Escape pt. 5

Luffy cut the tension and said "I don't think he's a bad guy." Zoro looked at Luffy and said "You should read what he's done." Luffy looked at Zoro and they stared at each other for a moment before Zoro sighed "Nami, unlock the big cat."

The orange haired girl, Nami, unlocked the kids' cell before looking at the bounty and putting on a disgusted look, glancing at the boy in disgust. The boy ignored her and looked at Luffy, who grinned at him.

Nami looked at Luffy and said "You might want to read this before you let it loose. I don't approve." Luffy waved his hand and said "Set him free, he's cool!" Nami said "Bu-" Zoro looked at her and said "You believe everything the marines say?" Nami stayed silent and hesitated but finally walked over to the cell and started picking the lock.

The cell door opened and Luffy ran in, saying "Can I touch your ears?!" The boy just stared at him and said nothing, Luffy grabbed his ears and said "Woah! They're real!" Nami slapped his hand and said "Who knows where it's been!"

Luffy pouted and Nami unlocked the boy's chains, Luffy caught him before he fell to the ground and propped him up, patted his shoulder and said "Hey!" The boy straightened out and looked down at Luffy with the same blank expression he's always had.Nami crossed her arms and backed off, commenting "Terrible clothes you have Mr." The boy looked at his clothes and noticed that his shirt was barely hanging on by a thread, Luffy patted the boy's back and laughed as he said "Let's go!"

At that moment, the boy's shirt fell off. It had been cut and riddled with bullets then drenched, it wasn't the best quality to begin with so it was just too fragile. His shirt fell to the ground, leaving him with only shorts.

Nami gasped and stepped back, looking at the boy in shock and horror. Luffy looked at the boy and whistled, while Zoro narrowed his eyes.

The boy stood there before wrapping his chains around his arms and legs before walking past Luffy, Nami, and Zoro towards the deck of the ship. Luffy watched him go and said "That guy would be a great pirate! You see how many scars he has!?" Zoro grunted and replied "Most of those aren't sword wounds." before following the boy.

Johnny and Yosaku looked at each other before scrambling after Zoro, Luffy followed them and Nami called "Luffy! You forgot Usopp!" an arm stretched out and grabbed the long nosed boy and pulled him back out the cabin.

Nami sighed and brought the kids with her out.

The boy stood on the deck, looking at the slave traders on the ground. He tilted his head and stepped on them as he walked to the edge of the deck. Zoro stood behind him and said "Wanna take a leap of faith, Big cat?" The boy ignored him and stared at the sea before saying "Can't swim."

Zoro asked "You can't swim? Who can't swim nowadays?" The boy shook his head and looked at his hand, Luffy ran over and said "I can't swim either!" Zoro looked over and said "You're different." Luffy pointed at the boy and said "Maybe he ate a Devil Fruit too!"

Zoro looked at the boy and said "Did you eat a Devil Fruit?" The boy turned around and tilted his head, thinking hard about it. He didn't really know what it was, Rob told him that some people had powers but he never explained it.

Luffy said "Oh cool! Did you eat a strange fruit with swirls?!" The boy looked at Luffy and nodded, Luffy jumped up and cheered "COOL! CAN YOU STRETCH LIKE ME!?" as he stretched out his cheeks before snapping them back.

The boy tried and shook his head.

Luffy pouted and said "Whatever, come on my ship!" before walking away whistling a tune as Nami shouted "LUFFY!" who waved his hand at her and ignored her, making her even more mad.

The boy watched Luffy go and thought for a moment. He couldn't sail a ship and he was starving, so going with them was the best choice… He narrowed his eyes and got threatening as he thought of them selling him to the marines.

Zoro grabbed his swords and smirked "Wanna guess who's faster, Big cat?" the boy turned to Zoro and formed a claw out of his hands, suddenly they looked sharper and heavier like real claws. Zoro grinned and tensed his muscles but Luffy yelled over "Come on! I'm hungry!"

Zoro and the boy stared at each other before Zoro straightened out, saying "As much as I'd like to fight you, he's my captain. What he says goes." then he walked towards the side of the ship, stopping just before the edge as he added "You might be worth a lot, but we don't really get along with Marines."

The boy watched Zoro jump off the edge onto a smaller ship with a sheep's head and relaxed his hands. He looked at his hands and finally felt something flowing in his body, a new kind of energy. He was curious but Luffy called him.

He was cautious but decided to follow them for now, if they gave him to the Marines he would kill them all and escape. He had done it once before, a second time shouldn't be a problem.

With that thought, he jumped off the side of the ship and landed on the deck of Luffy's ship before sitting in a corner and closing his eyes as the ship sailed away with the kids and a criminal on board.