𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙄𝙣 𝙀𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 ꒐ ℤ𝕠𝕣𝕠

(4) 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓖𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮'𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓹

.•♫•♬•Song•♬•♫•.
• 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦- 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦
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'Okay, Luffy, be careful; it's a rather sudden fa-' Scarlett began, her voice quiet, as she slowly lowered herself to the dusty floor of the map room. A crash and yell followed, interrupting' she muttered, her eyes widening in disbelief as Luffy came tumbling down from the ceiling hatch with a deafening clatter. Landing on a table with a startled shriek.

'Luffy, what the hell? You can't just crash in like that!' Scarlett exclaimed, a mixture of frustration and amusement lacing her voice.

A beat of silence, then Luffy's voice, muffled but cheerful, floated up from the darkness. "Shishishi! I'm okay! But I think I found the fall!"

Luffy seemed oblivious to her irritation. Leaping off the table, he seized her arm and dragged her down, his eyes wide with urgency.

'There is someone there,' he whispered, his voice taut with tension.

Luffy, ever the restless soul, bounced up from his squatting position, and squatted again,'Luffy, stop!'Scarlett hissed, her voice barely a whisper.

She slipped out from behind the shelves, only to find herself staring down the barrel of a wooden stick. A marine stood blocking her path. 'Whoa! Hey, hey, hey! No, don't do that,' she stammered, raising her hands in surrender.

The marine, a young woman with fiery orange hair, spoke. 'I'm taking you into custody for trespassing on a marine base.'

'Ah, better take yourself into custody too 'cause you're not a marine,' Luffy countered, his smile widening.

The orange-haired girl puffed up her chest, trying to appear confident. 'Am too.'

'No, you're not. We heard everything. You stole that guy's uniform. And now you're looking for my map,' Luffy said, his voice laced with amusement.

'Our map,' Scarlett corrected, her voice tinged with exasperation.

Tension hung heavy in the air as the other girl's piercing glare met Scarlett's. With a flick of her wrist, the disguised marine sent her stick spinning through the air, landing in her other hand as she advanced towards Scarlett.

'Your map?' She demanded, her voice laced with venom.

'Yep. Our map to the Grand Line,' Scarlett replied, her eyes sparkling with defiance. Luffy nodded in agreement, his cheerful grin unwavering.

'It's my map, and I'm not leaving here without it,' the orange haired woman growled.

'Suit yourself,' Luffy spat, pushing past her. 'Hey, Luffy, get back here!' Scarlett exclaimed, rushing after him, Orange haured woman hot on their heels.

'You could do so much better than sticking with this moron,' The orange haired girl whispered to Scarlett.

'I know, right?' Scarlett replied with a hint of annoyance.

The orange haired girl retracted her stick gripping on Luffy's vest and continued walking. 'Do you have any idea what you're doing?' she asked.

Luffy glanced at her, his eyes lingering on her mature features before looking away. 'Looking for that Morgan guy's office. Map's there, right?'

'We need a plan, you moron,' Scarlett hissed.

'A plan?"'Luffy asked, his brows furrowed. 'We just walk in and take it.'

The orange haired girl sighed in exasperation. 'That's not a plan. That's reckless.'

Suddenly some Marines turn the corner in the distance, making her push Luffy and Scarlett into the closest room. The three of them look out of the small window in the door, watching as the Marines pass by.