Boy With a Scar

Chapter 34: Giant Hearts

Sabo heaved himself one last time, finally stepping on top of the dinosaur's head. When he looked up, he got treated with a blinding, smug grin. His eyebrow twitched. Not that it was hard to scale the dinosaur—it took him barely a couple of minutes—but Luffy did it in mere seconds!

Jumping to his feet, Sabo caught his little brother in a headlock and ruffled his hair, eliciting a surprised yelp. "Your Devil Fruit's a cheat," he grumbled.

"S-Sabo!" Luffy spluttered and then, with a twist, slipped from his brother's grasp. Shooting the latter an indignant glare, he fixed his straw hat.

"I still remember when you used to punch yourself. It was always a sight to see!"

Luffy stuck his tongue out at him, and Sabo laughed.

The dinosaur suddenly moved its head down, reaching for treetops. The two brothers wobbled, but couldn't keep their balance and fell onto their butts. Gathering a full mouth of leaves in the next few minutes, the dinosaur straightened its neck again and began to chew on its food.

"Hmm, I wonder if it's really safe to stay here for long," Sabo mused out loud, not in a hurry to stand up just yet in case the dinosaur moved again.

On the contrary, Luffy seemed entirely at ease. "She doesn't seem to mind," he said then, petting the dinosaur below him with a small smile. "As long as we don't hurt or disturb her while she eats."

Sabo trusted Luffy's instincts and Observation Haki, which he had already judged was way above his own abilities. Shifting in his sitting position, he crossed his legs and made himself more comfortable before finally casting his eyes on their surroundings.

The island was bigger than Sabo had initially thought. More long-necked dinosaurs were wandering around, their bodies hidden below the trees. Two white cavernous mountains on both sides dwarfed everything else in this mostly dense jungle-covered land. Multiple volcanoes dotted the landscape in the distance, with a lake shimmering at their base. Everything was framed by the brilliant blue sky with white clouds floating by.

"Wow," Sabo breathed. "I was right. The view from here is breathtaking."

"Shishishishi," Luffy chuckled, swinging his backpack in front of him to rummage through. After a moment, he pulled the lunchboxes. "Here, Sabo."

"Oh, thanks." The blond gratefully received the lunchbox. Sweeping his gaze across the island, he frowned. "I can't see any signs of civilization."

"Me neither," Luffy slurred around a mouthful of meat from his own lunchbox.

For some time, neither spoke again, eating their food in comfortable silence. When the food in Luffy's box was almost gone, Sabo decided it was a good time to talk. "Luffy?"

Luffy let out an incomprehensible noise to indicate that he was listening.

"You said you want to see more of a princess who can bow her head to save someone else," Sabo paused, glancing at his brother to gauge his reaction. Luffy frowned but didn't tell him to stop. "But you're not even trying to give Vivi a chance."

"I do," Luffy muttered, his frown morphing into a scowl.

Sabo felt like a jerk. But they needed to talk about this, so he pushed.

"You purposefully leave the room if she happens to come in. You skipped dinner because that one time Vivi came to eat with us. You never talked with her. Heck, you never even looked at her."

Absentmindedly, Luffy nibbled on a piece of carrot that Sanji snuck into his lunchbox and, for a long moment, stared into the distance, saying nothing

Sabo sighed as he realized Luffy most likely wanted to avoid discussing the princess. His heart stung a little at the thought that his baby brother didn't trust him enough to open up, but he smothered it up. "Luffy, I just—"