The Thousand Sunny finally reached the shores of Cake Island. A sweet smell filled the air—sugar, chocolate, and cream. The sea itself looked shinier here, almost like syrup.
Yuta was sleeping on the deck, enjoying the calm breeze. While sleeping on a boat was not his best place to take a nap, what choice did he have? Not to mention, he had already kind of gotten used to staying on boats. That last year on Moby Dick was terrible, but it kind of readied him for what was to come.
Just as he was dreaming of his home back in the MHA world, some peaceful school days, his friends there, and all the games he had yet to play once he got back, he felt a light tap on his face.
"Wake up. We've arrived," Maki said, her voice steady.
Yuta groaned and opened his eyes slowly, but light assaulted him first thing. He hated it. He used to use Sharingan to get used to this kind of sudden light changes, but not anymore. He knew better than anyone else how important only a few seconds could be. He had learned it the hard way.
The first thing he saw as soon as he opened his eyes wasn't the island or the boat… it was legs.
Long, muscular, smooth, white creamy curvy legs of one Maki Zenin.
Almost immediately, his Sharingan flared out. Fuck life lessons, he'd die a happy man with these memories in his mind.
She wasn't wearing her usual black combat pants anymore. Instead, she had switched back to wearing a skirt—the one she wore before joining Whitebeard's ship. She was standing a little too close, and from where Yuta lay, the view was… distracting.
Yuta, of course being him, shamelessly glared at all that she offered willingly, nothing more nothing less, without blinking. Then a big grin slowly stretched across his face.
"My eyes are here, mister," Maki's voice came from above.
"Nah… I'm good here." Yuta didn't bother looking up at her, still ogling her legs with full gusto.
"Still the pervert, I see…" Her voice had a playful tone in it.
"It's not being a pervert. I'm just an appreciator of beauty."
"Tsk… is that what you tell every girl you meet?"
"Of course not. This phase is only for you." Yuta grinned, to which Maki just rolled her eyes. But did Yuta catch a small turn at the end of her lips?
"I told you skirts suited you better," he muttered without thinking.
Maki just raised an eyebrow. "Pervert," she said, but there was no anger in her voice—just mild amusement.
She smirked at him and then turned around. He was sitting so close that just a few more inches and his face would be between those perky peaches of hers, and oh, she had some perfectly round ones. Pure muscle and fat just in the right place to—Ahem… let's forget.
But how to forget it when she swung those hips while walking away.
"She's definitely teasing me now…" Yuta pouted, but his activated Sharingan was doing its work just fine.
"Come on, or we'll leave you behind." She shouted.
Everyone else was already up and looking toward the island.
"This place smells like candy," Chopper said, his eyes sparkling.
"I feel like I gained five pounds just breathing," Brook joked, floating beside them.
Soon they all set foot on Cake Island. The ground was soft, the trees looked like sweets, and even the grass had a strange sugary color.
But just as they stepped onto the island, things got strange.
"There's Sanji!" Luffy shouted suddenly, pointing toward the edge of a nearby forest.
Sure enough, they saw a familiar blond-haired man in a black suit standing near the trees. Without even thinking, Luffy ran straight into the forest.
"Wait! That might not be him!" Yuta yelled. While he didn't like changing the plot more than enough to keep track of things, it would take him years if he moved at One Piece pace.
At least a little push was needed here.
But it was too late. Luffy had already disappeared among the strange trees.
"Luffy, you idiot!" Nami, Chopper, Brook, and the others rushed in behind him.
Pedro and Carrot followed right after.
Yuta and Maki were about to call out when they realized everyone was gone.
"…Well," Maki said, looking at the forest. "Guess we follow?"
"Looks like it's just us now," Yuta sighed.
They stepped into the forest together, walking side by side.
But the moment they passed the first few trees, the whole path behind them vanished. The forest twisted and shifted. Everything looked the same. Trees moved on their own. The air smelled too sweet, and even the shadows felt strange.
"Great. A living forest," Yuta muttered.
"We're lost, aren't we?" Maki asked.
"Yup. But at least we're lost together."
Maki glanced at him, then smirked. "Try not to stare at my legs the whole time, pervert."
"Ah, that's cruel." Yuta grinned.
Yuta and Maki wandered through the strange forest, trees twisting and talking, paths moving on their own. But instead of panicking, the two just kept going—joking, teasing, and even flirting along the way.
"So," Maki said, brushing a leaf off her shoulder, "still eyes fixed on my legs. Don't you feel shame?"
Yuta grinned, walking beside her. "Not my fault you look that good. You changed outfits just to mess with me, didn't you?"
She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Maybe I just like the breeze."
Yuta laughed. "Ah, me too."
Maki immediately narrowed her eyes, while her eyes slowly went down to make sure the skirt wasn't flowing too much.
'Tch… shouldn't have said that…'
As they walked deeper into the forest, things got quieter, almost too quiet. It was eerie seeing the forest so silent. But they didn't mind. In fact, Maki suddenly grabbed Yuta's scarf and tugged him a little closer.
"Woh?" Even Yuta was a little startled.
"Share the scarf, will you? It's cold," she said and practically pushed her head into the scarf after loosening it, her face just inches away from his.
"Cold, huh…," he whispered back but didn't say anything, just got closer.
'Is this the time when a man is supposed to offer his shirt or jacket to the girl?'
'Should I?'
He looked down at the shirt he was wearing and frowned. He was wearing only one. He'd be topless if he did that. Not to mention it wasn't even that cold.
'Perhaps I stared a little too much that she had to do this to avert her eyes…'
All sorts of insecurities sprung up to pull the flying boy back to earth. Because ultimately, no matter how powerful he was, he was still a virgin who was kind of insecure about many things. Sigh.
So after that, he quieted down. All the talking was done by the two little devils sitting on his shoulders. Last he saw them was in the MHA world when he was about to sneak a peek on Toru…
'Oh Toru… I shouldn't have done that. I'm just a scum…'
Just then, suddenly a soft sensation pushed against his arm. A jolt of electricity passed through him.
His body stiffened and he slowly looked to his side only to find their faces were close now. One more step and they might've actually kissed. Yuta's hand slid behind her back, while Maki didn't stop him.
If for nothing then at least to steady himself before he did something he shouldn't. Like backing off in his hesitation and ruining the moment or perhaps mistaking the situation altogether and going for a kiss only to get slapped by someone as strong as Toji freaking Fushiguro…
Yuta gulped. His mind in times like this became his worst enemy. Why couldn't it just shut down?
The tension between them was strong, the forest around them forgotten for a moment.
"Yuta…" Maki spoke first….
His eyes went to her lips. And suddenly, his famous devil-may-care attitude flared up. The same one that made him ask Toru out all of a sudden.
His hands tightened around her waist, to which even someone like Maki stiffened a little. Her eyes too just looked into his. Like daring him that if he chickened out then there would be hell to pay.
But just then—
Ping!
Their Observation Haki screamed at the same time.
"Danger!" Yuta said, jumping back as Maki spun around.
From between the trees, a loud crash echoed. The ground shook. And out came a tall man with sharp eyes, long hair, and wearing a biscuit-like armor that looked far too real.
It was Charlotte Cracker—one of Big Mom's Sweet Commanders.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Cracker sneered. "More intruders playing in Mama's forest?"
"You son of a…" A tick mark formed on Yuta's face. What was wrong with his love life? Why did someone always show up when things were getting good?
Anger flared up and he was ready to send this cookie man flying. But just then he suddenly found, or rather didn't find, the girl who was beside him just a second ago.
"Where she…"
Just then he saw Maki appear behind the damn cookie man, her katana in her hand, bloody murder plastered on her face as her eyes flared red, ready to draw blood.
The cookie man paused and looked back…. "NANI…"
xxx
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