Chapter Twenty One: Zoro Versus Y/n
Gif is irrelevant, but I just thought it was hilarious.
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"Phoenix, hey don't attack me!!" you yelped, running around the lighthouse as he squealed at you angrily. "I'm sorry! I said I was sorry!!" you whined. "Ow! Hey! Oh.. I think I'm bleeding..."
Azar let out a huff, before he was suddenly kicked into the Red Line.
"OI YOU BIRD!" Sanji yelled angrily, waving his chef's knife around wildly. "I don't care if you're Y/n's 'friend', but you can't harm a beautiful goddess just like that!" His hands shook violently in anger. "I'll kill you!!"
"Ah..." You sweatdropped. "Sanji, that isn't necessary... He's just a little unhappy... that's all..."
"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET ANY ELEPHANT TUNA!" Sanji shouted, earning an unhappy squawk from the bird. "Oh, that makes you upset huh? Well attacking Y/n-hime makes me upset too!"
Phoenix snarled. Who did Sanji think he was? Denying him food and acting like Mihawk.
Phoenix was a growing child (now). He needed sustenance to live! And here Sanji was, being a little bitch because he attacked you. Well actually, he would be acting like Sanji too if someone did that, but you left him behind! He had a right to be angry.
"Don't give me that look," Sanji growled, pointing the knife in his direction. "I'll skin you alive if you try anything. I'm the chef here, and you aren't getting any food until I say so."
"Mhmm!" Luffy groaned, shoving his face full of the delicious fish that Sanji had won in Loguetown. "Dishishgudd!!" It was like the boy was taunting him, poking fun at Phoenix for his misery.
Maybe he was.
"Ah... Sanji, Phoenix deserves a little bit of food..." You said, taking the bird's side. "I did leave him..." Phoenix gave you a hopeful squawk.
Zoro and Sanji gave you a disappointed look, shaking their heads.
"Let him suffer," they spoke in unison. Blinking, they snapped their heads to the side, staring at each other in surprise. Well at least there were some things they could agree on.
Phoenix's heart crumbled to pieces. Huffing angrily, he flew off into the horizon.
"Now, time for some of that-" Sanji and Zoro froze at the sight of Luffy cramming the last piece of elephant tuna inside of his mouth, "-tuna.."
"Ah!" Luffy sighed in content. "That was good food! I'm done eating, so let's go!"
"YOU ATE THE WHOLE THING!" Zoro and Sanji shouted in unison.
"HE EVEN ATE THE BONES!" Usopp yelled in horror, pointing at the empty plates.
Sanji grabbed Luffy by the neck angrily. "You stupid, stretchy, jerk! I made those for Nami-san and Y/n-hime!! Now what are they going to eat?!"
"I didn't eat the whole thing, see?" Luffy held out a remaining plate of tuna. Sanji's grip on Luffy relaxed as the cigarette fell out of Sanji's mouth.
What? WHAT?!
At this moment, your stomach chose to growl. Luffy's eyes darted up to you immediately, a sly smile on his face.
"Y/n!! Marry me and I'll give you food!" That earned him a very furious hit from not only Sanji, but from Nami as well.
"Don't speak to Y/n that way!" Nami reprimanded. "You don't just ask someone constantly to marry you! That's just ridiculous! And you can't take advantage of the fact that Y/n's hungry and bribe her to be your wife! You aren't even in a relation-..." Nami trailed off. "Wait, are you guys...?"
"Are we what?" you both asked.
"-Yeah you can't ask someone when you're not in a relationship." Luffy turned to you with a confused face.
"Y/n, we're in a relationship, right?"
"Platonically," you said, nodding your head.
Luffy turned his attention back to Nami. "See? I can ask her! We're in a relationship! So you'll marry me right?"
"NO!" Nami and Sanji shouted in unison.
Sanji jabbed an accusatory finger in Luffy's direction. "You're trying to manipulate my goddess! I'm not going to let you marry her!" Luffy suddenly stood up, letting the plate of fish in his hand to fall onto the table with a clatter.
"You can't stop me!" Luffy declared. "I'm marrying her!"
"No." Sanji started. "I won't allow you to marry my goddess! I don't care if you're my captain, I won't let you."
It was silent for a moment with only the waves of the sea crashing against the cliffs. Luffy's eyes bored hard into Sanji as an angry expression began to come across his facial features.
"What?! No you're not!" Luffy's hands stretched towards you, and Sanji, seeing that, kicked him straight in the face. His body flew across the table, rolling into the dirt. Luffy wiped the blood off the corners of his mouth.
"Sanji! You kicked me!" Luffy crashed his head into Sanji's as they glared into each other's eyes. Before Luffy could punch the man back, you hurriedly try to break up the fight.
"Hey-hey let's not fight right?" You pushed your hands against their chests gently, pushing them apart. "I-I'm sure you can make something else, right Sanji? Oh, how about those scones?"
"AHHHH I'LL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU MY GODDESS!!!" Sanji then turned to Luffy with a glare. "This isn't over." And then he walked off back to the Merry to prepare some more food. Crocus let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes. What is wrong with these fools?
Zoro, meanwhile, rolled his eyes, smacking Sanji in the head with his katana's sheath before he could leave. Your jaw dropped. You broke up a fight just to see another one?
"You pervert cook, how many times do I have to say that it's annoying? Calling people 'Goddess' is just creepy." Sanji violently blew air out of his nose.
"Ha? Say that again you mosshead-"
"Oi Y/n?" Luffy asked, causing you to turn your attention from the two who were fighting and rolling on the ground. Luffy held up a Log Pose. "This is one of the thingies you use for sailing the Grand Line, right?"
You slowly nodded your head before raising a brow as Luffy tossed it over the side of the cliff.
"Welp, I guess we won't need this then." He clapped his hands together, dusting the invisible dust off as Nami punched him in the head multiple times. "Ow ow ow! Nami, what was that for?!"
Nami pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You just threw away the only thing we needed to sail the Grand Line!" Luffy gave Nami a look as if to say 'are you stupid'?
"You need a sail to sail the Grand Line," he said as if it were fact.
"YOU DESTROYED THE MAST! HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIX THAT?!"
That was, in fact, very true. Luffy had destroyed the mast, ran up Laboon, and stuck it in the newest wound the whale had, much to everyone else's horror. You, meanwhile, merely cringed at the thought (and sight) of getting impaled. Now you understood why Cracker hated pain. You wouldn't like it if someone impaled you either.
It was a "declaration of war" so that Laboon had something to wait for. Their battle had ended in a draw, so Luffy declared that Laboon would wait until he came back to challenge him once again.
It was stupid. It was a Luffy move. But hey, it worked.
Oh yeah, and he painted his jolly roger on Laboon.
Truly a work of art. Like a new Leonardo da Vinci. Luffy, a jack of all trades, master of none. Besides eating of course.
Which brings us back to Nami's understandable temper tantrum...
"Usopp's fixing it."
"HOW ARE WE GOING TO NAVIGATE TO THE NEXT ISLAND?!" Crocus was about to suggest that they could have his when Luffy pointed to you.
"Y/n can navigate. You can navigate right?" You flashbacked to meeting Kid and Law, almost drowning, and your brief encounter with the Krieg Pirates before the storm hit.
"Uh..." No and yes. "Kinda? I mean I have a log pose..."
Nami paused, turning to you with wide eyes. "You have a log pose?" she repeated. "You have a log pose?!" Well, it was understandable, you sailed the Grand Line, but it was still rather shocking.
Wait, how do you sail the ocean when you're scared of water?
She was about to ask when you cut her off holding a couple of log poses in your hands you grabbed out of your bag. Her eyes went large at the sight of a solid gold Log pose encrusted with diamonds. Then there was the triple needle log pose with a black leather strap with gold designs on it.
In summary, these log poses looked hella expensive. And fuck, there were five of them.
"So which one do you want?" Your eyes gleamed excitedly as you showed them to her. "Come on, choose one! I'm happy to share with you! And you're our navigator, so it's right that you put it to use."
Crocus stepped forward, plucking the triple needle log pose out of your hands. Inspecting it, he looked back at you with a questioning look.
"Interesting log poses you have here." He waved the one in his hand at you. "You've been to the New World?" Your head looked up, eyes landing on what was in his hands.
"Yep. I travel a lot. It's how I make my connections." He raised an eyebrow at you curiously as Nami inspected the gold log pose. "Oh, I'm the informant and black mail material."
Crocus handed Nami the log pose in his hands, and she eagerly grabbed it.
"Wow..." she spoke. "Why does this one have three?" Her eyes darted to you and Crocus.
"It doesn't navigate Paradise," you answered. "Log poses here won't work in the New World due to the fact that some islands can hide their magnetic fields at random. Each needle records one magnetic field of an island, that way people don't get lost."
You put a finger under your chin as you thought for a moment.
"Though, I mean I guess you could use that one, but I have a feeling you like this one better." You held up the gold log pose, dangling it in front of her face. Nami's hands automatically went to check her pockets, realizing that it wasn't there any more.
Oooo. You can pick pockets too. Nice. You were definitely a keeper.
Grabbing her hand, you gently placed it in her palm, letting her fingers curl around it. You gave her a small smile, releasing her hand to put away the other log poses.
"You can have that one if you like. If you want a different one, just come to me." You paused, quickly turning around to look at Nami. "Oh and, uh... Don't tell Doffy I gave that to you. Oh well, I'm sure he won't mind."
Slinging the bag over your shoulder, you paused when Crocus called out to you. Turning around, you saw the way his eyes narrowed at you.
"What did you mean by 'informant'?"
"I know quite a few people. I'm sure you're familiar with them. Oh, does it fit, Nami?" Nami nodded her head, eyes sparkling at just the fact that she was wearing something so expensive and valuable. And she got it as a gift too!
You're just so nice!! Oh yes, the two of you were going to be besties!
"It does! Thank you so much Y/n! It's so pretty!" She caressed it softly like a baby. "Ahhh... I feel so rich." She paused, noticing Zoro and Sanji who had moved their little fight to the ship.
"HEY!! STOP! YOU'RE RUINING THE SHIP!" she yelled, running to them, leaving you and Crocus alone.
"You're aware of who I am."
You gave him a little smile. "Yep! Whitey talked about Roger a lot, so it was easy recognizing who you were."
Crocus hummed. "Knowing one Yonko definitely makes you an informant," he mused. "Who else do you know?"
"Do you want me to tell you?" you asked with a tilt of your head. "From experience, I realized that I shouldn't be talking about who I know. I almost gave someone a heart attack once. That wasn't really fun."
"I'm sure. I can't do much with the information anyways." You nodded your head in agreement.
"Ah, that's true. Well, there's Whitey and Shanks, oh yeah and Mama. You know- well I guess you don't really know- To To Land has to be one of my favorite places. So many sweets!! Oh yeah, and then there's Wano! Did you know that they have awesome sumo battles?! I don't really like the shogun though... Oh yeah, and then there's Dressrosa! The colosseum there is my favorite and-" you abruptly stopped yourself, advertin your eyes sheepishly.
"Oops, I'm rambling haha..."
"So you know most of the big names." You watched as he pulled out a piece of paper, which you recognized to be a wanted poster, your wanted poster. "L/n D. Y/n," he spoke. "Bounty: 500 million berries. Quite an under estimate of your threat to the government."
You nodded your head, walking over to the edge carefully. Placing a hand on Laboon, you gently patted him, fingers gingerly running over a few of his scars.
"I suppose..." you mumbled. "Well, I think we're going to leave soon. It was really nice to meet you! I'm still really sorry about interrupting your little 'vacation'." You giggled at that. "And thanks, Laboon. You really saved us back there. You're a little hero. Ah, less on the little."
A shout from Merry caught your attention, and you saw your friends arguing with the duo who tried to kill Laboon. Mr. Nine and Ms. Wednesday were their names, if you recall correctly. They seemed to be having a discussion.
Then you realized that you forgot to call someone.
Jumping up, you placed a gentle kiss on Laboon's head before you scrambled to your bag, choosing one of the snails and pulling it out. "Right, I almost forgot."
Placing the snail down on the table, Crocus sat down beside you as you began to input your call.
"Purupurupuru..."
"Who are you calling?" the old man asked.
"A friend. His name is-"
"Y/n!! I knew you would call me! Haha. You forgot to call me yesterday, so I got a little worried. OH! Your wanted poster came in the mail! I laughed so hard when I saw it! Ooo Doflamingo is going to get it one of these days..."
You laughed at his words, face turning soft at the sound of his voice. It was such a pity however, you thought as you responded to him.
"Sabo! Sorry I forgot to call you! There was a lot of stuff going on yesterday, but guess what? I'm in Paradise now with my captain and the crew. We're going to head to Cactus Island soon."
"You're crew? You mean that brat who constantly asks you to marry him? That one? His wanted poster came in with yours, and I have to say, he looks a bit like an idiot."
It was such a pity that he didn't remember anything.
"Sabo!" you gasped. "That's not very nice."
"Haha.. sorry. I just missed you. Kola's been asking about you. You know how she is, and she likes spending time with you. Those pirates haven't done anything to you, have they?"
You paused, furrowing your brows in confusion.
"Which ones?"
"Those shichibukai. I've only met Hawk-eye that one time when I came over, but I trust him more than Doflamingo. Why you hang around him is a question."
"Because he's nice?" Sabo was about to say something when you cut him off. "Doffy's nice. He's just... What do you call it? A little rough around the edges? You just have to get to know him a little better!"
"I think getting to know him is the same as having a death wish. Look Y/n, I care about you, but he's definitely not someone I'd trust."
You let out a sigh, flopping over the table.
"It's okay, you don't have to trust him."
"Goo- wait, where is this going...? You never agree with me when it comes to talking about your pirate friends.."
"I can trust him for you!" you declared, sitting up straight with a determined look on your face. "Oh, I gotta go. Bye."
"W-Wait wait Y/n-"
"Gacha."
Dusting your hands off and shoving the snail back in your bag, you let out a hum, laughing to yourself a bit.
"Well that was an enlightening experience."
"Sabo of the Revolutionary?" You swung the bag over your shoulders.
"Yup. Nice guy. I met him when I accidentally found their base." Crocus made a face, deadpanning at you.
How do you accidentally stumble upon the Revolutionary's base? What the fuck were the odds?
"Y/n~" You jumped when you felt Luffy's arms wrap around you. "Y/n... everyone's being so mean to me... I didn't do anything wrong, did I? Oh yeah, and we're taking those guys with us to Whiskey Peak."
He jammed his finger back at Merry, pointing at Mr. Nine and Ms. Wednesday.
"Okay. Sounds good." You turned around to ruffle his hair. "Hehe, but no, I don't think you did anything wrong. Well, aside from eating all the tuna."
"But I made sure to save you some!" Luffy whined.
"You didn't save it for anybody else. I'm sure they were hungry too." Luffy huffed unhappily, wrapping his arms tighter around you. You felt your stomach drop when you felt Luffy lift you up, placing a hand over your back. "W-Wait!"
You let out a muffled scream as Luffy leaped onto the ship, grinning from ear to ear.
"Shishishishi!! Don't worry Y/n! See? I didn't drop you!"
He laughed, setting you down with a pat on the back. "You've gotten braver. Before you used to scream and cry all the time like a baby! But now you don't do that any more! You've become stronger!"
His words struck your core and you could feel your eyes watering.
"Hey, are you going to cry again?" he asked, poking your cheek, and you quickly shook your head. He grinned. "Good! Because we can't have you always scared on the ship! Well, I guess I could always protect you, but I don't think you want that, right?"
You shook your head once more.
"No... I don't. I'm just..." Your heart felt so light staring at Luffy. "I'm just happy to be here." He gave you a big innocent grin.
"Me too!! Haha, I bet Ace is so jealous of me." You rolled your eyes, laughing along with him. It was nice. This was nice.
Being surrounded by people who truly know you really does that to people.
---
Before long, it was time to leave.
The log pose you had given Nami had finally found and locked in the magnetic field of Whiskey Peak, and Crocus and Laboon stood off to the side to send you off on your mary ways.
Crocus's arms were crossed as he gave the crew large smiles. He liked you guys; a bunch of interesting folks you guys were. Nothing like traditional pirates, and it was a small breath of fresh air and nostalgia.
You gave Crocus a hug before moving onto Laboon, hugging his head. He let out a whale (yes, that was a pun) of appreciation, nuzzling closer to you. You let out a small happy sigh. You were going to miss them.
"Oi! Y/n!! Come on! We're going to leave!" Luffy shouted to you, waving his hands excitedly.
"I want to go on our adventure!! Oh yeah, and Sanji told me that he made you food!!" His face morphed into a pout, "But he said I can't have any... Tell him that I need foooood!!"
Patting Laboon, you quickly ran over to the ship, carefully stepping on, before reaching Luffy.
"You already had food, silly," you said, poking him on the cheek like he did with you.
"Y/n-hime!! You're looking beautiful as ever!!" Turning your head to look Sanji in the eye, you gave him a wave that caused his heart to just melt.
"I'LL GO GET YOUR FOOOOOD, MY GODDESS!" He ran inside the kitchen with insane speed, running down to the deck and pulling out a foldable chair and table, draping a cloth over it, before running back into the kitchen.
Nami raised a brow. Well isn't he looking excited? Her jaw dropped when she saw the large plate of scones. How the hell is it possible to even bake that many at once?! There had to be at least fifty of them, and they were the size of her fist. Sanji's eyes drifted over to Nami's shocked expression as he placed the large platter down.
"Oh, Nami-swan!! Don't worry! I didn't forget about you!!" He set down two dishes onto the table, as well as a second foldable chair. She grinned at the sight of the pastries.
"Thanks Sanji-kun!"
"Are you sure you guys want to take those two, boy?" Luffy turned his head from staring at you digging into the pastries to look at Crocus. Crocus' attention was on Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 who were watching you eat with furrowed brows.
"I'm sure." Crocus nodded his head. "Anyways, bye flower man." You swallowed your food quickly to say goodbye as well.
"Bye!!" you called out.
"Thanks for some of the information," Nami spoke. Crocus waved her off.
"I'm sure that first mate of yours would have told you if necessary," he reassured. "But you're welcome, and good luck to you." He paused, eyes staring straight at Luffy. "Boy, keep an eye on your First Mate, you don't want to lose someone like her."
Luffy laughed.
"Y/n's not going anywhere. She'll be safe with me!" His declaration caused the old man to let out a small laugh.
And so it was off to sailing the Grand Line, and to what awaits in the future.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing, Luffy?!" Sanji growled as he watched you attempt to discreetly feed Luffy one of the scones. Nami rolled her eyes at his pout.
"Luffy, you already had your fill. Stop bugging Y/n for food like a dog," she said. Sanji stomped over to Luffy, chasing him around the ship, preaching about not manipulating people's kindness.
You laughed a little at the spectacle, reminding you of your other friends. Grabbing one of the scones off your plate, Nami watched you as you flung it to the side of the ship, watching in surprise when Phoenix swooped down in a blink of an eye, grabbing it in his talons, before flying back up into the crow's nest.
Turning back to Nami, you let your eyes wander down to the Log Pose on her arm. You pointed to it, speaking, "you should keep an eye on that. The Grand Line is different from the East Blue. Sometimes you think you're going in the right direction, but you're going in the opposite."
You shoved one of the scones into your mouth as Nami's eyes drifted down to the log pose, and she nodded her head.
(Replace sandwiches with scones and there you have it)
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." She watched as you daintily kept piling scone after scone on your plate with little regard. The platter of scones was already half-way finished, and it hadn't even been ten minutes since they took off.
"You seem to eat as much as Luffy," she commented with a small amused smile. Your hand froze in mid-air, on the way from grabbing another scone. You gave her an embarrassed smile.
"I like food." And with that, you shoved another scone in your mouth. It caused her to laugh, looking down at her lap as she felt her face heat up. She didn't have time to dwell on it when she caught sight of the log pose. The ship was slowly turning around without her noticing.
"Crap," she muttered, getting up quickly. "Sanji-kun! I need this ship turned 45 degrees starboard!" Sanji was quick on his feet as he ran to the newly fixed steering pole. As they were busy doing that, you caught sight of Usopp who was checking out the mast.
"Hi Usopp!" you called out to him. He tensed up, turning around, before sighing when he realized that it was you.
"Hey Y/n! Do you need something?" You pointed to the platter of scones that Sanji made.
"Do you want some? Sanji made a bunch, and I'm sure that you're hungry too!" He shook his head nervously, not wanting to get caught and receiving a scolding from the chef. He watched as you pouted.
You looked left and right, putting a finger to your lips. "It's okay, Sanji won't know," you whispered. "And if he does find out, well, I'm the one who said you could have some, so you're not in the wrong!"
He laughed a bit, walking towards you. He supposed that was true, but it didn't make him any less nervous.
"I help you, you help me. That's what friends are for, right?" you asked with a tilt of your head. "Besides, I'm sure Sanji won't mind; he was only mad at Luffy because he ate all the fish." Holding the plate up to him, he hesitantly took one.
Taking a small bite, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Oh wow... These are good," he whispered in surprise, grabbing another one. You nodded eagerly at his words.
"I know right?! It's delicious!! I'm sure Kata-chan would love it if Sanji baked something for him." Usopp raised a curious eyebrow.
" 'Kata'?" he asked. "That's not like, uh, someone creepy and scary like that Doflamingo guy, right?" You shook your head.
"Nope. Kata's really cool and nice. He's not really 'creepy', he's more of an intimidating. Mostly because he's super tall." You raised a hand up high, emphasizing his height. "Sixteen feet and eight inches, I believe."
Usopp choked on the scone in his mouth. Handing him some tea, he drank it quickly, washing the scones down quickly.
"W-...WHAT?! THAT'S ALMOST SEVENTEEN FEET!!"
"Yeah! And I got to ride on his shoulder!" You shivered a bit. "Kind of scary, but he didn't let me fall. As I said, he's a very nice person once you get to know him. Oh, well, I guess most people don't get the chance to know him."
You took a small sip from your teacup.
Once Usopp got over the shock, he quickly remembered that he never thanked you properly for what you did back at Loguetown.
"I never got to thank you for what you did for me back at Loguetown," he said, bowing. "Because of you, I got some really cool stuff!!" he shouted, eyes sparkling. "Do you want me to show you them? It's so cool!! I can finally be a really cool Warrior of the sea with all those stuff!"
"Sure!" you said enthusiastically. Usopp was about to reach for your hand and take you to his large backpack when Nami called for him.
"Usopp!! I need your help!" The mood dimmed, and Usopp disappointedly sighed.
"You can show me next time, Usopp!" you said, trying to make him feel better. "We have tons of time to spend together!" He quickly nodded his head along to your words.
"I-Y-Yeah! We'll definitely have loads of fun!" Waving to you, he walked up the stairs with a "see you later, Y/n," and left to see what Nami needed help with.
Pouring some more tea into your tea cup, you drank it with a deep sigh. Closing your eyes, you listened to the gentle sound of the waves and you let out a hum. You felt strangely... calm.
It was like that feeling that everything would be alright whenever you were with Shanks, Mihawk, or anyone you were extremely close to. At times like this, the waves felt strangely, serene.
"Oi."
You snapped your eyes open, looking up to see that Zoro had taken Nami's spot and was now staring directly at you. Placing the porcelain cup down on the saucer, you folded your hands in your lap, turning your body to face Zoro.
"Zoro! What can I do for you?" Your tone was sweet and kind, and it made Zoro question how he ever felt so suspicious of someone like you. In a way, you reminded him of Luffy, with that air of curiosity and naivety.
"Did you heal my wounds?" You tilted your head, confusion evident on your face.
"What?"
"Johnny and Yosaku said that you jumped into the ocean trying to help me." His gaze hardened when you widened your eyes, reminded of the events of Baratie. "That was stupid of you."
You fiddled with your fingers, staring down at your lap.
"...T-Thanks..." Looking up, you saw that Zoro averted his eyes to the side, cheeks splashed with a little color.
"O-Oh. You're welcome!" He gritted his teeth a little, before relaxing, sighing.
"J-Just... Don't go jumping after me next time when you don't know how to swim. Idiot." You watched Zoro's expression carefully, before giggling a little bit.
"You got it! But I might forget again. I just thought I had to help you. It was the first thing to my mind." Stretching your arms a little, you relaxed a bit in the chair you were sitting in.
You did try to jump in the ocean and save him, but you didn't remember healing him. Maybe you just forgot? Yeah, that sounded plausible.
"You know Zoro... I think..."
A smile was on your lips.
"I think I'm getting rid of my fears, just a little bit." Your eyes gazed down at Zoro's waist, not seeing the familiar three swords that he seemed he could never part without.
Had he taken them off just so that he could sit and chat with you?
"You're a pretty nice person, Zoro."
"Ha?" he grumbled, looking over at you.
"You said you wanted a spar... right?" At that, he suddenly perked up, looking more awake than ever. An eager grin stretched across his face as he stared into your eyes with such pure happiness that it made you feel happy too.
And you didn't even like swords.
"So you'll spar with me?!" he practically shouted. You nodded your head, before putting a hand to your mouth, contemplating.
"Well, I don't think Merry is big enough to spar..." You looked over at the deck near the Going Merry's head. "I mean we could try over there," you pointed at where you had been previously staring at, "but I think it's better to spar on land-"
"Over there is fine," he spoke, cutting you off. "I'm just itching to see just how skilled of a swordsman you are."
You nodded your head in understanding, reaching down to pick up your bag.
Opening the flaps, you pull out your bokken, a smile on your face at the fact that it seems that you made his day.
"Very well then." Setting the bag down on your seat, you stuffed another scone in your mouth before moving up the deck. Pausing on the steps, you looked back at Zoro with a slightly nervous smile. "Er, I don't have another bokken, so can I borrow that?"
You pointed to the bandanna on his arm. Untying it, Zoro handed it over to you with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. He was confused.
"So what? You want me to fight you with my katanas?" You purse your lips, before nodding your head. He chuckled. "Didn't you say that you were scared of swords?"
You answered him as he walked over to pick up his three katanas.
"Well, I could always ask Usopp to fashion a bokken for you, but that would take too much time, and you don't seem like you'd want to wait that long." By the subtle smirk on his lips, you could very much assume that your assumption was on point. "Also, I think it's a good way to test your new katanas. Er, Yubashiri and Sandai Kietsu, was it?"
Zoro nodded his head, securing the blades on his waist.
"Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?" he questioned. "I could cut that bokken of yours in half easily." You flipped the said bokken in your hands, a small frown on your face.
"I-I am kind of nervous, but I've done this before," -you held the bandana up to your eyes, tying it securely on so that you couldn't see him- "so I think I'll be okay." The bandana smelled of sweat and dirt, but you made no comment on it. It was better than nothing.
Zoro widened his eyes slightly in intrigue and eagerness. To have the chance to spar with the pupil of the Greatest Swordsman was a once and a lifetime chance, for any other person. But Zoro had the chance of sparring with you more than that because you were a part of the crew, and he was itching to get stronger.
A little part of him was worried that he would accidentally harm you in the process, but said you did this before; you would be fine.
"Shishishishi!! Oooh! Are you guys going to spar?!" Luffy asked excitedly, jumping out of the tangerine trees. "Can I watch? I wanna see Y/n kick your ass!" Luffy laughed at Zoro's unamused expression.
"Oooh, a spar between two swordsman? Ms. Wednesday, doesn't this seem interesting?" Mr. 9 laughed a little as he sat by Luffy.
"Hmm, it does." Ms. Wednesday laughed when she saw the sight of you, blindfolded and holding your bokken. "Look at her, she looks like she's at a disadvantage."
"A spar, more like a blood cold murder." The two cackled madly before yelping in pain when Luffy bashed them both in the head with his fists. His eyes were dark as he glared at the duo.
"Don't talk that way to my First Mate. You underestimate her." Luffy's expression changed when he cupped his hands together to shout at you. "You can do it Y/n! Don't worry Zoro, I won't be disappointed when you lose!"
His words caused Zoro to growl.
"WHAT?! I know I'm going to lose, but I swear will skin you alive if you keep talking!"
It was at this time that Sanji, Usopp, and Nami decided to poke their heads out and see what all the commotion was about.
"Guys! Come on! Y/n and Zoro are going to spar!!" Luffy shouted to them. Sanji had turned so pale he looked like a ghost.
"Marimo! You bastard!! You harm a single hair on her head and I won't feed you!"
"Yeah, isn't this kind of bullying?" Usopp whispered to Nami, who shook her head.
"Luffy said that she was strong, we should trust him on that. But..." Nami watched you with a worried look on her face. "Y/n's blindfolded, how is she going to see the attacks? And Zoro's using real swords compared to her."
"Can you all just shut up and let us spar in peace?!" Zoro yelled. Luffy picked his nose, flinging his booger at Zoro, who yelped in surprise.
"You're going to lose," was all he said, before he continued to pick his nose.
"Why-why don't we start sparring then?" you spoke, head turning around. Zoro let out a 'tch' before pulling out his blades with a schwing (no, not like Hisoka). You tensed when you heard the familiar metal, and you were sure everyone noticed as well.
"Don't go easy on me, Y/n," he said before placing Wado Ichimonji in his mouth.
"I won't," you promised. Getting into a stance and holding the bokken in one hand, you let out a small smile as you spoke a few familiar words. "You may make the first move."
They were the same words that Mihawk had spoken to you on the first official day of training. He wore a blindfold over his eyes (much to your disappointment, those eyes were mesmerizing) and a bokken in his hands as he spoke the same words.
"You may make the first move."
That sentence alone reminded you of a game of chess that you played from time to time with your grandpas. And it spurred you on.
And then you got your ass handed to you.
But even then when you had sat on the ground, looking up at him with awe eyes, you remembered the praise and small smile he had given you. It was one of your first Master and Student moments, and it was the first time you had seen him smile since interacting with him.
Now that you stood before Zoro, bokken in your hand and blindfolded, you realized that you were in a similar situation, with one minor difference.
You were the Master now, and Zoro was the student.
Well, you weren't exactly a good teacher, but you could give him a few pointers.
Zoro chuckled a bit. "Don't underestimate me too much, Y/n."
And with that he was sprinting towards you at full speed.
While his words were slightly muffled due to the hilt in his mouth, you could understand his words, and it caused a soft smile to grow on your face.
I won't Zoro. Swordsman's pride. And with that, you placed both hands on your bokken.
The first clash had sent spirals of winds everywhere, causing the five spectators to squint to see what was happening. Luffy let out a bubble of laughter as he cheered in excitement. It was always so fun to see you spar. There was that one time where you accidentally thought Garp was Ace, and that had ended swell.
With Garp lying on the ground with a massive welt of course.
He remembered how you cried so tearfully when you realized what you had done. Your face was so distraught as you panicked around the old man, shaking him wildly in an attempt to get him to wake up. After you brief panic, you had realized that you could simply just heal him, and that had ended with a giant face palm.
Zoro grunted a little as he tried to force the bokken back, or at least cut it somehow, but it was shrouded in a tough black coating. It clashed with his swords like metal, creating and sending sparks flying.
With every move that Zoro attempted with his three katanas, you were somehow able to thwart them with a single move of your bokken. It was unbelievable, almost as if you could read his moves. But how could you, when you were blind folded? Were your senses just that good?
He swung Yubashiri down, only for you to quickly counter it with ease. Holding that position, he swung Sandai Kietsu sideways. He noticed you tense up immediately, and was about to halt his swing when you reacted quickly and jumped upwards, narrowly avoiding the attack.
"Woah..." Nami gasped, in awe with your swift and agile movements. It was like the two of you were performing a dance of some sorts for a festival, with the sparks that were sent flying between the two of you as the fireworks. "It's so beautiful."
"My beautiful Goddess is so strong!" Sanji exclaimed, watching you with heart eyes. It was at that moment you decided to pick up the speed, just a tad bit.
"Oh my god," Usopp muttered under his breath. "How-How is she moving so fast?!"
Zoro was finding it increasingly more difficult to keep up with your speed and your power. He was sure you weren't facing him at full strength by the way you were easily deflecting the onslaught of attacks.
Was this really how strong the student of Hawk-eye Mihawk was?
Zoro grinned as you stood still, deflecting everything he was hitting you with with movement so swift and precise. You were so fast, and your reaction time was just monstrous. Now he truly understood why Mihawk spoke of defeating you first; you were strong, everything about this spar proved it. He was still far too weak to face Mihawk.
He was going to get stronger, he had to, in order to achieve his dream.
"She-She's a monster!" Mr. 9 practically shouted, cowering with Ms. Wednesday. Now they could see why someone like you was able to cut through their cannons with ease. You were just so fucking powerful.
"Take that back you bastard," Sanji growled, stomping on Mr. 9's body. "Y/n's not a monster, she's an angel. Get your eyes checked."
"Yeah..." Usopp muttered. "I think it's her power that's monstrous. Just the fact that Zoro's somehow keeping up with her is just insane."
"Yeah," Nami agreed, hypnotized by the spar. "I- Y/N!"
Your footing faltered underneath you, and Zoro widened his eyes at the fact that he couldn't stop Sandai Kietsu from hitting you square in the ribs. You fell back first on the deck with a thud, and everyone scrambled to their feet to get to you.
"OH MY GOD SHE DIED!" Usopp screamed. "ZORO KILLED HER!"
"MURDER IN THE COURT! MURDER IN THE COURT!" Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday screamed, holding each other tightly.
"ZORO YOU BASTARD!!" Sanji growled, grabbing him by the collar. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?!"
"Pulse pulse, find a pulse!" Nami muttered to herself as she scrambled to find one.
All while this was happening, Luffy stood over your body, eyes shadowed by his straw hat. His body shook- trembled -as he watched everyone frantically panic.
He clenched his teeth, before he busted out laughing.
Everyone just froze still as they watched their captain laugh as if this whole thing was just hilarious. He had truly gone mad, hadn't he?
"Shishishishi! Y/n, when are you going to stop playing dead?"
You immediately shot up to a sitting position, scratching the back of your neck. Mr. 9, Ms. Wednesday, and Usopp stared at you, open mouthed, screaming bloody murder at the top of their lungs.
"SHE CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD!" they screamed in unison.
"I guess this prank got kind of old, didn't it?" you asked Luffy, giving him a big smile.
"PRANK?! YOU NEARLY GAVE US A HEART ATTACK!"
"You're alive..." Sanji whispered, holding you tightly in his arms and sniffling into your shoulder. "I was so scared. I was going to beat marimo up because of it."
You patted Sanji's back softly. You turned to stare up at Zoro who was staring at you with wide eyes. His shocked expression suddenly morphed into one of annoyance.
"So what, that whole thing was just a prank?" You laughed, fiddling with your hands in embarrassment.
"Ah... Sorry, but I did accidentally trip. So I didn't fake that part." You gave him an innocent little smile. "Sorry, that was a little mean of me, isn't it?"
"H-How did you even survive?!" Usopp asked. "I swore he cut you!! Why aren't you bleeding?" You made an "oh" expression, holding up your bokken, before pausing. Looking up at Luffy, you tilted your head.
"Permission to speak, Captain?" Luffy thought hard for a moment, before nodding his head.
"Permission granted! I wanna know what this thing is too. I looks cool." So in the end, his curiosity triumphed. Maybe it was a good thing, because Haki was hella useful. He was going to need it in the New World. Luckily, most people in Paradise didn't know what it was.
"It's haki." As a demonstration, you coated the whole wooden sword in a black sheen, before then demonstrating with your hand. "I used it to protect myself. There's three kinds of haki. This one's kind of like armor of some sort. It's called Busoshoku Haki."
Holding your arm out to Zoro, you motioned towards his sheathed swords.
"Try and cut me." You turned your head and closed your eyes as he unsheathed, gently and carefully running the blade along the black that coated your arm. It didn't go through.
"Wow..." Nami and Usopp marveled.
"That must be incredibly useful!" Nami spoke up, placing her hand on your arm to feel the armor. "Are there a lot of people who know this technique?" You nodded your head.
"Most pirates in the New World know this technique." Usopp, listening intently to your words, pointed out, "so it's different in Paradise?" You nodded your head.
"Not many people will use this technique." You suddenly stood up, dusting yourself off. "Well, sorry for scaring you guys, but I couldn't help it! I used to do it with Luffy to prank Ace and Sabo, so he kind of already knew this was going to happen."
Your eyes flickered over to Luffy, who grinned.
"It's still funny."
"I know," you laughed as you spoke. "Oh Zoro." He perked up at the sound of his name. "You're a pretty good swordsman. If you want, I can sometimes give you pointers. Maybe we should get a few bokkens for the ship. Just in case I accidentally uh, lose focus."
He nodded his head.
"You're pretty strong. I can see why Mihawk spoke so highly of you." Your eyes immediately brightened, and you eagerly stood next to Zoro.
"Really?! Master talked about me?! What did he say?!" There was an adorable and giddy expression on your face as you pestered him, and Zoro couldn't help but chuckle. You looked like you really looked up to Mihawk.
"He said that you were strong," he started. "And that I should take you on before attempting to beat him." You nodded, listening intently to his words.
"Wait- Wait, Mihawk?!" Mr. 9 croaked. "Hawk-eye Mihawk, the shichibukai?! That's your Master?!" He quickly grabbed his blue haired partner, pulling her away, both who looked scared shitless. Nami raised an eyebrow at their behavior, before noticing an island in the distance.
Her jaw dropped.
"NO WAY!" she practically screamed, running to the railing. You slipped your hand into Zoro's, walking over to Nami.
Sanji, feeling jealous, took your other hand, glaring at Zoro, who was just looking at him, confused as ever. That left only Usopp and Luffy, the latter who immediately sprinted to jump a bit on your back, wrapping his arms around your neck.
Usopp sighed at their behavior, jogging up to Nami's side who continued to stand frozen in shock. He waved a hand in front of her face. No reaction.
"Uh... Nami?" he asked.
"We're... Somehow..." She swallowed thickly. "I think... I think the wind pressure that Y/n created blew us all the way to Cactus Island." The words took a bit to sink in.
Wind pressure. Y/n. Cactus Island.
HOLY SHIT-
"JUST HOW POWERFUL ARE YOU?!"
---
"Mmm.... Pizza. Shit, this is good-" Shanks exclaimed in surprise. He turned to look at Sage with wide eyes. "Did you make this, because I can't see you making this."
"How insulting," Sage grumbled under his breath as he watched Corazon shovel pasta into his mouth. Good thing he decided to get pasta. They were currently at the dinning hall of the castle, with a few of the other Red-Haired Pirates.
By that, it was just Benn, Yasopp, and Lucky Roux, the latter who seemed to be having the time of his life devouring all the food that Sage brought.
Sage shook his head.
"But no, I did not make that pizza." He watched them all with amused expressions as they kept eating and eating like there was no tomorrow. Imagine their reactions when he brought the booze he stole from Hollow. He was sure the pirates would drink all the alcohol within a few hours.
"Or the pasta," he added, watching Corazon. There were literal tears streaming down his face as he kept eating the literal god tier food.
"*Denoodid?" Lucky Roux asked. (*Then who did)
"Oh, just the God of War, Fire, and the Kitchen. Nobody special-" They all choked in surprise, suddenly hacking their lungs out of food.
"WHAT?!"
"Dahahahaha!" Shanks laughed. "He must be a God in the Kitchen!" He laughed at his own joke. "No wonder it tastes good!"
"This is literal God Tier food," Yasopp commented in amazement.
"Oh yeah," Sage spoke. "Pirates all consume alcohol, so I thought I'd give you some of the alcohol I stole from Hollow." Snapping his fingers, literal barrels of booze materialized into thin air.
Corazon choked on his pasta.
"P-PIRATES?!" he shouted in surprise.
"YOU GUYS ARE ALL PIRATES?!" Shanks quirked a brow, drinking straight out of a barrel, some of the liquid spilling down his neck.
"Yeah, I didn't tell you? I'm a Yonko." Corazon was screaming internally.
"WHAT?! How much time has passed?!" Sage chuckled, clapping him on the shoulder. He grinned, revealing his sharp pearly whites.
"Hm... roughly fifteen years, I'd assume." His golden eyes glinted in amusement. "Why? Do you want to take a surprise visit to your brother? Oh that would be amusing, suddenly showing up at his doorstep in Dressrosa, and yelling 'surprise! Guess what, I'm alive'. It might give him a heart attack."
"Wait wait, brother?" Shanks asked confused, connecting the dots in his mind. Oh fuuuuuck. "Your brother's Doflamingo?!" he shouted, pointing his finger at Rosinante. "Oh shit- That's why you asked me!"
"Yeah," the Donquixote said. "And he killed me." He shoveled more pasta into his mouth.
"Wow, what a shit brother." Shanks frowned a little. "Now I feel like a douchebag for asking if he killed you. Sorry about that."
Corazon waved him off.
"I did betray him, especially when he found out I was a marine-"
"YOU'RE A MARINE?!"
The entrance to the dinning hall suddenly swung open with a large resounding crack, causing all the yelling to cease. Their heads swiveled to the side to spot a beautiful woman with dark chocolate skin, and long black hair in dreads. There was a scowl on her face as she scanned the room, searching, until they landed on Sage.
"Oi you beast, I did as you asked." Her deep and silky voice was all that was heard as there was confusion within the pirates (plus marine). "She really is quite a nimble one, I had quite a difficult time dealing with her."
Sage nodded his head. "So? What did you think?"
"Blood is as red as rubies," she shifted her body so that she leaned against one of the tables. Stuffing her hand in her coat pocket, she pulled out a small vile full of red liquid.
It was quite clear as to what that was.
"You can see for yourself. She didn't even realize I nicked her right on the arm. I probably would have gotten more if that clown didn't get in the way." Her voice was a little sour at the last part.
Rolling her neck, she tossed the vial over, and Sage lifted his hand up to easily grasp it.
"There you go. That's your answer." She picked at her nails absentmindedly before her eyes sharpened into slits, gazing intensely into Sage. "And now, my reward."
There was no question in her voice, but a demand. Sage let out a hum as he examined the blood, tilting around with a small frown. Lifting his gaze, he gave her an amused grin.
"Have all the spaghetti you want." There was no hesitation as she ran to the kitchen, running back out with platters upon platters of spaghetti.
Corazon's jaw dropped at the sight of her devouring the food. Shanks and his crew busted out laughing at the sudden change of mood, amused by the fact that her reward was simply spaghetti.
It reminded Shanks of Luffy, just a tad bit.
"Wait wait wait," Rosinate spoke up. "Who exactly is she?"
"Oh," Sage shoved the vial in his pocket, "That's Kiah. Just a warning, she might ask you for a fight once she's full."
---
"Achoo!"
"Gross. Next time, resort to using a tissue, rather than my bedsheets, you disgustingly disease ridden bird," Crocodile grumbled under his breath. His words earned a glare from both birds in the room. He caught eyes with Mihawk, rolling his eyes at him.
"You know who I'm talking about, so don't look so offended."
"I'm not offended, I'm just rather disgusted." Mihawk watched Crocodile as he ate the meat in his platter of food. "When you mentioned you had something to discuss, I didn't think this... would occur."
Mihawk gestured to the large bed they were all sitting in, dining together like they were having some sleepover or some shit. The bed had to be at least twice the size of a regular king size bed to be able to accomodate the three of them, and the piles of food and pictures (cough cough your pictures) on the bed.
"Fufufufu~" Doflamingo chuckled. "I believe someone is talking about me. Ooh I do hope it's my little princess."
His eyes wandered over to Crocodile.
"But Crocodile, you do make me curious..." Crocodile raised a brow at the two shichibukai who were watching him eat intently. "Would you consider that... cannibalism?"
He clicked his tongue.
"What I eat does not concern you," he grumbled.
A bananawani passed by the window of the underground bedroom, staring at the three shichibukai, before swimming off.
"Do you keep those things as livestock?" Doflamingo inquired, pointing at the other bananawani on the other side of the glass. "Why else would you eat crocodiles and have so many of them at bay?" The flamingo shichibukai turned to look at Mihawk. "What do you think, Mihawk? Do you think that Crocodile is a cannibal?"
"I don't care."
"Fufufufu~ You're no fun," he teased, poking him in the shoulder. "Oh well, at least you decided to treat me to some lobster, I do appreciate the sentiment, Crocodile, so I'll let the knowledge of your cannibalism slide~"
"I'm not a fucking cannibal."
"Whatever you say~" Mihawk took a long sip of his wine, before his lips left the rim. He swirled the red liquid in the glass goblet (not a chalice, there's a difference), not taking his eyes off of it as he spoke up.
"What did you call us for? It better not be because you wanted more photos of my student, or I'm leaving." He took another sip of his red wine. "I need to make sure she's alright."
Crocodile ate the last of his (questionable) meat, setting the plate aside on the nightstand before clearing his throat.
"I noticed that many familiar pirates are gathered here in Alabasta, and after visiting one, I do believe that Y/n will make an appearance here."
The two shichibukai perked up, leaning closer to the sand logia user.
Oh, now this had their attention.
"Oh? And who did you happen to visit?" Doflamingo asked.
"A man by the name of Basil Hawkins."
A knock at the door caused the three of them to still.
"Who is it?" Crocodile called out. The door slowly swung open to reveal his Vice President and partner, Nico Robin. She gave him a small amused smile, noting him, Doflamingo, and Mihawk, all who appeared to be in close discussion with one another.
"I hope you're enjoying your little slumber party, because I received a message from Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday." Crocodile waved her off.
"Just deal with it yourself. I'm busy." Robin's eyes glinted.
"I can see that." She turned on her heel, hand on the door as she tilted her head back to give the three a smile. "Have fun with your slumber party~ Don't stay up too late or you won't get any work done."
And with that, the door shut behind her.
Doflamingo busted out laughing. "What an amusing little partner you have, Crocodile." Crocodile huffed, grabbing a cigar from off the nightstand, lighting it up with the lighter that he had.
"Shut up."
"Basil Hawkins, you said?" The two turned their heads to gaze at Mihawk who had a contemplative look on his face.
"Yes," Crocodile answered, feeling a small tug on his coat. He casted a glance over at Doflamingo, who gave him an innocent little smile.
"Oh? Isn't that one of the rookies who have a bounty of over 100 million berries? Last time I checked, I do believe he was worth 120 million berries." There was another tug on Crocodile's coat, but he chose to ignore it.
Doflamingo was just trying to get a reaction out of him, was all.
"He's good at telling fortunes." Doflamingo snorted slightly, prodding Crocodile's cheek with a long, slender finger.
"Getting fortunes told now, are you?" he teased. "I bet you were wondering if you and my little princess would ever get together. Of course, he would say no~"
"I didn't. I have more priorities than that little idiot." He folded his arms together, looking off to the side.
Doflamingo and Mihawk exchanged glances, before shrugging their shoulders. As long as Crocodile was still deep in denial (or in the Nile lol) it was none of their concern. Less competition, the better after all.
"Well there are some things we can agree on," Mihawk muttered, taking another long sip of wine. "She is a little idiot." He leaned over to grab the bottle of wine, pouring himself another glass.
"An adorable one, you forget," Doflamingo added, stealing the wine and pouring it down his throat, much to Mihawk's dismay.
"That was mine," he stated.
"And- now it's gone. Fufufufu~ Don't look so pissed. I'm sure Crocodile has more to offer. After all," he turned his attention to the man lounging on the bed, smoking a cigar. "It seems that we'll be staying for just a few weeks longer."
"Tch, find a hotel."
Except they all knew it wasn't going to happen.
"Fucking, stop tugging on my coat!"
------------------------------
I edited Y/n's dream to be a little more ridiculous because being powerful is stupid when you're already powerful. Also, I'm going to be taking a break from writing to collect my thoughts about this story, so I might be gone for a few weeks, or months. Or I might be back next week, who knows~
Only I know of course.
P.S. Arabasta's going to get a little wild.
P.P.S I got a question. Arabasta or Alabasta?