One Piece: And The Original - Chapter 27

“Might it be the sea” A anemic voice replies.

“And we have a winner, okay next one. I see, I see, what you can’t see and it is blue” I ask once more.

“Can’t we stop this little game? You have asked the same object for more than fifty times. Do something else” The man sighs as he really wants to stop hearing the voice of the girl.

“Black sheep, I will stop if we stop. On an island. Don’t you dare stop on a piece of ice again. I will continue is you do” I grumble as I get ready to ask the next question.

“Yare yare, Fine by me. Though the next one might be a bit hard. Don’t go too far.” Akoiji sighs in defeat as even he got tired of the endless blue and the exercise.

“Sure sure, you worry too much” I reply and the excitement takes over. I have only seen blue, blue and more blue for the past few days. No wind, burning sun and no waves.

I knows black sheep called it ‘the calm belt’ for a reason, but to see and feel it in person still feels strange. Even the little fish I would often see swimming by are gone. What kind of island would it be to lie in the calm belt?

Seeing the island up ahead, I know I’ll break my agreement. But what did he expect. An unknown island, it lies in the calm belt, how do people even travel to and from it?

It only took a few minutes to arrive, though for some reason they stopped at the smallest piece of land that the island had to offer. ‘He is keeping something from me, if he doesn’t tell in the next few minutes, I will explore the island on my own’. I thought as I wait for his reaction. Only to see him put up a lying chair and put on this sleeping mask. ‘Stupid black sheep’

Making sure he wouldn’t notice, I take back a few steps every ten minutes. After an hour, I reached the edge of the beach and the beginning of the forest.

“Jess, come back. Didn’t we agree not to wander off.” A lazy voice says as he looks my way from underneath his sleeping mask.

“Yeah, well, we didn’t agree what would be too far, so… bye” I wink as I dash into the forest. Looking back I only hears a sigh and that he isn’t following me.

*

What is even stranger is that the city only seem to have females. Young children could be seen running around, but they are only girls. “Don’t they ever give birth to boys? Or do they? What actions will they take when a boy is born?”

“What is a boy?” A energetic voice says as a pair of green eyes looks me right in the eyes.

“Hmmm…. well… Boys are humans who have a lot of hair, and no meat on their ċhėst. They are flat ċhėsted humans, though some, no, most of them can be quite rude” I respond after some thinking. ‘Better off not let them know. Who knows how they would act if the find out I told her.

“Oh, okay. Do you wanna play, we’re playing hide and seek, care to join us?” The girl says. Taking another look at the girl, she seems to be at the age of seven. She has strangely enough, pink hair and green eyes. Her hair is like a sheep as it stands in different ways all around her head. She is wearing a leopard patterned cloth only around her waist as she hasn’t developed around her ċhėst yet. The smile the girl is showing almost reaches her eyes. “Come on let’s play!” She cries as she pulls me by the arm to join her friends. Most of them are also between the ages of seven to ten, and of course they are all girls. “Sure, let’s play” I smile wryly as the girl is just to exited and energetic to turn down. She was sure she won’t take no for an answer.

“Bibi, it seems Naga has caught another one…” A short red headed girl mutters as she pulls the girl beside her at the skirt. The girl seems to be around seven years old and, wears a green skirt/cloth and seems a bit shy as she hides behind the girl called Bibi. Her hair is a bit short and makes her look like a little boy. But her face is feminine enough to be sure she is a girl.

“Maya, don’t hide behind me, if Naga sees you hide she will give you more work than before” The taller girl that stands before Maya is a blond haired girl, who seems to be around nine years old. Her eyes are the same color at those of Maya, blue. Her hair reaches her back and she also wears a green cloth/skirt.

“Hey, I’m Jess, nice to meet you girls. Now, where will we play hide and seek?” I smile as I try to make the girl named Maya more comfortable. Maya seems to be a bit hesitant, but still takes a step forward. “h-h-hi… I’m Maya… a-a pŀėȧsurė to-to.. meet you” She stutters as she gives a small smile.

Seeing that even the most tepid of the group has taken the initiative. Bibi and Naga smile as they pull me by the arm and lead me towards the forest.

“I’ll be it first” Naga smiles as she turns away and starts to count to thirty.