The Road Home
“Be careful!” Makino called out to the two kids as they rushed out the door the moment they had finished breakfast.
Atlantis and Luffy charged past the townspeople without sparing them a glance as they headed for their secret base, dodging underfoot as people shouted out for them to stop running. Once they reached the beach Atlantis stopped causing Luffy to barrel into her, sending the both of them rolling into the sand.
“Coco?” Luffy called as he pulled himself up to look at the girl with his head tilted to the side, “Is something wrong?”
“Sorry,” Atlantis murmured as she rubbed the back of her head where Luffy had slammed into her. “I just noticed the path is easy to see from here.
“Oh no!” Luffy exclaimed as he stood up to stare at the entrance to the cave and the path leading to it. “It isn’t so super-secret right now.”
Luffy dropped to the sandy beach with a pout as he turned to stare down the sea as if the sea was at fault for the not so secret entrance.
Atlantis continued staring at the secret entrance and the not so secret path before eyeing the forage growing around them. With a smirk, she turned to toe at Luffy’s lifeless body, “Then let’s make it a secret.”
Luffy turned to her with wide wondering eyes as he shot up from his position on the beach to stand before her, “We can make it a secret path?! That’s so cool!”
“Okay! Then just as I say,” Atlantis called out as she bolted for the small thin forest that the sandy beach led up to, Luffy followed on her heels as they made their way through the forage of plants. They pulled some out at their roots and quickly moved them to the base of the entrance. Then they worked on eliminating the sand from the path that led up to the entrance so it would blend in better.
Finally, Atlantis removed the ends of the too long vines in the super-secret base, wow that's a mouthful, and rooted them in the cracks of the path to make the rock ledge appear more natural.
Standing back they looked on to the rock ledge path that now blended in with the rest of the rock and no longer appeared as if it was even there. With a proud smirk, Atlantis crossed her arms as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“That is so cool Coco!” Luffy shouted as he danced around her, stopping briefly to try and see if he could find the path before continuing to dance around her as he couldn’t pick it out from the rest of the rock.
“Alright! Let’s head up to the hideout.”
“Whoop!” Luffy called as he raced forward to the bright red roses they planted at the base of the path so Luffy would be able to find it easily. They both raced up to the entrance of the super-secret base before spreading out to start looking once more.
“Okay. The first order of business.” Atlantis called as they seated themselves at the stone table. “We should probably clean the place first and then decide what we use the super-secret base for.”
“No, a name first.” Luffy shook his head violently before standing up onto the table, “Everything else afterward!”
“Alright!” Atlantis stopped as she stared Luffy down. “What do -”
“What do you want to name it?” Luffy interrupted to stare back at her. “You pick.”
“Um, the hideout?”
“No.” Luffy denied as he sat cross-legged on the table in thought.
“Hmm, maybe we can ask Makino for her advice over lunch?” Atlantis offered which Luffy declined.
“It has to be us, but lunch sounds correct.”
“Then let’s go eat lunch first!” Atlantis called as she pulled Luffy from the cave. At this point, the town square was full so Luffy and she were almost separated in the crowd but luckily they held onto each other tightly as they raced through.
Reaching the other side Atlantis stopped for breath when Makino called out to them, “Lunch is ready!”
Excitedly, they both sat down to dig in when Luffy stopped to stare at the meat in his hand, “Meat island.”
“Huh?” Atlantis turned to him completely baffled by his expression of awe.
“Meat! Uh-,” Luffy stopped to glance at Makino before whispering closer to Atlantis. “The super-secret base’s name. Meat Island.”
Atlantis giggled before nodding her head, “Oddly enough, it sounds like the perfect name for our super-secret base.”
The two began to giggle before they were interrupted by a knock on the door, to which both of them turned to stare at Makino as she answers the door. “You have a package!”
“A PRESENT!” Luffy screamed as he launched himself at the large bag that cushioned his fall when it tipped over. Immediately, the drawstrings loosened as clothes began to pour out causing both of them to stare at them confused. Getting closer, Atlantis could see that each item was labeled with one of their names on it, indicating ownership.
“Clothes?” Atlantis asked as she turned to look at the smiling Makino.
“A gift from Garp.”
“Coco! Look at this thingy!” Luffy shouted drawing both of their attention back to a shirt with the bottom half made up of a stringed design. “Why does it look so torn up?”
“It’s a design.” Makino offered with puckered lips, “I had assumed Garp would send more… girls like things rather than these designs.”
“Look I found a dress!” Luffy shouted out as he began twirling a sunflower dress above his head, which Makino sighed in relief upon seeing a ‘girly’ design.
On the other hand, Atlantis bolted for the boy who laughed as he ran after her, “Damn it Luffy! Stop it, that one is for me.”
“What yours is mine!” Luffy called back as he started towards town.
“Where did you even learn those vows!?”