Hope In The Morning

11

I hurry down the steps and over to the ball that had rolled over to the giant hedges that lined Pops' property. I picked it up and then turned back to the boys, "Catch!" And toss it back. Zoro leaps up from the pool and catches the ball with ease, "That was a powerful throw, you should join the game." "Oh, I don't know." I reply as I walk back over to the pool, "I feel like you guys would eat me alive; all much stronger than me." "Why don't we have a girls vs guys, finish off the Game Day properly." Ace suggests. "Are you prepared to lose again?" Nami asks, her hands on her hips, "Or did you forget who won the games to begin with?" She smirked mischievously. "Ah Nami, don't tease them. They have new players!" I whine as I grab her arm and shake it slightly, trying to get my point across. "Yeah, well, we have a few new players too." She explains, pointing over at the girls huddled over by the grill. There stood Boa, Robin, Tashigi, Bonney, Vivi, and Rebecca. I blink in surprise at how I completely missed the girls that joined us. The boys still out numbered us but we had quite a few powerhouses.

"How do I keep getting dragged into these situations?" I whine as I get into the pool and move over to my position. Just like always; the bets, punishment, and reward was blown out of proportion.
Reward was full bragging rights for a week. Punishment was losing team serves the winning team. Usopp had the ball and a whistle around his neck. He was acting referee. "Just harmless fun." Vivi smiled as she joined me in the water.
I was on the first girl team, along with Vivi, Nami, and Robin. The boys first team consisted of Zoro, Luffy, Killer, and Penguin. "Harmless?" I asked her, "Nothing is ever harmless." I shook my head, thinking back to all the other crazy rivalries that went on between this large group. "Alright guys," Usopp lifted the ball as everyone got ready, "You know the rules." "Maybe you should prepare medical." Brook whispered to Law, usually the games got way out of hand and someone always got hurt in one way or another. I stretched my arms above my head, "I do have a question: are we playing a normal volleyball game or are we just going until a certain amount of points?" Usopp rubs his chin, "That's a good point."
"How about we tap out at 20,000 points?" Killer suggested. The amount almost shocked me but then I remember that I'm friends with abnormally strong people.

I take a drink of my water bottle. The girls were down by a few thousand points. The men are stronger than us. I frown a bit. Was this game even fair to begin with? I glance over at who was playing at the moment. It was now Sanji, Shachi, Kid, and Smoker.
Sanji shifts in the water as he prepares to serve the ball when an idea struck me. I set down my bottle and walk over to the guys side of the pool. I waited just as Sanji threw the ball up into the air "Sanji-kun~" I drag out the syllables in his name and give him a wink when he looked in my direction. Immediately his focus switches from the game to my lame flirting attempt and he smacks the ball out of bounds.
"Hey, hey!" Kid growls, "Interference!" Usopp walks over "Interference?" He must have not been paying attention to what happened and I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know what he is talking about either." I turn to walk over to the other girls and they all nod or give me thumbs up for the idea. An arm wraps around my shoulders and I glance up to see Ace, "That was a pretty sneaky idea, Fi." "I don't know what your talking about." I smirk at him "Let's get something to eat, I'm hungry." "Ooh, good idea." He steers me over towards the finished food next to the grill. "So where is Pops anyway?" I ask as we start making our hamburgers. "He's off on a big case back around Marineford." Ace muttered through his mouthful of food. I roll my eyes at his sudden lack of manners before taking a bite of food, "Thanks." He stops his munching and looks at me, "For what??" "For everything today. This all really made me feel a lot better." I was referring back to the cafe where I had a panic attack. "Oh," He grins, "Anytime Fi!" He smacks my shoulder and I cough a little as the food in my mouth hit the back of my throat. "Don't kill me!" He just laughs loudly at my reaction. I huff as he laughs but relaxes in my seat as I look around at everyone. Everyone was chatting or hanging out as they gathered around the pool waiting to see what happens with the game. Robin's words from in the bathroom echo in my brain and I can't help the tears that begin to fall. "Fi? What's wrong??" Ace looks concerned, pausing his attack on food. I set my burger back down on my plate and rubbed the tears away, "Yeah, I'm okay." My voice shakes and he shifts to face me, "You know you can talk to me about anything." He takes my free hand to reassure me. "I'm just really happy." I give him a bright smile and he relaxes, pulling me into a hug. "That's good."