trouble, Fuu's cheeks flushed a bit more with shame and guilt and she swiftly stood up to release Ace's back from its 'weight'.
From what's 'weight'?
"Ace, you okay?" asked Luffy while poking the crashed body of his brother with his elastic finger to check if it
What's up with calling people 'it' randomly?
was still alive, "You never fall down, usually, what are you doing?"s
"It's… your… FAULT! You Baka-Otouto!" grumbled Ace while swiftly getting back on his feet and grabbing Luffy's head in an arm-lock clutch.
"Buuuuuuut…. I didn't do a thing!" retorted Luffy while pulling his gum-like head out of his big brother's catch.
"And you don't even get it, you aho!" lectured Ace while trying to kick him out of frustration.
"Don't call me aho!" snapped Luffy while countering the kick and sending an elastic punch towards his brother.
And Fuu could only helplessly watch the two brothers fight like moody children, without caring about anything else, attacking and countering without any break, and definitely decided to chase after the other in order not to let him have the final hit.
*reads a magazine* Hm? Oh, don't mind me. I'll get back to you in a minute.
"Hum, you guys…" tried she to chime in, a huge drop of world-weariness
What the hell is that?
appearing on her temple at the sight, but the two fighting brothers had already disappeared between the trees while pursuing their fight, some half-broken trees on their stake reporting that they were still at each other's fists.
Sigh… breathed out Fuu while finally resigning herself and lowering the hand she had raised to try and tell them to stop.
Just as well. They probably can't even hear you anymore.
POF. Surprised by the sudden yet familiar noise, Fuu turned her head and nearly got a heart attack at suddenly seeing her brother's face floating at a mere centimetres from her.
Grr… I told him not to stop appearing without prior notice like that… inwardly ranted she while slowly breathing in and out to make her heart-beat quiet down.
Yeah, what the hell is he doing here again?
And as if he had heard Fuu's silent complain, Clow put his hands on each side of his big communication mirror and crossed its surface to land both feet on the grass near his sister.
How does that work? I'm curious. It's pretty much the only thing I want to find out about this. What is up with the mirrors?
Having finally calmed down, Fuu looked at her visitor with a puzzled expression, her face picturing fully how perplexed she was to see him here.
"So…" calmly began Clow, his hand resting on his chin as if he was mentally measuring up the person in front of him, "It seems my sister has finally fallen on the side of the perverted fan-girls…"
Augh. I can't stand another talky, pointless scene with these two! They're so damn boring!
CRASH. Fuu had collapsed noisily, completely knocked out by the declaration.
"OF COURSE NOT!" exclaimed she while baring her teeth when she swiftly stood up again to face the accusatory, who was, him, sighing wearily while contemplating her in a lecturing pose.
"Oh, really?" smirked her while crossing his arms on his chest in an arrogant pose, "What about the kiss?"
Yeah, what about it? Why do you care, Clow? You're really creepy, too.
Fuu's cheeks instantly retrieved their bright red colours.
"Tsk… You're really not worth more than all the perverted fan-girls sending themselves into One Piece just to satisfy their desires with their favourite manga characters!" commented he in a contemptuous tone while shaking his head from left to right.
Except for the fact that it's your fault that she's even in this fanfic to begin with.
"You're wrong!" cried Fuu, her expression a mixture of shame and embarrassment, "You know I'm not that type of girl! It… it was just… an accident!"
How can he just put me in the same basket as these girls he had told me about and who invent selfish fan-fictions where the heroes satisfy all their fantasies without them even having a choice, in the end?
You know, even if you write something like this in an attempt to make fun of a trope, it doesn't make you look better when you play the trope straight yourself.
It's not like that… I'm not like that… I don't… Ugh…!
"An accident, hum…" repeated Clow with a very dubious tone, "Oh, you probably mean the kind of coincidence and accident so manga-like where two characters inopportunely fall on each other lips against lips?"
"Of course, it's a misunderstanding!" affirmed Fuu while clenching her fists with determination, even if her eyes were rather involuntarily supplicating her brother to believe her without asking for the details.
"So it means you don't feel anything towards Ace?" pointed out Clow while shooting an accusing glance to his sister from behind his rectangular glasses.
"N…nothing…" mumbled Fuu while feeling her heart tighten in her chest in answer to her declaration but flatly ignoring the signal it was retorting her.
Oh, noes!
"I see…" pursued Clow while calmly arching an eyebrow at the affirmation, "So, for instance, you never ever think about the warm timbre of his voice when he's calling your name?"
Um. Does Clow have a crush on Ace as well?
Taken aback by the question, Fuu instantly and involuntarily blushed of one shade on the scale separating her from scarlet, and Clow took her reaction as an eloquent answer, before mockingly pursuing his little inquisition.
"So you never ever think about the outlines of his muscles when your fingers run along his torso?" continued he with a faint teasing smile.
Maybe it's different between these two, but I don't really talk like this with my sisters. Anyway, who talks like this?
I…gulped down with difficulty Fuu while blushing at the second shade.
"So you never ever think about the softness and the flavour of his lips on yours?"
Noo... but I'm starting to think that you do, Clow. … not that there's anything wrong with that. *nervous laugh*
kept on Clow with a pert expression, insolently rejoicing of being able to deduce the answers to his questions by only looking at his sister's face.
Fuu had indeed and instantly reached the third shade on the colour scale of her blush.
"And above all, you never ever think about the warmth of his naked body when he had pressed you against him at the hot springs?" finished off Clow with a clearly provocative grin.
Who talks like this? And to his older sister, too! I find this creepy! Oh, and I think the water was probably warmer, or just as warm as Ace's body at that time, so that's a pretty pointless thing to say. However, I guess it's better to focus on the warmth instead of what was poking her at the time...
BONG. Fuu's fist had just stormed on her younger brother's skull, and she had put all her strength in it!
And in a monumentally bright scarlet blush, she dashed away while mumbling some insults, abandoning her jerk of a brother on the ground behind her.
… How… how can he say that like… like THAT? Idiot, aho, moronic insensible brother! And PERVERT on top of that!
Well, you've been around pervs for a long time. You'd think you would get used to it soon.
Clow slowly raised back his head and looked at Fuu running away with a laughing expression.
He then calmly sit on the grass and still glanced a few more seconds at the runaway back of his older sister while repressing another laugh at imagining without trouble that her cheeks must have still been beat red.
"Tsk…" murmured he in an amused tone, as if speaking to himself, "How can she be so mature on nearly all the conversation topics of this world
*snerk* Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that.
EXCEPT her love relationships? It kind of makes my victories too easy, hahaha… Worst than any Shoujo heroine on this one… especially considering the fact that she actually doesn't do it on purpose, hahaha… No but really, what a problematic sister!"
I get that teasing your sister is fun, but seriously? This feels strange.
And Clow chuckled a bit more at remembering the panicking and totally embarrassed expression of the one person he was used to see wearing a serious and perceptive expression even on troubling or sensible topics.
Who the hell are you talking about? I haven't seen her be serious and/or perceptive about a single damn thing yet.
Everybody would have been obliged to admit that as long as it was concerning herself on THIS very topic, she was more dense and easy to read through than anybody else around…
Yeah, a bit too dense if you ask me.
When he had finally managed to stop laughing, Clow let the Spring breeze bring his head up and he silently stared at the endless sky of Grand Line.
"Don't attach yourself to him, baka…! You perfectly know that we won't be able to stay forever in this world…" murmured Clow with a wretched sigh.
Um. No, she doesn't perfectly know that, because I'm pretty damn sure you've never told her that, just like you never brought up the “law of 'Spoilers'” until the last chapter of this story.
He then stood up and glanced at the faraway silhouette of Fuu who was meeting up with Nami, Luffy and the others to bid farewell to the inhabitants of Fimbul.
He made another of his transportation mirrors appear out of a twirl of his quill pen, and shot a last protective and worried glance to his sister before crossing the glass.
You know, if you really worried about her and wanted to protect her, you'd do something about her powers. You have your author-powers, so at least try to do something already.
Well, that's that. Join me next time as we take on the short story ”Council of War”. Yeah, this sounds like fun!
Onwards to: Transition: Council of War
Back to: Transition: Songfic Ace
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