Ace's question, "When's the wedding?", delivered with a triumphant, teary-eyed grin, was the final spark in the powder keg of my mortification. The entire bar was still echoing with varying degrees of laughter, from the fishermen's hearty guffaws to Makino's suppressed giggles and Woop Slap's wheezing chuckles. My face felt like it had permanently fused into a shade of crimson hitherto unknown to man or fishman. Luffy had fled as if pursued by Sea Kings. And Ace? Ace was basking in it, a smug, infuriating god of teasing reveling in my utter humiliation.
"WEDDING?!" I shrieked, my voice cracking. The sheer audacity! The absolute, unmitigated nerve of him! I pushed myself to my feet so forcefully my stool clattered backwards, narrowly missing an old fisherman who just laughed harder.
"That's IT, Ace!" I roared, my earlier threat no longer an empty one. The embarrassment had transmuted into pure, unadulterated fury. "You are going to REGRET ever opening your stupid, freckled mouth!"
I lunged again. This time, Ace, still wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, wasn't quite as prepared. He yelped, trying to scramble back, but his chair got tangled with his legs. My fist, fueled by righteous indignation and the burning memory of Luffy's panicked flight, connected solidly with his jaw. Not a Garp Ji-san 'love tap' this time, not even the warning punch from before. This was half my strength, a blow honed by months of hitting things – trees, rocks, occasionally Luffy when Garp wasn't looking – a punch that carried the frustration of a very, very bad day.
CRACK!
The sound was less a comical bonk and more a sickening thud. Ace's head snapped sideways with a grunt of genuine pain, his eyes widening in shock. He staggered back, a surprised "Oof!" escaping his lips as he collided with the bar counter, sending a few empty mugs skittering. He slid down slightly, clutching his jaw, his triumphant grin replaced by a look of pained disbelief.
"Ow! Akane! Seriously?!" he mumbled, his voice slightly slurred. "That actually… hurt!"
The laughter in the bar died down considerably, replaced by a mixture of impressed winces and nervous anticipation. Makino rushed forward, concern etched on her face. "Ace! Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Ace grumbled, waving her off, though he was definitely favoring his jaw. He looked at me, a new respect (and perhaps a touch of fear) dawning in his eyes alongside the lingering amusement. "Okay, okay, I get it! Truce! Truce on the wedding jokes! For now…" he added under his breath.
I stood there, chest heaving, glaring at him. The satisfaction of landing a solid punch was immense, but it didn't quite erase the burning mortification. "We're both eleven, you idiot!" I shot back, my voice still tight. "And you're what, fourteen? Bet you haven't even had your first kiss yet, Mr. Know-It-All!" I tossed his own teasing back at him, though the words felt hollow even as I said them. What did I know about kisses? Absolutely nothing, until about five minutes ago.
Ace just rubbed his jaw, a wry smile playing on his lips despite the pain. "Maybe, maybe not, Calamity Girl. But at least mine wouldn't send the other person screaming for the hills." He winced. "Okay, still a bit tender. You pack a punch, I'll give you that."
My fury, having found its outlet, began to recede, leaving behind the familiar ache of embarrassment and a new, confusing swirl of emotions regarding Luffy. He'd run. Why? Was he scared of me? Disgusted? Just… confused? The thought that I might have genuinely terrified him, the one person who seemed to accept me without question, bounty and all, was a surprisingly sharp pang.
I couldn't stay here, not with Ace's knowing smirk and the lingering echoes of laughter. I needed to find Luffy. I needed to… I didn't even know what I needed to do. Apologize? Explain? Pretend it never happened? The last option seemed increasingly unlikely.
"I'm going out," I muttered, turning on my heel and stalking towards the door, ignoring Makino's gentle inquiry if I wanted more pie or Ace's renewed (though more subdued) chuckle.
The bright sunlight of Foosha Village felt almost blinding after the dim warmth of the bar. The cheerful sounds of the village – children playing, vendors calling out, the gentle lapping of waves against the docks – seemed to mock my inner turmoil. Where would Luffy go? He wasn't the type to sulk in a corner. He was more likely to be… bouncing off something. Or eating.
My feet, almost of their own accord, started carrying me away from the village center, towards the winding path that led back up Mt. Colubo. The forest. That was their sanctuary, their playground, the place where they felt most themselves. If Luffy was truly flustered, truly trying to process something confusing, he might retreat to familiar territory.
The climb was quicker this time, my legs moving with the ingrained strength from Garp's training, my mind preoccupied. The forest canopy closed overhead, dappling the path in shifting patterns of light and shadow. The air grew cooler, filled with the scent of pine and damp earth. It was quieter here, the sounds of the village replaced by the rustle of leaves, the distant call of a bird, the buzzing of insects.
I walked for a while, scanning the familiar landmarks – the ancient, gnarled tree where Ace sometimes liked to brood, the rushing stream where we often refilled our water skins, the clearing where we'd fought the giant bear. No sign of Luffy.
My heart sank a little. Had he gone deeper into the forest? Or back to Dadan's, seeking the grumpy comfort of the mountain bandit queen? That seemed unlikely. Dadan wasn't exactly the nurturing type.
Then, as I rounded a bend near the area where Garp Ji-san had first made us attempt the impossible feat of Geppo, I saw him.
He was sitting on a large, moss-covered rock at the edge of a small, sun-dappled clearing, the very same clearing where Garp had relentlessly drilled us in the Six Powers. He wasn't bouncing. He wasn't yelling for meat. He was just… sitting there, his back to me, shoulders hunched slightly, his straw hat tilted low over his eyes. He looked small, almost vulnerable, a stark contrast to the boundless, rubbery force of nature I was used to.
My steps slowed. A wave of guilt washed over me. Had I really upset him that much? The kiss… it had been an accident, a stupid, clumsy collision born of my own temper and Ace's relentless teasing. It wasn't supposed to mean anything. Was it?
I approached cautiously, the soft earth muffling my footsteps. As I got closer, I could see the back of his neck. It was bright red. Not just a faint blush, but a deep, fiery crimson that extended all the way up to his ears, which were also glowing like warning beacons. He was fidgeting, picking at a loose thread on his shorts, his usual boundless energy channeled into a restless, nervous tension.
He hadn't noticed me yet. He was staring intently at a ladybug crawling on a leaf, his brow furrowed in concentration, though I suspected he wasn't really seeing the ladybug at all.
And in that moment, seeing him there, so uncharacteristically quiet, so obviously flustered, his entire being radiating a shy, bewildered embarrassment, a single, undeniable thought pushed through the remnants of my own mortification, a thought that was both terrifying and surprisingly, achingly sweet.
The hell… I thought, my own heart giving a strange, unfamiliar flutter. He's so cute.
The realization hit me with the force of another accidental collision, this one purely internal. Cute. Luffy. The rubber idiot who ate like a Sea King, picked his nose, and announced my eighty-million-beri bounty to anyone within earshot. The boy whose lips had tasted faintly of pie and saltwater. The boy who was currently blushing so hard he looked like he might spontaneously combust.
My own cheeks felt warm again, but this time, it wasn't just from embarrassment. It was something else, something softer, more confusing, something that made my stomach do a strange little flip-flop.
He still hadn't seen me. He let out a small, frustrated sigh, ruffling his already messy black hair. He poked the ladybug gently, then muttered something to himself, too low for me to hear. Then, he buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Was he… crying? Or just trying to hide his burning face from the judging eyes of the forest creatures?
I took another hesitant step forward, my throat suddenly dry. What was I supposed to say? Sorry for accidentally kissing you and making you flee in terror? Don't worry, it meant nothing? That felt like a lie, somehow. It hadn't meant nothing. It had meant… something. Something confusing and new and alarmingly fluttery.
Ace's teasing words echoed in my mind – "She's completely, utterly, head-over-heels—" Was he right? Was this strange, warm, confusing feeling… was this what it felt like?
Luffy suddenly lifted his head, still not looking in my direction, and let out another, louder groan, thumping his forehead lightly against the mossy rock. "Nnnngh… What was that?!" he mumbled, his voice muffled. "My heart… it's still doing that BWOOM BWOOM thing… and my face feels like it's on fire… and… and… Akane's lips were… soft…" He trailed off, his ears somehow glowing even brighter, if that was possible.
He thought my lips were soft?