Across the Realms (A One Piece Fanfic: Trafalgar Law)

{ CHAPTER 63 }

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moment Sora stepped inside the living room, she immediately noticed the extra figure that she was sure wasn't there before. Tilting her head, the brunette raised a brow.

Finally noticing the girl, Dan beckoned her to come over. "Ah, miss Sora! You haven't met my sister, yet, right?"

Hearing her older brother mentioning her, the little girl who was earlier clutching on Dan's side turned towards the said 'Miss Sora'.

Upon landing her sights on the older brunette, the little girl--who was no taller than Sora's hips-- immediately gasped, loud enough to shut the whole room in silence.

The men all stared in confusion at the little girl's sudden reaction to seeing Sora. The brunette wasn't faring any better and also looked as confused as they were.

As far as she remembered, Sora didn't do anything to attract such attention right off the bat. Then again, she was always attracting unwanted and unexpected attention wherever they went. Maybe she was just born that way---a magnet.

Then, breaking the silence, the little girl left her brother's side and trotted over towards the brunette, her doe eyes gazing at Sora like she was such a sight to behold.

Not knowing what to do, Sora felt a bit torn when the little raven-haired girl clutched at her legs, still gazing at the older brunette.

"Sae-sama!"

.

.

.

"Huh."

Unfazed at Sora's bewildered reaction, the little girl raised her short arms upwards as if praising the latter and repeated, "Sae-sama!"

Sora lifted her eyes and shot Dan a look, who was also staring at the scene with perplexity. Noticing her distress, the young teen finally explained.

"Ah," Dan shyly scratched the back of his neck. "I see, no wonder she's acting like that..."

Sora lifted a brow. "Who the hell is 'Sae-sama'? And why the hell is this girl calling me that?"

The little girl continued to hug Sora's leg. "Sae-sama!" Her eyes were sparkling, and the brunette could practically see the flowers that were surrounding her expectant form.

Wanting to explain the strange behaviour of her sister, Dan chuckled as he said, "To make things simple, Sae is a character from a comic Rina has been reading--- she's a female samurai, if I'm not mistaken."

Dan pointed at Sora and her sword which was strapped to her waist. "She had the same hair color as you and had a sword, too, so Rina must have seen the similarities. Sorry for the hassle."

Sora lightly frowned. So that was the reason.

"Sae-sama!"

Sora looked back at the little girl----Rina, her name was. Reaching a hand, the brunette awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. She wasn't really good with kids, so having one hugging her leg made it feel a bit strange.

"Uh, kid," Sora started. "I hate to burst your bubble, but.. I'm not 'Sae-sama'."

Rina paused in her stupor in admiring Sora. Did she just hear that right? This lady, who so looked much like her favorite character, wasn't actually Sae-sama?

The ticking of the wall clock in the living room was about the only sound that could be heard, with Rina spending that time processing what she just heard.