The distant rumble of thunder makes me look up. Dark storm clouds are rolling in fast, steadily coating the brilliantly colored town in heavy shadows. Zoro's entire body goes taunt beside me, his eyes watching the crowd as more and more people run past us.
"IT'S TIME FOR THE EXECUTION! BUGGY THE CLOWN IS GONNA KILL STRAW HAT LUFFY!" A voice from the throng echoes off the buildings.
"They're gonna execute him?" Usopp squeaks, sweat sliding down his face.
"That freaking idiot!" Nami grumbles, a hard frown tugging her lips sharply down.
I glance back towards the platform, finding our captain still there, his head and hands now trapped beneath a pillory. A man I don't recognize sits on top of it, holding the wood in place over our captain's neck. His billowing white pants and brightly colored, checked scarf remind me of what you might expect a circus performer to wear.
The man said Buggy the Clown... maybe his crew is circus themed?
"Let's go!" Zoro barks, sprinting off towards the chaos.
"Hold this!" Sanji shouts, releasing the tail of the massive elephant fish he had been carrying with Usopp.
"Usopp! Do me a favor!" I yank my supply bag off my shoulder and toss it to him. "Take my satchel to the ship for me, okay? No way am I letting a bunch of idiots destroy my new sketchbooks!" Without another word, I take off after the two men.
"S-Sanji!? Rhea!? Guys!?!" Usopp stammers behind me.
"And treat it like a lady! You got that?!" Sanji bellows over his shoulder, not bothering to look back at the struggling sniper.
The wind picks up, feeling strangely cool as it whips against my skin. Hats and scarves fly past me, stolen from their owners by the sudden wind. My eyes are back on the execution platform in the distance.
A man I've only ever seen on a poster now stands beside our captured captain. Buggy the Clown towers over Luffy, cackling maliciously with his hands on his hips and a single pointy-toed shoe resting on the top of the wooden pillory.
"FOR THE CRIME OF ANGERING ME, I SENTENCE YOU, MONKEY D. LUFFY, TO A FLASHY EXECUTION!" Buggy's voice echoes around us, punctuated by the rumble of thunder.
The beautiful cerulean sky is completely blocked by dark clouds, each heavy with the promise of rain. I catch up to Zoro and Sanji as they get caught in the crowd. I glance at Zoro, his words from earlier ringing faintly in my ears.
"Soooo, when you said I was like Luffy, is this what you meant?" I ask, my eyes sliding away from him and back to the execution stand as we continue to push through the crowd.
"You compared the beautiful Rhea to our idiot captain?!?" Sanji snaps, a vein becoming visible on his forehead.
"I take it back." Zoro grunts as we come to a break in the crowd, his eyes never once leaving his target. "You're nowhere near as bad as Luffy."
A small chuckle pushes past my lips and I shake my head. "Well, at least we know where the line is."
"LISTEN! I'M THE MAN WHO'LL BECOME THE KING OF THE PIRATES!"
The previously loud square falls still. No one moves. It's as if time freezes while Luffy's declaration echoes around the square. Slowly the townspeople begin to murmur, one by one whispering their disbelief.
"STOP THE EXECUTION!" Zoro's voice rings out in the still mostly silent air.
"NOW!" Sanji and I join in, our voices mixing to fill the eerie void left behind by Luffy's words. Several heads turn, their eyes seeking out the source of our voices.
YOU ARE READING
Endless Loyalty
Fanfiction🚨SPOILER ALERT 🚨 There are spoilers ahead, you have been warned! Desperate for a new start, Rhea joins Luffy and his crew as they head towards the Grand Line. Soon after joining the StrawHats crew, Rhea finds herself in a whirlwind of an adventure...
