You sighed and gently rubbed at your growling stomach; you just weren't used to being this hungry. A quick survey of the surrounding open-air marketplace in showed that there was plenty of food to be bought.
Problem was, though, you had no money.
You see, you'd run away from home three days ago, but in your haste, somehow you'd neglected to bring your wallet with you. So now, you were forced to suffer the consequences of your poor planning in the form of a growling, aching stomach.
The last three days hadn't been easy on you; with no money for a room anywhere, you'd been forced to sleep outside on the ground. And without a decent bath, you didn't even want to know how bad you looked...or smelled, for that matter. You'd tried to keep yourself presentable, but washing in the rainwater that collected in the grape orchards wasn't exactly your idea of a decent bath. So, you swept your hair back into a bun, spritzed on a decent amount of perfume, and hoped for the best.
Anyway, you'd managed to swipe a few loaves of bread since you'd hit the streets, and maybe an apple here and there, but now, you wanted some real food. Yes, something hot, with herbs and spices, that had been prepared meticulously for you and you alone...
You needed to steal some money and get yourself a table at a restaurant.
So, now you scanned the marketplace, looking for the biggest chump you could find. And ah! There he was! You zeroed in on a young man with sea green hair and a haramaki sash around his waist. You snorted into your fingers, trying to suppress a giggle. He looked like he thought he was a real tough guy, with that aloof expression and arrogant swagger, but you could see through that so easily. Snickering, you made your way over to him; he looked totally absorbed in watching a man at a seafood stand deep fry an octopus whole, so he probably wouldnt notice his wallet was gone until it was too late.
As you sidled up behind him, you took a big breath. If you went through with this, youd be a criminal.You knew stealing a little money wasn't as bad as, say, killing this guy and eating him, but it was still enough to make you hesitate. Once again, though, your stomach growled, as if you say, Just do it! So, very slowly and gently, you reached out a trembling hand toward the mans back pocket. Your fingers just barely skimming over the material of the his black pants, you decided it was now or never. Your heart was pounding so loudly, you were sure the man would hear you. The suspense was killing you youd just have to snatch it and run, instead of trying to be stealthy.
You grabbed roughly for the mans wallet, a smile almost gracing your lips, until you realized that there was a problem.
There was no wallet.
In fact, there wasn't even a pocket for a wallet to be yanked out of. The only thing youd accomplished was to grab a total stranger's butt. You started to sweat.
Slowly and stiffly, the young man turned his head in your direction, probably trying to figure out who on earth this total moron grabbing his rear end was.
A full three seconds ticked by in which neither of you moved an inch. You face heated and turned red, then his. By then, youd noticed the sword hanging on this guys right hip and you knew you were totally screwed.
"You dirty girl!" the young man shouted as he thundered after you through the marketplace, the blade already drawn. "Whaddya think you're doing?!"
You squealed and shrieked as you swerved past people and carts of fresh fruit, trying to cause as little damage as you could. Your assailant, however, didnt seem to care who or what he was knocking over in his pursuit of you. As you heard the tower of live chickens in cages youd just passed crash to the ground behind you, you realized you needed a new plan of action.
"Somebody, help me!" you wailed as you skidded around a corner. You threw your arms around the first person you saw, twirling them around as your attempted to stop yourself and hide behind them at the same time. "Please! Theres a man chasing me!" you half-screamed, tightening your arms around your would-be savior.
But as soon as you looked up into the face of the person you were embracing, you realized you probably shouldve chosen a better rescuer. A thin blonde man in a suit stared back at you, a cigarette in his mouth and a basket of peaches hanging from his right arm. A look of sudden ecstasy came to the young man's face, and he blushed and wiggled around a bit.
"Don't fear, sweet maiden," he said, gripping you tightly. For while your Prince is here, no harm shall come to you!" Your eye twitched a little. Just then, the green-haired man with the sword rounded the corner, eyes flashing dangerously and cheeks still a little pink.
"Sanji," he huffed to the blonde man you were hiding behind. "Have you seen --ah! You!" You squealed something incoherent and gripped at the your saviors jacket.
"Zoro!" Sanji or, so you assumed his name was barked angrily. "Just what do you think youre doing to this lovely young lady?!"
"SheShe touched me!" the one called Zoro fumed, his cheeks reddening a little as he pointed his sword at you. You pressed yourself into Sanjis back, knowing that he was just the kind of idiot whod be absolutely charmed by your pathetic whimpers for help.
"Honestly, now, is that any reason to try to kill her?" Sanji scolded angrily, not fully understanding exactly what part of Zoro youd toucheder, grabbed.
"Yes," Zoro nearly pouted, turning even redder by the second. "Yes, it is."
"Jeez...youre such a drama queen," said Sanji as he tapped the ashes from his cigarette. Knowing that youd probably never get another chance to get so close to a complete stranger like this, you deftly slipped a hand into Sanji's pocket and fished out his wallet, your heart pounding in your ears.
Success!
By the time you'd stashed the wallet into your own clothes, Zoro was yelling something at Sanji, an exasperated look on his face.
"She grabbed my butt!" he finally shouted, his face becoming if possible even redder. All was silent for a moment, until Sanji started laughing, obviously not believing what Zoro had said. And probably, if he did believe what the green-haired man had told him, not understanding what was so devastating about the whole situation.
You growled, as did your stomach. You were getting hungrier by the second, and now that you had all of Sanji's money, you didnt really care about too much else except ditching those two and finding something to eat. You figured that the fastest way to get away from them was to come clean about what youd been trying to do in the first place, then leave before they could nab you and hand you over to the Marines.
"I was trying to steal you wallet, dipshit!" you yelled at Zoro, grabbing one of the peaches from Sanji's basket and lobbing it at the swordsman. It bounced off his forehead, then fell to the ground, almost completely unnoticed. This only caused Sanji to laugh harder; he took his cigarette out of his mouth, probably so he wouldn't inhale it as he laughed at his companion. Zoro stared at you, eyes wide.
"Oh," he replied, looking off to the side and blushing again. "What for?"
"I'm broke and hungry. Why else?" you replied, pouting. Your stomach growled loudly, and for a moment, Zoro looked thoughtful. Then, he reached into his haramaki and pulled out a 500 beri coin.
"Here, then," he said gruffly, tossing the piece of silver to you. You caught it rather awkwardly. "Go buy yourself lunch." You stared at him, blinking, as his cheeks became tinged with pink once again.
"Thank you," you said quietly, then smiled. He grimaced.
"Now get outta here," he said, waving his hand at you like you were a fly. But Sanji was quick to intervene.
"Don't pay attention to a word he says, my darling!" the blonde cooed, wrapping an arm around you and beginning to lead you away from Zoro. You're coming back to our ship with me, and I'm going to make you the most spectacular lunch you've ever had! And by the time you're done, you'll forget what hunger is!"
"Oh, n-no thank you," you said timidly, now attempting to make your escape. You had this guy's wallet, so what use was he to you now? You struggled out of his grasp. "I couldn't...it would be too much trouble for you..."
"No, sweetheart, it's no trouble at all," said Sanji, grabbing your arm. You considered screaming that you were being raped, but ultimately decided against it.
"Please," you begged politely. "You don't understand. I really have to be going now."
"But what kind of gentleman would I be to let a beautiful lady such as yourself go hungry?" Clearly, he wasn't going to give up any time soon.
"A-Alright then," you mumbled. Oh, what the hell. It was a free meal, and you'd just leave when you were done eating, anyway. You smiled gently. "My name's Miho, by the way," you added shyly, fidgeting with the coin Zoro had given you.
"Ahh, Miho-chaaaan," Sanji sighed, blissfully rubbing his cheek against yours. You were sure this guy would smother you before you made it to the ship. You sighed, reluctantly letting yourself be led through the marketplace, Sanji practically strangling you and Zoro following a few paces behind.
Click for end notes and a preview of next chapter.
Again, thanks for reading! Feedback is much appreciated, either through email or message; I'd love to hear what you have to say about this, and also your ideas for things to come.
I haven't exactly decided who Miho-chan's love interest(s?) will be, so your input would be greatly appreciated. ^-^
And now...a preview from Chapter 2!
Amidst all the commotion, you somehow managed to hear what sounded like someone screaming outside the galley. Your stomach lurched, knowing something bad was happening on the other side of the door. Just as you were about to mention what you were hearing, the door banged open, and Zoro stomped into the galley.
"Luffy's back," he reported boredly, rubbing an eye like he'd just woken up. You looked around nervously, expecting some big, burly-looking pirate to come swaggering in, dragging along his latest sexual conquest by the hair. Instead, a skinny boy with black hair and a straw hat flopped into the galley, yelling something you couldn't really understand.
"RAISETHEANCHOR!!!" he squealed, dancing around in the doorway, gripping what looked like the top half of a grilled cow's leg tightly.
"What's wrong, Luffy?" Nami asked, standing up.
"We gotta get outta here!" Luffy shrieked, stopping his theatrics for a moment to take a bite of the meat he was holding. "The Marines--"
