"We're gonna fight!"
"Absolutely not."
"But Runa..."
"...Give me a minute," Runa huffed. She kept her books away in the satchel Makino had made for her, placing them behind the counter for safety. She looked at her brother before frowning, "Where?"
"There's a huge clearing behind Sozu-baa-san's shop now! She said she got all the trees chopped down because it bothered her but now the whole area is too blank. So, kids go there to play all the time." Luffy jumped up and down in excitement, his expectant look did nothing but soften Runa's heart.
"Alright, let's go."
The trip took less than two minutes, and Luffy smiled at Sozu-san. "Sozu-baa-san!"
"Oh? Is that Luffy-kun?" Sozu-san called out, coming out from inside her house. She had grey hair with fading blue at the bottom and scary purple eyes. Her hair reached the length of her ankles and Sozu-san always wore brass knuckles. She was Gramps' age if Runa remembered right.
"Sozu-baa-san! Can I use your backyard to train, please? Please?" Luffy questioned, his voice laced with excitement. Sozu-san laughed, "Of course, you can. I assume your sister is joining too, Runa-chan?"
Runa nodded, "Yeah. I'm gonna experiment against rubber."
Luffy pretended he heard nothing but Sozu-san burst into a peal of laughter. "Alright, you can come. It has a name now, Sozu's Clearing. I think it sounds nice even if that old fart, Jingo thinks is tacky."
Runa tilted her head, "It is kinda tacky."
"Little brat."