The Beginnings of a Future Pirate King

Chapter 22: Pranks, Stories, Freedom and Fun

Chapter 22: Pranks, Stories, Freedom and Fun

Thatch had a plan. True, it wasn't one of his best or most well thought out plans- nothing could top the "Egg Day" plan- but still, it was a plan. And every good plan needs proper planning to come together perfectly. He was writing a list of materials he was going to need to pull it off. While he was thinking about the finer details, Ace had come in looking for Luffy and Sabo.

The Moby Dick was a massive ship and gave the boys plenty of room to entertain themselves, so Luffy had decided to play Hide and Seek. Ace, failing at rock-paper-scissors, ended up being "it" and had to count to 50 while his brothers ran off and hid. Now that he was done counting, he had wandered off to look for his brothers. Walking into the galley where he was sure Luffy would hide, he spotted Thatch leaning over on the counter, humming and writing things down.

"Whatcha doin'?" Ace asked, startling the man into dropping his pencil and covering the list with his hands. When Thatch realized that it was just one of the kids, he sighed in relief. He was afraid Marco would discover his secret plans. Still, he had to be cautious. Ace could blab to Luffy, Luffy would definitely blab to Marco, and then his whole plan would be ruined.

"Hey, brat. What are em-you-em doing?" he countered, subtly trying to cover up his list a bit more. Ace noticed and became curious.

"Looking for Luffy and Sabo. We're playing Hide and Go Seek," he answered innocently, leaning over a bit to try and see what was on the now completely covered list.

"Speakin' of hiding and seeking, what're ya hiding?" Ace asked, smirking a little. Thatch eyed the kid suspiciously. He knew the kid was getting on Marco's mother hen list, so he was wary to talk about his plan with the brat. Then again...

"Promise not to tell anyone, not even Marco?" Thatch asked seriously and Ace nodded his head. Thatch looked at him a little longer before picking him up and plopping him down on the counter beside him. He would be useful.

"Have you ever pulled a prank before?" Thatch asked with a smirk. When Ace shook his head 'no', Thatch laughed loudly and ruffled the kid's hair.

"Well then, it looks like I'll have to teach you little brother," he said with a wide grin. Ace quickly forgot about his game of Hide and Seek all together as he learned about this strange and exciting thing called 'pranking' from his older brother.

-Line Break-

Luffy was curled up in a ball starting to feel incredibly bored. His epic hiding spot must have been too good if it was taking Ace this long to find him, and Luffy wasn't one for patience. Five minutes or so passed by and Luffy had all but given up on his hiding. If Ace was taking this long, Luffy knew he was going to have to re-teach his brother how to play Hide and Seek.

"What are you doing under there-yoi?" Marco asked, lifting up the blanket that Luffy had been hiding under.

"I'm playing Hide and Seek with Ace n' Sabo. Ace is seeking and I was hiding in my amazing hiding spot but Ace sucks at being it and hasn't found me yet," Luffy answered in disappointment, grabbing the blanket and wrapping himself in it.

"I don't think your hiding spot would have worked anyways, Luffy." Marco replied with a chuckle.

"What are you talkin' about? My hiding spot's the best!" Luffy pouted. Marco simply laughed.

"I do wonder about that-yoi." Luffy continued to pout at Marco, whose smile just grew.

"I'm getting a bit hungry, how about you?" he asked, knowing that it would definitely distract his brother since Luffy was always hungry.