Dayshift 22; First Shift; Sun Room

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

As always, Tamaki woke up in his bed. He didn't know how he got there, but he woke up still in the clutches of fear he last remembered from the night. The fight in the hallway, Ed and Adel, the thing...

He was out of bed immediately, determined to make sure his friends were alright. He listened to the man on the intercom, not liking the idea of some big surprise. He didn't imagine any surprises could be good. And he hoped his friends felt the same way...

When his nurse came to get him, he chose the Sun Room instead of the chapel. He wanted no part of whatever was going to happen. He only hoped that Ed and Adel had the same idea....

They probably didn't. Agitated and worried, Tamaki paced along the window, hands behind his back, and waited.

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[rubbermancan.livejournal.com]

"I'll bet he's popular!" Luffy said with a laugh. "I think it's really cool someone can make fire like that! My big brother can make fire, too, but he had to eat a Devil Fruit first, so I don't think it's the same thing." He paused for a moment, as if trying to keep everything straight in his mind. The effort was a little taxing, apparently, because he gave a dismissive shrug after a second or two.

"Did you know anyone here when you first arrived, Luffy?" Riza asked him. "Has anyone else come from your home?"

"Yeah," Luffy replied. "Well, kind of. When I first got here, I had two of my crew with me - Zoro and Sanji. But, I haven't seen either of them for awhile." He paused, scratching his scarred cheek, and he gave a small chuckle. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if they found a way out of here. They're both super-strong."

But then his mouth pulled into a tight frown. "But...if that were true, I don't think they would've left me and everyone else here like this." His eyebrows furrowed, and his frown only grew. "I know the bastards who run this place do weird stuff to the people here, so..."

At first, it had been easy to remain optimistic about his friends' whereabouts. But even though Luffy wasn't always the sharpest tool in the shed, he could put two and two together when the situation absolutely called for it.

Without even thinking, Luffy had taken to cracking his knuckles. "If they did anything to my friends, they're gonna be sorry."

[gun-fire.livejournal.com]

Although she knew the colonel wasn't capable of actually producing fire--or causing it--without aid, Riza didn't think it prudent, or very polite, to make the correction.

She felt for him as he considered the fate of his friends aloud. She was relieved that it sounded as though whatever had happened to them had taken place before she arrived, but it was an entirely selfish relief, and she regreted it.

"I don't think they would have left you here either," she assured him. She had no basis for it, but she believed people were inherently good, and Luffy didn't seem the type of friend anyone could consider leaving behind. "But it doesn't mean the worst. It may be that they can send us home as unexpectedly and as easily as they bring us here. Perhaps they didn't know they were leaving." She studied his eyes, hoping to see a reflection of her optimism there. It seemed evident he had been here much longer than she had, and although his momentary cynicism was probably well earned, she still hoped he might feel better.

She frowned, suddenly, as an echo of his recent words wandered through her mind. "The things they do to people here, Luffy--" she pursed her lips, but decided to go on: "I've been meaning to tell you that . . . I was the one who fired a gun at you and the others." She knew her expression here betrayed far more emotion than usual. "They did something that night. And I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to apologize for not overcoming it." Her eyes had fallen to his hip, then to the floor before she forced herself to look at his face again. "I'm glad that you were not hurt more than this."

[rubbermancan.livejournal.com]

Luffy seemed to consider her words for a moment. Then, the darkness in his eyes seemed to melt away, and he gave a bright smile. "You know, I hadn't thought about that before! You might be right!"

He could almost hear Nami chastising him for being so quick to..."jump to conclusions," as she called it. After all, he'd just told Riza that his friends were super-strong, right? What kind of captain was he if he was going to go doubting his crew like that?

"The things they do to people here, Luffy--" Riza seemed to hesitate a moment, and Luffy looked at her with curiosity. "I've been meaning to tell you that...I was the one who fired a gun at you and the others." As soon as she spoke those words, a neutral, unreadable expression settled over the pirate's face. He stared at her intently with dark, wide eyes. Some people would have found it unnerving.

But he didn't say anything as she continued speaking. "They did something that night. And I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to apologize for not overcoming it." Her eyes went from his injury, to the floor, and then she finally made herself meet his gaze. "I'm glad that you were not hurt more than this."

At first, Luffy honestly didn't know what to say. It was true that, yesterday, he'd been furious at whoever had shot him, Junior and RC. In fact, he'd been wanting to make plans to hunt down the sniper and teach him a good lesson.

But, Luffy really liked Riza. It was impossible for him to continue feeling angry at the sniper now that he knew who was responsible and the circumstances surrounding the shooting. And the sadness in her face was sincere, Luffy was certain of that. Riza was genuinely sorry for what had happened, and she sounded like she wished she could fix it somehow.

"You shot me," he said after a moment. His voice was low and serious, a sharp contrast to how he'd been speaking earlier. "Because the doctors did something bad to you." Luffy paused for a moment, and he closed his eyes.

"Well, that's all I need to hear." First, he'd been kidnapped, only to discover his precious hat missing. Then, he was separated from his friends, and now they were using nice people like Riza to fight their battles for them?! Luffy slammed his fist into the palm of his hand, and his eyes flew open.

"I'm definitely gonna kick their asses now."