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standfucker · 4 months

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Finding Out You’re Stronger Than Them - Logia Edition (Crocodile)

"Cold Blooded"

Characters: Crocodile

Reader: GN

Word Count: 3.2k

CW: smoking, mildly suggestive, reader has body mods

Summary: “Come on, Sir. If you’re so upset about the money, I could give it back. I don’t really need it,” you roll your eyes on the ‘really,’ “but I don’t intend on walking away empty-handed. You understand. Us cold-blooded types get what we want, right?”

-Thanks to @quinloki for beta'ing as my usual beta, @zoros-sheath, got sick. (Love you both, glad you're on the mend, Mama.)

Ao3 Link

Wealth was not Sir Crocodile’s ultimate goal, his burgeoning ambitions far grander than mere riches. But the vast quantity of treasure that had been stolen from him was not something he could ignore. Civil wars needed funding, and with over half of his hoard disappeared overnight–a feat that should be physically impossible–he couldn’t make the payment on the firearms he had shipped out.

He sends a pair of Officer Agents to take care of it, neither of whom report back. In the radio silence, he sends another, stronger duo this time. They also seem to vanish. Fed up, he finally sends his best, Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger.

Instead of hearing back from them, Crocodile finds the six bodies of his strongest Officer Agents dumped unceremoniously outside of his smoking room, beaten to shit and unconscious, but alive.

You're waiting for him inside, an unassuming masked figure picking through his humidors like you own the place.

"You picked a beautiful country to play with,” you say without looking up, inspecting an expensive cigar. “I just love the landscape of Alabasta...reminds me of home."

For a minute, he just stares, mentally running through the list of people he knows in the underworld who can both pull off a heist like that and beat his best assassins bloody. Your lavish jewelry suggests affluence, his eye especially drawn to the gold bracelet on your wrist. There’s a huge ruby mounted onto the band that’s jogging his memory in a bad way. You keep talking in the meantime.

"Sorry to invade on your private time. I understand the necessity of a good smoke break, but you wouldn’t grace me with your presence, so I had to take matters into my own hands."

You tuck the cigar behind your ear, take off your mask, and turn to face him. There are some differences from your bounty poster: You’ve changed your hair, and there’s now a gnarled scar stretching diagonally over your face, narrowly missing your eye. But the snakebite piercings are the same, as are the small, transdermal spikes implanted above your eyes, painted gold to represent your namesake.

“You’re the Thief King, Sidewinder,” Crocodile says slowly. Even with the facial scar, you’re beautiful, skin reflecting the moonlight coming through the window.

You smile at his recognition. “In the flesh.”

“It’s rare for you to leave the New World.”

“Seems you've heard a bit about me.” You look surprised at that.

“You’re a Devil Fruit user, but since you prefer to use Haki, little is known about your ability," Crocodile says, and your eyes widen. "Beyond stealing, your motives are a mystery, as you don’t engage in power struggles, nor do you rule any territory. The lack of land means no one knows where you keep your spoils.”

Of course he's heard of you. He knows the shock is an act, too. Sure enough, your expression relaxes into a casual smile. Crocodile bites down harder on his cigar. You’re notorious for targeting powerful people and getting away with it, but he'll be damned if you make a fool of him.

Crocodile takes off his jacket and tosses it onto a lounge chair. Cracking his neck, he starts to approach you. "Here are your options, thief," he says. "You can return what you've stolen willingly. Or, I can peel the nails from your fingers and rip the teeth from your skull, one by one, until you tell me where it is."

“How frightening.” You tilt your head, hands in your pockets as he gets closer. “Whatever will I do?”

He fires his hook at you, left arm becoming sand and extending. You calmly step around it, dodging by a fraction. He withdraws his hook and fires again; you step to the other side. Keeping his arm extended, he sweeps it out to the side to catch you. You duck, bending far back in an impressive show of flexibility, hands never leaving your pockets. He swings the column of sand at your feet, you hop over it. With every dodge, you move closer to him.

“I’m flattered you recognized me despite the differences from my bounty poster,” you say, pausing in your approach. “You, on the other hand, look almost exactly the same as yours. Except…” You look him up and down, seeming impressed. “I must say, Sir, the poster doesn’t do you justice.”

Rage simmers beneath Crocodile’s cool demeanor. He hates how genuine you sound–it feels more like mockery than true admiration to him. Moving faster, he forms a blade of sand with his right hand and hurls it at you.

“Desert Spada!”

You easily match his speed, side-stepping so the blade cuts through the bookshelf behind you instead. It collapses, sending a heap of wood and fine hardbacks to the floor.

“Careful now,” you chide, shining eyes focused on him.

Undeterred, he strikes again, and again, and again. Each time, you dodge effortlessly, moving with a light, fluid grace. It’s almost as if you’re dancing with him–he can see how you earned your nickname. Furniture crumbles behind you as it’s sliced and smashed to pieces. The more he attacks, the more you avoid, the angrier he gets.

Amidst the chaos, Crocodile suddenly realizes you’ve had yet to break eye contact with him, your own eyes slightly narrowed, assessing. There’s a faint smile on your face.

You're playing with him.

That only pisses him off further. He won’t become another one of your victims–Crocodile races through plans in his head as he unleashes another Desert Spada, keeping you moving as he thinks. He won’t let this end with anything but his own gain. He’ll trap you and torture you until he finds out both where his money is, and where the rest of your hoard is stashed.

You’ll regret having ever made a target out of him.

Crocodile fires off both arms at you, hook aiming for your lower half to force you to jump, while his right arm forms a blanket of sand at the ground. When you inevitably land on it, he’ll be able to grab your leg and hold you still.

As he predicts, you jump over his hook and land on the sand–but somehow, for some reason, your feet do not sink in. It’s as if there’s something solid under your feet, letting you stay at the surface. At first, he’s not certain of how you’re doing it. Crocodile withdraws the sand blanket back toward him, aiming to make you trip, but you don’t so much as lose balance, simply walking forward over the sand like there are hidden stepping stones within it.

Crocodile rapidly withdraws his hook, going to catch your neck. You duck again, even doing a little twirl as you do, as if to hammer home the fact that he can’t destabilize you.

Both Crocodile’s arms revert to their usual shapes, and he stares you down. You’re only a few feet from him now. Whatever you did to avoid slipping, it must be your Devil Fruit.

“You’re making an awful mess,” you say.

“Why did you really come to Alabasta?” Crocodile questions. “It’s a long voyage from the New World–there’s plenty of game for you there.”

“I came to see you.” Again, your words carry nothing but sincerity, and you won’t stop looking into his eyes. Your own are sparkling with mischief.

“You robbed me.”

“That was just to get your attention.”

“Careful what you wish for, thief–” Crocodile fires off a sudden attack now that you’re close. You bend back, not fully dodging it, your shirt getting sliced wide open, “–because you’ve got…it...” His words slow as he sees beneath your shirt: you’re wearing lace underneath your clothes, as well as a leather harness. He frowns, trying to figure out what it all means.

“I’m liking the energy, but will you settle down a sec? You’re destroying your lovely smoking room.”

“You attacked my officers.”

“Your lackeys are lacking.” You grin to yourself at your wordplay. “Aside from that blade guy. Mr. 1, I think it was? He was more fun than the others. Couldn’t go the distance, but entertained me for a few minutes. He wasn’t your strongest goon, was he?”

Crocodile’s face twists up in rage, giving away the answer.

“He was? Goodness… Don’t you wish you had someone stronger?” You grin. “Maybe we could help each other.”

“I don’t need your help,” he spits.

“Whatever you say,” you chirp. Then your eyes darken. “My turn now.”

You disappear. A split second later, you’ve grabbed his arm and hurled him straight through his door as if he weighed nothing. He bounces once, then catches himself, skidding backwards as he looks up, but you’re already behind him, grabbing and throwing him right back into the room.

Crocodile lets his form break up into sand, re-forming a distance away to give him a moment to spot you. His head whips left and right; you instead come from above, a brutal axe kick to his head that throws him onto his hands and knees. Pain thuds through his skull, and he clenches his teeth. Every time you make contact, there’s a moment he can’t transform. It’s that damned Haki of yours–he needs to become sand in the time you’re away from him. He dissipates once more, moving in a random direction away. You aren’t deterred at all–Observation Haki, too, it must be– as you’re right in front of him when he re-forms.

“Boo!” you hold your hands up like claws, making Crocodile flinch, and you smile, showing pointed canines. “Come on, Sir. I know you can do better than this.”

He can’t even bring his arms up to block before you punch him, black-fisted, directly in the solar plexus. He gasps, nearly dropping his cigar, body locking up for a moment before his knees buckle and hit the ground. There’s a faint smell of smoke that he realizes is coming from burned spots in the floor–from your feet?

Just what was your Devil Fruit power? If he didn’t figure it out, he might actually lose.

Suddenly you’re sitting on his shoulders, legs draped over his chest. Before he can move, you grab him by the root of the hair and yank his head back so you’ve forced him to look into your eyes. You have the cigar you stole in your mouth. Holding his head still, you lean forward and touch the tip of your cigar to his, lighting yours with an inhale. Then you exhale in his face.

Enraged, Crocodile grabs you by the neck and slams you into the floor. You grunt. He lifts and slams you again, then lifts you one more time, arm extending fast to harshly slam you into the wall. He follows swiftly, tightening his grip. He can’t kill you yet, not yet.

“I gotta say, Sir,” you say, a little strained, still smiling, “you seem to know exactly what I’m into.”

Crocodile brings his hook to your pretty face. Maybe he’ll give you another scar. Your eyes drop down to the sharp tip of his hook, then back up to his. You open your mouth, letting the cigar fall out. Then, slowly, keeping full eye contact, you lick along the hook.

Oh. You have a body mod there, too–a split tongue, each side curving around the hook and sliding up, their tips scraping the point of it. Caught off guard, Crocodile can only stare, feeling his blood surge and his pulse quicken. You smile knowingly.

“Everyone wants to know what it feels like.”

Another one of your tricks. He won’t fall for it, not when he literally has you in his clutches. Your Haki may be powerful, but you’ve made a mistake letting him make contact with you like this. He’ll simply dehydrate you, drawing out just enough moisture for you to cling to life, and will only grant you water when you tell him what he wants to know.

Crocodile focuses.

Nothing happens.

His brow furrows, gritting his teeth, and he focuses again. You stay utterly whole and perfect.

“Why isn’t it working?” you say. “Why won’t I shrivel up? Is that what you’re thinking? Maybe I just can’t stay dry when you play rough with me like this.”

“Once I have my funds back,” Crocodile hisses, “I’m going to kill you so slowly you’ll beg me for death.”

“Come on, Sir. If you’re so upset about the money, I could give it back. I don’t really need it,” you roll your eyes on the ‘really,’ “but I don’t intend on walking away empty-handed. You understand. Us cold-blooded types get what we want, right?”

“What is it you want, Thief?”

“I want you to think of more constructive ways to vent your frustrations.”

Crocodile’s about to stab your face when his hand starts burning where it’s made contact with your neck. Iron-hot, he can’t hold on and drops you. Thinking quickly, he follows it up by bringing a blade of sand down on you while you’re beneath him.

It all happens in a moment: You catch the sand blade. A searing, scorching heat runs through his arm. The sand instantly becomes glass.

Your fingers dig into the glass and shatter it one-handed, your predatory gaze reflected in the thousand falling pieces all around him.

He’s stunned. At that moment, you grab him by the shirt collar and pull him down to your level, close to your face.

“You know, baby crocodiles, before they grow into apex predators, are prey for pretty much everything,” you smile. “Birds, fish, wild pigs… Snakes…”

You throw him onto the ground, the rubble digging into his back, and straddle his chest.

“You may be a threat in Paradise,” you continue, “but you’d get eaten alive in the New World. That’s why you left, isn’t it? Couldn’t hold your own among monsters like Whitebeard.”

Whitebeard. Crocodile grimaces at the mention, still feeling the sting of that loss. You shake your head.

“Now now, don’t feel bad,” you say. “He got me too.” You point to your scar. “Crusty geezer almost took my damn eye out, but not before I robbed him. He’s gotten slow.”

Suddenly, he remembers where he’s seen your bracelet, recognizing it as one of Whitebeard’s rings, one he had gotten decked by in the past. You stole the ring right off Whitebeard’s finger. He stares at you, starting to become aware of the difference between the two of you.

“You can’t beat me in strength,” you say simply, “what will you do?”

You’re right–he can’t beat you in strength. But he didn’t become the Desert King by being the strongest one. No, it’s never been about brute force. Crocodile takes in your shining eyes, your harness and lace, the sultry words you’ve been dropping, connecting the dots.

Grabbing you by the harness, Crocodile pulls you down to him for a kiss, crashing his lips into yours. As he suspected, you immediately reciprocate, parting your lips and licking into his mouth. Your split tongue is a potent distraction, as is your little moan, riling him up more than he expects. Behind you, his unsheathed, poison hook is poised to sink into your neck. You smile against his lips.

A second later, you’ve snapped the hook off its base and stabbed it into his shoulder.

“Heh… Did you think I’d fall for that?” you purr, licking your lips.

“What do you really want?” Crocodile growls.

“You’re far too smart not to have picked up on that by now. Or do you need me to spell it out for you?” You pull the hook out of his shoulder and toss it over yours, licking the blood from your finger. “You want motives? I pick strong targets because I'm bored. Everything I do, I do to entertain myself. But stealing doesn’t meet every need... I’m certain a man of your status is not wanting for company. But I’ve found that monsters like us tend to only feel sated when we’re with other monsters. Catch my drift?”

“So you’re thrill-seeking,” Crocodile says slowly.

“Please. ‘Thrill’ implies my life is in danger. It is what I’m offering you, though,” you smile. “Not that you need to worry, Sir. I won’t hurt you…unless you ask me nicely.”

“You rob me, beat up my men, and you expect me to sleep with you?” he says, incredulous.

“Not for free. I have an offer to make.”

He’s insulted you’d consider him no better than a whore, and spits out his next words.

“I don’t negotiate with thieves.”

“Let’s cut the illusion of rank. Becoming king of this land won’t erase your pirate background. You’re every bit the conniving cheat that I am.” You laugh. “I’ll return your treasure regardless. Chump change like that is meaningless to me. After passing a certain point of wealth, you start dealing in favors instead. So here’s my offer to you: Entertain me for the night. Do a good job, and I’ll join your little syndicate for a while. My power at your whim to use. I’ll let you order me around…” you trail a finger down his chest, “and I’ll behave until the end of our contract, at which point, you’re free to try and kill me again.”

A demonstration, Crocodile realizes as you get off of him. That’s what this all was: a demonstration of power, all so you could get what you wanted.

“If you only wanted to sleep with me,” he says, getting to his feet, “you could have just asked.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” you chuckle. “Really, though. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have fought me. This wasn’t going to go anywhere until you understood the gulf that spans between us. Now, you know that when you shove me against a wall, it’s because I let you.”

You dust yourself off and stick your hands back in your pockets like nothing had happened, idly kicking a piece of rubble. Meanwhile, the gears are turning in Crocodile’s head. You defeated Mr. 1 in mere minutes, allegedly. You tossed his own self around like it was nothing, and made him look like a second-rate pirate, much less a king. You have both types of Haki and an unknown Devil Fruit… All in all, an invaluable asset to be under his control. He regards you coolly. You’re waiting patiently for his response.

“So what’ll it be?” you say, sensing he’s made a decision. “I get to have a little fun, you get your most powerful minion yet. We both win.”

“How long would you intend to work for me?” Crocodile asks.

“Depends on your performance,” you shrug. “Let’s start with a few months, and after that, well. If you make it worth sticking around…” your eyes half-lid, letting the implication hang. “Sound like a good deal to you?” You hold out your hand in offering. When Crocodile takes it, you give that predatory smile. “I look forward to working for you, Sir.”

“From now on, you’ll call me Mr. Zero,” he replies, then pauses. “...You can call me Sir in private.”

You grin. “Sorry about your smoking room. Really.”

“Nevermind that. I’ll have someone clean it up. More importantly,” Crocodile says, “what's your Devil Fruit? I’m ordering you to tell me.”

“I can amplify the force of friction,” you respond obediently. “I'm an abrasion human.”

“...You certainly are,” Crocodile says. “It suits you.”

“I think you’ll find, tonight, that it suits you too.” You smile, tugging on your harness lightly. “So, when do we start?”

Crocodile pins you to the wall.

You let him.

#one piece imagines #crocodile x reader #x reader #one piece x reader #zen writes

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gildedmuse · 4 years

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So... I have this bad habit where sometimes, when attempting to summarize the idea for a fic, I go into waaay too much detail.

Like, I don't go as far as to actually wrote the damn thing because, you know, effort and laziness, but... Well, it's a close call. It gets to the point where it's less a summary and more what my friends use to call a Quick Fic. All that's .kissing is the actual dialogue and descriptive narration.

Having said that....

Here is a "summary" of an ZoLaw AU where Law works for Doflamingo...

What happened was, basically, Law got caught by Doflamingo after eating the devil's fruit which eventually allowed him to cure his dieses, thus why he's still alive. Or, at least, isn't dead from lead poisoning. Because let's face it, Doflamingo could have just killed the boy then and there. Sure, he'd have to find the fruit all over again, but better that the deal with this little traitor

Except really it was his brother who had been the traitor. Law is still just a child, and children can be so suspectable to any number of ideas so long as an adult gives them a pat on the head and a treat after.

Which is when Doflamingo realizes that he can just manipulate Law into being another loyal follower. Then eventually - when he's no longer useful - Doffy will have him sacrifice his life for his own immortality. By that point Law will be family, and family never lets Doffy down. Not anymore.

So it's under Doffy's personal tutorage that Law grows up, and as much as he might resit the man who imprisoned Corazon, it's hard not to eventually fall to all Doflamingo's sweet praise and promised. And Law gets what he had wanted all along: a way to get back at the world that willingly watched his home wiped off the official world map and would be happy to see the entire town dead to the very last one. This Law truly earns his title Surgeon of Death, acting as the top officer of Hearts in the Doflamingo crime family. And yet despite his cruelty, he isn't even on the government's wanted list; protected under the Shichibukai's jolly roger.

In the meantime, the Strawhats are still doing their thing right on through Punk Hazard (which they somehow manage to not only live through but actually do more damage and cause twice as much chaos. The biggest difference is that Ceaser and Monet escape and Sanji can't perv out over being in Nami's body). So this time when they roll into Dressrosa it's less "backing up the plan of an ally" and much more "on complete and total accident" and "without a damn clue".

Yeah, basically they're the Grand Line's easiest prey.

But, hey, it works out! Well, no, not really. But Sanji does meet Violet, Luffy meet Sabo and help recover Ace's devil's fruit, and Zoro does get lost and require a magic fairy guide. Plus, hey, since they're not really there for any purpose other than that they happened to be passing by, it's not like they can't pull a dine and dash. They may be unprepared, but The Monster Trio can still keep up the fight until everyone is back on the Sunny.

A perfect escape!

Except no.

Because Luffy isn't totally ready to leave, not when he wants to know more about what Sabo is doing and help his new friend Rebecca. Not that they have time to debate the merits of staying or pulling a tactical retreat since at that poing Big Momma is on their ass. And that scary dude in the long black coat is still somehow following them, teleporting himself through the fucking air like wtf why is this happening now!? Nami is forced to make an executive decision: they're can't stay. Also, oh God oh God they're trapped and they're going to be killed and oh God.

It's moments like these you're almost thankful one of your crew members is a total maniac. Because in the middle of all this mess, Zoro just smirks, tells Nami to just concentrate on getting away from that annoying ass ship, he's got their other attacker covered. Which only makes everyone freaks out MORE because what is Zoro thinking: he'll be killed! ("Not immediately, of course. First they'll likely torture him for information, perhaps even kill him as slowly as possible." / "What? Why would you say that? That is not SUPER helpful to hear right then!") The Sunny goes into an all out panic attack. Everyone is yelling or crying or both.

Except Luffy.

Luffy who looks at Zoro, at the singing ship, at the dark power user trying to slash their ship apart, at the shore line of this island and the way it radiates a fake happiness covering Rebecca's very real pain. Luffy who just lowers his hat over his eyes and gives the nod.

Zoro smiles, and is immediately almost clobbered by a giant Chopper. What is Luffy saying? Don't they realize that is the same guy who almost took down Sanji, Zoro AND Luffy only moments ago? Zoro can't fight him alone! Sanji, more calm than the rest, lights a cigarette while explaining that he's not trying to stop Zoro from getting himself killed or anything, but Chopper is right. That guy was incredibly tough, and there's no way Zoro can do it alone ("Shut up dartbrow! You don't know what the hell you're talking about! I could take him down with just the two swords! With one hand behind my back!" / "He already kicked your ass once, Marimo! Or have you forgotten because of all the head trauma!?" / "The only reason he kicked OUR asses is because YOU kept getting in my way you damn weak-ass cook!" / "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, IDIOT MARIMO!?") Franky tries to regulate the fight but he's busy blocking those deadly aimed slashes from hitting his poor ship while Brook and Kin'emon work on stopping the incoming cannon balls. Either way they're going to have to do something SUPER fast if they want to get out of here. Yeah, Luffy, we need an actual plan. We can't just send Zoro out to-

"Zoro", Luffy says and despite everything going on around them the deck of the Sunny goes really quiet. They all know that tone. "Zoro, I need you to take care of this until we can get back. I still need to kick Mingo's ass for a friend."

At the sound of his captain's no nonsense voice, Zoro is suddenly easily able to stand, shrugging off the pile of people trying to stop him from jumping to his death (and by pile of people I do mean the coward trio and Sanji, who is mostly just trying to get in a few kicks). He draws Wado, clutching the katana in his teeth and yet still somehow manages what you know is a smirk. It's a promise.

And like that, Zoro is launching himself right into the blue sphere of the battle.

A battle against one of Doflamingo's top officers. A devil's fruit user with a twisted heart and home field advantage. Needless to say, it does not end well for our hero.

—🧡—

Although, Law has to give his rival swordsman some credit. He has his share of fun toying with the boy, and despite never standing any real chance of victory Law can admit the strawhat pirate puts up a better fight than most. Far better than Law had been expecting from some one so new to the New World (supposedly he got Mihawk to agree to train him, but Law has met the Hawk Eye and finds the idea utterly absurd). Then there is the way his smile had just an edge of what Law could only call manical delight, even when it became clear he'd long lost. This greenhaired kid really is stupid enough to believe his captain will come back for him. As though he would come charging back into Doflamingo's territory a second time just to retrieve a single crew member. One who was not only crazy enough to sacrifice himself but couldn't even win the fight. At the same time the swordman's loyalty and faith - as misplaced as it is - is kind of... Adorable. Who knew someone could come so far on the Grand Line and still be so innocent?

Law immediately wants to corrupt it.

Thes other family members will whine tell you, Doffy has always had... Let's say... A "soft spot" for Law. He's spoiled that brat for years, is what they mean but don't dare to say. Sure enough, Law barely has to work to talk Doffy around to letting him personally see to the prisoner's arrangements. Doflamingo is a little suspecious at first (he can never truly trust Law, not after the Corazon incident), but he quickly dismisses it. He's had the Heart Officer's loyalty for years now.

Of course, when he sees the spark of interest light in his apprentice as they eye their newest spoils of war, he can't help but tease Law. After all, Zoro is quite an enticing young man and Law isn't the only one there who likes pretty things. They're so fun to destroy which - judging from the way Law shivers when Doffy runs a hand through thick green hair before yanking the boys head back against the wall hard enough to leave the young captive panting and dizzy - is precisely his protege's plan.

(Doflamingo also happens to know Zoro almost definitely had trained under Mihawk, and he would love to see his fellow warlord's eyes flash with barely contained anger when he learns how Doflamingo has broken his favorite toy. It's not his fault - Mihawk is always so uptight and repressed, it makes agonizing him too much fun for Doflamingo to resist.)

In the end, though, he knows when Law's determination is set. And for whatever reason the boy has decided he absolutely has to be the one to keep their guest "comfortable" while his captain makes up his mind on what he'll do. So Doflamingo only teases for a bit - touches a little, plays with the barely conscious boy kneeling at his feet, enjoys the way Zoro still has enough spirit left to try taking bite when Doffy's fingers trail to close to his bloody lips (oh, and, what a joy! Law nearly growls at the prospect of not being the one to ruin the boy!) - but eventually he stops his little game. He gives in, telling Law to have fun with his treasure. He is the one who took him down after all. It is only fair he keeps him.

Just try not to completely break the poor thing, not until Strawhat returns for him.

Law snorts at the very idea. This is hardly the first time they'd done this. He's never seen a single captain try and retrieve their stolen property (he has of course, but he doesn't remember them). He doesn't see why Strawhat-ya would be particularly special.

Before Doflamingo can come up with a clever, vague answer about Law trusting him, Zoro suddenly gives a bark of laughter that would have scared lesser men senseless. It only serves to draw the two men's interest back to their little pet.

Luffy won't come back for him, Zoro confirms, much to Law's surprise (he personally never thought Strawhat-ya would, but then why would the swordsman sacrifice himself so willingly for a man he has so little faith in?) and has Doflamingo raising an eyebrow in.... Interest. Zoro looks at both of them with no fear, like he hadn't taken a humiliating defeat and is even now bloody and chained up, helplessly listening in on these two infamous pirates talk about him like he is a mere object. Actually, if anything, he appears to be wearing a smirk under all that blood. Because he knows something they don't.

Luffy won't come back for him, because his captain knows Zoro doesn't need to be rescued.

To Law, this makes Zoro look like an even sweeter treat. Doflamingo is simply amused, remarking that perhaps their little pup has yet to realize the leash around his neck is shaped like a noose.

Zoro meets his gaze, steady yet daring. He promised Luffy that he'd take care of it, and so that is what he will do. He'll never go back on his word, especially when it comes to his captain. Something Doflamingo with his distrusting and fear-toed crew couldn't understand. So see, their plan to use Zoro as bait will never work, because Zoro swore to Luffy that he'd be take care of it. So he will. Luffy has enough faith in Zoro that he'd never believe anything less and would never turn around out of doing to try and mount a rescue.

No, when Luffy comes back it will be for the sole purpose of kicking Doflamingo's ass.

The mood darkens. In a flash, Doflamingo is in back in front of him, yanking Zoro forward by the chin. He squeezes hard enough to bruise. You can hear the cracking of bone as he explains to Zoro exactly how precarious his current position is only to grow second by second more frustrate by Zoro's completely lack of fear. So he squeezes harder. He slams the boys head back into the wall and starts smiling when he gets a since from the stoic swordsman.

Before he can do any real damage Law steps in, reminding Doffy that he promised him he could have the boy. And just like that, Doflamingo's whole mood appears to shift back to calm. He puts on his fake smile and let's Zoro go, even pets the boy's hair. Of course, he had promised. And he, too, is a man of his word. Something Zoro will surely learn in time now that he is one of them.

Zoro, now with blurred vision and the taste of fresh blood on his tongue, is smart enough not to answer. But not smart enough to lower his head or try and appear humbled. Lucky for him, Doflamingo decides the boy isn't worth it. When he turns around he notes the hungry way Law is eyeing the kneeling prisoner behind him. Which brings a crueller, yet more genuine, smile to Doffy's featurss. The Strawhats vice captain may act invincible now, but he's never faced Doflamingo's own Surgeon Of Death. As disinterested and put off as Law might usually act, the boy can be dangerously twisted. He's sure his top officer will break the young pirate down bit by bit - both literally and figuratively - long before his captain can come running back in to try and find him (and Doflamingo is sure Strawhat will, no matter what Zoro might think).

He leaves with one last reminder to Law not to completely shatter the infamous Pirate Hunter. No, Doffy would hate to see their newest family member treated so poorly, especially seeing as he has much bigger plans in store for the young Mr. Roronoa. Specifically, he wants to see the face of Monkey D Luffy when he watches as the last bit of his first mate's spirit broken.

And because Doffy practically raised the boy and knows exactly the right buttons to push, he decides to give Law a little extra motivation to bring Zoro to that point. Just in case that interest turns into something dangerous like longing or - laughable as it is - actual fondness. It's so simple, too: as he walks by he simply whispers how there is nothing like crushing the heart of unrequited love.

It will be such a treat, tearing Zoro from his captain, and watching Luffy realize he's lost his chance to love the other man, wouldn't it Law? What a truly tragic romance. It almost makes you hope the two of them at least had some time together. Law didn't happen to give them a moment along before forcing Zoro to throw himself into the fight, hmm? Just a small, precious second or so for the two to share a final kiss. After all, not even Doffy is so cruel as to deny the poor boys such a tender moment.

Sure enough, Law's eyes immediately narrow and Doflamingo can feel the jealousy rolling off him. Not because Law gives a damn for their prisoner's feelings - Doflamingo raised him better than that - but he always has had a possessive streak. Having taken an interest in the swordsman, he will hate the thought that the boy might even think of another or that Law won't be the first to possess him in ever possible way.

Doffy leaves with a cruel, deep laugh. He can't wait until dinner, when he may just happen to remember the rumours about his "friend" Mihawk and his taking a young green-haired boy under this wing and in to his bed. By tomorrow he suspects every part of Zoro's body will bare at least some mark that he now firmly belongs to no one but Trafalgar Law.

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imalemonthatrants · 3 years

Text

One Piece Chaptwr 1028 spoilers

rant to blow off steam about zoro, sanji, and fanon character ideals. And Oda's writing of Zoro.

Look, I am a Zoro Stan, through and fucking through, but the things I've been reading about Sanji with the latest chapter release irritate the fuck outta me. I do like Sanji, canon Sanji more so than fanon Sanji, despite being a hard-core Zoro fan, btw.

But to the people bitching about Sanji getting his germa exo skeleton and complaining that Oda shouldn't do that because Sanji never wanted to be a part of Germa... no. Just no.

I do, in fact, relate to Sanji a lot more than I like to admit, from the "I had a shitty family life" (not nearly as life threatening as Sanji's or if I were to compare, not as physically abusive as his) to the "I want to be useful" and "I am overly emotional" shtick he's got. So when I see Sanji becoming more like Germa, I only see a path for Sanji to recover from trauma. Because, at the end of the day, he IS related to them by blood, no matter how much he hates it or wished it wasn't the case. Just like how I will find pieces of my family within me no matter how much I wish it wasn't the case, because GENETICS is like that. But at the end of the day, there's a sort of acceptance to it, because okay, I share things with these fuckers I hate and wish I was never related to, but does that make me them?

No. It doesn't. Just like how Sanji's exoskeleton doesn't make him a Vinsmoke. He's still Sanji, overly emotional and loving and selflessly kind, along with his pervertrdness. And when he can come to terms with that, that he is his own person, beyond the name Vinsmoke, beyond his family, his trauma, his past, he will have overcome his trauma, the past that haunts him. Of course, the trauma will never completely go away, but the scars will lighten, and he will be lighter too. That's why I like Oda giving Sanji it. It's like a way out for his trauma, and his crew mates and captain will accept him and love him all the same, letting him feel okay with the part of himself one day.

Now, on to the other side of things, and this may be because I'm an envious Zoro Stan, I will not deny that, but SANJI IS A NOT A LUNARIAN. WHOEVER THE FUCK MADE THAT A POPULAR THEORY, DAMN YOU. Also, SANJI WAS NOT INJECTED WITH KAIDO'S BLOOD AS A CHILD TO GIVE HIM KAIDO'S TOUGHNESS. HIS TOUGHNESS COMES FROM HIS DEVIL FRUIT'S SCALES??? HELLO???

Sanji already has two RIVETING backstories, a plothrea of great traits and strengths and you know, EVERYTHING. SHARE SOME WITH ZORO. You know that fucking old commercial comic hot dog meme where that one kid asks his friend "Gee Jimmy, why do YOU get two hot dogs?" Well that's me, except it's zoro asking Sanji why he gets two amazing backstories hot dogs and zoro is holding no hot dogs.

And fuck the current basically not backstory for zoro. He goes from a east blue mongrel to child of famous dead clan, with a Righteous father. But no emotionally intensive backstory that has me in fucking tears. Fuck that shitty backstory. Not only did it invalidate Zoro's "I trained to become this strong and skilled" by saying he's only talented because of genetics, but WHERE IS MY ANGST FOR MY BOY? HUH? GIVE ME AN ENTIRE ARC ABOUT ZORO AND HIS EMOTIONS AND EVERYONE LOVING AMD CARING FOR HIM. THE FUCKING FUCK ODA. All I get is Luffy going, oh he's fine after Zoro takes all of Luffy's pain in Thriller Bark. Nothing else. No Sanji and Zoro talking it out. No Luffy learning the truth. Or I get Nami using Zoro as a fucking horse after he gets shredded by Mr. One. Or Sanji saying "oh, you lived?" After he gets SHOT while with all the bloody, UNWRAPPED wounds from said fight. Or I get everyone shitting on Zoro's stupidity (okay, he is stupid and directionless) throughout all of skypeia, despite him trying to save Nami, catching Robin despite his mistrust for her after she gets shocked and fighting for her, and fighting for Chopper after Chopper get beat up. The only time I get the Zoro Angst, it's in Sabaody Archipealgo, where Zoro is about to die to Kizaru and that's more Angst and care revolving Luffy beyond anything else.

God, I swear to God, oda hates Zoro, and only gives him good fighting scenes and nothing else cause he ranks so high on the popularity poll. Man's probably like man, why Zoro so popular. I gave him nothing with muscle head scenes and few, sparse sprinkles of Zoro and crew bonding. Why they like him over God usopp and Chad sanji? AAAAAH.

#roronoa zoro #sanji #one piece manga 1028 #rant #very toxic rant #i use tumblr as my emotional outlet about one piece #spoilers

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doctorgerth · 4 years

Note

One of my favorite love confessions is yelling BECAUSE I LOVE YOU during an intense argument or other high stakes now or never situation. Headcanons on what situatiom would push Zoro, Law and Marco to shout this at their s/o? Thanks, Coop :)

Ok, so for this I just kinda picked random situations and ran with them lol this ended up scenario-y, I hope that’s ok! I also went a lil overboard as always ugh these are really long so I’m putting them under the cut.

I hope I wrote this how you wanted! I made them angsty but I know you said you wanted a happy ending so I made them fluffy and cheesy too 💓

HCs: “Because I love you!” (Zoro, Law, Marco)

Zoro

wanting you to stay

- as a new member on the crew, you instantly became friends with all of the Straw Hats, Zoro included and perhaps the most of all

- you two just seemed to hit it off instantly, enjoying each other’s company, training, and drinking together

- though you were friends, you and Zoro also tended to butt heads a lot of the time, simply because you weren’t scared to call him out and challenge him; he found this equally annoying and exciting about you

- the entire crew picked up on Zoro’s manners with you, the way he went out of his way to see you, the way he fussed at you when you were being reckless, the way you two just couldn’t possibly walk by one another without saying anything snarky and low key flirty…it was so obvious that you two were crushing on each other

- your arguing was just so different from Zoro’s genuine dislike for Sanji; Zoro knew he didn’t dislike you, he’s had many good moments with you, but when Robin tried to convince him that he was in love with you? that made his stomach flip

- when presented with the idea of love, Zoro denied everything, claiming that you were just friends, someone who he enjoyed spending time with and that was the extent of it

- annoying as you could be, he really enjoyed your company, and your companionship when on missions or trips was really endearing to him, but he would never admit that

- but, you were just a passing friend after all, not intending to be an official crew member as the Straw Hats helped save you from a village you were held hostage at, carrying you to your home island

- Zoro grew accustomed to your presence, and much like the rest of the crew, was used to seeing your smiling face every day, even looking forward to it

- he didn’t imagine that one day you would suddenly want to leave; why would you leave? you were all friends right? wasn’t everything you needed right here?

- the day the Sunny docked at the next island, Zoro thought it would just be any other day, not expecting you to have your bags packed, ready to disembark

- “Oi, what are those for?”

- “They’re my bags, dumbass. You guys are dropping me off here, remember?”

- “What? Why the hell are you leaving us?” he’s utterly shocked, just completely forgetting the whole plan to bring you home; you’re his crew mate, you can’t just leave!

- Zoro throws a fit, begging anybody and everybody to make you stay; no one is against it of course, but they’re telling him that he has to be the one to do it

- flustered and confused, Zoro’s unsure what to do; he understands you wanting to return home, but what about all your adventures together? who would train with him now? does this mean he won’t get to see your beautiful smile or hear your cute little laugh again?

- Zoro was a stubborn man and he knew he wouldn’t let that happen without a fight

- he instantly rushes to find you, heart dropping into his stomach when you’re no longer in your room and all of your things are gone; he runs out on deck, catching sight of your figure at the edge of the ship, preparing to leave to walk off onto the island

- “Oi! Wait!”

- you turn around to see Zoro running towards you, his cool demeanor replaced with a clearly unsettled one

- “Come to say goodbye?” you smiled brightly

- “You’re not going. I won’t let you.”

- “Huh?”

- “You can’t leave! We’re your friends. You can’t just leave us like this!”

- “Zoro, my home is here! My family-”

- “Are we not your family? We’ve been taking care of you for months now! And you just want to throw all of that away?”

- “I’m truly grateful for all of you but…”

- “But nothing! There’s no real excuse for you to go and you know it! You’re just being a dumbass!” he hadn’t meant to be so harsh, but the thought of you leaving forever was truly breaking him

- you had no words to say as you turned around, fuming, saying your goodbyes to everyone else except him; he looked to the crew, desperate for advice as he watched you walk further down the walk way, so close to the shoreline; his head was spinning, heart racing, knees shaking as all he wanted was for you to stay with him

- “(Name)! Stop! Please stay!”

- “Why should I stay?” your foot almost reaching the shore

- “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!”

- everyone audibly gasped, including you, at his confession; you stopped dead in your tracks, unable to move, listening to your heart echo in your ears

- slowly, you turned around to see the shock on everyone’s faces and Zoro’s own flushed body; he was completely red head to toe, chest heaving from stress, but he maintained eye contact, letting you know that he was dead serious

- your body felt like it was floating as you made you way back up to the deck, Zoro moving to meet you halfway; soon you were standing right in front of the other, both wide-eyed and sweating nervously

- “You…love me?”

- “Uh, yeah…” a hand reached to scratch the back of his head, eyes averting from yours in anxious manners, “Do you…?”

- “Yes.” you muttered simply, catching Zoro by surprise once again, “I do. I love you too.”

- a small smile graced his lips as he looked at you incredulously, lost in thought and happiness as he stared at your smiling face

- “Kiss her you fool!” Franky couldn’t help but cry out at this romantic moment

- Zoro grunted, annoyed, gearing up to yell at him for ruining the moment but your lips on his stopped him dead in his tracks; eye wide open he stared at you, hesitant to move until your soft lips sent him into euphoric bliss

- his hands grasped gently at your waist, accepting your confessions, thanking the heavens above he was brave enough to confess to you; elated to know he had gained a lover and official crew mate all in one

Law

when you get hurt

- it all happened when the Heart Pirates had come across some enemies on an island you were visiting; Law wanted to avoid a scuffle, but he knew that was never possible with his crew; the whole crew fought for their captain, you being no exception, much to his dismay

- there was something special about you to him after all, something more than you just being his subordinate

- he tried to deny that four letter word for so long, but he knew he had fallen deeply for you when you were the one he was searching for once everything was over

- his heart sank when he couldn’t find you, he cursed at himself as he searched through piles upon piles of bodies, wishing he had just locked you up in your room and not let you fight

- when Shachi called for Law, he rushed over, studying your beat up, unconscious body; he couldn’t hate himself any more in this very moment

- with haste, Law scooped you up into his arms, carrying your limp body quickly into the sub; he wasted no time in yelling at the crew to load up, doing a quick head count of everyone, making sure everyone was safe and on board before submerging

- many rooms were filled with injured members, but nothing was life-threatening; Law laid you down in the infirmary, making quick rounds to check on his other members, asking Bepo to watch over you

- though Law deeply cared for his other crew members, with each shot he gave, each stitch he laced, he could only focus on you, praying that you were going to be okay

- “Captain, let us take care of everything. Go take care of (Name).” Penguin and Shachi offered their captain some help, and with slight hesitation, he nodded before rushing back to the infirmary

- when he entered the room to see Bepo pushing you back into bed, he felt a wave of relief wash over him; your genuine smile, though tattered and bloody from battle, made his heart warm

- “Captain! Will you please tell Bepo that I am perfectly fine and can get out of bed?”

- though he was happy to see your cheery self return, a scowl stretched along his face as he looked at you, “Bepo, leave us.” the bear left and you couldn’t help but look wide-eyed at your clearly pissed captain

- “What’s wrong, captain?”

- “Are you stupid? You can’t possibly leave this bed now under these conditions! I’m demanding three day bed rest, minimum.”

- “Three whole days?! That’s highly unnecessary! Look at me, I’m perfectly fi-ouch.” you attempted to stretch your arms to prove you were completely healthy, but the sharp pain that ripped through them was undeniable

- “If you move one more inch, so help me god, I will put you under right now.” he replied through gritted teeth, laced with utmost concern; he reached towards your clipboard, checking your readings and vitals

- “I can’t stay here for three whole days, Captain. What if those pirates follow us? I need to help fight!”

- “You don’t need to do anything except stay in this bed, (Name)-ya.”

- “Why can’t you let me fight? I took down the most guys on that battlefield and you know it!”

- “That doesn’t matter.” the vein in his forehead was beginning to show all the while you were beginning to fume

- “Why are you treating me like this? I just want to help! I’m supposed to help protect you!”

- “No!” he yelled, slamming down the clipboard, “I’m supposed to protect you!”

- “Why-”

- “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!”

- your eyes were as wide as the moon now as you looked at your disheveled captain, a flush of red on his cheeks as he realized what he just confessed, eyes averting as he fumbled his words to backtrack

- “The crew loves you and we want you safe. That’s all.” he so desperately wanted to run away from this, but he knew he had to bandage you up first; what a truly awkward situation

- you couldn’t calm your racing heart as he didn’t mutter a single word while his soft hands bandaged you up delicately; a blush graced your cheeks with every tender touch from him, wondering if he really meant what he said

- “So, you love me, huh?”

- “Please stop talking.”

- the rest of the three days were long and awkward, giving you plenty, perhaps way too much time to think about your captain’s confession; you thought hard about your feelings, deciphering between subordination or adoration for your captain; when the third day arrived, you were ready to give him your answer

- Law wasn’t expecting an answer of course, he had spent many sleepless nights attempting to get over the painfully inopportune situation, and accepted your silence as an answer in and of itself; he was beginning to remove himself, desperately trying to forget his romantic feelings altogether

- that was, until you welcomed him into your room with a warm smile that was both pleasant and embarrassing for him

- “How are you feeling today, (Name)-ya?”

- “Loads better, captain.” his heart shattered a bit at that name, though he was very used to you calling him that, it still felt like a slap in the face

- “Let me replace your bandages and then you’re free to go.”

- his soft hands were on your skin again, sending you reeling; when his face was mere inches from yours, you couldn’t help but touch it, him flinching ever so slightly

- “Captain?”

- his golden orbs were focused on you, fluttering lightly at your gentle caress that he couldn’t help but lean into; was this all a dream?

- “Do you really love me?”

- he was hesitant as he could take the opportunity now to recover, pretend that his outburst was simply just that and nothing more; he could go back to only being your captain, you only his subordinate; you two could move on from this situation, pretending like nothing ever happened

- but as you looked up at him innocently, lips parted and eyes glossy, he knew he couldn’t lie to you like that, no matter how terrified he was to face his feelings for you

- “Yes, I-“

- he couldn’t finish his sentence but it was all you needed to hear; your lips plastered on his own with eagerness, affirming that you loved him back

- “Good. Because I love you too, Captain.” you smiled innocently at him

- Law peered down at you with a smirk, hardly believing this was real life; his heart raced when you pulled him down to your face once more, “Now let me out of this god forsaken room before I go insane.”

Marco

wanting to protect you

- Marco’s lost many important people in his life, and you weren’t going to be the next if he had anything to say about it

- ever since meeting you, he’s felt an intense desire to protect you at all costs, perhaps sheltering you a bit too much but it was all under good intentions

- he didn’t realize it was love until a few months in to your friendship; he was terrified to fall at first, as so many loved ones have slipped away and Marco would break if he had to lose another

- but he couldn’t deny the happiness you brought him, the way you made him feel so complete; all worries and fears subsided when he was with you and for the first time in a long time, thanks to you, he found peace in his world

- that being said, he’d do anything to protect you; being a former Whitebeard pirate means he tends to get targeted by scoundrels every now and then and he’s had to fight so many times already

- so the day a certain pirate groups raids his village, he knows that he has to go fight again, aiming to protect the village and yourself

- you were plenty capable of holding your own and you’d shown him that countless times, but he wouldn’t have any of it

- “Just stay here, (Name)-yoi! Let me handle it!”

- “But Marco, you might get hurt! Let me help you.”

- “I said no!”

- “Why won’t you let me help! I just want to-“

- “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!”

- you were instantly taken aback, and even among the screams and canon fires, you could hear your heart thumping wildly in your chest

- Marco didn’t seem to budge at his confession as he took the opportunity to flap away to the scene while you stood there in complete shock

- after some recollection, you aided townsfolk in helping them find shelter in your home; you were helping and talking with these people but all your mind could focus on was those four words Marco had said

- did he mean them? or was it all just heat of the moment? would you even be able to ask him?

- it wouldn’t be until morning when you’d get a chance to speak to him, and lord knows you didn’t sleep a wink that night as you worried yourself sick over if he was safe or not; the thought of what was going to happen between you two now if he was safe haunted your every thought

- as soon as day broke, you rushed over to check his home, finding a seemingly normal looking Marco resting in his bed; the nurse assured you that he needed rest, but when he stirred in his bed, asking to see you, she complied and left the room

- though there were no markings on his body, he hissed a little as he sat up in his bed to look at you, an unreadable expression on his face

- you couldn’t stop yourself from rushing over to him, throwing your body onto his to embrace him; he yelped a little at the pain, but accepted your body nevertheless

- “Don’t do anything stupid like this ever again, okay?”

- “I just always want to keep you safe, (Name)-yoi. It’s my duty to protect this village and-“

- “Promise me!” you were crying now, a mix of emotions as you were so relieved to see him okay, but the terror of last night still remained

- Marco was shocked to see you so worked up, but he hugged your body tighter into his, petting at your hair, “I promise.”

- “Thank you. I just can’t bear the thought of losing you…” you wept into his shirt, soaking in his every smell and touch

- Marco enjoyed having you so close like this, he prayed time would just stop so he could continue holding you forever

- “I don’t know if you meant what you said last night…”

- “Oh…”

- “It doesn’t matter because I just want you to know that I love you too. You don’t have to say it ever again, I just thought I would…”

- before you could finish he tilted your chin up to look at him, a content smile on his face as he peered down at you, “I promise you, I meant everything I said. I love you, and I want to protect you always. If you’ll have me.”

- you couldn’t help but smile through your tears, accepting his soft kisses and caresses as you continuously confessed your love for one another

#doctorgerth #doc writes #headcanons #hcs #fluff #angst #romantic #one piece x reader #zoro x reader #law x reader #marco x reader #takethethirdoption

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cawy-x · 4 years

Text

Ghost stories | Luffyxreader

Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

All the crew was reunited around a campfire, sitting on logs circling the fire. Sanji had brought some marshmallows and other treats for the night while Zoro brought some sake. You were all laughing and talking about everything when suddenly Nami announced that it was time for ghost stories.

"One time I was possessed by a ghost! It was one of the most feared and dangerous pirates, but I, the great Captain Ussop managed to beat him before he could control my body!"

"Woah! You're amazing Ussop! How did you do?" Chopper asked with sparkling eyes.

"I-I...hmm...I jumped into the sea! Yeah, that's it! Because you know the sea is salty and ghosts hate salt! You know there's also this one-time wh-"

"Not that I don't want to hear another of your stories, but let's get down to business!"Nami cut him short, "Robin you go first!"An evil grin appeared on the girl's face telling you that this whole idea was a bad one, and you knew that you would not be able to sleep for days after that.

"Do you know the story of the infamous pirate Ward, also known as the Bloody Demon?" Asked Robin, her voice already lower.

Everyone stayed silent, waiting for the story. It was a scary one, you unconsciously grabbed Luffy's arms – who was sitting next to you, hoping that the story would end soon. You looked around you, Nami was clinging on Chopper, his face buried in her chest, Ussop and Brook were embracing each other, shaking in fear while Zoro was calmly drinking sake and Sanji smoking a cigarette as for Franky he was intensely listening to the story. You glanced at the boy sitting next to you, -removing your arm of him in embarrassment at the same time- and you were not surprised to find him sound asleep.

"... and that's why Ward, is still hunting and killing pirates long after his death, to take revenge on those who betrayed him." Robin finished with a smile.

"W-What...H-how...C-Can you tell such a story so collectedly?!" Usopp asked, still in the arms of the musician.

"Yohohoho! I'm scared to the bone! Ghosts are so scary!" He whimpered.

"I didn't relate the scariest story but I have others in reserve if you want to. What about the one abo-"

"NO! We don't want to hear it!" Nami interrupted her. "Anyway, it's my turn now."

Nami made the same smile as Robin earlier, except hers was scarier. She told you this morning that she wanted to make Luffy pay for all the time he stole her mandarins without her consent so you were ready for the scariest story of your life.

"Luffy, this story is for you," she said with an unctuous voice until she noticed the captain snoring next to you.

"OI! Luffy, wake up!" She yelled.The pirate lazily opened his eyes, looking around him.

"Oh, the story is over? Sanji give me some meat!" He happily asked without realizing the deadly glare of the orange-haired girl on him. Nami took a deep breath and sighed.

"Luffy, just make sure to listen to the story..."

"Hn? The story isn't over yet?" He asked his mouth full.

"It's my turn now, and as I said before, this story is especially for you, so just listen!"

The boy frowned but nodded anyway, ready to listen to the girl. Nami cleared her throat and started.

"You know that pirates love treasures?"

"Especially you," Ussop mumbled. She glared at him.

"Shut up!... Anyway, there is this one pirate: Will “Crow's nest” Grim, who was infamous for all the treasures he stole during his life, hence his nickname because he would steal everything dear to a person's heart: loots, love, family, dreams...Nothing could stop him. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by his companions and killed by the Marine, but before he died he swore to keep on stealing even after his death, he declared that would take three treasures from every man, especially those with a lot of ambition and since then, many people died, depressed because they had been strip of what was dearest to their hearts. No one knows when Grim will strike but all the victims said that they all heard a crow screaming before everything starts." She concluded.

"Your story sucked, Nami!" Luffy declared.You thought alike but didn't want to face Nami's wrath. Suddenly, out of nowhere, you heard a crow screaming and flying above you. You instinctively hung into Luffy as Usopp and Brook clung to each other screaming.

"HE'S COMING !! CROW IS HEEEERE! I knew that it was a bad idea!" The sniper shouted.

"Idiot! It's just a bird and that was just a story..." Zoro grumbled.

"Or maybe he is coming to kill us all." Robin stated, staring at Usopp.

"Eeeeeeek!" "It's getting late, let's go back to the ship." Sanji interrupted already gathering all the stuff shortly followed by the rest of the crew.

"______, I can't move anymore," Luffy said looking at your arms still around him. "I don't know why you were so scared, the stories were boring," he yawned as you let go of him for the second time.

You went back to the ship with the other and for the first time since you joined the Straw hats, you were glad to share a room with two other people.It had been hours since you went to sleep, but you could not close your eyes. Every little noise crept you out, so you stayed, eyes wide-open, hidden under your blanket. All of a sudden, you heard someone's steps. Your heart stopped and you held your breath, furtively glancing under the blanket, ready to scream for help. However, it was not a ghost but Nami who was heading outside the room with a mischievous smile.

#onepiece #xreader #luffyxreader #luffy #monkey d. luffy #one piece #one piece x reader #strawhat #fanfiction

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taurnil · 3 years

Text

Overgrown Garden

He hates the cook, the moment they meet. He hates the cook because the blonde sounds like her, even more than the witch does.

He hates the cook, because the cook has the same eyes as her, all tidal waves and flashing blues one moment, then calm seas the next. The first time he sees the cook, Wado hums in his hands and Zoro blinks like a deer in headlights because all he can see his Kuina.

She walks step for step behind the chef, and when Sanji slides by, groveling in front of Nami like the horn dog he is, Zoro thinks he sees Kuina wink playfully, before disappearing as though she were never there.

Like she hasn't been for eight years.

The longer Zoro stares, the more confused he gets. They aren't alike, not in the slightest. Sanji seems to see and covet everything in a woman-- in this ideal of women-- that Kuina always hated and that Zoro hates by extension.

Sanji smokes cigarettes, and Kuina would never ruin her lungs in that way. Its incomprehensible, completely unthinkable for fighters like them, who's techniques depend greatly on their breathing.

Its even more strange to see the blonde take up such a habit, when his cooking hinges directly on his ability to taste. Zoro hears a voice whisper that he does the exact same thing with his inhuman alcohol consumption and he snorts, mentally telling her to shut up.

Well, he supposes that's something Kuina and Sanji seem to have in common. They annoy the ever living shit out of him.

He watches as the blond flits from table to table, hands so skilled in their craft of cooking and serving that it was almost impossible to compare them with the pale long fingers soaked in crimson, holding up a man nearly twice his size.

Zoro feels a tickle in the back of his throat as he jumps out of his seat and makes his way out of the restaurant and to the open ocean-- where Mihawk is waiting. He steals a mug of ale-- a shot of courage, perhaps-- as he glides past a table, ignoring the old man's cry of complaint and throws the doors open.

He meets the gaze of the infamous man, and he asks himself if he's ready to die. He thinks of Kuina, training day and night, strong. Stronger. Always the best. Zoro knows that if it were Kuina in his place right now instead of him, then there'd be a new strongest swordsman. Somewhere inside, he realizes that he's not ready.

The fight is brief, so brief that it is in fact, nothing short of a merciful slaughter. Through the haze of fog and blood and frustration, he hears a strangled yell.

"Just give up on your ambitions!"

It slices through the sounds of his heartbeat and his pulse thrashing and even in the midst of accepting death over defeat, Zoro feels his blood begin to simmer dangerously. Because how dare the blond tell him to give up, when this is all he's been chasing. There is no purpose, if there's no sword fighting. He simply is nothing without Kuina.

Mihawk seems impressed, and he offers Zoro his respect, dealing the last blow with careful precision and a tiny smile gracing his stony features. He falls back into the ocean and the last thing he sees is Sanji's hunched figure. The sight makes his heart wrench in an unfamiliar, painful way, and he finds himself apologizing quietly to the open air.

His vision is darkened around the edges, he thinks he hears his beloved childhood friend tell him to find another purpose. To find something for himself, and only himself. Zoro remembers the boy with dark hair, and worn in straw hat. He remembers gifting the kid with the title captain with chest heaving Zoro smiles, tears falling down his cheeks, mingling with blood.

He declares his life, blade, and loyalty to the 2nd Pirate King. The boy who could stretch, who Zoro knows without knowing how, will shake the world to its core, as his own name reaches the heavens.

Its possible, also, that he vows to make the blond smile one day, to make up for the mess he caused.

Zoro realizes, albeit belatedly, that perhaps Sanji is unaware that he doesn't hate him. And that, in turn, the chef can hardly stand to be in his presence. It fills the swordsman with unease, he doesn't like the disappointment that follows every harsh insult. He doesn't like the very real, very serious way that Sanji snarls whenever he's near, and the way he makes it absolutely clear that Zoro only gets fed because of decent morality. They are not friends, and the knowledge makes his throat tighten, air way blocked and a sensation like dragging thorns.

The swordsman is miffed, and responds using the same energy he receives, throwing jibes as quickly and fluently as he receives them. He makes fun of the chef's eyebrow as much as he can because it is the only imperfection that he can spot and that baffles the 19 year old.

On a logistic level, he knows all of Sanji's bad habits. He can list them off, even in his sleep, but when faced with those tumultuous eyes, those eyes that scream they suffer, he can only pick the least inconsequential characteristic.

Luffy notices, and corners him. Luffy's eyes are dark and his voice grave as he says, "Sanji isn't ready yet. He doesn't get it." and its scary how well his captain knows him. Its downright terrifying to be seen through so easily, with such little effort.

Sanji comes, Sanji goes, more consistent than the tides and Zoro can't help but continue to make metaphors because there is nothing more fitting for the chef than the ocean. They are one in the same, so shifty and yet steadfast. The swordsman has no idea what to make of it, the way the chef seems to scramble his feelings with the same ease as an egg.

The thought of Sanji leaving him is so painful he almost doubles over, spending the day picking fights with the chef, relishing in each small, solid touch. Taking comfort in each kick and the following knowledge that the chef is here and not another phantom that will slip through his grasp.

Zoro clutches his heart and wonders if this is what love is like. A constant state of fear and worry, coupled with the rush of standing at the edge of a cliff.

He is falling. He is scared, so scared. The last person who fell had died.

Zoro is not afraid of death. Zoro is not afraid of falling. He is afraid of what might happen in the slim to none chance that the chef begins to slip as well.

So Zoro pushes him away. Far away from the edge, away from the precipice.

He is only like this with the chef, always careful with his words, despite what it appears from the outside. Luffy knows, because Luffy always knows and he doesn't like it. But Zoro doesn't care, and keeps his distance.

Always watching, studying. He learns by watching the cook. He learns that the blond's grace is not natural, it is forced, movements careful and contained, folded inwards and kept small. He learns that the blond, despite broadcasting his masculinity, treats his body in the stereotypical actions of a woman. He sits with his legs closed, fusses over his appearance and fawns over compliments sent his way like a demure village woman.

Sanji makes himself smaller and Zoro learns in Thriller Bark that its because he think's that others deserve the space more.

Its a ridiculous notion, a conclusion only someone as stupidly selfless as the cook could come up with. He shields the swordsman, offering his head and the 19 year old feels a thrum of panic.

This sacrifice is completely different from his own. This sacrifice is born from a sense of inferiority and worthlessness. This sacrifice is Sanji finally making himself small enough for the rest.

Sanji is saying goodbye.

Sanji is falling, but not in the way he wants, not in the way that matters. Sanji is falling into despair, Sanji is falling into self depreciation. Sanji is falling into himself, crumbling away from the inside. Sanji is going, going, sand slipping between his fingers so Zoro runs, Zoro surges forward and snatches the blond by his arm.

Without his consent, or maybe it's some hidden part of him, the part that he tries to gag and shove into the recesses of his mind. The part that fed him dreams and gave his heart hope. Perhaps it is that part that grants his body permission.

Allows him to finally grab Sanji's hand in his own, watch the blond's smug expression at having finally gotten his death wish granted, only for it to turn to shock when Zoro grabs fistfuls of the black suit jacket, straddling the chef and shoving their lips together in a messy clash.

The sensation of euphoria that he feels is unlike anything he's ever experienced in his life, which was says something considering the fact that Zoro is pretty sure they're doing it all wrong. Sanji hands are stiff and awkward on his back, tentatively stroking up and down as though he were a troubled teen in need of comfort. And are their noses supposed to be mashed up like that?

Let alone the fact that his arms are starting to cramp up from the odd bent angel they're in, still clutching the fabric.

It's totally armature, without a doubt. But Zoro finds that it's still ranked as the best feeling in his whole life, second only to the time he once came close to beating Kuina.

He knows that Kuma is there, that Luffy is knocked out, that if they don't act soon their captain will be dead. He knows there's no time, so he rakes his eyes over Sanji's flushed, bloody face and stokes creamy blond locks.

"Don't leave." He whispers, burying his face in crook of the chef's neck. "I love you. Don't leave me behind."

Like a coward, he knocks Sanji out, before the latter can respond.

He stands, facing Kuma and prepares to die.

Zoro never did make Sanji smile.

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whirlybirdwhat · 4 years

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If Truth is True North

For @greyskyflowers ask: I was also wondering if you could possibly continue this or do a one shot where one of the crew gets hurt? You spoke of Nami loving her role as navigator given by Luffy. How would they react if Luffy got seriously hurt?

I hope you enjoy! Its not quite what the prompt asked, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted it in the Sea of Monsters Au or not, so I just went with what I was inspired to write!

The other details of your ask will be posted shortly with the actual ask lol.

See Ao3 for warnings and better formatting!

Nami is the best navigator in the world - but the tides of emotions are one thing she has never quite been able to map so well.

But - with Luffy she thinks she would rather die then fail in her task to help her captain.

(He has given her a place - navigator - so she must fulfill it.)

Or:

Nami helps Luffy work through some stuff after a battle - a true navigator must be able to chart all seas after all, even ones of the mind.

Nami navigates. It’s what she does. She looks at the sky the wind the stars and tells her captain that way, and so they go.

She’s drawn maps since she was tiny, loves the smell of parchment and ink and the awe-inspiring feeling of I’ve seen all that when she looks at a finished chart, but nothing will ever quite beat the act of guiding her crew through their grand adventure.

She’s able to stand through hurricanes, tornadoes, water spouts, voyages ten thousand meters to the sky and below the waves. There is nothing she cannot conquer with a log pose or compass, nothing she cannot challenge with the knowledge of the winds and her crew at her back.

All perhaps one thing that is.

Nami’s never been able to deal with emotions well before.

Her childhood has been filled trauma – ever since Bell-mere died, she had no choice but to board up her emotions behind a large brick wall backed with Sea stone and anger, because Arlong would have torn her part before then if she hadn’t.

(Map-maker, the slimy beast called her, cackling as she staunched the blood dripping from a bullet wound, your mine. Go make me some maps, won’t you?)

She’s been a screen of anger and conniving grins since then, snarling at men who touch a little to close and biting at anyone who tries to steal what is hers (her family’s ticket to freedom.) A carefully placed grin – and everyone thinks she on their side.

Then Luffy came in – and suddenly Nami was laughing, crying, shouting with emotions of sincerity. Suddenly Nami had a knife in her shoulder and a hat on her head, and friend (A Captain, a King) who would do anything for her.

Suddenly, Nami had to deal with emotions again.

(Navigator, my navigator, Luffy would call her, the words not like a chain but like a crown, like belonging to something loving once more. Never possessing, because as selfish as her Captain was he would always make sure they were free, but always his. (Because he’s selfish like that.))

The raging waters of her own heart were something she never thought she had to cross again, but she learned. Learned with the compass of her nakama’s laughter and love, and now…

Nami thinks she’s able to do well enough with herself.

But Luffy – her compass, or at least true north – has not.

He bottles it up in a bottle of optimism with a cork of smiles, and hides it behind a scarred chest. He hurts, and Luffy can’t lie but he can pretend nothing is wrong, but sometimes he doesn’t even do that (doesn’t he understand his fake smiles hurt more than daggers? Nami would know-) and instead looks so lost-

And his navigator has no chart to lead him by.

(But she hasn’t ever needed one before.)

Luffy has five bloody bullet wounds in one arm, twelve in the rest of his body and a collar around his neck – sea stone and near unbreakable. His chest is nearly caved in by a stray cannon ball, and it’s a miracle he’s still breathing despite the wounds scattered across his body, pale and unmoving.

It’s the worse Nami’s ever seen Luffy.

(She wonder’s if he was worse after Marineford, then dismisses the thought because of course he was.

Ace is dead after all.)

Nami’s hands are the only ones steady and small enough to help Chopper pick the lock around Luffy’s neck, and so she’s the only one allowed in the infirmary, only one besides Chopper allowed to see every little wound and every little pained gasp Luffy makes.

It makes her break a little inside.

Four hours later however, it’s over, and Luffy by some twist of fate is alive before her, breathing, as her bloody hands grip her pants.

Chopper tells Nami to wash up as he goes to bring everyone else in. Nami barely hears him, but she does register Zoro sitting beside her, ever the loyal first mate.

He has a straw hat gripped in his hands, but one look at her face, and Zoro plops it on her head.

She doesn’t question it – if Zoro does it, it means Luffy would have wanted it as well.

(She still wishes Luffy was awake to give it to her himself.)

Nami takes the third watch over Luffy. Chopper took the first and Zoro the second while Nami rested, but she doesn’t think she can rest anymore.

(The owner of the strawhat tied around her neck isn’t awake to claim it after all.)

It’s a day after the battle at this point, ship safely away from the Marine filled island, and captain sleeping away the battle fever (and torture) in the belly of their ship of dreams. There’s a pile of food beside the bed – Chopper says despite the wounds, Luffy should wake up sometime soon, so Sanji has been busy. Nami herself has a plate of sandwiches in front of her to snack on, and a few oranges to the side.

(One’s for Luffy when he wakes up – but only one. Nami can’t let her captain be spoiled after all.)

She is making notes about the log pose when she hears it – a soft rustling from the bed and a low, pained groan, in a familiar voice.

“Luffy!” Nami turns around, uncaring about the ink spilling about in her haste to see her captain.

But Luffy doesn’t see her despite the fact that his eyes are wide open. His eyes are glassy and hazy as he tries to sit up in bed, but his arm shake beneath him (7 total bullets had torn into his arms, regular but able to hurt due to the sea stone collar wrapped around her Captain’s neck (who only ever wanted to be free-)) and he collapses backward.

Nami opens her mouth to call out for her captain again but the words lodge in her throat as Luffy’s hand impossible drifts to his chest, where bandages cover up the scar.

He seems to panic at that, fingers gripping into the place where his scar should be, instead feeling only cloth keeping his chest together.

A scratchy sound, barely even a voice, whispers from his throat. “Ace…”

Nami stops cold in her tracks, feet as stuck as her voice.

Oh no – oh please no-

“Ace?” Luffy’s voice is still hoarse, but louder and more frantic. “Ace? Ace! Ace I’m here – where are you – where’s Ace?” He coughs, but that only makes him look down at his hands, which seems to trigger something even more horrific in his mind.

“No – No no nononono! ACE!” He tears at his hands, and that’s when Nami knows she can’t stay still anymore.

She dashes over, grappling at his hands to prevent him from pulling against the bullet wounds, to prevent them from tearing at himself, at his chest.

(His hands are calloused where they grip hers, only slightly bigger, but seemingly smaller with how fragile he feels right now.)

“Luffy,” She calls, voice firm and gentle as she sits beside him. There’s no tremor in her voice to betray the panic welling up inside her. “Luffy. Breathe.”

He doesn’t – instead his breaths get even shorter as he struggles to voice his desperate calls for his brother and his hands struggle further to get to his chest, to do what Nami doesn’t know but she doesn’t want to find out.

“Ace, Ace, Ace, Ace where are you ACE-“

“Luffy!” She regrets shouting as soon as she says it but at least Luffy’s words have stopped. “Breath. You’re on the Sunny, you’re in the infirmary. You’re safe, Luffy, you’re safe, we wont ever let something like that happen to you again, please, Luffy – “ She takes a breath and gathers her own composure.

She can’t help Luffy if she can’t help herself.

“Luffy,” Nami lifts Luffy up so he’s rest against her, able to feel her chest go in and out in big exaggerated movements. “Breath – c’mon, do it with me. In – 2, 3 – Out, 2 3. That’s it Luffy.”

And ever so slowly, Luffy’s hands stop gripping at his chest, stop pulling at his wounds. Ever so slowly, Nami helps Luffy navigate his way back home, back to himself.

Ever so slowly, Luffy comes back, until he gazes around with a confused look. “Na-Nami?”

“Yeah, Luffy,” she swallows back her sigh of relief. “It’s me. You back with me captain?”

It’s a long silence before he responds. But Nami’s patient, She allows Luffy to play with her hand in his, allows him to affirm that yes, she’s real and no, he isn’t back there. It’s a slow process, but

“I think so?”

It’s worth it.

Nami doesn’t talk to him about it the day of, or even the week after. Instead, she ambushes him on his first day allowed back on deck without supervision (medical supervision that is – Luffy’s a devil fruit eater with a penchant for trouble. Its good to make sure there’s someone there to shout “Man Overboard!” at all times.)

Most of the bandages are off at this point – rubber is wonderfull for healing stuff, and the future world’s best doctor does greatly help matters – all save for the swathe of bandages around his chest.

“Hey Nami,” Luffy greets first. “Wanna sit?” He pats the place next to him on Sunny’s head.

“Of course, Captain.” Luffy laughs as she stumbles on her way up, but scoots closer as she settles down.

Looking out at the sea, Nami understands why Luffy loves this spot. The light of the sun over the ways now, at dusk, makes the world seem like a fire of molten gold.

It’s beautiful.

But nothing gold can say, as that old book goes, and their silence is broken.

“Don’t scare us like that, okay Luffy?”

“Mmhmm.” He only hums in response, so Nami takes that as the okay to breach the territory they haven’t ever dared venture.

“Luffy… when you woke up for the first time, do you remember that?”

“Yeah…” His voice is suddenly ten times quieter, and the waves seem almost overwhelming in comparison.

“Were you thinking about Marineford?”

“… Yeah.”

“Mmhmm.” Its Nami’s turn to hum now, letting Luffy set the pace, letting Luffy stop the conversation if he wants.

(This is new territory, things yet to be charted. One misstep and her captain could be hurt, but Nami’s been mapmaking since she was born, she can do this, help her captain figure it all out.)

“Do you wake up like that a lot?”

“…Sometimes..” Nami doesn’t expect Luffy to speak much after that, and is surprised when he goes on. This time, his legs are hugged up to his chest, face resting on his knees as he looks out to see. Its almost as if he’s forcing himself not to touch his scar. “When I got out of Marineford, I was on Torao’s ship, all bandaged up. I didn’t know what was going on only that – that Ace wasn’t there and my chest hurt and felt too tight and there was pain everywhere and –“

“Luffy – Breathe.”

Luffy takes a deep breath, one that would be comical if the situation weren’t so serious, and continues. “And it hurt. And- And now sometimes I get reminded, and I don’t like it, and it feels like I’m back at Impel Down, and – and – and-” He gives up on trying to get the words out and buries his face in his knees, so uncharacteristically meek it hurts.

(It reminds Nami of herself, trapped in the map room at Arlong Park, terrfified that she was going to be crushed under the weight of the world.)

“Luffy – it’s okay. You’re not there anymore, okay?”

“BUT IT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE THAT!” Luffy shouts, then rushes to hide his head again. He doesn’t like to shout at his crew in anything but joy, not since Water 7.

“And we will help you Luffy- You just have to let us. We can help make those feeling stop, okay? Okay?”

“But – I’m the captain, and –“

“Luffy. No. Look at me okay?” He looks at her, and Nami knows what she will say next won’t be enough, because Luffy doesn’t believe in words without actions, but it will be a start so they can help. “You don’t know how to navigate. You don’t know how to cook anything but barbecue meat, or swordfight, or snipe, or play the violin or build a ship or heal wounds or read poneglyphs. That’s why you have us, okay? And we’re here to help, Captain, help you reach the top and we won’t think any less of you if you need help. Let us help you Luffy, we want to – we can all see how you’re hurting.”

His face goes through an odd sort of emotion, but Nami can see what he wants. It’s good as yes anyway.

So she spreads open her arms, and her captain squeezes the life out of her.

(She doesn’t mention how her shoulder is wet.)

It’s different, Nami thinks, leading her captain back to the infirmary, already talking about ways to make all the pain ease up - (Making sure the bandages aren’t pressing, pain medication to ease pain in the chest and telling him where he Is when he wakes up – things to make him stop thinking of the aftermath of Marineford, just as they let Nami have her own cache of belli stored away, just as they give Robin a cup of warm tea after a fire on an island. Ways to fend off nightmares – Zoro wouldn’t mind another bedmate, moron that he is, and Usopp stays up late anyway.) – navigating for this captain. His waters are treacherous and his winds stormy, but behind all that is a steady smile of sunshine.

But if she’s able to guide him through it, maybe, just maybe, she can help her captain find himself again.

#monkey d. luffy #nami #cat burglar nami #roronoa zoro #chopper #Tony Tony chopper #op #one piece #whirlywrites #whirlywhat #fanfiction #writing #fanfic #opfic #luffy #zoro #whirlyanswers #ao3

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years

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538-539: "The Straw Hats Defeated?! Hordy Gains Control of the Rygu Palace!" and "The Haunting Ties! Nami and the Fish-Man Pirates!"

Neptune’s finely tuned Roid-dar in action.

Finally figured out what was wrong with Chrome, so it’s business as usual. (FYI, it was the antivirus SSL scanning feature conflicting with certain websites’ certificates. Not great that I have to turn it off for browsers to function but that is a rant for another blog.)

On the Fishman Island arc front, 539 was the episode I’d been waiting for. I don’t have all the story yet but I know it’s coming. I’m excited to see what Oda does with Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger’s stories. I also wanted to talk about Nami this post and I finally have the chance because she’s already at the Sea Forest and has met Jimbei (more on that later).

[title]

A Fishman Captain who can’t beat a human in a fight underwater without resorting to performance enhancing Fish Roids can’t amount to much, either.

Just a thought.

Must say the spoileriffic title for 538 was unexpected. I honestly thought Zoro would win, or at least force a stalemate so that he could hold back the invasion with Usopp and Brook. Nope. Oda has diverted the plot in a direction I did not predict. Now I’m wondering how Neptune will retake the palace. I’m thinking a concerted effort, with the royal guard, maybe some citizens, plus reunited Strawhats out in force. Mainly so the Strawhats can clear their name because right now, the locals still believe they’re responsible for storming the palace and kidnapping Shirahoshi.

There was some good tension sustained when Zoro was fighting underwater and knew he had to surface to breathe. He defeated Hordy but was grabbed by a bunch of Hordy’s Roided Goons. When I was a kid, I remember playing Sonic the Hedgehog. There was nothing like that dread when Sonic was underwater and the oxygen countdown started. Find a bubble or else! Even though I knew Zoro’s plot shield would hold, I still felt that tension. xD For a moment, I was annoyed that Usopp didn’t go help him but then I realised Usopp was the only thing stopping Brook from sinking like a stone.

Neptune was great. I like the guy now. Compared to Hordy Jones, he’s an excellent leader. I brought up before his tendency to take advice, to listen to his people and consider their opinions even if he weighs them up and decides to do something else. In 537, it was obvious that Neptune cares about his people. He realised the Fish roids could be a real threat to his people’s safety. Instead of saving face, instead of a “we shall defend this palace to the death!” attitude that only gets people killed, Neptune only considered getting everyone out safely, and used his strength to secure an escape route: sacrificing himself in the process.

When his men did escape, they immediately thought of Neptune, of how he had helped them. They wanted to help Neptune because of everything he had done for them.

Compare that to Hordy “Become my Meat Shield or Die” Jones. He rules by fear and thinks of his dispensable soldiers in terms of what they can do for him.

It’s clear who the best king here is.

Must admit, though. Hordy Jones is organised. He instructed his head goons to assemble raiding parties to invade different districts of Mermaid Cove. Waterwheel Town, Candy Factory Town, Fishverly Hills, and other places I didn’t catch are under the control of Hordy Jones. His Head Goons wasted no time forcing the new regime and the new ideals on the locals, forcing them to commit a highly-charged political act of disrespect: step on an image of Queen Otohime or die.

Naturally, Fukaboshi was fuming when he found out what was going on. That was his mother. Not cool. (I am hopeful he will lead the counterattack. I bet he’ll succeed Neptune some day.)

I’m also wondering about Big Mom. Candy Factory Town has fallen to Hordy Jones. If the tribues stop pouring in from Fishman Island, would she send someone to see what’s going on and kick Hordy’s ass herself? I mean, sure, the Roids make him strong, but this is a Yonkou were talking about here.

And Brook is a potential wild card here too. When Neptune, Zoro and Usopp were captured, Hordy’s Goons dismissed Brook. “What’s that skeleton doing here?” “Dunno.” I wonder if Brook will do a Sanji and complete the stealth missions this arc?

Jimbei’s Glorious Reaction Face

LUFFY-KUN, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Watching Jimbei unravel like that was hilarious. It’s always funnier when the stoic characters crack. Only Luffy could stress someone out that much. And we got two in a row when he realised Hachi was there too. Chopper should start running blood pressure clinics for those suffering Strawhat-induced stress.

The object of Jimbei’s stress was that Luffy had appeared with Princess Shirahoshi in tow. Jimbei knew all the crap she had been through (I wonder if he tried to stop it before but couldn’t find Decken?). He also knew how unsafe it was for her to be outside. Just as he said this to Luffy, a random axe whirred through the air and Luffy deflected it.

I admire Luffy’s unwavering confidence that he can protect Shirahoshi (“She knows I’ve got her back!”) and I love that he did take her to the Sea Forest to pray at her mother’s grave (that was sad) but it is bloody dangerous, you’ve got to admit. Jimbei said the harrassment started after Queen Otohime’s death so poor Shirahosi couldn’t even attend her mother’s funeral (I need someone to kick that guy’s ass ASAP. Do not care who it is now.) What if Luffy suddenly has his hands full? Maybe Sanji will step in and fend off Decken, now that he’s back to normal, thank god. I guess the most effective treatment for Sanji’s weakness is immersion therapy.

The lack of message to Luffy is also suspicious. Why did Jimbei’s message not get through? Someone is intercepting communication. I wonder if Hordy is behind this too. Maybe he doesn’t want the peaceable but powerful Jimbei ruining his plans.

Den-san wondered what all the commotion was and shouted out from Sunny’s deck (and Franky had his “My captain is a dumbass” moment). Not long after, Nami and Camie arrived.

I liked that Oda assembled those three Merfolk and Fishmen together because they were able to represent different voices from Fishmen Island. It wasnt’ just one person speaking for their history. All of them had a voice.

Including a human who had been affected by the violent repercussions of Fishman Island’s brutal history.

Nami and Fishman History

I have been wanting to write about Nami for ages. After I finished the last post, I started thinking about Hordy and what he would think of Nami if he found out about her. I guessed he would hate her for betraying Arlong and would want revenge. It’s funny, but Hordy made the same mistake with Nami as Arlong did. He underestimated her. When she left with Camie, Hordy’s goons did tell him, but he dismissed the warning. Let them go. It doesn’t matter.

Now, I wonder if history will repeat itself. Nami has escaped, has told Luffy what’s going on and soon they will have the power to regroup, counterattack and re-take the palace. I doubt they will ever fix the relationships between humans and Fishfolk. But maybe they could be a symbol of improvement, if nothing else.

Nami’s reaction to Jimbei in the last episode was telling. Something was up there, I was certain of it. Again, in 538, she was indifferent to the point of wariness when she spoke to him. Camie was full of admiration. Nami was guarded. She also wanted to skip straight to the point and halted Sanji’s fool antics in their tracks because she had a bone to pick with Jimbei.

I had been thinking about Jimbei and how he might be related to all the troubles in Fishman Island.

I had no idea he was the one who set Arlong on the rampage in East Blue.

Nami must have known something. Maybe she heard Arlong talking about Jimbei. Maybe Arlong told stories about the Sun Pirates and Jimbei’s name came up.

Jimbei did apologise. He said he was grateful for the Strawhats stopping Arlong wreaking further havoc in East Blue. But for Nami - and Sanji for that matter (I am so glad the daft behaviour has stopped. I like Sanji best when he’s being serious) - the apology wasn’t quite enough.

Sanji remembered was Yosaku told them about JImbei (I would totally have forgot about this if not for the flashback). In exchange for joining the Shichibukai, he set Arlong loose. Still not sure exactly what that means. Did Jimbei say, “Right, Arlong, go get those stinky humans” or did he have to cut the extremist Arlong loose so he could ascend to an official government role and not be tainted be association?

Sanji was cool here. “If you wanna make excuses, fine,” he said. “But Nami here had her home taken over by Arlong and went through hell. Depending on what you say, I might not forgive you.”

Which is fair enough, actually. No one is obliged to forgive anyone.

Nami told her story. She also said that travelling to Sabaody Park and finding out about how awfully Fishmen are treated would never change the way she feels about Arlong, but now she understands why he thought that way.

That is hugely generous of her, honestly. Considering the way Nami was treated by Arlong, to even feel the tiniest shred of understanding for his motives is remarkable. She saw how Camie and Hachi were treated and I think it was a real eye-opener for her. One that she’d never forget

Then the story of Fishman Island was told by three Fishmen who had lived through the worst of its history, Jimbei, Hachi and Den-san.

Nami mentioned that Arlong Park looked exactly like Sabaody Park. Hachi said that when they were little, they yearned for what the human world had. That shot above is like poor street kids looking over a wall into a gated community and longing for the tiniest portion of what the rich people have.

But when they grew up, they hurt so many humans, Hachi said. He heard that, long ago, Fishmen and Merfolk were considered mere fish by humans. (This reminds me of how 18th century western academics used to classify other races as subhuman. Disgusting.) But then two hundred years ago, the Ryugu Kingdom became a member of the World Government.

You would think that would improve relations, wouldn’t you? But no. The Celestial Dragons, the ones who held the real power, were still bigoted and were the worst of them all.

The Great Pirate Era hit and Den-san said that was the worst time of all. Human pirates rampaged through Fishman Island. It was taken over.

And now I know why Jimbei was so determined to fight and die for Whitebeard. Saint Whitebeard the Great saved Fishman Island, claimed it for his own and imposed peace.

But humans still didn’t like Fishmen. The Strawhats had seen that at Sabaody. Even though the World Government bridged the gap in relations, it did not improve much.

Then two figures stepped up to change Fishman Island’s history forever.

Queen Otohime, Shirahoshi’s mother, tried to convince the islanders to live in harmony with humans.

Fisher Tiger, the hero who invaded Mariejois ON HIS OWN to free the imprisoned Fishman slaves, called for a parting of the ways between Fishmen and humans.

I haven’t heard all the story yet, but I’m guessing these two have a Major Difference of Opinion.

I can’t wait to hear the rest.

This is some good stuff. I love the themes in this arc. There’s so much here that resonates strongly with current events. It’s almost spooky...

You’re right, Franky. There’s no point. Just smile and nod.

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genogenocrazycatman · 5 years

Text

Stillwater Chapter 17

Stillwater [Archive of Our Own, FanFiction.Net, Mibba]

Characters: Original Female Character, Monkey D. Luffy, Rorona Zoro, Vinsmoke Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, Nefeltari Vivi

“We build as only children know to build

We made a way where there’s a will

No slowing down or standing still

Innocent and reckless

"How did we get so old and never notice

How did we gain the world and lose the moment

Rise and fall, the tide surrounds us

And drowns us all”

-Hands Like Houses

***

Random rain storm in the middle of the desert?

Check.

Luffy?

Check.

Coincidence?

Not even close.

As soon as we had docked the Merry, Luffy had taken off in search of food tore through the desert sands, leaving a trail of dust behind him. We hadn’t even been able to get the first syllable of “Stay out of trouble,” out, before he was gone over the horizon, not that he would’ve listened to us anyways.

I had offered to go after him. Out of everyone, I was the most tolerant of Luffy’s antics. I found them endearing more than annoying. Not that the rubber boy didn’t have it in him to work my nerves, but 900 years was more than enough time to develop at least a little bit of patience. That and I had a very obvious soft spot for him.

In addition to minimizing the damage that he was sure to cause, it also got me away from the rest of the crew. A break from Usopp and Zoro sounded great. Zoro was still guarded, and Usopp was still afraid, jumping at nearly everything I did.

Yeah, chasing Luffy through the desert sounded like a lovely break from the tense awkward atmosphere caused by my confession.

Granted, I hadn’t thought that I was actually going to have to chase Luffy through the desert. Somehow, he had managed to run completely past the port town of Nanohana, bypassing all of the eateries that he had been desperately trying to get to. Instead, he ended up at the one solitary shack that dotted the land skip in the sands beyond Nanohana’s boundaries.

I reached out, feeling the rain as it fell. There was nothing off about it as far as I could tell. It was just the timing and location that was strange. Water was way to valuable here to let it go to waste, so rather than keep pondering its origin, I waved my fingers, collecting as much water as I could into a large orb that floated above the ground.

I wasn’t trying to do anything too complex with it, meaning that I could collecting large amounts of water, but aside from large brunt force attacks, I couldn’t do much with it. More precise and accurate uses required much smaller amounts. Maybe, if I had honed my skills more that would change.

This went unnoticed by Luffy and the old man that was currently yelling at him, sword in hand. The two were locked into some kind of altercation that I had missed the beginning of. They were mid conversation by the time I got close enough to hear.

“Illegal? So, you’re a criminal,” Luffy said, narrowing his eyes at the man.

I snorted. I still had no idea what was going on, but a kid with a thirty-million on his head calling anyone a criminal was hilarious.

The sound cause Luffy to notice me. “Mimi!” he cheered, looking away from the guy, who took the opening to slash at Luffy.

I shook my head. The old guy was completely outclassed. Even without his devil fruit, Luffy was still young and spry. The old guy was well past his prime. Hungry and barely paying attention (even for him) Luffy was able to beat the guy in short order, leaving him bruised and bloodied. The guy had called for a truce, begging for mercy.

Having gotten that out of their system, the two sat down in the dirt. I took advantage of the barrels the man had around, filling them with water.

“Well you certainly are a strong one, aren’t you?” the old guy said, breaking the ice.

“Sure am. No one can beat me,” Luffy said.

“Yeah. I’m not surprised. Your fighting style is very unique. Sorry about that,” the guy sounded embarrassed. I would be too, if I was beaten up by some kid with only one punch.

“Oh no no no. I’m the one, who burnt up your powder stuff. I’m sorry.” Luffy’s apology was genuine. The old man had referred the powder that Luffy was talking about to as his treasure. There was something about those words the registered with Luffy.

I assumed that it was a pirate thing.

“Why don’t we go ahead and say we’re even?” the guy offered. “And you-” He looked at me. “-I don’t think I’ve ever seen a devil fruit power quite like yours.”

“Yeah. I’d appreciate if you kept it to yourself. I don’t exactly like the unwanted attention it causes, but water’s too valuable here to let it go to waste.”

“You’re certainly right about that. You’ve done me a huge favor collecting it. Your secret’s safe with me. And if you could, please don’t tell anyone about the powder. That would be great.”

“Wait what was that powder stuff?” Luffy asked.

“What? You don’t know?”

“It sure was gross,” Luffy said.

“It isn’t food. It’s a very special powder known as dance powder. There’s another name for it. It’s also known as rain summoning powder. That’ what caused that sudden downpour we just had. Uh… Would you like me to explain more?”

“It’ll just go over his head,” I said.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t understand.”

“I guess you wouldn’t would you,” the old guy laughed.

Luffy laughed as well, but it came to an abrupt stop, when he brought his fist down on the guy’s head. “Hey, don’t be so rude, old guy.”

“Like I was saying, this powder is very special. It can be used to artificially produce rain.”

I listened intently as the man explained how rain powder works. I followed along just fine, but it was clearly lost on Luffy.

“Does all that make sense?”

“So, it’s mystery powder,” Luffy concluded.

The old guy started clapping sarcastically. “Yes, well done that’s it exactly.”

“Are you being rude to me again old man?”

“Yes,” I answered.

Luffy hit him again. “Why would you want to use the powder to make rain in the first place?”

“You don’t even know the first thing about this country, do you?”

“Luffy,” I said gently. “Alabasta is a desert kingdom. There’s no rain here. Water is scarce.”

“Well you see, here in Alabasta, we’re constantly battling drought.”

“What do you mean?”

“Drought is when there’s no water and the land dries out.”

“Ugh! I know that much!” Luffy knocked the man on the head again.

“Anyway, our country never gets much rain, but it’s become much more scarce in recent years.”

“That sounds bad.”

“Most of the oases have dried up.”

“So just use the mystery powder then.”

“That’s what you would think, but as I told you, the world government has now made dance powder illegal. Use of the powder is a crime punishable by execution. The powder is also supposedly what started the country’s rebellion.”

“Really?” I questioned.

“I don’t know much about that though.”

“Oh. Hey. I think I get it now. Was it your dream to help save your country by using the powder?”

“What?”

“Earlier you said the powder was really important.”

“Uh… Yeah, but that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for it,” the old guy admitted sheepishly.

“What was?” I asked.

“Well. I thought by selling water in these hard times, I could make a lot of money.”

“Yeah, you’re right. You must be really smart. I don’t’ really care about that,” Luffy said.

‘No, but Vivi would,’ I thought.

“I just need to find some place to eat,” Luffy said, focusing on his initial goal again.

“Bu- bu- bu- bu- but please don’t tell anyone about this. Let’s keep this between us, okay?” the man pleaded.

“Yeah, whatever. Makes no difference.”

Luffy’s words apparently didn’t register with the old guy, because he immediately started begging. “Please! Just don’t tell! I’ll give you anything you want! Anything!”

“Anything?” Luffy asked, excitedly.

“Anything. Anything at all.”

“You got any food?”

I smiled fondly. Oh Luffy, sweet simple Luffy.

Once he had a lunch in hand, he was ready to go. “Well it’s been fun. Thanks, a whole lot for the food, weird old guy.”

“Sure. I only hope you enjoy it.”

“And that we keep your dirty little secret,” I chirped, causing him to cast me a nervous glance.

“Trust me, I will,” Luffy responded, ignoring me. “See you around, rude old guy.”

I moved the barrels, so that they rolled behind me.

“What are you doing?” he cried out.

“You didn’t think that I collected this all for you, did you?” I asked. “Consider it the thing I want for keeping my mouth shut.”

“You can’t do that!” he yelled.

“I can, and I will.”

“You take that, and I will tell everyone about your devil fruit,” he threatened.

“And I’ll tell everyone about how I collected it from a freak downpour, caused by your dance powder.”

He glared at me. I stared back at him, not bothered in the slightest. We both knew that I was at the advantage here. Having a weird devil fruit wasn’t a crime. Being on a pirate crew was, but I had yet to be recognized for that.

Even then, I could always skip town, live life on the run. He, however, was stuck.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But don’t tell anyone!” he called as we walked off.

I smirked, pleased with my victory.

“No problem,” Luffy said. “It wasn’t like I could turn you in if I wanted to. I’m a pirate after all.”

The look on the old bastard’s face was priceless.

“Next time you decide to run off, could you at least try to stay within the city?” I asked, Luffy as we walked towards town.

“I can’t believe I ran past all the food.”

“Honestly, I can’t either. I thought your stomach would’ve just guided you into the closest restaurant.”

Luffy opened the lunch from the old guy and began chowing down. It was a decent lunch for a normal person, which it meant it barely qualified as a snack for Luffy. It had taken him no time at all to finish it, and he was still left hungry afterwards.

He whined and whined as we walked.

Meanwhile, I was having my own issues. At home, I was constantly surrounded by water, and while my travels had taken me to places far inland, none of them had ever taken me to a desert. Being so disconnected from the seas was an uncomfortable feeling.

My tie to water was more than simply an ability to control it. For me water almost always felt like home. I was born of the seas, and raised in the rivers, lakes and streams of Ogygia. For me water was home. Having not submerged myself into its depths, since I washed up in the East Blue had already felt strange but being on the seas had been enough of a comfort to combat the urge to toss myself overboard.

None of my travels had taken me to a place so devoid of any type of water. The world around me, felt empty without it, and we weren’t even that far from the sea. I was having difficulty imaging what it would feel like, the further inland we got.

“Where’s the city? Where’s a restaurant? Can’t a guy get any food in this stupid desert place?” Luffy whined.

“You could’ve gotten food earlier, had you not completely blown past the town,” I pointed out.

“Mimi, are you being rude now too?”

“Only a little,” I chuckled. “Look, the town is right there. We don’t have much further to go. Once we- “

Luffy’s eyes were glazed over.

‘That’s not a good sign.’ “Luffy?”

“Food!”

“No,” I tried to grab him, realizing that he was now seeing things. “Luffy, that’s a mirage. You’re seeing things there’s no-“

“I’M COMING FOOD!” and he was tearing off again, rubbering hand squeezing out of my grasp.

I shook my head. Last time he had a head start, and I walked into a rain storm in the middle of a desert. Who knew what he would do in the city. Ideally, we would’ve kept a low profile, while we ate and gathered supplies, but there was no chance of that happening now.

I quickened my pace to catch up to Luffy. I wasn’t running, regardless of how fast I moved, he was going to cause trouble, before I got there, so there was no point in sprinting after him. Plus, I couldn’t just tote the barrels around the city like I had been. It was too conspicuous. I didn’t have enough arms to just carry them either. I had to find somewhere to stash them, before I could go chasing after him.

After hiding my barrels behind an empty building, under a tarp, I went after Luffy. I was sure that if I found the food, I’d find him. My theory was proven correct, when I entered the second restaurant that I had encountered and saw him sitting at the counter, shoveling food into his mouth.

My other theory about him failing to keep a low profile was also proven correct by the massive hole in the wall and the marine captain from Logue Town walking out of it, after shoving what looked to be one of Whitebeard’s men into the ground.

Of course.

“I’ve been looking for you Straw Hat. I thought you’d be here. Seems I was correct,” the captain said.

Luffy said nothing. He gave no indication that he had even heard the marine. Instead he continued to scarf down food.

“Would you quit eating?!” the captain yelled.

‘I should’ve kept one of those barrels.’ I had no water on my person at the moment, the canteen clipped to my hip empty.

It was okay though, I could make do. My plan wasn’t complicated, didn’t require gallons of water. There was dish water in the sink, and while it was gross, it would work. I pulled the water from the sink, hitting Luffy square in the chest with it, with enough force to send him flying back towards me, I grabbed him by the arm and took off, running like hell through the streets.

We ran like hell through the streets, ducking and dodging, but Smoker was on our asses, a cloud of smoke that we couldn’t lose.

“TASHIGI!” Smoker yelled, at a girl on the street. Seeing the weapon in her hand and the way she addressed him led me to the conclusion that she was a marine as well.

“Get them!” he ordered.

She and her men moved quickly. They blocked the street, while she launched herself towards us.

I tossed Luffy upwards, and he got the hint, catching onto one of the nearby buildings and rocketing himself to the roof. I dodged the girl’s attack and turned right, running down a different alley.

I had to get back to Luffy. He was useless against a logia user.

“TASHIGI!” I heard Smoker yell. “GET THE MARINES AT ONCE! Search every inch of this place and find the rest of his crew.”

Of course. I didn’t want to engage her. A fight would waste valuable time, but now I had no other choice. Sure, Luffy and I had blown our covers, but the others hadn’t. So as long as the people didn’t catch wind of their true nature and the marines weren’t fully mobilized they would be fine.

“Right! Come on!” she commanded the few marines with her.

I came back around the building and ambushed the trio of marines, grabbing a bottle and hurling it at one of them, hitting him right in the head and knocking the unconscious. Tashigi and the other turned their attention towards me.

“Stop right there!” Tashigi yelled. I charged at her, knowing the she would dodge, using the opening to attack the other marine, who was by no means ready for me. He aimed his riffle at me, but I ducked under the barrel, grabbing it and aiming it towards the ground. I knocked his legs out from underneath him, gaining control of his weapon as I did so. While he was flat on his back, I used the butt end of the riffle to knock him unconscious.

That left one.

“Who are you?” Tashigi asked, her sword drawn.

“I don’t have time for you,” I said bluntly. “I’ve got to go keep your hard ass captain from getting his hands on my simple captain, so do me a favor and just stop, while you’re still conscious.”

“Not happening, pirate.” She spat the last word out, before charging.

It was obvious that she had studied the blade. The way that she held herself and the techniques that she used showed that she had a strong understanding the fundamentals. Her execution wasn’t perfect, but it was still proper. Had she been up against a rookie or some simple thug, she would’ve been able to land a hit on them easily.

I was neither of those things. Swords weren’t my weapon of choice, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know how to wield one. I had studied the same techniques as her, and I had much much more time to do so. It took something far more creative to get the jump on me.

I dodged easily, running up and kicking off of the wall landing behind her. While I was in motion so was the dishwater I had used earlier. With a swift jerk of my arm, I whipped it across her knuckles, causing her to drop her sword. Another flick of my wrist and the water ran across her palms, the pressure enough to slice through the flesh there.

She cried out, dropping to one knee.

“Your theory is excellent and your execution close. You’ve studied well, Tashigi, but you’re not the only one.”

“Who the hell are you?” she growled out, reaching for her sword.

“Doesn’t matter,” I said, knocking the weapon away from her. I went to knee her in the face, but she blocked, grabbing my leg and pulling me down.

She was feistier than I had thought. I was sure that she would’ve lost her fight once her palms had been slashed, but still she continued.

She may have been feisty, but I was stronger, rolling us over, so that I had her pinned down. I brought my fist into her face, leaving her unconscious with a bloody nose.

“I kind of like you,” I said, as I pulled myself up. A large cloud of smoke and a burst of flames drew my attention.

Before I could run towards it, a streak of red and blue with a straw hat ran in the opposite direction.

When I caught up to Luffy for what felt like the fiftieth time that day, he was sitting on a barrel in an alley, not far from, where I had stashed my barrels of water earlier.

“Luffy,” I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Hey, Mimi! Have you seen the others? I think they got lost, while the marines were chasing us.”

I groaned. “Of course, you guys attracted their attention on your own, after I took out the sword girl to try to buy everyone some time.”

“I share your sentiment,” a guy said from the roof above us. “It seems giving you a chance to escape was pointless.”

I looked up to see the Whitebeard pirate standing on top of the home beside us.

“Hey!” Luffy greeted enthusiastically. “Hiya, Ace.”

The guy, Ace, jumped down.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Luffy asked.

“You could say that,” Ace responded.

The pair laughed together, before locking hands for an arm-wrestling match on top of the barrel. Seeing the two interact caused me to relax a bit. Ace and Luffy were clearly on good terms, which meant I had one less threat to deal with.

“How many years has it been?” Luffy asked.

“I don’t know, but you haven’t changed much during all that time, you’re a little taller, but you pretty much look the same.”

“So, do you. Aside from those powers you got from eating that devil fruit, you haven’t changed a bit. Remember, when you used to run into the fields, eat a hundred watermelons, spit the seeds out like a Gatling gun and run away?”

“No, that wasn’t me, that was you,” Ace argued.

“The farmers would chase you and you’d scream like a girl.”

“That was you too. I watched and laughed.”

The two of them were caught up in their own little world, reminiscing, while they arm wrestled.

I leaned against the building watching, while also feeling my barrels from earlier, and moving the water within them, so that they rolled towards me.

The force from their arm-wrestling match was enough to break the barrel. I caught the water before it could seep into the ground or evaporate.

“I guess we’re still the same.”

“Sure are.”

“Just like old times.”

“Wasn’t your crew looking for you a few minutes ago?” Ace asked.

“I’m sure,” I said, attracting his attention.

He straightened up, before bowing. “My apologies, miss. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Portgas D. Ace, Luffy’s older brother.”

I realized at that moment, who exactly Ace was. Fire Fist, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.”

I smiled at him. He was polite if nothing else. “Big brother, huh? I’m a big sister myself. I’m Zale Mira Kai, but I prefer Mira.”

“Mira, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I take it you’re one of Luffy’s crew members.”

“The stewardess,” I answered. “And the pleasure is mine.”

“A stewardess, huh?” he asked, directing the question towards Luffy.

“For all intents and purposes, and then some,” I said.

“Yeah, isn’t that cool, Ace? Mira cleans. She can cook. She fixes our clothes. And she’s really strong.”

He nodded towards the water, floating above the ground. “That’s some power you got there. Didn’t think there were devil fruits that could control water.”

“There’s not. Mimi’s the daughter of the Sea Devil,” Luffy blurted.

In his defense, I had only told him to keep it a secret from the crew until I had told the others, and I had by this point told the others. We were going to have to have a discussion about this. I didn’t need everyone I met thinking I was evil or crazy depending on whether or not they believed Luffy.

“The sea devil?” Ace quirked a brow, sounding amused more than anything. “That’s one hell of a blood line.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” I grumbled.

Ace seemed to sense that I didn’t want to keep talking about it and changed the subject. “Wasn’t your crew looking for you?”

“Yeah,” Luffy answered, not at all bothered by the fact that the others were probably worried. “What are you doing in Alabasta anyways?”

“I take it you never received the message I left for you back on Drum Island?”

“Message?”

“Well, I guess that’s a no, but don’t worry. It’s not a big deal. It was just to let you know that I’d be in Alabasta for a few days. I’m in these waters on some business.”

I raised my brows. “What business does the Old Man have this early in the Grand Line?” I asked.

“You know Pops?” Ace asked.

“I know your Pops. I met him a long long time ago.”

“Who’s Pops?” Luffy asked.

“I’m with the Whitebeard Pirates,” Ace said proudly.

“Pops is their captain, Whitebeard,” I explained.

“The Whitebeard Pirates?”

“See this tattoo? That’s our mark, and it’s my pride. So Luffy, why don’t you and your friends come join us? Come on. It’ll be fun.”

I snorted. As if Luffy was going to sail under anyone.

“No thanks.”

Ace laughed. “I had a feeling, you’d say that. You see that’s too bad, because Whitebeard’s the greatest pirate I’ve ever met. That’s why I’m going to help him become king of the pirates, and not you Luffy. Sorry.”

“Heh. That’s fine. I guess we’ll just have to fight then, because I’m going to be king of the pirates.”

I shook my head. Boys.

Luffy tipped back the canteen, finishing it off.

“Stop it! Don’t drink it all, you mooch!”

With a few flicks of my fingers, I refilled Ace’s canteen.

“Thank you,” he said, tipping his hat to me.

“You’re welcome.”

He took a swig. “We need to get you two back to your crew, before the marines get to them. You have any idea, where they could’ve gone?”

“Probably back to the ship,” Luffy said.

“Well that’s a start, where’s it docked at?”

“Well actually, I’m not sure. That’s funny.”

“Jeez,” Ace groaned.

“Mimi?” Luffy deferred to me.

I reached out looking for that stupid demon sword, finding it much easier, after having practiced with it. “This way,” I said, leading the other two.

I walked ahead, allowing the other two to talk. Seeing as they hadn’t seen each other in a while, it was a nice chance for them to catch up, and it gave me a bit of a breather.

“You know, Luffy, Pirate ship captains usually remember, where they leave their ships,” Ace said.

“Yeah, but I was hungry, and I forgot.”

“You haven’t changed at all. So, tell me about your crew. What are they like? Who are they?”

“Well first there’s a tough guy, who carries around three swords.”

‘And sleeps more than any other person I know.’

“Wants to be the greatest swordsman in the world.

“Then there’s a navigator, who likes maps and tangerines and money.”

‘Especially money.’

“There’s also a cook, who makes really yummy food.”

‘And is totally hopeless.’

“There’s a liar too,”

‘Scaredy-cat.’

“And a doctor, who just so happens to be a reindeer.”

‘So cute.’

“Really? You don’t say? Sounds like you have a motley crew there.”

“We also have a princess and her giant duck.”

“Not something that we should be talking about here,” I reminded Luffy.

“And then of course there’s Mimi! She takes care of us all. Everyone of my crew is so interesting.”

“Sure sounds like it, but I’d wager, you’re the most interesting one of all.”

I grinned. That was for sure.

“Still, just a handful of people for a pirate crew, that’s just like you Luffy.”

“I’m still looking for a musician though.”

I stopped, seeing the Baroque Works idiots coming out of their hiding spots to intercept us. I figured that we would run into them, but I was also hoping that we wouldn’t. Wishful thinking. They were already out for us. Plus, Ace was one of Whitebeard’s, which meant he likely had one hell of a bounty on his head.

“Stop right there, Fire Fist!”

“You’ve got nowhere to run. Your head is mine. It’s my one-way ticket to a promotion! Prepare to die!”

“It’s our lucky day boys. This’ll be easier than shooting fish in a barrel.”

“Hey, look at the other guy. Is it just me or does he kind of look like Straw Hat Luffy.”

“Great,” I deadpanned.

“Hey, now that you mention it, it is him. He’s worth thirty million berries.”

“Well well it looks like our lucky day just got even luckier. It looks like or big promotion is just a hop skip and two severed heads away.”

Luffy and Ace were unfazed by the goons, continuing forward like nothing was happening. “Anyways, let’s look for your ship. We’ll start at the shore.”

“Okay. Wait, Hey Mimi, can’t you just sense Zoro or whatever?”

“I can, hence why we’re going a different direction than where we came from,” I said.

“See Ace, Mimi’s always watching out for us.”

“Well then lead the way, Mira.”

“Hey!”

“Stop you!”

“Hold it right there!”

“You can’t walk away from us! Get them!”

The goons were moved to action, attacking with greed fueled vigor.

“This is too easy to be fun,” I said, taking down man after man. I bowled over some of the goons with the barrels, something I had never really done before. I had never really experimented with the concepted of fighting with an object filled with water as opposed to just the water itself. The barrels made things a bit more interesting. It allowed me to use more blunt force attacks. I could just hit someone with a jet of water, so that it felt like I punched them or hit them with a board. However, actually hitting someone with a board with the force of my water behind it was much more satisfying, plus it required less concentration.

I lacked the fluidity though, and the speed. I didn’t like the bulkiness of the barrels, but maybe if I had something smaller, it was an option worth exploring.

It didn’t take long for Ace, Luffy and I to clear the road. Ace and Luffy had taken care of the lead idiot. Ace had heated up his sword, the heat traveling through the blade to the hilt, where it burned the man’s palms. Luffy followed that up with a gum gum bazooka, rocketing him off into the distance.

“Alright, let’s go,” I said, heading towards the water.

Once the ocean was in sight, so was the Merry. “Over there,” I pointed it out.

“We’re not afraid of you!”

I glanced back to find more Baroque Works agents surrounding us. “Seriously?”

“You two go ahead. I’ll catch up,” Ace offered.

“Sure thing,” Luffy said, jumping down and waving at the crew.

I followed him, standing by as we waved at everyone. “Alright, Mimi. Let’s go,” he said, coiling an arm around me, extending the other towards the Merry.

“Luffy-“ I started to protest, but before I could get any further were flying over the ocean as Luffy’s arm snapped back to its original size.

We crashed into the deck, taking out Shopper and Sanji in the process.

“Ouch,” I groaned, rolling off of Sanji, who I had landed on and onto the deck.

“Oh Mira, my sweet! Are you okay?” Sanji asked, springing up to sitting position, so that he could fret over me.

“I’m fine,” I said, sitting up. I rolled my shoulders and neck.

“Oh, my dear-”

“Clearly, you’re fine.”

“My barrels,” I whined, looking over at where they were still sitting on land, too far away for me to reach them. “Damn it.”

“Oh! Luffy came back!” Usopp said, appearing from inside.

“Yeah. We’re here.”

“Yeah, the hard way,” Zoro said, face palming.

Luffy popped up. “Sorry about that.”

“Yeah, you’re sorry alright! The sorriest excuse for a captain ever!” Sanji snapped, grabbing Luffy by the shirt and jerking him back and forth. “Do you even realize how our precious angel, Mira could’ve been injured- “

“I’m fine, Sanji,” I pointed out again.

“Do you have any idea how much trouble you put us in?” Nami scolded Luffy.

“And you!” she turned on me. “You were supposed to keep him out of trouble.”

“I tried, but he’s a fast bastard, makes messes quicker than I can clean them up.”

She sighed, turning back to Luffy. “Can you at least try to act like a captain some time?”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Wait, where’s Ace?”

Luffy shot up and looked out over the railing.

“You were with your brother, huh?” Zoro asked.

“Wait? Your brother?” Chopper asked, as he sat up.

“You didn’t just leave him, did you?”

“Um… Sort of, but it’s okay. He’s really strong,” Luffy explained.

“So how strong is he?” Chopper inquired.

“Well let me put it like this, when we were younger, I was never able to beat him in a fight, and this was way before he ever ate the flame flame fruit. That’s how strong my big brother is.”

“You mean to tell that there there’s a flesh and blood person out there that you can’t beat?” Nami was clearly shocked by this information. For the East Blue, Luffy was a force to be reckoned with, but he was nothing compared to some of the people that I had met on the other side of the Red Line.

“The big brother of a monster is an even bigger monster,” Usopp said.

“I guess so, because Ace used to beat me up all the time, but I bet now I could kick his big butt.”

“I’d like to see you try. So exactly whose butt is getting kicked?” Ace asked, hopping up on the railing, causing Luffy to fall over.

“Hey, Ace! This is my crew I was telling you about!”

“Nice to meet you. Thanks for taking care of my kid brother. I know he’s a handful.”

The others were clearly taken off guard by his manners. It was surprising. You didn’t often hear about polite pirates, especially not those under a yonko. Of course, having seen how Luffy behaved, it was even harder to believe that someone like Ace could be related to him.

“Oh no, not at all,” everyone save for me echoed. I pulled a face at their behavior. Polite or not, everyone knew Luffy. Ace knew him better than all of us, meaning that there was no way Ace would believe that.

“Oh, come on. Be honest. This is Luffy we’re talking about. Isn’t he a bit much for you to handle sometimes?”

“Not at all.”

“You’re good people,” Ace said.

“Well sit down and relax. I’m sure you have some catching up to do. I’ll make some tea,” Sanji offered.

“No. That’s thoughtful, but I don’t want to impose.” Ace lit Sanji’s cigarette.

“Well he’s certainly not what I expected,” Sanji said.

“I’ll say,” Zoro seconded Sanji’s statement.

“He’s clearly something if he has you two agreeing,” I chirped.

The two looked at each other, horrified, before glaring at each other.

“Whatever,” Zoro mumbled, glare focused on me for a moment.

“Listen Moss Head, you-“

“Settle down, Sanji,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“He’s polite helpful and gracious, the polar opposite of Luffy,” Usopp pointed out.

Nami continued. “One only cares about stuffing his face. There’s no way that these two can be brothers.”

“While the other only cares about his brother,” Zoro added.

“I wish I had a wonderful brother like that,” Chopper cried.

“Forget brother. I wish I had a wonderful captain like that.”

“Sanji!” Vivi scolded, putting her hands up in a placating manor. “He’s kidding.”

“See, I told you they were interesting,” Luffy chuckled.

My eyes caught the line of ships appear on the horizon. “But they’re not.”

Vivi exclaimed. “Baroque Works?! Those are the billions ships!”

“Those guys again?”

“Luffy, leave it to me. I’ll handle it,” Ace said.

All eyes were on Ace. He hopped off the Merry onto a tiny little skipper type thing.

“I wouldn’t worry about him if I were you,” Zoro said. “They don’t let just anyone become the second division commander of the Whitebeard pirates.”

Using the power of his devil fruit he powered his little skipper flying towards Crocodile’s goons. His stance was casual, hands in his pockets, posture slouched. Once he was close, he pushed off. The skipper dove under the ships, while Ace jumped up and flew overhead, his lower half turning into flames propelling himself above the ships.

He landed on his feet on his skipper on the other side, and cocked his fist back, his hand turning into flame. “Fire fist!” he yelled, throwing a punch. The flames burst forth from his hand breaking through ship after ship, until it they were all in pieces sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

The others stared at the scene in awe, save Luffy, who was laughing and cheering with glee.

“Sanji, why don’t you make us all a snack? I’ll get the mugs and bust out the booze,” I proposed. “If that’s okay with you, Captain.”

“Woo! Party!” Luffy cheered.

Sanji and I moved in tandem in our small kitchen, him cooking, while I busted out the mugs and filled them with booze, setting them on a tray, so that I could carry them out for everyone.

Ace had returned to the ship and was sitting on a barrel, while Chopper, Luffy and Usopp sat in a circle on the deck.

“Woo hoo! Time to celebrate!” Luffy hollered as I handed out their drinks, tucking the empty tray under my arm.

“Here’s to Fire Fist Ace!” Usopp yelled, seeming to not notice it was me dosing out mugs.

“Cheers!” the three of them raised their glasses.

“Wait. Who said I was joining your crew?”

“Don’t worry. You can’t take anything they say seriously when they’re like this,” Nami explained as the boys continued to toast to various things.

I shook my head at their antics.

“Hey, are you sure you don’t want to join us? It’ll be fun. I promise.”

“I can’t right now,” Ace said, voice serious. “I’m chasing someone. He’s a pirate named Blackbeard.”

“Blackbeard?”

“I’ve heard of him. He was the one, who attacked Drum Kingdom,” Vivi explained.

“You see Blackbeard, used to be a member of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates. He was one of my own men, but he committed the most unforgivable sin that I pirate could. He killed one of his fellow crew members then he jumped ship. As commander of his division, it’s my responsibility to take care of him.”

“So that’s why you’re here,” I deduced.

“I heard he was going to a place called Yuba, so that’s where I’m heading.”

“Hey, that’s our destination too, right?” Nami asked.

“Exactly.” Vivi pulled out a map of Alabasta. “We just entered the Sandora River. We’ll take it to Erumalu, where we’ll dock. Then we’ll trek on foot, until we reach Yuba, here. The leader of the rebel army is there. That’s where we’re going.”

“You don’t say. Do you mind if I tag along?” Ace asked.

“Nami, Vivi, I’ll follow you wherever you go,” Sanji cooed.

“Hopefully, it’s off of a cliff,” Zoro snipped.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY ZORO!?” Sanji yelled, getting in Zoro’s face.

“Cool it you two!” Nami barked. “Well it looks like we’ll have you for a little while Ace.”

“We’re happy to have you aboard,” Sanji said.

“This is going to be fun! To Ace!”

“To Ace!” we echoed, toasting.

***

Author’s Note: Hey people, it's been a while. Sorry about that. Some shit has happened. Uh. 1.) I graduated college. 2.) I did another internship. 3.) I turned that internship into a job. So yeah. Mira as I've mentioned takes a lot of time, because I have to watch the episodes in order to write it, which I haven't had the chance to do, because I work full-time at job 1 (which also involves a stupid two hour commute), every other Saturday at job 2 and Sundays are spent helping out my grandfather. So it's been hard to find time for Mira, hence the lack of updates here.I have been able to do some other stuff though, stuff that doesn't require me to watch anything to move forward with it, so if you havne't please go check out Throne. It's that Shanks thing that I kept saying I was gonna work on and then just didn't. It's been a lot of fun to write, so there's that. Uh... I've also started a writing blog, I don't know if I mentioned that since my last review. If you feel like it, check it out on tumblr at teroinreadsteroinwrites, which is also my new user name here, so that's another change. Jesus a whole lot can happen in some months. But yeah, go check that out. I have a master list to all of my works, including stuff that doesn't really fit on fanfic and I'm going to start posting updates about the writing process, so if you want to know what I'm working on or have questions that you don't want to leave in a review head over there. I'm always happy to talk. It also has my rec list, which is as complete as it's going to get at the moment. Uh... What else? There's a Kid oneshot called Terrible if you want to look at that, and I've missed you guys. Sorry it's taken so long to update, but you know life.

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