Newbie's Skill

Twenty-Four

"Who are we looking for?" I asked as Ace and I walked through the town with our bags.

"I heard that my kid brother would be in Alabasta, returning their princess." I looked up at him, and he had a huge grin.

"I didn't know you had a brother." He stared down at me with a dumbfounded expression.

"I told you I did."

"Oh," I laughed nervously while scratching the back of my neck. He showed me the wanted poster of Monkey D. Luffy.

"This is him. We exchanged a cup of sake when we were kids and became brothers. We had another brother, but he unfortunately died when we were young. You and Luffy are really much alike. You're both crybabies," he smirked. We paused in our tracks, and he turned slightly, putting his left hand on my head since I was walking on his left. He rubbed his hand in my hair before continuing. I put my right hand on the top of my head with a small pout. "Come on, Kid."

"Such a weirdo," I mumbled to myself, jogging up to be by his side once more. He was so friendly and joking all the time that the only time I saw him actually serious was when he found out Blackbeard killed Thatch. Other than that, he was really playful and easygoing.

"You look like a promising fellow. Would you like to buy this golden apple?" We paused momentarily, and Ace looked at the guy. "One bite, and you could live for a thousand years!"

"I'm not interested in living for a thousand years. If I can live through today, then that's good enough for me." I eyed the fake golden apple as we continued on, and a giant, buff reindeer and a weird looking guy were gawking at it in delight. I shrugged it off, following close behind Ace.

We stopped at an older lady's stand. Fortune teller? That's what the sign said at least. While Ace asked her if she'd seen Luffy, even showing her the poster, I glanced around. It was a peaceful town it seemed. It was almost packed. It was also scorching, and I was sweating, even with a muscle shirt. My mark was on full show. I went to the opposite side to look at some of their items they sold here. They were unique and really cool. I gawked over the stuff.

Feeling eyes on us, I turned my head to the right to see people behind a barrel, and they ducked. I haven't been wearing my hat recently...mostly because I enjoyed Marco and Ace playing with my hair. However, I didn't know if people would still recognize me because they're looking for a black cap, too. What a town.

"Ashlo. Let's go grab some food. We can keep looking later," Ace hollered. I looked away from them, and I waved goodbye and smiled at the man as I followed Ace to a restaurant. My stomach growled, and Ace chuckled. "It must have been a while since you've eaten since you didn't show yourself until now."

"Yeah. You got me there," I blushed, rubbing my neck again. I had an awkward smile, but Ace just grinned in response.

"Have anything you want. I'll handle the rest."

I'm glad I brought a ton of money. This guy ate a lot, I thought with a small bead of sweat on my temple. We walked in, and I immediately gazed around in awe of the restaurant. Sure it wasn't 5-star fancy, but I found just about any establishment unique and breathtaking.