the hoof of the soaring dragon | ONE PIECE (discontinued)

Chapter 17 *

Screams. Clashes. These are the muffled noises that served as a wake-up call for the group as it was difficult to count on the movements of the sun, which was camouflaged by a thick fog that hovered above the entire island.

Scratching his ear, Toma felt it was time to stand up after accepting that it was indeed soreness that was slashing his muscles. He stretched out, still lying down, and sat down abruptly to avoid falling into the temptation of lengthening his sleep.

"Toma..."

To the sound of a murmur, he turned to his sister who seemed to have followed the same process except that she was stuck on the step of getting up. Her gaze was fixed on the third person who occupied the bed, the one who separated them and was used as a plushy.

"Toma..." breathed Nana again, motionless, her hand pointing between them. "Who is that?"

"What are you talking about it's Aki- Who's this?" Shouted the one who finally understood the state of his sister.

Disturbed by their exclamation, the newly short-haired woman grumbled. "Please don't yell in the morning"

"That's Akiras voice!"

"She stole her face too!"

The siblings were teenagers, yet there were times when Akira doubted their age. She scrubbed her eyes to remove the sleep that prevented her from understanding their confusion.

"What are you talking about?" She raised her hand to pass it through her hair, "Oh..." She blinked and pressed her hand to confirm that the short sensation was real.

"What do we do Nana?"

"Let's start by backing away slowly. She doesn't seem to be a threat."

Following his orders, the two left the bed with light steps. Nana who was standing on the side of the exit grabbed her brother's arm suddenly "And now we run!"

They ignored their aches and headed to the dining room in hope of finding the swordsman to share their discovery with.

"Mihawk! Akira has been..." they slammed the door open and at the sight of the man sipping on his cup of coffee, they cried "She is not Akira anymore!"

Mihawk clearly didn't take their accusation seriously. He put down his cup and reminded them that running into the house was forbidden.

"You don't understand! We are very-"

"Can you two stop screaming?" groaned the one who was supposed to have replaced their friend. She sat down at the table and greeted the man whose behavior indicated no confusion.

"Coffee or tea?" He proposed putting down a cup in front of the young lady.

"I think I need coffee for today"

How could he not notice? An imposter had slipped into his home and he wasn't reacting. Confused, the siblings pointed to the source of their agitation and questioned the disappearance of their friend.

"Again. What are you two talking about? I knew the haircut is a bit drastic but no need to act like you don't recognize me" Pouted Akira as she munched on a slice of apple.

"Haircut?"

"Yeah: Mihawk cut my hair last night. He did an excellent job actually. Another skill to add to the list, I guess" she joked as the man copied her smile.

The twins shared eye contact that was quickly cut short by their embarrassment. With a nervous laugh, they both took a sit to start on their breakfast while stuttering "Of course, we knew... right Nana? We knew."