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redriotinggg · 4 months

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You know what I need? Strawhats raising a child, could be shippy or not, but I need them finding a baby and Luffy being like "I WANNA KEEP IT! How hard can it be to raise a child?" (Famous last words) This is less about wanting to be a father and more about thinking about this as another great adventure and experience for Luffy (besides if its a situation like finding a baby in a treasure chest they cant exactly leave it... tho I imagine Nami seeing Luffy with a baby in arms and being like "wtf, where did you get that???" Luffy: "I found it in a treasure chest :)" Nami: "WELL PUT IT BACK ITS NOT YOURS!")

Of course raising a baby in a pirate ship is bound to be dangerous, so most of the crew is like "lets find it a good family in the next island" so maybe it's more of a Tokyo Godfathers situation.

Who are the better parents? Who absolutely suck at parenting but want to help regardless? Are any of them like "I absolutely don't want any part in this" but end up being roped in regardless and end up getting attached to the child? Does the child end up being raised by Strawhats or they get them to a nice family somewhere safe?

If you know of any fanfics that are like this (if they're gen/Nakamaship the better) please reccomend them to me I'm in desperate need to see that, child raised by a village trope my beloved

Pffttt a baby should definitely NOT be aboard the Sunny but if it happened I can imagine that yes, Luffy found a baby in a treasure chest and by the time they realized what happened, they were already on the open water headed to the next island.

However, the first thought that came to my head was that Zoro was sleeping while guarding the ship and someone managed to dump the baby onboard. He wakes up and there’s a baby—just under a year old—sitting across from him, fist in their mouth and a note on their forehead that says, “YOUR PROBLEM NOW”. There’s nothing left for him to do other than wait and pray that the kid doesn't start crying or pooping.

The rest of the crew comes back like Uhhhh Zoro???? When did you give birth????? To which he yells that he didn't, you idiots!

Now they don't know what to do because they can't bring a baby on the seas in the New World, but the island they're docked at wasn't very welcoming and likely wouldn't care about an orphaned child.

Luffy makes the decision easily--they'll bring the baby with them and they'll be an honourary Straw Hat! If they get their adventure started now, the baby will be at a huge advantage when they become a pirate when they grow up. Raising a baby must be easy if so many people do it! But it doesn't take long for the others to convince him that keeping a baby abroad for an extended period isn't a good idea, so they decide to keep the baby until they can find them a good home.

Luffy is not so surprisingly great with the kid, although he's not allowed to be left alone with them. The crew freaked out when they found him and the baby asleep on the head of the Sunny. It would've been a sweet scene if they both weren't at risk of falling and drowning to death. If the baby starts crying and Luffy can't get them to stop in 2 seconds, he dumps them off to the nearest crewmate--he usually deals with crying kids by beating them up, but the baby's too young for that. Plus, the noise really hurts his ears!

Nami canonically loves kids and babies!! She doesn’t mind taking care of the baby until they can find somewhere safe for them. Except this baby is getting on her damn nerves because, for some reason, they don’t like Nami. At all. Every time she tries to hold them, they cry bloody murder. To add insult to injury, the baby absolutely loves Zoro, who still wants nothing to do with the baby. But she is nothing if not stubborn, and eventually, she and the baby are thick as thieves.

The baby loves Usopp because he’s so silly! He makes the baby laugh by playing peekaboo and he even whips up little toys for them to play with. He flails dramatically when the baby grabs his nose or pulls his hair, both of them laughing without a care in the world.

The baby is too young to be scared of Brook, so they just laugh as he dances and sings nursery rhymes from all over the four seas. His lullabies are very effective in calming the baby's crying fits or getting them to sleep.

Sanji prefers dealing with children when they’re old enough to speak, but he’s not immune to the effects of an adorable baby. If it’s a girl she gets the absolute princess treatment, complete with baby talk and compliments of how cute she is. A boy baby gets his hair gently ruffled. Either way, Sanji happily admires Robin sitting with a baby in her lap before he’s off to puree some fruits and veggies.

Chopper loves babies and thinks this one is so cute!! But he’s embarrassed by how jealous he is of all the attention the baby is getting. He can’t help it! He’s used to being the one taking naps in Zoro’s lap and being fawned over by Robin. He’s happy to have the baby with them, but he wishes he got some more attention, too.

Jimbei and Franky don’t dislike babies per se, but they’re just so small and fragile compared to them. They mostly watch the other crewmates interact with the baby from the sidelines.

Franky’s nerves aren’t helped as Robin keeps coming up to him while holding the baby and talking about how cute they are and how parenthood is such a privilege, don't you think, Franky? She manages to convince Franky to hold the baby and when he does, he bursts into tears. Overwhelmed, he passes the baby off to the closest person, who happens to be Jimbei, whose eyes also fill with happy tears when the baby snuggles up to him. Both of them stop keeping their distance after that.

Robin reads the baby bedtime stories! But the crew have also walked by and overheard her reading books about death, disease, and war. She speaks to the baby in all of the languages she knows and tells them all the secrets she's learned. It's too bad the baby is too young to retain all that knowledge, but she's more than happy to share anyway.

Zoro doesn't like kids in general, but kids love him, including this baby. The rest of the crew find it hilarious how awkward he is with the baby. You'd think he'd be used to holding a small being considering how often he carries Chopper around, but no, he's hopeless. Zoro is teased relentlessly for the way he talks to the baby. He talks to them like a grown adult and it's both endearing and ridiculous.

Absolutely nobody wants to change dirty diapers. There are physical altercations, manipulation tactics, and an abundance of tricks used as each Straw Hat tries to avoid diaper duty. (Usopp uses dirty diapers as canon fodder and ammo when they run into trouble on the water.)

Most, if not all, of the Straw Hats have mommy and/or daddy issues, so raising this baby gives them all a chance to heal, whether they realize it or not. It also gives the crew an excuse for group cuddles, not that they ever needed it.

The crew have all grown very attached to the baby by the time they reach a safe place with people they trust to raise them. A few crewmates (Usopp, Nami, Robin, Brook) want to keep the baby around--it's too cruel to leave them, now! But Luffy has made his decision. It's too dangerous for the baby out on the seas of the New World. But once they've found the One Piece they'll be back to visit.

Usopp made the baby a teddy bear and dressed it as Luffy, complete with a straw hat. Sewn to the red fabric of the hat is a note written by the crew, a photo of them all, and a piece of Luffy's vivre card. If the baby grows up and ever wants to come sailing with them, all they have to do is ask.

AAAHHH this was so fun omg!! I love babies sm and there'd be so many antics if a baby was on the Sunny. I doubt I'd ever write a fic myself though, but I'd be happy to think up more hcs in another ask :)

I don't know of any nakamaship fics like this, so if anyone does please link it in the comments. But! KazimaKuwabara has this FANTASTIC fic feat. the Straw Hats taking care of their de-aged nakama. I've read it so many times, it's great.

Thank you for the ask! Keep em coming y'all, I live for this.

#one piece #strawhats #monkey d luffy #roronoa zoro #cat burglar nami #god usopp #black leg sanji #nico robin #cyborg franky #soul king brook #jimbei #tony tony chopper #one piece au #red's asks #red's writing #nakamaship

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idleglowingpixels · 9 months

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I forget if I had mentioned it before but I'm currently watching One Piece per my bestie @stellarstar18's insistence, and I'm enjoying it so far! I'm about 45 episodes in now, I just finished the Arlong arc and I wanted to just ramble about something I thought was cool from it. Normally this isn't a series I gush about a lot, but this arc went crazy so of course I'm gonna talk about it!

I'm gonna add a Keep Reading for fellow newbies but from here on out consider this your fair spoiler warning for the Arlong Park arc's ending. Also, to those who are already caught up on the series, please don't spoil anything for me and other newbies! You can absolutely screenshot my post if you wanna add onto it with further spoilers.

The main thing I wanted to talk about was near the end of Luffy's battle with Arlong, where Luffy just starts throwing everything out of the mapping room -- desks, stationary, and nearly ten whole years' worth of maps of the seas -- not giving a single shit about what gets destroyed, all after seeing a bloodied pen left behind from Nami.

What got me was that you'd think Luffy was just doing it to piss off Arlong, to destroy the maps so he can't beat Luffy to the Grand Line, but that wasn't the reason AT ALL. He knows what kinda shit Arlong put Nami through, and even after being left behind by her, he still stuck to his guns, went after her despite the protest from the other crew mates, and stood by her side.

To Nami, he was just another pirate that she needed to steal berries from. She knows he and the other Straw Hats aren't the typical bastard pirates who hurt innocent people for their own selfish gain, but her obligation to her hometown and to Arlong's agreement is what made her ultimately try and leave them behind.

Luffy could've easily scooped up all those maps for himself, taking them along to further his own journey across the seas and toward the Grand Line, but he doesn't. Not because it wouldn't help him, it absolutely would, but those maps were made from the blood, sweat and tears of a desperate child just trying to keep what's left of her family and village safe. That's what makes him such a compelling protagonist.

Of course, yes, there's more than enough times where Luffy does things for others that are ultimately for his own gains. Him rescuing Zoro within the first few episodes is a good example of this. Zoro is a pirate hunter, known for killing several captains and their crews, but Luffy barely batted an eye to that because they both hate corrupt authority, the deconstruction of which is a mutual goal of theirs. He also knew having a strong swordsman would benefit him in the long run, which was his initial mission, but on the way he also helped the village Zoro was protecting by saying "fuck you" to the corrupt marines and kicking their asses.

Here, it's a similar situation. He's mainly going through all this additional effort because he knows Nami is an intelligent navigator that will help him toward being deemed King of the Pirates. BUT he is ALSO going through the extra work to help the innocent villagers, which includes Nami, and removing her obligations to both Arlong and her village. She went through years of suffering at Arlong's whim to protect them, and again, he hates corrupt authority. Part of it is so Nami no longer has to protect them alone through her suffrage, but the other part of it is protecting innocent lives from bastards like Arlong, who don't deserve to consider themselves King of the Pirates for even a second.

Luffy would rather have Nami happily join his crew by her own volition, and willingly navigate the seas and create maps. He doesn't care for all the maps she made for Arlong because she was forced against her will to do so. I know it's kind of a running gag that Luffy just says "No you're joining my crew whether you want to or not lol" but every single time, whatever characters he says that to ends up saying "Y'know what, yeah maybe I will join your crew" after seeing him kick ass with his rubber-man powers, and knowing that he's not an asshole like the vast majority of pirates. He never actively forces anyone onto his ship against their will, he's just like "Come on, we gotta get to our next destination!" and the others see his ambition and roll with it.

TL;DR, idk Luffy's a pretty cool dude lol

#linposts #one piece #one piece spoilers #arlong park #monkey d. luffy #nami #PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL BEYOND THIS ARC IN COMMENTS AND TAGS tyvm <3

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namiikawaii · 3 years

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Luffy x Nami: A thread Part 1

Disclaimer: This is very long so be prepared to take some time & also if you haven't watched/read One Piece at all then don't read this if you don't want to read spoilers. Firstly I'd like to adress all the people who dont believe in a love romance in One Piece aswell as those who are against this ship or do ship Luffy and Nami with different characters: Please read the thread thoughoutly and don't jump to conclusions before you read everything. I will try to mention all of the issues that are underlying in regards to general things like love romance in One Piece and I want to consider counter arguments and create hypotheses in sight of other pairings like Luffy x Boa and Sanji x Nami (which I think are the other main ships when it comes to Luffy and Nami). So it is important to be a little patient through all of this thread.

Let's start off with the question about love romance in One Piece... ''D: Doesn't anyone on Luffy's crew fall in love? Will there never be a tale of on-board romance? (Sanji is an exception in this case) I'm just wondering. -From Naoko- O: But they do... They're all in love...WITH ADVENTURE. (← good one)'' This is exactly the part of the SBS where Oda answered the question about romantic love in the Strawhat Crew. Firstly, this is obviously meant as a silly statement. It is definetly no confirmation but to see this as a serious statement is overexagerrating. Secondly, Oda wanted to answer this question by dodging it without nullifying it. What does that mean? He could have just simply said, there is no romance in One Piece and there never will be (this wouldn't be the first time that he would have answered a question in a direct and serious way). But no, he wanted to make sure that the audience understands that there is a difference between romantic love and romance (in an adventure) and that the Strawhats are on a journey of a romantic adventure which has nothing to do with loving each other in a romantic way. There are two reasons for that: -One Piece is a pure shonen/action Manga and it's target audience are teenage boys (at least this was the case when he made that statement, i don't know how that might have changed by now maybe) -For the other reason just imagine One Piece if there was active love romance going on...we wouldn't be near the story that we are now. Let's just say it would add so much more complications, to put it very simple (I don't want to go into that deep now). But now here comes the clue: All of this doesn't mean that Oda completely lefts love romance out. Because despite of all the points that I just mentioned there are pairings and there is also subtle (no explicite) love romance. Lets just look at the pairings, these are all pairings that I think the majorty of people wouldn't question: -Kaya and Usopp -Sabo and Koala -Shanks and Makino -Shakky and Rayleigh -Roger and Rouge -Oden and Toki

And yes none of these cases showed the love story between those people (maybe Kaya and Usopp if you really want) but THAT IS THE POINT! Only because Oda doesn't let the characters speak out ''i love you'' or makes them kiss all of the time doesn't mean there isn't any kind of romantic love connection between characters in One Piece (the kiss on WCI was an exeption though). This also doesn't mean that there is no possibilty of romance between the Strawhats. I get it that people see them as a familiy, and they truly are one. If there was romance between two of them during the story of One Piece the dynamic wouldn't be the same anymore, especially if there was a canon relationship between Luffy as the captain/ main protagonist and another crewmember. I mean we don't want to see Luffy prefering one nakama over the other. If he calls for his friends, he calls for everyone and not firstly for the person he's in love with. They are all equally as important as the others. But you have to remeber that they aren't blood-related and it wouldn't be weird at all if some of them are ending up together after the adventure of the One Piece. That's the reason why the hints that are given by Oda are really hints, not just merely coincidence.

And i wouldn't be here if Oda didn't hint Luffy and Nami in the past and he will hint them in the future or even more. Let's beginn chronologically with the bond-forming between Luffy and Nami and why their relationship is special EAST BLUE SAGA -Nami was intended as a crew-member from the very beginning, even before One Piece was existing. That's the reason why Luffy and Nami saw each other in the first episode of One Piece. It was to pay hommage to Silk/Ann the heroines of the Romance Dawn Manga. (Just read into it if you want to know more) But what's important is that they were the inspiration for Nami as a character/ as the heroine.

-Orange Town: Luffy and Nami meet for the first time in the Manga Nami reveals her goal to Luffy - which is ''to buy a certain village'' (keep this in mind) Luffy tells Nami why the strawhat is so dear to him - he won't be telling anyone afterwards these details again -Nami tricks Luffy. Buggy captures him but when Nami is forced to fire a canon ball at Luffy she refuses, starts a fight against all the Buggy-Pirates and finally at the risk of her own life she burns her hands facing the pirates with her back in order to prevent the canonball to blow up Luffy (she does quite much for this pirate guy she just met) - you see that at this point Luffy did touch something in Nami's heart because when they have to escape she literally instantly fires the canonball at Buggy without hesitation. -Nami sewing Luffy's damaged hat. Since then it's always her who takes care of it if it takes any damage/ if there is something to sew in it like Ace's Vivre Card. Now I want to put in here my first hypothetical compairison for the LuBoa and SaNa shippers. Just imaging now this same situation happening between Luffy and Boa. Luffys hat is ripped apart - maybe she knows that Luffys hat is his treasure maybe not but lets imagine she does know. She will of course sew it, would probably blush and say something romantic about her doing this for him. And as a shipper this would be the most romantic thing for you wouldn't it? In reality it is Nami who precisely watches Luffy and understands the importance of his hat to him, she goes up to him and fixes his strawhat, with the only difference that it is just more natural and less lovey-dovey from Nami's part (because of course she would never act like that if she was in love with someone). I am already asking you now, which lovestory sounds more believable? -Syrupp Village: There are a few cute moments (Nami catches Luffy and cheers on him and so on...) but i wanted to especially point out that these two are are sitting/lying on the ground after the fight and Nami playes with the Strawhat, Luffy is of course unbothered. But this already shows how comfortable these two are at this point, they know each other only for a few days now. And also this image of them two talking and sitting together is a theme that continues throughout One Piece. -Namis leaves with the Going Merry, looking devestated that she has to leave ''Luffy and the others'', and Luffys reaction after Zoro says to just leave her: ''I want her to by our navigator no matter what'' (These words are enough, no comment needed and also look at Zoro's face as Luffy is stating these words) -Kokoyashi Village: Luffy already trusts and knows Nami so well that he is enraged to hear that she allegedly killed Usopp - the others are sure that she did it but Luffy insists, and even when Nami confirmes to him that she indeed sent Usopp to the ocean's ground Luffy refuses to accept it and immediatly goes to sleep. (I'm sure it's because he knew that something was wrong but he knew he had to wait for Nami to come up to him)

-The famous moment hits different (for shippers and non-shippers): Luffy giving Nami his precious strawhat! He wants to show her how much she is dear to him, his gives her his treasure because now she's his treasure too (and you can see this in a romantic way or in a platonic way but just remember that Luffy never did this ever to anybody in the past or in the future) Now i want to mention something that i said earlier: people often say that Luffy didn't care about Namis story but let me tell you something different. Luffy already knew what Nami's obejectif was (to buy a certain village) now Luffy also knows that there is a pirate called Arlong and when Nami is stabbing herself she shouts his name in devastion. Luffy is not dumb, he understood already some parts of Nami's history - later when he is in Nami's room he understands the impact even more. It is so far from truth that Luffy doesn't know Namis story, he may not know some details, but he could conntect enough points to understand Nami's pain. And my personal theory is that he didn't wanted to hear Nojikto telling Nami's story because maybe Nami wouldn't have wanted him to hear it and it could certainly be that he knew that maybe he couldn't hold himself back and intervene before Nami asked him to do so and finally rely on him! -Genzo and Luffy's conversation: just read/watch it - it is a father to boyfriend conversation (i thought so even before i shipped LuNa) So far these are the most important moments for the East Blue Saga, and of course there are other things you could mention but i just wanted to point out the key moments that really built their relationship and created the whole fundament. Since I don't know when I can continue writing on this, I am just going to show some colourspreads which contain hints in my opinion. (Like Nami being represented as a queen, or Nami holding and wearing Luffy’s hat)

#onepiece #luffyxnami #luffy x nami #luffy #nami #luna #lunami

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lawslessons · 3 years

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Hello! I can ask for Soulmate AU colors + Luffy D Monkey. Thanks!

Hello my dear! I hope you enjoyed this as I have had an amazing time writing this!

Luffy x Reader - To See Colors

Warnings: None

Synopsis: Landing on a strange island has its perks. The nice ocean, the soft grass, the archers. Wait, archers? The colorblind captain finds himself on a whirlwind adventure where he meets someone life changing. Through a chance encounter, Luffy finds his destiny at sea and finally sees the colors he’s dreamed of.

Gray, white and black plagued his vision, but it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. The teen softly smiled as he looked out at the vast expanse of the ocean and saw how the gray water meshed in with the white clouds, it was a monochromatic vision that Luffy was content with. Luffy never believed that he would one day find his soulmate, in fact he didn’t even know what that meant. He remembered overhearing Sanji and Zoro talking to one another and trying to figure out what colors were. Colors. That was a word Luffy had heard before but was unable to connect to anything substantial. Color wasn’t a taste, it wasn’t a feeling, it was something he wasn’t able to describe which annoyed him. If there was one reason he wanted a soulmate it would be for that, for the desire to see out into the ocean and see what the color blue was, to see what different colors were. Was the sky what they called green? He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard yelling across the deck.

“Oi, Luffy! We see land, do you want to stop there to get a refill on our supplies?” Nami asked as she looked down at her map. Luffy looked over at her and grinned one of his signature wide, toothy grins.

“Of course! I wanna see if we can get some more meat. I want Sanji to cook us something good tonight,” Luffy said as he got off of the Sunny’s head and landed on the grassy deck. The crew looked at their captain and watched as he smiled and looked out at the island. Luffy felt strangely drawn towards the island and it made him a little antsy. “How much longer?” the young captain whined as he watched them slowly begin to anchor by the shore of the island.

“Hold on, Luffy. We need to -- “ Nami’s words fell on deaf ears. As she spoke, the captain used his devil fruit abilities to reach out to the island and onto a tree. “Luffy!” Nami yelled in disbelief as the captain launched himself out of the ship with a loud laugh. Nami sighed, there was no point in trying to hold him back, he always did something like this.

Luffy laughed and used his free hand to hold his hat down on his head as he flew forward onto the grassy, forested island.

“This place is cool!” Luffy said as he landed smoothly on the wet grass and began to walk through the wide land, slowly venturing further into the forest. As he walked and progressively made more noise, rustling was heard among the trees. Luffy paused and used his observation abilities to assess the situation, and before the wall of arrows could hit him, he dodged the attack and went to intercept one of the archers by grabbing him by the shoulder and pinning him to the ground. “What are you doing?” He asked with a confused look on his face.

“Y-you’re an intruder, we don’t like having people here!” the archer squeaked as he tried to escape Luffy’s grip without any success. “I need to take you to our leader, so please surrender!” the man quickly said, Luffy wanted to laugh, it was kind of funny to see the man asking Luffy to submit when Luffy was pinning him to the ground. Luffy thought about his situation for a moment and he decided that maybe finding out where he was would be better than being lost out here.

“Ok!” Luffy chirped as he went about letting the man go and letting him grab Luffy by his shoulders and leading him further into the lush forest. Luffy took in the gray and white scenery, it didn’t seem right to him. For the first time in his life, he started to seriously question the colors he was seeing, or the lack of them. And the more he saw the forest, the more his yearning began to grow. He snapped out of his daze when they reached this large expanse of land that was covered in small houses. It was obvious that some of the forest was cut down, but what remained of the large trees was put to good use. Tree stumps served as benches and places where people discussed their lived with one another. While the small town was nice, there was a small sense of disorder that Luffy was able to sense.

“We’re here,” the archer said as he led the way into the small town and over to the largest building. Even then, the building wasn’t that large, but nothing here seemed to be, but everyone here looked happy. Luffy watched as the children played around the ground and how the elderly people interacted with one another.

“Go into this building and to the right, they should be there,” he smiled. Luffy was confused by the sudden hospitality, but he did as he was instructed and went inside of the building and went to turn right and was instantly stunned by this large, elaborate looking chair. It was golden and covered in ornate carvings and jewelry. But on the arms of the chair, he could see scratches and some sign of distress. In fact he could sense that from the entire room, something didn’t feel right.

“Woah!” Luffy gasped as he ran to the chair and instantly sat down on it. He was excited and felt powerful when he sat on the large chair.

“You shouldn’t be sitting there,” Someone quickly said. Luffy turned his head but he didn’t see anyone, all he could hear was the sound of footsteps entering the room. “That’s my chair,” Someone said as they stared at the back of the chair and frowned. “Anyways, that doesn’t matter, why are you here? What do you want from my island?” they asked the young captain. They sounded tired and discouraged, obviously uninterested in the young captain’s purpose.

“Me? I just wanted to get some food,” Luffy shrugged as he crossed his legs and got more comfortable on the large chair.

“Food?” They asked, they went silent for a moment and sighed. “Is that all you want from here? No treasure? No money? No people?” They asked in a slightly worried voice. Luffy could hear the sound of a bow and arrow being strung together. He frowned and looked behind himself and found no one there which confused the poor male.

“No? I just wanted to get some food,” Luffy explained, he heard the bow being lowered and could feel them slowly relaxing as Luffy talked. The strain in their sign was heard by the captain and he listened as they stepped away, slowly retreating.

“I’m going to go then, leave as soon as possible,” They said before they went about leaving the room and leaving Luffy to his own devices. Luffy looked back in confusion and still didn’t see who he was talking to earlier. Luffy jumped off of the chair and scratched his head in confusion, he went about leaving the building and looked around the town some more. As he ventured and stole some food, he also noticed how it slowly became dark and also how people began to go inside their houses as the stars came out.

“You should go back to where you came from, it’s not safe here in the night,” The person from earlier said as they stepped behind Luffy. Luffy turned around and noticed a shadow in the dark.

“The shadows attack people who are not in the light, you should leave soon,” They said as they stepped further away from the young captain. Luffy frowned at their words and tried to look around and see them.

“What?” Luffy asked before he felt something touch his shoulder, it was cold and slowly felt like he was draining the life from him. Luffy looked at his shoulder and saw something dark, black creeping up on him. The sight of it was ghastly and reminded him of Blackbeard’s own attacks. Thinking of that man was enough to make the captain’s mind go blank and spiral. As he was distracted, they decided to take initiative and quickly lunge at Luffy.

“Run!” They yelled, they quickly grabbed Luffy by the hand and began to run through the forest, up over the tall plants and over the vibrant land. When they finally began to slow down, Luffy took in the scenery some more, they were by the ocean, but he couldn’t see the ship anywhere, maybe this was a different part of the shore? “You need to be more careful,” They softly pointed out, they let go of Luffy’s hand and stepped forward in the moonlight. Their facial features were somewhat obscured, but through what he saw, Luffy was able to make out sharp, discerning eyes and he could tell that they were someone powerful.

“I could’ve handled myself,” Luffy defended.

“No, you couldn’t have. You can’t just punch a shadow,” They pointed out which caused Luffy to laugh.

“Yes you can! I’ve done that before!” Luffy shared, they were quiet for a moment but soon Luffy heard soft laughter coming from them. It was soft and sad, and sounded a little hoarse, almost as if they hadn’t laughed in a long time.

“You’re a strange man,” They said as they glanced over at Luffy. Luffy looked them in their eyes and saw that while they were under the moon together, more of their features became visible and something else too. He saw the blues of the night, the silver and white of the moon and the color of their eyes too. Luffy’s jaw went slack as he looked at them and watched them quietly do the same. They both took each other in and felt that strange confusion grow even more as they stared at one another.

“I never thought I would meet you,” They quietly admitted as they fully faced Luffy and stared at him.

“What are you?” Luffy asked, he was confused, overwhelmed by all the colors that were appearing before his eyes. He looked around to see if what he was seeing was real. He couldn’t even name these colors, he didn’t even know their name but he was so fascinated by them.

“A person like you, I’m no one special,” they assured him. “I just try to run my island, my people, nothing important,” they said as they stared at the blue ocean with a longing look.

“But that is important, do you want to leave? You’re a good archer, aren’t you?” Luffy asked.

“Don’t,” They quickly said as they looked over at Luffy. “I have a duty to my people, I need to be able to fulfill the duty of sitting in that chair, being a competent ruler… but even I don’t know what that means, how I can achieve that,” They admitted.

“What happened to your town?” Luffy asked them as he looked at the tall trees. What color were they? Purple? He wasn’t sure.

“Town?” They scoffed, “That’s all that remains of our island, my people. We were attacked recently and I wasn’t able to fend them off... nothing else is left. We were an island of archers, powerful warriors before we were attacked. It came in the night, it was devastating,” they confessed.

“So if you have nothing left, why won’t you come with me?” Luffy bluntly asked. While they may be soulmates, that didn’t mean they didn’t want to slap him right now.

“Because I can’t abandon my people! I don’t even know how to rule, I need to learn, I need to help them,” They insisted as they stepped closer to the young captain.

“Then come with us and see how it works! That way one day you can be an amazing ruler,” Luffy said as he reached his hand out to them with a confident smile on his face. That caught them off guard, they looked at his hand and hesitantly reached forward. Was this possibly a mistake? Maybe, they didn’t know what they were about to get into but they began to realize that they would be able to trust Luffy to fulfill his promise.

They stared down at his hand and looked at him in disbelief, how was he able to place so much confidence in them after knowing them for only a few hours? Why would he want to venture out to sea with them?

“Why me?”

“Because, I can see new things now because of you!”

“Is that all?” They asked with a risen brow.

“You’re strong too, and I just want to help you achieve your dream too, your dream of becoming a great ruler of not only this island, but many islands!” Luffy chirped. They listened to him as he expanded their dream to be something bigger, something more than they ever expected of themselves. They smiled at Luffy and took another step forward, a step towards a new opportunity.

“I’ll go with you,” They said as their hands touched for the first time and electricity coursed through their veins. That smile on Luffy’s face was all they needed, they smiled back at him and looked out at the blue ocean and felt their adventure beginning.

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madlymiho · 4 years

Note

Headcanon for smoker, mihawk, and zoro: they have a short s/o who always wants to be picked up or given piggy back rides— how do they react and what not

They kill them inly...

Joke aside, it’s a very cute headcanon! 🥺 I didn’t go for Mihawk on this headcanon because it’s similar to what I could have already written there

Otherwise this is adorable and I’m super happy to write about Smoker and Zoro again! 😤

Smoker:

• For Smoker, his duty is probably the most important thing in his life, and he can’t act like a fool when he has the flag of the Navy above his head all the time. He’s already surprised to allow someone to share his life, so you should be grateful he’s already making quite an exception with you around

• Honestly, Smoker finds you utterly cute and lovable, your small size always a good reason for him to peer down at you, serious and icy eyes staring at your soul, before he would just slightly expose a more tender nature through a wink or a quick smile. You have something appealing, something he can’t fight... and somehow, he curses himself because he’s the one who gave you this stupid idea in the first place

• Perhaps because you were tired, injured, or too slow for him, Smoker one day agreed to carry you on his back, and since when, it’s like he has opened the Pandora box, releasing your needy nature and the very fact that you just love to climb him like a tree, despite his harsh words and his general cold attitude when he’s outside

• If the first time was an absolute exception, each time you’re giving him those pleading eyes, asking to be carried on his back, he just rolls his eyes and snaps that he doesn’t have time to play around. He’s a rear admiral after all! You can’t expect him to show such a tender side, while he has the entire G-5 to order around... He can’t simply lose his credibility while he has built this serious and severe reputation through sweat and blood

• Most of time, your request are answered either with a cold silent, or either a big no, Smoker definitely flustered because you can’t help yourself being so needy, and desperate because he feels embarrassed one more time ; you have too much power upon his poor and weak soul. He prefers to leave you right where you are, pretending that you’re acting childishly and wouldn’t oblige to such a pathetic behavior

• Even though, you know him enough to already be sure he would lower his guard at some point, and if he would yell at you to get down if you ever dare to climb on his shoulders, he has this reflex to wrap his strong arms around your legs to make sure that you wouldn’t fall... and if you make him notice that he doesn’t seem reluctant to carry you, you will have to deal with a mumbling smoking mess, teeth clenched on his cigars

• Because inly, deeply, and secretly, Smoker is concerned about your health... if you ask for a piggy back ride, perhaps it’s the results of some hidden pains? Maybe you’re tired? His chivalrous nature tends to only appear when you’re around anyway, and even if he tries his best to control himself, he usually fails...

• Though you better be sure that he would never agree to carry you if he has his men around, or any other member of the Navy. He’s not a romantic partner, and if he exposes his most sensitive nature to you, it’s only when he’s certain no one would ever bust the two of you. He doesn’t like to lower his guard so easily... but it doesn’t feel so bad to have you on his back whenever you’re walking with him to head somewhere

• So with time, he would just eventually roll his eyes and nod his head, inviting you to jump onto his shoulders, the ghost of smile floating on his lips while he will surely pretend that you’re just a pain his ass for him...

Zoro:

• Just! Get! Down! He hates it! He hates whenever you’re exposing your neediness like this, especially when there are curious eyes around. Dammit, he’s not a horse! You have legs, why don’t you use them in the first place? You get under his skin, because Zoro doesn’t know how to deal with your attitude!

• First of all, it has been quite a ride for him to accept his feelings for you. He has never been truly opened and aware of his emotions, and he doesn’t like to dwell on romantic feelings because he’s certainly not like that disgusting cook. Falling in love with you wasn’t a wanted part of his adventure as a pirate, but now that he’s stuck with his own romantic feelings, just... don’t push it too much?

• Physical touch and attention are turning this giant pile of muscles into a barking puppy, and surely you’re not helping whenever you’re staring at him with that particular look on your face. He knows you enough to believe you’re up to some mischief and he doesn’t have time for your childish little whims! Just don’t play with his nerves!

• Surely the first time you climbed your grumpy boyfriend, he has been utterly impatient and close-minded to your behavior. Growling like a beast, calling you an “idiot” and so on while he would have put you down in the minute, cheeks turning redder than usual, and his only valid eye sending death threats if you ever wished to come up again... Seriously, why does he have to deal with so many babies?

• Somehow he hates the fact that your new little trick has been a sort of everlasting new thing among the Straw Hat, Chopper, Luffy and even Nami sometimes asking for the moss-head to carry them the way he does accept to carry you from time to time... because yes, with time, of course he has lowered his guard, to the point that he only throws some casual insults when he feels your weight on his back, accepting your presence in the end

• Though, despite his grumpy attitude, he’s a weak man with you, and slowly you manage to turn this nasty habit into something he wouldn’t even pay attention to anymore. After he made sure that no one else among the crew would mistaken him as their new ride, Zoro just sometimes invites you to come up with a little smirk, patting the top of his shoulder with one his sword

• It’s also quite convenient if you need to escape a dangerous situation, and rather than waiting for you to carry on with his pace, he simply squats down and waits for you to jump on him, so you would be able to be safe and sound and he wouldn’t have to worried about you too much... it’s a good way to put you somewhere far from the danger, and he appreciates the idea that he’s your savior (and not that damn swirling brows...)

• Though you’ll have to expect for some uncomfortable and unexpected ride with him... you signed for this, after all, the first time you decided to have a piggy back ride with him! If Zoro wants to carry you for some reason, whether you’d be turn as a potato bag or anything else, head down, legs in the air, you’ll have to deal with you... because no one of your arguments would be valid, Zoro will simply smirk and answer “I thought you like that when I carry you, name...”

#one piece headcanon #one piece imagines #one piece hcs #roronoa zoro #Smoker One Piece #zoro one piece #one piece zoro #one piece smoker #rear admiral smoker #captain smoker #one piece imagine #one piece headcanons #one piece hc #fluffy hcs #fluffy request #anonymous request #queued

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cienie-isengardu · 3 years

Text

Luffy and Zoro, equality presented by Wano Arc...?

The feeling of equality between Luffy & Zoro has been sitting on my mind a lot lately, so I finally decided to write down my chaotic thoughts on that matter.

First, to be precise: I’m not talking about power levels between Straw Hats because One Piece proved on many occasions that power alone is not a good measure how one character will fare in a fight or that beating X does not automatically guarantee beating Y. In Thriller Bark Perona took down Luffy, Sanji, Zoro and Franky without a problem, but lost to Usopp out of all people. At the same time, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji will always be the main fighters of Straw Hats no matter the gap of power between them. Everyone is powerful on their own, but they may fare better in different fighting settings. I personally tend to think that Luffy and Zoro are closer to each other in terms of power, raw strength and will, but this is not exactly the matter of equality I wish to talk about. What I wish to talk about is how the Wano arc set Luffy and Zoro apart from the rest of the crew in a more tangible (visual) way.

Even before Wano Arc, Luffy and Zoro were singled out by narrative on various occasions. The most memorable is: the first meeting with Shichibukai (and Mihawk acknowledging them both), taking a beating in Mock Town to Nami’s dismay and Bellamy Pirates’ amusement, earning the title of Supernova and with that becoming part of the Worst Generation, independently attacking Charlos/Tenryūbito (though sadly, Zoro was stopped by Bonney) or killing together a dragon on Punk Hazard. In all cases, Luffy and Zoro were set apart from the rest of the crew and even other pirates, sharing unspoken understanding of other actions and needs or becoming a part of something bigger and more dangerous.

Luffy will always be the captain (leader) and as the main character, the hero saving the day at the end of the arc. At the same time, Zoro may never be officially called the vice captain by other crew members (which is fair, Straw Hats Pirates don’t care nor have any need for ranks) but narrative puts him as the protector of crew (i.e. Kuma), the leader in the absence of Luffy what consistently is marked by narrative boxes (i.e. “Zoro team”,”Zoro side”) and the layout of frames (Zoro taking the central position that normally belongs to Luffy) or even having some confrontation with the final boss (Arlong, Hody). Zoro is also treated like the voice of reason; even if his words are harsh and emotionless, he will speak what must be said for the Luffy and crew’s sake (Alabasta, Davy Back Fight Arc, Water 7, Enies Lobby, Zou). He is also the one that provides Luffy comfort and support in dire situations (Usopp leaving the crew).

Luffy cares equally about his nakama, yet the narrative likes to single out Zoro as someone usually standing by him but also as someone taking Luffy’s position of captain very seriously. Further details adding to the feeling of equality set up by narrative include the visuality of their most notable scars (under left eye/left eye and middle of chest), the running joke of people mistaking Zoro for an actual captain of Straw Hats Pirates or acknowledging him as a dangerous “beast”, Luffy and Zoro’s very similar mindset and attitude towards fighting powerful enemies and all the parallels in which both captain and first mate* did the same things on various points in the manga or color spreads/covers (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x).

In general, the story established how despite their different nature of extrovert and introvert, Luffy and Zoro are similar when it comes to the serious and trivial matters about whose I could talk for days. What is vital though, for years such treatment of Zoro created the feeling of equality between him and Luffy. Not in the power sense per se because narrative has never been objective about that, but how they progress from rookies to men getting closer and closer to fulfilling their dreams.

And now the Wano Arc seems to single them out in ever more visible ways.

For one, anime dropped the individual eye catchers for the whole crew, except for Luffy and Zoro. At the end of each, all Straw Hats are showed standing together:

In both cases, Zoro is on Luffy’s right and both carry similar looking katanas: Kitetsu II and Sandal Kitetsu III. The swords may have different colors, but their tsuba have the same patterns, which double the feeling of equality between those two.

Manga provides similar moments, starting with chapter 912

and cover of volume 91 (which was used for Luffy’s eye catcher apparently) and inside illustration included in volume 92

Then from all the crew, only Luffy and Zoro were pretending to be ronin (the masterless samurai), seen in box info

while the rest Straw Hats played the role of ninja (Chopper), kunoichi (Nami), ghost (Brook), geisha (Robin), toad oil salesman (Usopp), carpenter (Franky) and soba cook (Sanji). Even Law, another Supernova and equal to Luffy, hid his identity pretending to be some sort of wandering monk. And thinking logically, Law would be better ronin because unlike Luffy, he knows how to use sword in fight.

Another visually prominent detail - Zoro and Luffy are the only one Straw Hats who have kimonos with ornaments resembling the sun that may be a symbol of the coming dawn, foretold by Lady Toki. A dawn that will end Kaido and Orochi’s reign on Wano.

Luffy’s ornament is straight taken from the crest of the Kozuki clan (and resembling the symbol Alabasta Kingdom). I have much more to tell about Zoro’s design but that will need wait for another time. For now, though it looks much sharper is no less reminiscent of the same solar symbol. Adding to the sign their status of ronin and we may call Luffy and Zoro, figuratively speaking, the samurai bringing sun (hope, new era, peace) to a country plunged in darkness, most likely in nearest future fulfilling late Kozuki Oden’s desire to defeat Kaido and open Wano to world.

Of course, all Straw Hats, Heart Pirates, Minks and people of Wano are working together to defeat Kaido but Luffy and Zoro were visually set apart from everyone from the beginning of the arc. There is also their personal, strong connection to Oden’s children: Momonosuke and Hiyori who both were very impressed and protected by Luffy (Momonsuke) and Zoro (Hiyori).

Another detail binding Luffy and Zoro more to Oden and setting them apart from the rest of characters are new things they have acquired through the course of the arc. Namely, the better understanding & advanced techniques of Busoshoku Haki (Luffy) and late Oden’s great sword Enma (Zoro). Both things are capable of hurting Kaido.

Usually, during the arc, Luffy gets separated from the crew for the longest part of the story. And indeed, he gets struck first in prison (where he managed to win over imprisoned there samurais) and now, during battle, is running to face Kaido escorted only by Jimbei and Sanji (who wandered away in chapter 997). Surprisingly, Zoro too was separated by quite a long period of time, in which he met and befriended Yasue, Hiyori and Toko before he rejoined the crew for the final battle. Luffy and Zoro are the Straw Hats that openly admit they want to face Kaido in fight.

Another detail setting them apart from the rest of the crew: interacting with (and in case of Zoro, beating down) other Supernovas. They met Hawkins at the beginning of arc and fought him (Sanji too, met Hawkins and Drake once in public baths but ran away, securing Nami, Robin and Shinobi well being), then Killer and Kid before and during battle, Apoo and Drake which whom they had small crash, but now Drake were working with Roronoa against Apoo. Ironically, Drake is a friend with Coby who is a friend of both Luffy and Zoro. Coby literally met those two before Nami debuted. Also, the Supernovas allied with Luffy are learning in hard way that dealing with Zoro is not less stressing that working with Luffy.

How the Wano arc will turn out will show the upcoming chapters, for now though, not only Straw Hat has a strong connection to people of this land. For one, there is Tama, that both Luffy and Zoro came to like very much and literally started wreaking havoc in enemy territory because of her. Twice. Then there is mentioned connection to Oden - symbolic samurais of dawn and carrying Momonosuke and Hiyori’s wish to defeat Kaido and save the country but also Zoro’s personal connection to Shimotsuki clan that was hinted time after time and briefly explained in SBS that may or may not play bigger role, especially since Shimotsuki clan support Kozuki family. Which only adds to the whole connection between Luffy and Zoro and (good) people of Wano.

I feel like Wano arc was set up to establish the equality of Luffy and Zoro, not in the power sense that so many fans love to argue about, but as the relationship between them. Not just as captain and (powerful) subordinate but more like partners, the way Roger and Rayleigh or Kid and Killer are seen. The manga put a lot effort in creating parallels and the visual similarity between those two characters to dismiss the potential hints of Luffy and Zoro slowly falling apart from the crew in the sense of the role they will play in this and maybe future arcs.

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eirist · 3 years

Text

Winter Whimsies ❄️

CUSTOM MADE

Vignette #: 3

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: T

Note: Vignette for the ZoNa Holiday 2020 at @zonamievents in Tumblr. December 18 theme: Ornaments / Traditions. Well, I honestly don’t think it’s a vignette anymore. And I’m still aiming to finish all themes even if the event has ended. It’s still holidays after all.

Summary: All in all… they pretty much started a weird tree decorating tradition. And Zoro, as usual, doesn’t want to be a part of it.

The Mugiwara Christmas tree stood in all its glory inside the Sunny’s library.

It was the crew’s first time in two years to put one up. Luffy was enthusiastic with the idea. And with Chopper who was just as excited at the prospect of enjoying the festivity that comes along with the said tree… there was no room to say no.

So off Zoro went—along with Franky—to scour the island for a suitable tree to cut down and use. Brook and Jinbei undertook the task of preparing the library. Nami and Robin headed to town to buy decorations and do some more shopping while Sanji busied himself preparing the Christmas dinner. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper took turns stealing some of the cookie dough whenever the chef’s back was turned.

Trimming the tree was chaos unfolding. The moment Zoro was able to situate it in the library, an argument started on what ornaments to adorn the tree as all of them wanted to have their own specific contribution dangling from the evergreen branches—ranging from normal festive baubles, edible confections to weird knick-knacks.

And that is how Nami and Robin found them when they arrived back on the ship. The navigator immediately hit the roof and the boys (including the older ones), trembled in fear.

When she stared at them with blazing eyes and stated in a tone as cold as the winter island that they all better stop because tree trimming was her and Robin’s job... Usopp immediately volunteered that he and the boys would be the ones to decorate the outside of their ship... far away from the fuming map maker.

He high-tailed it out of the library, miraculously dragging the others with him while Nami threatened that if they do an awful job… she will charged them with all the shopping expenses plus interest.

So the two girls busied themselves with the Christmas tree as the others hang wreaths, garlands and boughs of holly in the library, galley and other parts of the Sunny. Franky and Jinbei then suspended some ice lights on the decks and yellow string lights in the rooms, giving the whole area a more festive ambience.

As more and more Christmas ornaments and decorations were put up on the Sunny… the more excited the crew became.

When Nami and Robin finished decorating the tree, Franky added some string lights to it as well. They all hold off placing the star on the top as they reserved that honor for Luffy and Chopper.

They were putting some finishing touches in the tree and fixing the presents underneath it when Brook walked up to them, humming as he nonchalanty hung additional ornaments on the branches that looked like miniature pirates wearing little red, Santa hats—with hair colors oddly similar to the crews’.

“Brook that is cute!” Nami gushed as she stared at a familiar orange-haired pirate. “Where did you get them?”

“Yohohoho! It’s a secret Nami-san.”

“Fine. Keep it to yourself!”

“Perhaps if you show me your—”

“Not in this life or the next!”

“It’s really charming Brook,” Robin interjected as she studied the mini pirates while Nami smacked the musician with her Clima-tact. “Good find.” She touched one that looks just like her.

“Yohohoho! Thank you Robin-san!”

The sound of Sanji’s voice, crooning for his beloved ladies pulled their attention away. He had baked some Christmas cookies and prepared tea for the girls’ snack time.

With the Christmas tree done and decked out they decided it was time for a break.

-------------------------

When Nami stepped inside the library later that afternoon she was surprised to see that the Straw Hats’ Christmas tree got additional decorations.

Aside from the mini pirates Brook has placed earlier, there were also the cardboard drawings of their faces that Usopp made back in Punk Hazard when Trafalgar Law shambled half of the crew and some flowers from Robin’s flower bed. There intricately-made trinkets obviously made by Franky and transparent Christmas balls with little sea kings inside which looks like Jinbei’s.

Nami’s lips twitched a little. She had just left Luffy and Chopper stringing popcorns and cranberries under the direction of Sanji. Aside from the candy canes they wanted to place on the tree, the blond cook also suggested they make an edible garland to circle it… much to the reindeer and rubber man’s delight.

And since pretty much everything eatable hung on the tree will not go to waste—thanks to Luffy—Nami decided to affix some of her precious mikans on it. She carefully wrapped red ribbons around them so she can string it on the branches for all to enjoy after tonight’s dinner.

A loud snore interrupted her as she was beginning to hang the fruits.

With brows furrowed, she slowly peered behind the tree and was surprised to find their swordsman snoozing against the wall, hidden behind the all that green, without a care in the world.

Was he here all the time?!

Damn the man unwittingly camouflaged himself using the Christmas tree!

She stared at him for a good few seconds, pondering if she should wake him up.

But she remembered that it was Christmas and that she promised to play nice and that Zoro was the one reason why they currently have a tree on display.

“Tch! Guess this is your contribution then, you lazy ass,” she muttered as she continued with what she was doing.

There was silence. Before she heard a ‘hmph’ and grumble.

“Yeah… you try lugging that back here while your idiot companion decides to play in the snow.”

Nami rolled her eyes even if he cannot see her. “Fine,” she groused. “I’m letting you off the hook since you did a good job with this tree.”

“Tch.”

She tilted her head slightly to peer at him again. “Just so you know. Everyone have something distinctively theirs in this tree.”

Zoro studied the tree for a moment before scoffing. “That’s overkill.”

Nami glared at him. “It’s called Christmas spirit idiot!” She frowned as she hung the last two of her mikans. “If it’s not too much for you, maybe YOU can also join us in this activity!”

“Maybe it is too much for me.”

“Ugh,” she groaned out in frustration. With her hands on her hips she glowered at him. “Really Zoro?”

“Yeah.”

Nami scowled. Sometimes his lone wolf persona grates her nerves. Especially at times like these when the whole crew is involved and he’s acting like he doesn’t give any rat’s ass about it.

Still she doesn't wanna start a fight with him today of all days. Instead, she just sighed and settled on glowering at him. “Just get your dumb self in the galley in half an hour. If it's not too much for you to join your crew for dinner."

There was a bite in her tone. Then she swiveled around to leave him, ignoring the wondering gaze he was now giving her.

All in all… they pretty much started a weird tree decorating tradition. And Zoro, as usual, doesn’t want to be a part of it.

And that makes her feel a bit disappointed.

Yet when he didn't appear when they started the Christmas dinner, she was the one who went to check if he was still snoring in the library.

Why her? The hell she even knows.

Maybe because the others are already busy celebrating in the galley that she was the only who noticed that he wasn't there?

She opened the library door. The lights on the tree were already lit. Franky or Usopp may have switched it on. It looks more beautiful even if it was decorated with random trinkets, baubles and food the crew decided to hang on it.

Yet the star still needs to be placed on the top—which Luffy and Chopper will do after dinner and before they start exchanging presents.

To her surprise, Zoro was still where she had left him earlier.

She strode towards him to wake him, when she accidentally snagged something from the tree, causing it to fall.

She stared at the object quietly sitting on the floor. It looked like paper folded into a shape of...

She picked it up and studied it.

A bird?

"Paper crane."

She spun around and saw Robin standing in the doorway.

"In Wano, it means good luck," Robin explained as she approached her, lightly touching it with one finger. She smiled at Nami. "It also means a wish for someone to get their heart's desire."

Nami just stared back at her amazed.

"And there are ten of them." Robin observed, eyes crinkling with mirth at the tree before returning her gaze at her. "One for each of us."

Nami's eyes settled back at the crane in her hand.

Robin chuckled. "Thoughtful isn't it Nami?"

"I guess..."

The older woman gave her shoulder an affectionate pat. "See you two at the galley." She nodded at the still sleeping Zoro.

Nami watched her leave before shifting her attention again at the green-haired man, still slumbering peacefully against the wall, the red scarf she wrapped around his neck earlier hiding the lower part of his face.

He may appear cold and uncaring, but sometimes looks can be deceiving.

She crouched down beside him. Leaning forward she kissed his exposed nose.

"Not bad Zoro. Not bad."

Addendum: I went and tweaked the paper crane legend a bit. Though I honestly think it’s not really that far from the original one.

#zoro x nami #ZoNa #zonami #zonalove #zona vignettes #zoro nami fanfiction #ZoNaHoliday2020

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victorie552onepiecespeedrun · 4 years

Text

Reading One Piece pt 188: New Bounties

Chapter 435

Thoughts:

- Fpos/cs: “I’m ashamed but I survived!” aww, what a funny little guy Enel blasted just now! I think he’s a soldier, with that helm and gun. He’s so tiny

- FRANKY! IS! MAKING! THE SHIP!

- Awwww, Iceberg and Galley-ga (remaining Three of The Big Five) will help him! (Good, he needs to go faster, marines won’t ignore Straw Hats forever)

- (hey, do you think Kaku will come back to Water Seven and become a shipwright for real? I wouldn’t mind reading Fpos/cs about that, drama and all)

- Newspaper! Frankies wait in anticipation!

- Lol, they wrote about Enies Lobby and Straw Hats but nothing about Frankies. They’re kind of relieved but kind of disappointed too :D you know, no life on the run BUT also no fame for them

- Sanji: “Yo, did your Grandpa tweak the info so Galley-ga and Frankies would be safe?”

Luffy and everyone: “Nope, not that guy”

- Well, Robin thinks it was Aokiji. I think so too but it’s also possible News Guys just didn’t find Frankies interesting enough for their newspaper :D Media are fickle like that :D

- (why is Sanji so pretty here. He’s not even drawn to be pretty right now, he’s just a background figure)

- Oh, Zoro is reading the newspaper too!

- “They did write some horrible things about us! It said that we declared war against the World Government, and that we were the reason that the island got burned down.” Well, it’s true. Plus points for good journalism, One Piece media

- “This means our bounties will rise again” YES THEY WILL :D :D :D

- (I’m making the same face Zoro is making right now :D We are both children inside)

- Everyone is happy about it too! (except Nami but I guess someone has to be a party pooper and it went to Nami to do the honors)

- Oh look, Straw Hats spend their 100M Beri on the feast in the last chapter (I knew it was super big). They’re poor again :D Nami is having an aneurysm

- Lol

- Straw Hats got five days of vacation :D

- (lol, Zoro tried to “buy” a new sword like last time in Logue Town but got yelled at instead. Remember to get Tashigi and go with her next time. We all know he would get new sword for free then :D)

- Usopp!

- …ok, first I yelled at his panel, then I actually read what he’s saying. Usopp, just say sorry like a normal person and that you miss them, Luffy would say the same (he could be a little more obnoxious tho)

- Oh! No, he’s practicing his speech to Straw Hats on the beach! Yeah, that situation is very anxiety inducing, I would be nervous about asking my friends to take me back too. I don’t envy you, Usopp, not one bit

- Still, you should just be honest, man. You’re all good eggs, you get each other

- (Sanji is watching Usopp being stupid :D)

- (ok, but how will that actually go down, I’m a little nervous myself)

- The log pose is ready. Now they’re just waiting for the ship

- Oh, the next island is Fishman Island!

- Nami has mixed feeling, because of her past with Arlong gang and stuff

- SANJI! WANTS! TO SEE! MERMAIDS!

- Lol

- Sanji, calm down, not all mermaids look like Kokoro :D

- Huh?

- “Florian Triangle” oh? It’s One Piece’s version of Bermuda Triangle! Straw Hats will have to sail there to get to Fishman Island!

- (It’s where they’ll meet Brook, right? The walking serenading skeleton?)

- Haha, there’s a skeleton on the next panel :D world’s most unsubtle foreshadowing :D

- There are also ghosts on that sea but I’m all about our skeleton grandpa and I don’t exactly care right now

- (Franky nakama WHEN)

- “I can meet living skeletons?” “What kind of thought is that?” Oh Zoro, thou of little faith :D

- “Bring on the disasters” YEAH, ALL OF THEM

- (“treasure ships… maybe they’ll have swords” Zoro really has a one track mind. I approve)

- !!!!!!

- SHIP IS DONE!

- BUT FIRST! THEY GOT WANTED POSTERS! ALL OF THEM!

- Ok, they’re all on one panel! You’re getting… ok, no, I’ll just put it here

- Woooooo!

- Ok, comments now:

300M Beri? Luffy, you dog :D I’m so proud

Zoro got 120M Beri, twice as much as before! Somehow I think he’ll want more :D

They finally updated Robin’s photo! That only took them, what, 20 years? But who’s counting, not me, nosir

(And she finally got a round number of 80M Beri. Her past 79M was annoying)

“Cat thief” Nami. How did they get such a sexy photo of her? Is that even what she was wearing on Enies Lobby? Can’t lie, she looks superhot

They got Sogeking, not Usopp :D 30M Beri? That’s what Luffy started at, bright future for you, Usopp :D

…Why is Chopper a PET HERE. And 50 Beri? 50 BERI!!??

Not to talk about elephant in the room but what the **** is Sanji’s poster.

…At least you’re worth 77M Beri, Sanji.

…May it let you sleep at night

- Straw Hats’ reaction: 3 happy, 3 in hell :D (Usopp’s not here)

- Sanji and Chopper are hilarious, they really did them dirty :D But I don’t know why Nami is despairing, her poster and bounty are great

- That’s not all?

- FRANKY GOT A BOUNTY TOO!

- I FINALLY KNOW HOW THEY GOT HIM TO JOIN! HE HAD TO GO ON THE RUN! SO HE WENT WITH THEM! THAT’S AWESOME!

- (that’s really awesome. I use too much Caps Lock but it really is)

- “Strawhat-san, please!!! Please take him out to sea!!!” YOOOOOO

This is so great :D

rOP 187 rOP 189

#one piece speed read #this one is long as heck #NEW BOUNTIES #spoiler #spoilers #have a nice day #rOP 188 #trying something new here

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thekytchensynk · 3 years

Text

Ain’t No Picnic (7/9)

Summary: They were just supposed to head over to the island real quick, just to see what was going on. After all, if pirates were trying to ambush and kill the Straw Hat crew, how could Coby NOT go? And how could Helmeppo let him go alone? It should be simple enough, but nothing can be taken for granted in the New World, and when things go awry, Helmeppo finds himself separated from his captain on an island chain full of pirates who probably won’t be too happy to see a Marine if their paths cross.Oh yeah. And one of those pirates is the infamous “Surgeon of Death,” Trafalgar Law… Warnings: Occasional strong language Read it on AO3

__________

As they approached, Helmeppo heard someone shout out another line of words. This was followed a few seconds later by explosions, off to their left.

“This is a … sniper?” Helmeppo asked. It sounded more like a small artillery unit crossed with a demented gardener.

Law’s answer took so long to arrive that Helmeppo half thought the man wasn’t going to answer. “I guess maybe that’s not exactly right,” he amended. “But it’s the easiest way to put it. Let me go first.”

They stepped around a cluster of three massive leaves, Helmeppo letting Law lead the way. On the other side, they found a dark-skinned young man with a truly massive slingshot in hand. His sodden clothes and damp hair suggested he’d also taken at least one dunking today, and somewhat recently. He must have figured out the same thing Law had, then. He watched growing smoke plumes about half a mile off through a pair of goggles, a look of grim satisfaction on his face.

“Nose-ya,” Law said as he approached. His voice startled the sniper, who hopped in surprise and whirled on the pair. “Where is he?”

The sniper’s face told a whole story -- from relief at seeing it was someone he recognized to surprise at seeing a second person behind Law, to a searching glance away from them, off in the direction of the smoke plumes, as he considered the question. Whatever their relationship, apparently the guy trusted that if Helmeppo were a problem, Law wouldn’t have allowed him over here. Which … fair. So rather than asking the obvious question himself, he just said, “A little under a mile that way. I don’t know what exactly is going on, but I think they could use you.”

“Something wrong?”

“Maybe. Something’s going on near her tank. Everything I try gets intercepted. And Luffy should have already ended this. For some reason they can’t get to her and it’s hamstringing them.” Frustration weighed down his words. His attention kept going to the horizon, though there was too much distance and foliage for him to be seeing a mile off clearly. Haki. Definitely.

“And everyone else?”

The sniper looked like he wanted to protest the query, then thought the better of it. “Beppo was over there last I knew.” he pointed at about two o’clock from where he’d said Luffy was. “Shachi, Penguin, Franky and a couple others went back to protect the ships, in case they got rushed. Brook is with Luffy. Nami and Robin are with Chopper on one of the other islands.” He idly pointed in the direction of the stormclouds. “Zoro and Sanji both keep moving. For different reasons I assume.” He added the last partly under his breath.

Helmeppo couldn’t help it. “And Coby?”

For the first time, the sniper looked directly at Helmeppo, studying his bedraggled state. Then his eyes slid over toward Law, asking a question he didn’t want heard.

“That guy who showed up right before the island swallowed everyone,” Law clarified.

“Ah.” He looked off toward the battle’s center again, then back to Helmeppo. “Can’t be sure, but I think he’s up there too. Not too many people just hopping around in the sky, and I know the other one.”

Some internal spring that had been wound so tight for so long that Helmeppo had stopped even noticing it relaxed at that. So he’s still alive and fighting. He’s OK.

“Thanks,” he said, trying to pass it off as nonchalant. But this close, he could see the guy’s eyes through the lenses of his goggles. And in those eyes, he saw two things. First, the sniper was not buying his tone.

And second, the guy understood. Understood the relief of knowing a friend was safe, and understood the need to pretend that things were otherwise.

So- “Thanks,” Helmeppo said again, and this time it sounded like he meant it.

“I’ll cover you guys if you’re going in,” the sniper said. “Oh, and here.” He tossed something small, one to Law and then, after a brief hesitation, one to Helmeppo. Helmeppo glanced at the item -- a clear capsule with something green inside. Green and squirming. “Snap it if you need to get some distance. And cover your ears, I haven’t had much of a chance to test them yet.” He grinned.

Helmeppo pocketed the item, still a little unnerved that the guy was just accepting his presence -- and honestly still weirded out that Law hadn’t just ditched him once they got back here. Grateful, sure, but also very weirded out.

The pair moved through the ruined undergrowth in the rough direction of the first battlefield. The fighting must have been intense, and the ammunition types the Straw Hat sniper -- God Usopp, wasn’t it? -- used were doing it no favors. Large patches were open all the way down to the dark water,the surface littered with little torn bits of plant material. Massive leaves had been knocked over, letting the sun beat down on their path. Unconscious pirates lay here and there, often with no visible damage. Helmeppo tried not to be too impressed with the pirate, and maybe it was the stress of the day or the heat of the sun, but he was finding it difficult once again.

Despite the story not getting out to the public at large, Helmeppo had heard a fair amount from gossip around headquarters. Of a guy using a slingshot to out-shoot the crew’s guns from the top of one of the towers. If this was him -- the guy who’d shot the World Government flag, the one with apparently superhuman range as he protected Nico Robin -- well, he was glad they were on the same side for now.

Now and then, something would go whizzing past them, close but not too close, and something would explode or erupt ahead of them, and dismayed pirate voices would shout. And thus, Law and Helmeppo made it to the main battlefield without actually having to fight anyone else. Helmeppo wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The battlefield featured far fewer combatants than it had earlier, but that just made the specific clashes easier to see. There seemed to be two big knots -- one by the mermaid’s tank, which still stood where it had been before and one all the way across the clear area. Like the last time he’d arrived on this battlefield, the guy he was following didn’t even hesitate, and that left Helmeppo trying very hard to keep up while attempting to even begin formulating a plan.

Coby was indeed on the battlefield, engaged with a wiry-looking fighter with bright red hair wearing loose, flowing clothing. They were darting around the space, clashing and parting and clashing again. Helmeppo could see the grim focus on his captain’s face. The other man said something, distance rendering it just movement for Helmeppo, but it led Coby to swing hard at the guy’s face.

It was a clean hit.

It should have been a clean hit.

It was a miss.

Helmeppo’s pace lagged as he tried to make sense of what he’d seen. The guy hadn’t moved. Coby’s punch should have caught him square in the jaw, but somehow slid off target, ruffling the ends of the guy’s red hair but causing no damage. The guy laughed, then countered, but Coby slid under his return strike.

Despite wanting to help, Helmeppo forced his attention away from that. He’d only be a distraction. Coby could take care of that guy, no problem, as long as he could focus.

Law was going to help out at the mermaid’s tank, where a press of people stood guard still, mostly watching the other fights. Though now, one or two had noticed Law’s approach and were pointing him out to the others.

Guess that’s the right place to go, Helmeppo thought, adjusting his angle.

From behind them, he heard another of the sniper’s projectiles whining across the island, growing closer. It shot overhead, on the dead-on course for the area near the Mermaid’s container.

Until it wasn’t.

At the last second, the projectile took a hard turn, veering into the undergrowth and exploding out of sight.

Law stopped at that, whirling to look back the way they’d come from, then toward the thin plume of smoke coming from, presumably, the impact site. Helmeppo stopped as well. What had the sniper said? Everything I try gets intercepted. That push and pull power -- was this related to that? That might also explain the weird difficulty Coby was having with his opponent.

“Hey.” Law’s voice cut through his thoughts. Helmeppo looked at the pirate, who gestured toward thesmoke with a tilt of his head. “The person who did that should be near the impact site. Can you take care of them?”

How was he supposed to know? But the guy did seem to have a quick mind for figuring things out. Would he ask if he thought the answer was no? And it might be the place he could be most useful.

“Sure.”

“Then go.”

He said it as though giving Helmeppo orders were an everyday thing. Maybe it was just a captain thing? Well, whatever. He wanted to watch Coby’s back, but maybe the best way would be to figure out what was going on. Law certainly seemed to have a better grasp on this situation than he did. So he only hesitated for a moment before changing his bearing yet again.

Ahead of him, a couple pirates moved to intercept him, though most eyes were still on other folks on the battlefield. Helmeppo pulled his weapons free, ready to cut his way through.

Then they were gone.

No. He was in a whole different place.

Slowing, he glanced over his shoulder to see those two pirates looking around, as confused as he felt. He’d been moved from there to … here. Near the edge of the clearing.

Well, that was unsettling. But again, he wasn’t going to let the moment escape. He shoved aside a leaf taller than he was and pushed into the dense vegetation yet again.

He wasn’t moving very quietly, but luckily the island was alive with massive noises -- shouts and explosions and the susurration of wind in the leaves. So he didn’t worry too much about it as he headed for the thin plume of smoke that indicated where the sniper’s attack had ultimately hit.

He wasn’t far from the battlefield when he caught sight of movement.

Slowing his pace, Helmeppo crept closer. Up ahead, a small cluster of pirates stood a little ways from a charred leaf stump. Smoke trailed from its sizzling ends in a thin line.

“I’m telling you, it’s not working,” one of them was saying as he got in earshot. “We lost the element of surprise. We need to run. And now that other pirate’s there!”

“No. Not yet,” another said. “We still have both twins. They’ll be calling him in any moment, as soon as someone takes care of that sniper. They still don’t really understand what they’re in for. We have to take this opportunity.”

“It’s not worth it. We’re going to lose!”

A slap echoed around the area, accompanied by a shocked sound from the first speaker. Helmeppo peered through a fan of long, grass-like leaves, trying to ignore that he’d stepped in something super oozy.

“You want to run, run Darvell,” the second person said. Helmeppo could see it was an older man, hair going salt and pepper, with a build and skin color that suggested there was shark fishman somewhere in his blood. Captain Darvell, presumably, stood a few feet away from him, one hand on his cheek, eyes furious. The captain wore a flamboyant coat over plain clothing. All looked dry.

“I just want us to be reasonable,” Darvell replied, voice tight and careful, enunciating every word. “Sure, Straw Hat killed the slave trade, but ain’t much revenge if you let the guy who ruined your life take it as well.”

“He ain’t taking anything yet,” the second man said.

In addition to the two arguing pirates, Helmeppo saw three others -- A woman in tight clothes and wearing two crossed belts full of little knives watching the pair with narrowed eyes, a scrawny young man with bright red hair who was looking up at the sky and a massive, older man with short hair with his back to everyone, talking to what Helmeppo assumed was a den den mushi in his hand.

Any further squabbling got cut off as the scrawny young man tilted his head and said, “Someone’s trying again. Watch out.”

He said it nonchalantly, as though commenting on the weather, while he walked toward the sizzling stump. The rest of the group shifted subtly away from the spot. The scrawny guy tilted his head the other way, then reached up into the air with both hands, closed his fingers as though grabbing the sky itself, and pulled.

As he did, Helmeppo heard it -- the whistling sound of another of the sniper’s shots, coming closer. The scrawny guy scampered away as something came hurtling out of the sky. On impact it unfolded into a series of vines -- not the same sort as had grabbed Helmeppo earlier, but clearly looking to do something similar. With no one close enough, they just waggled about impotently.

“He’s persistent,” the graying man said as the lady wandered over to peer at the vines from a safe distance.

“They all are,” the scrawny guy replied, looking at the sky once more. The others mirrored the movement. “We can’t let our guard down while we wait for the call.”

So, as if the hair wasn’t proof enough, that guy was the other twin. He didn’t understand the power, but figured that guy was the most important out of this group here. He felt like anyone else with the sort of power to match the Straw Hats would be out there fighting. So maybe they were here as a privilege of position or as a token defense force for that guy until he went to the battle? They definitely looked stronger than the ones from the cave, but he saw no guns and there were fewer of them. The power user looked like a kitten might be able to knock him over. Helmeppo thought he could take them.

Probably.

Assuming they didn’t have anything hidden up their sleeves.

At the very least, five on one wasn��t the worst odds he’d faced today.

He shifted his fingers, changing his grip until the kukri sat comfortably in his hands. The scrawny guy could use a pulling power, so he might lose his weapons fairly early. That meant he needed to move quick, get at least one of them out of the way very fast. If he went for the devil fruit user right away, they’d just gang up, and at this point, he didn’t want to deal with that. But if he took one out, that would mean fewer attackers and the others might hesitate.

He decided on the maybe-fishman first. He looked strongest of the four nearby pirates, and was the closest. Plus, he didn’t see a weapon, which might give Helmeppo a slight reach advantage. After that, he’d need to go for the power user. Either the woman or Darvell could be dangerous, but hopefully if they were, they’d display their strength quickly.

What was it people said? No plan survives contact with the enemy? No point in overthinking it. He focused on the fishman and rushed forward.

His target was caught off guard, eyes still turned toward the sky instead of the surroundings, but he recovered fast, crossing his arms to block Helmeppo’s strike. The blades bit in about half an inch, drawing blood and leaving a pair of long slices down his gray forearms.

“Attacker!” the guy shouted, pivoting and striking out at Helmeppo, who narrowly dodged. He could feel the strength of the punch as it split the air by his face.

Ok. This would need to end quickly.

Planting one foot, he spun and put the speed of that move into the next strike.

“Ren, duck!” Darvell shouted.

The shout disrupted them both. Helmeppo lost focus on where he intended to strike. As he was turning, the man started to duck, more out of knee-jerk reaction to the shouted suggestion than because he planned to. So what was intended to be two strikes near his elbow, to hopefully render it temporarily useless, turned into one knife into the shoulder.

And one in the neck.

Helmeppo froze as the fishman stumbled back away from him, one hand clapping to his wound. Blood spilled -- not to where Helmeppo thought he’d hit an artery, but enough. A lot.

“Shit. Get back to the ship, Ren! We’ll handle him,” the woman barked, casting a murderous look at Darvell, who shrank from her. The fishman backed off a few more steps, then turned and ran, presumably to do as she said.

Okay, four on one… wait, where had the one with the den den mushi gone?

No time to think about it. He’d take the better odds.

The woman had begun moving toward him, maybe angry about what he’d done to her friend. He considered just fighting her next. In all honesty, she looked stronger than Darvell, and her eyes showed more intensity than his. So while the man in the ridiculous coat was still closer, Helmeppo ignored that and eyed her.

Nope. Don’t draw this out. You have something to do.

He whirled toward the scrawny guy, blades ready. The man looked not at Helmeppo, but at the woman -- for orders? No matter. Helmeppo felt sure he could get to that guy before she could stop him. So he charged, trying to bypass her entirely.

The woman seemed ready for it, pulling one of the small knives from her belt and throwing it, not at him, but angled behind him.. To Darvell? But that man had a sword already, and the little knives didn’t even really have a handle -- they were meant for throwing, so-

He realized belatedly what might be happening, but understanding came at the same time as a sharp pain, lancing through him from a point low on the left side of his back. He stopped, startled, and reached back to yank the item free. The knife. Blood warned his fingertips and made a spot on the hilt of his kukri sticky. Looking up he saw the red-haired man’s hands balled into fists in front of him, not as though ready to hit him, but like he was holding something.

Fantastic. The guy had pulled that sniper's attack toward himself earlier, yanking it out of the sky. He’d realized he might lose his kukri to it. He’d had all the information he needed to realize that the guy could do the same thing with a tiny knife, he’d just been an idiot and not thought about it.

The woman already had another pair of the little weapons between her fingers. His understanding of the situation must have made its way to his face, because she grinned at him.

“Still time to run,” she said.

Not a bad idea.

So he did.

“Hey, hey!” the devil fruit user shouted, falling back a step as he saw Helmeppo again pounding in his direction. The guy almost bolted, then something caught his attention. He reached out, grabbing at the air.

Helmeppo threw himself to the left before the guy pulled. A knife soared by Helmeppo, flying straight toward the devil fruit user, who shrieked in an undignified manner and tried to dodge, but coordination didn’t seem to be a strong suit. He turned more than actually moving. The knife sunk into his left bicep. Then Helmeppo was there, channeling his first fight with Butterfingers.

At least this time, it only took one solid strike to the temple to put the guy out. Or maybe he wasn’t pulling his punches this time. With the water right there, he caught the guy by one limp arm and lowered him to the ground.

Jeeze, with the way this fight was going, maybe he could understand why these folks had been left out of the big fight.

If Darvell had kept his mouth shut, the blind-side attack he tried next might have actually hit home. Fortunately for Helmeppo, the guy let out a loud shout as before swinging at his back. There wasn’t enough time to move, but he did swing a weapon up and across his back before the sword struck home. The strike carried incredible weight, forcing his arm to an awkward angle and pushing the blunt side of Helmeppo’s weapon against his back hard enough that he felt sure he’d have a bruise across his shoulders later. Better than being split down the spine, he thought.

“Darvell, we’re getting beat by some sort of castaway,” the woman shouted in frustration. He thought she sounded closer. “Stop screwing around!”

The pressure on his blade let up enough that Helmeppo could shove it away and turn to face the two remaining fighters. “You should leave,” he said, both blades up in a ready stance as he tried to keep both of them in sight. “The Straw Hats and their allies are back together. They’re going to be cleaning up the ringleaders soon.”

The woman held fast, but Darvell had been primed for this. At Helmeppo’s words, he stepped back a few paces, glancing over at his sole remaining teammate. “Anne, I told you guys-”

“He’s trying to scare us off because we still have him outnumbered,” she replied with a patience that suggested this sort of dialogue was common between them. “We can take him if we just treat it like always. You always overreact.”

“Then where did Cap go?” Darvell said. “He was getting the reports from the guys with the mermaid. He booked it. Maybe this guy’s right.”

Anne’s eyes slid from her teammate to Helmeppo’s ready form. “Well if that’s the case, let’s kill him first. Maybe give us more time. Plus I’m mad now.”

As they discussed, Helmeppo took stock of his situation. Coming for the devil fruit user had put him at the edge of the huge hole in the lilypad -- not a great place to be, especially with the memory of those vines still fairly fresh. Plus, he wasn't exactly in great shape anymore. He didn’t have the free hand to check the wound in his back, but it definitely still hurt, and he could feel his clothes sticking to him worse where the blood soaked them. He didn’t fancy getting another dozen or so of those in him. He’d taken out the devil fruit user. Was that enough? If so, maybe a retreat of his own was in order. Maybe he could even draw them after him, so they couldn’t wake the guy back up.

Carefully, he side-stepped around the devil fruit user, edging toward the long, concealing leaves of the nearby forest. “Actually,” he said, “Maybe I’ll just go call one or two of them over here.” Come on, come on...

“Stop!” Anne shouted.

He pivoted and ran for cover, feeling a sense of relief as the plants closed around him.

Then something stepped into his path, too quick for Helmeppo to stop. The collision didn’t move the thing, but sent him rebounding back a step, caught entirely off guard. Before he could properly register what it was, a powerful kick slammed into his midsection, driving his breath from him and forcing him back out into the open. He tried to keep his balance, but the uneven ground tangled his feet and he fell backward to the ground.

“Cap!” Anne said. “Finally. Where did you go?”

“I was making sure this Marine didn’t run for help,” growled a voice.

“Marine?” Darvell sounded scandalized.

On the ground Helmeppo had released one of his weapons to wrap an arm around his chest. Oh boy. Something had definitely broken with that kick. Breathing in too deeply sent pain radiating from the center-right part of his torso. Got to get up,” he thought, pressing the knuckles of his other hand shakily to the ground. Got to get up now

“One of the two who showed up uninvited,” the new voice continued. “Weren’t you idiots paying attention to anything?”

The figure stepped out of the underbrush. In a petulant voice, Darvell said, “We had other things on our mind, Cap. You remember -- everyone getting dumped in the water?”

“So we should definitely kill him,” Anne mused.

Helmeppo looked up, gritting his teeth against the pain -- and stopped. His breath knotted in his throat for a second.

No.

The figure stopped just beyond the edge of the undergrowth, arms crossed. Helmeppo had to force his gaze up to the man’s face, just to confirm what he already knew in just those few words and that posture. The newcomer gazed down with a glower, all irritation and impatience, at the injured Marine. There was nothing like recognition there, and nothing like pity. But Helmeppo couldn’t stop one word from slipping past his lips.

“Dad?”

#fanfic #one piece #helmeppo #trafalgar law #usopp #morgan

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bleachanimefan1 · 4 years

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King And Queen Of The Pirates

Chapter Two, Enter The Great Swordsman! Roronoa Zoro!

"What a day! It's gorgeous!" Exclaimed Luffy. He, Aya, and Coby have been sailing for some time and the weather was steady and clear. Coby nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah. As long as the weather goes this good and we take this path, we'll be at the Marine base in no time," He said. Luffy turned to him with his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"You mean it? Hot dog! You're the best, Coby! How do you even know?" asked Luffy.

"I know this stuff because all sailors must know their ways of the seas," Said Coby. Luffy turned back to the ocean and laughed.

"That's what I've always been telling him, but my big brother always rush into things with thinking. By the way, how are we going to get into a Marine base without getting caught, Luffy? We're pirates, remember?" Said Aya. Luffy didn't answer. "Anndd, he's not listening..."

"I don't see what's to be so perky right now, Luffy. Besides...at the Marine base," Coby said with a frightened look on his face. "They're holding the great pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro. This is the man who diced up his bounties like an animal bent on carnage. A blood thirsty beast. He's been called nothing less than a living breathing demon in human form. Like he was sent straight from hell."

"All of the more reason to check him out." Said Aya.

"Alright! We're here! The Marine Base City!" Yelled Luffy, excitedly as the boat pulled up to the port to a small island with many buildings . They docked it and Coby tied up the boat to a post. He, Luffy, and Aya walked around, exploring the city. Luffy's head started darting around wildly at all the booths and people. Aya was looking around, keeping a look out, while Coby looked uncomfortable.

"Luffy, seriously! You two are out of your mind if you think this guy is gonna want to join your crew," Said Coby.

"I haven't made up my mind yet. I first gotta see if he's a good guy," Luffy said as he walked ahead.

"Plus, we need to see how tough he is," Aya added.

"He's imprisoned because he's obviously not!" Coby shouted as Luffy bought a pear and took at bite out of it.

"Hey, is that pirate hunter Zoro around here?" He asked the shop keeper. The lady who was selling the fruits and some other people jumped back in shock. They stared at Luffy with wide eyes as their bodies shook in fear, leaving the three, confused by what happened. Luffy blinked. Aya walked by him and whispered in Luffy's ear. "Yeah, we shouldn't probably go around announcing out loud that we're looking for him." She said. Then she smacked Luffy on his head. "Idiot."

"Maybe we shouldn't mention the name Zoro around here." Coby whispered, suggestively. Luffy shrugged and the three began walking again. Aya felt like she was being watched. She saw some people giving her suspicious looks. Aya heard two men were whispering to each other.

"Do you think she's a witch?" asked one of the men.

"What are you whispering about?!" shouted Aya, angrily. The two men jumped and trembled in fear. They ran away from her. "RUN! SHE'LL PUT A CURSE ON US!" Shouted one of the men as they ran. Aya rolled her eyes, following after Luffy and Coby.

"Let's head to the base. You said you wanted to be a Marine, right?" Luffy asked.

"I do, Luffy, I'm just not that sure if I'm ready. From what I've heard, the man who runs the base is someone called Captain Morgan." Said Coby. Once again, the people jumped back when Coby mentioned Morgan's name. Coby and Luffy blinked. The three of them continued walking. Aya looked over her shoulder seeing the people still shaking in fear.

"Strange town," She mumbled under her breath.

"Ha-ha! This this town is such a weird place!" Luffy laughed as the three continued walking. Coby was lost in thought.

"That was strange. I understand why they're afraid of Zoro, him being a killer and all, but why did they get scared when I said the Marine captain's name?" He asked.

"Maybe they did it for the fun of it." Suggested Luffy.

"How does that make any sense?" Asked Coby.

"He's probably corrupted," Aya added.

Coby stopped in his tracks and glared at Aya. "You take that back!" He shouted.

"What? All I'm saying is that he's probably abusing his power," said Aya.

"The Marines don't do that!" Coby shouted.

Aya smirked then leaned in toward Coby's face then flicked her finger on his forehead. "Face reality, kid, some people do that," She said. "Especially the higher ups."

"You shut your mouth right now!" Growled Coby.

"Why, you wanna fight me? How cute!" Aya laughed.

"D-Don't you touch me!" Coby shouted. Aya took a step closer to him and he backed away.

"Why? Scared that I'll get my evil pirate cooties all over you?" Aya taunted.

"Shut up!" Growled Coby.

Luffy let out a whistle. "Wow, this must be the place!" He said. The two stopped and looked to see a huge gate in front of them. It was the Marine's base. Coby looked like he was going to cry.

"I...made it...thank you so much, Luffy, Aya. I-I can't believe we're going to have to go our own ways even though I find you as my best frie-"

"Where's the foothold or something?" Asked Luffy as he tried to climb over the stone wall.

"Get off of there, Luffy! Or they'll see you and you'll get arrested!" Yelled Coby.

Aya sighed. "What an idiot..."

Luffy blocked the sunlight with his hand as he scoured "Ok, so where's that demon?"

"They're probably hiding him in an underground prison cell or something. They wouldn't just show him out and the-"

"FOUND HIM!" Exclaimed Luffy. Coby and Aya managed to climb up the wall and looked over to see a man far off in the distance, tied to a post. He was wearing a black bandanna on his head, a white shirt and dark green pants and black boots.

"That's him, right, Coby?" Asked Luffy. Coby trembled in fear.

"If we untie those ropes, he could just walk away, right?" Asked Luffy.

"No way! If we do that, he'll just kill us all with one strike!" Shouted Coby. Luffy grinned.

"Don't worry, me and my sis are really strong, so there's nothing to be afraid of." He said.

"You both have lost your marbles!" Shouted Coby.

"Hey, you three," They hear a voice call out to them, roughly. Coby flinched. "You're eyesores. Get lost." Muttered Zoro. Coby yelped and grabbed Luffy's arm.

"Come on! Let's just go, Luffy! There's no way a criminal like him would want to be on your crew!" He yelled. Then, a ladder landed near Luffy and Aya looked and saw a little girl climbing up it. The little girl turned to the three and shushed them. Then she climbed over the wall, holding a small package in her hands.

"We gotta save her or else she'll be killed by the Marines or the demon himself!" Yelled Coby.

Neither, Luffy or Aya made a move. They watched as the little girl run over to Zoro and smiled at him. "What do you want?" Zoro asked. The little girl smiled.

"I thought you'd be getting hungry now. So I made you some rice balls." She said, unwrapping the package.

"You gotta death wish, kid? Get lost." Said Zoro. The girl held out two rice balls to him.

"But, you haven't eaten in a long time. So here. I made them myself. It's my first try though." She said.

"Listen, kid. You're really starting to bug the living hell out of me. So why don't you just scram." Zoro threatened.

"But-!"

"Do not make me kick your ass, little girl! Get lost!" Yelled Zoro.

"Now, now, no one likes a bully," a loud annoying voice called out. Zoro glared as a man with two Marine soldiers walked up. "Roronoa Zoro, you seem to be handling the situation well, aren't you?" asked the man.

"Who's the other weird guy?" Asked Luffy. Coby sighed in relief.

"Thank god. He looks like he's with the Marines. At least we know the little girl will be safe." He said. Aya frowned as she stared at the man. She didn't like him. Not one bit.

"I'm not so sure about that," Said Aya.

"What do you mean?" Asked Coby.

"I don't like the looks of this guy." Said Aya. The man took a rice ball from the girl.

"Yum. Some tasty rice balls." He said. "That's not for you!" Cried the little girl. The man took a bite out of it. His face twisted with disgust. He spat out the rice ball and threw it to the ground along with the second one and stomped on it.

"No! Stop that! Please!" Cried the little girl.

"You imbecile! You filled this rice ball with sugar! It's supposed to be salt!" Yelled the man as he stomped one last time, destroying the rice balls.

"But-but-" The little girl was about to cry. "I worked so hard to make those."

"Too bad, brat. Dispose of her immediately or my father will have your heads." The man commanded. Aya growled as her hands gripped the scaffolding in anger. She was about to move, but Luffy grabbed her shoulder so she wouldn't jump over the wall. One of the soldiers hesitantly grabbed the little girl.

"I'm sorry. Just curl into a ball, okay?" asked the man as he threw the girl. The little girl cried as she was thrown over the wall.

"Luffy! Catch her!" shouted Aya. Luffy quickly stretched his arms out and grabbed the little girl. The two landed on the ground roughly. Luffy's hat fell off as well.

"Thanks, mister!" said the little girl. Luffy blinked before smiling.

"No problem." He said. Coby and Aya ran over to the two.

"Luffy! Are you guys, okay? God, how can that man be so cruel?" asked Coby as he checked over the little girl to see any signs of injury.

"I said it once, kid," said Aya. "Corruption."

"You shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" Growled Coby.

"Man, you're stubborn!" shouted Aya. "What's it going to take for you to get it through your thick head!?" Luffy picked his hat up as he stood up, ignoring the two who were scrabbling with each other.

"Damn you." Muttered Zoro under his breath. He glared at the snickering man.

"Trying to keep your composer, Roronoa? My, you really wanna get out of here, don't you?" asked the man.

"That's right. I'll make through the month. Just you watch." Muttered Zoro. The man began snorting as he howled in laughter.

"Yeah, right! Keep dreaming, Roronoa!" snorted the man as he and his men walked away.

Coby sighed in relief seeing that the girl was unharmed. "Okay, you look fine. How can that man be so heartless?" Coby asked himself. He and Aya looked around and saw that Luffy was nowhere to be seen. " What the?! Now where'd he go?" He asked.

Zoro sighed as he closed his eyes, trying to gather up his thoughts. For some reason, he felt like he was being watched. He opened his eyes and saw a boy wearing a straw hat standing in front of him. Zoro blinked. Luffy looked at him with a calm look on his face. "So...I hear you're a bad guy," He said.

"You're still here?" asked Zoro, bored.

"You're tied up here for the whole world to see and for what? Nothing. Are you sure as strong as they say?" asked Luffy.

"Mind your own business, kid," Muttered Zoro. Luffy sighed and walked closer to Zoro.

"If I were you, I'd probably starve in three days," Luffy joked. Zoro smirked.

"Heh, I have more spirit than you know. Which is how I'll survive this ordeal. This, I swear." He said, confidently. Luffy grinned.

"Ha! You're such a weirdo!" He joked as he began to walk away.

"Wait, hold on." Zoro called out. Luffy stopped. Zoro looked down at his feet. "Could you...pick that up for me?" He asked, seeing the dirty mud covered rice ball on the ground. Luffy blinked and picked it up.

"You wanna eat this? But, it looks ruined already and mostly a ball of mud-"

"Shut up and give it to me, kid!" yelled Zoro. Shrugging, Luffy walked up to Zoro, and tossed the rice ball into the swordsman's mouth. It tasted horrible but at least it was better than starving to death. Zoro coughed as he felt some dirt in his mouth. Luffy giggled.

"You should've listened to me!" said Luffy in a giggling tone.

"No, it was good. Tell that kid that I said thanks." Muttered Zoro. Luffy walked away, tilting his straw hat.

Luffy, Aya and Coby walked with the little girl, which they discovered that her name was Rika. "You mean it?! He said that?!" asked the little girl.

"Yep. And ate it all up." said Luffy, smiling. Rika beamed as she smiled happily. Coby placed a finger on his chin, thinking.

"Huh, I'm starting wonder if Roronoa Zoro is as bad as everyone says." He said. Rika shook her head.

"No way! Big brother Zoro is a good guy! After all..." The little girl looked to the ground. "He saved this town." She whispered.

"What do you mean?" asked Aya. Rika twiddled her thumbs.

"It's all Helmeppo's fault. He's the son of Captain Morgan. Three weeks ago, he brought a vicious wolf into town and it terrified the living daylights out of everyone. But, then, Zoro came and he nearly finished off Helmeppo. That big meanie threatened to kill me and my mom. But, he said that if Zoro could survive being tied up to that big post for a month, then he could be let go. But, Helmeppo keeps cheating by trying to break Zoro's spirit. It's...it's not fair!" cried Rika as she began to sob.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash that came from the little girl's family restaurant. The four ran towards the building. It was Helmeppo. He was throwing orders and terrorizing and giving death threats to everyone. Luffy and Aya clenched their fists as they watched in anger. Aya gritted her teeth as she glared at the man.

"I am incredibly bored now and I'm trying to find something fun to do. I suppose I can just have Zoro executed. Oh, wouldn't that be hysterical!" snorted the blond as he threw his head back and laughed.

Suddenly, a fist shot out and cracked Helmeppo right in the jaw as Aya punched him and his face slammed into a wall. Coby's mouth dropped in horror while Luffy stared in silence at his sister. Helmeppo slumped on the floor as he glared up at Aya. She was breathing heavily and gritted her teeth as she seethed in rage, looking down at this disgusting excuse for a human being. "H-How dare you?! Y-You hit me!" exclaimed Helmeppo as his men tried to help him up. He gaped at her in shock, staring at her sea foam green eyes. "Y-You witch!"

"No, how dare you call yourself a Marine. You disgusting piece of trash," said Aya as she glared at him. She raised her fist getting ready to punch him again but Coby grabbed her arm, holding Aya back.

"Aya! Stop it! What's wrong with you?!" asked Coby.

"I'm teaching this scum a lesson," said Aya. "This guy is a no-good, piece of shit!"

"You little brat! Do you know who I am!" demanded Helmeppo.

"I don't give a rat's ass who you are!" Shouted Aya.

"YOU'LL GIVE A DAMN WHEN YOUR HEAD HANGS FROM THE GALLOWS!" yelled Helmeppo.

"I'd like to see you try, punk!" Shouted Aya.

"Aya! Stop it! Why are you trying to pick a fight with this guy?!" Shouted Coby.

"Well, I guess that settles it," said Luffy. Coby turns to look at him, while holding Aya back. "I've made up my mind, Coby. Today, Zoro joins my crew." said Luffy.

"You're weak, Zoro. Nothing ever changes."

Zoro's eyes shot open as bullets of sweat ran down his face. Zoro took calm breaths trying to steady his heart.

"I... can't die here. I made... a promise," thought the swordsman. Then a shadow stood over him. Zoro looked up to see Luffy again.

"You again. Don't you have things to do?" asked Zoro, irritated.

"I'll untie you. As long as you promise to join my crew." said Luffy as he took a step towards the swordsman.

"Your what?" Asked Zoro.

"Me and my sister are running a pirate crew and we need people to join," said Luffy. Zoro smirked.

"No way. As if I'd stoop to that level. Joining a pirate crew is the most stupidest thing I've ever heard. Screw that business." He said, turning his head away.

"What's wrong with being a pirate?" asked Luffy.

"They're lowlifes. Joining them is the last thing I'd ever do." said Zoro. Luffy smiled.

"Come on. Everyone knows that your some kind of killer with a crave of bloodlust," He said.

"People could say what they want to say, but there is not a single thing in my life I regret. I'll make through this month and I'll accomplish what I desire." Said Zoro

Luffy blinked. "That's cool. But I still decided that your joining my crew," He said, grinning.

"What?! You can't do that!" Zoro yelled. Luffy grinned.

"I've heard that you're one of the best swordsman out there," He said.

"I am! It's just that Hel-whatever that bastard's name is took my katana." Said Zoro. Luffy winked.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna have to go get it then," He said.

"What?" Asked Zoro

"If I get your katana back, then you're joining my crew." Said Luffy.

"You're really starting to piss me off, kid!" yelled Zoro. Luffy giggled as he ran off. "Hey, genius. You're going the wrong way." Said Zoro. Luffy paused.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!" Yelled Luffy as he flinged himself past Zoro. Zoro stared in disbelief.

"What the-what the hell is this guy?" He asked himself.

Luffy hunched over, panting. "Sheesh, where is that idiot, that stole Zoro's swords?" He asked himself. Then he heard several voices above him. "Huh, wonder what's going on up there? Might as well check it out." Said Luffy. He stretched his arms to the roof edge of the Marine base.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!" He yelled as he flew up. But, he was gaining too much speed. "Too far! Too far! Too far!" yelled Luffy as he flew higher. The soldiers on the roof looked up and saw Luffy as he grabbed on to the rope they were using to pull a statue. He breaks off a piece of the statue as he landed on the roof. The soldiers gaped in horror, gasping at Luffy. Luffy looked at the men, scratching his head. "Whoops! Sorry about that!" He said, sheepishly.

A man glared at him furiously. He was huge and had blond hair and one of his hand was an axe. "Seize him at once! I want to kill him myself!" ordered the man.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Shouted the Marine soldiers.

"That's him! He's friends with the witch who hit me!" Yelled Helmeppo.

"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Yelled Luffy. He grabbed Helmeppo in a choke hold, dragging him off inside the Marine base.

"After him!" Shouted the Marine captain. The Marine soldiers chased after the Straw hat pirate. Inside the base, Luffy dragged Helmeppo down the hallways. Helmeppo was crying in terror as he did.

"Hey, dude. Tell me where you're keeping Zoro's katana." Said Luffy.

"Ok! Ok! I'll tell you!" Cried Helmeppo. Luffy stopped, listening.

"Ok, so where is it?" He asked. Helmeppo pointed in a direction.

"In my room. We just passed it." He whimpered. Luffy sighed.

"Really? Dang, I guess we're gonna have to go back then." He said.

"Halt! Release Helmeppo at once!" Luffy turned to see three Marine soldiers aiming their rifles at him. "No way. But, you could shoot me if you want." Said Luffy. He held Helmeppo in front of him like a shield. Helmeppo screamed. Luffy ran forward ramming into the soldiers with Helmeppo.

Zoro felt the ropes that were binding him being tugged. He looked to see "Luffy." "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to get my katana back," asked Zoro, confused. Then he realized his mistake. It wasn't Luffy, instead, it was a girl. Sea foam green eyes stared back into his. Zoro blushed. He hate to admit it, but he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. "Aw, hell! There's two of you?!" shouted Zoro, shocked. Aya giggled as she continued to try to untie the ropes. "That was my brother," said Aya. "I'm here to get you out of here. Coby, get your ass over here, now!" Coby ran over and started to help with the ropes.

"Great, just what I needed," Zoro muttered under his breath. "Another brat."

Aya stopped what she was doing. She narrowed her eyes at Zoro. "Don't ever compare me to my brother," said Aya, coldly. "I'm nothing like him." Zoro froze.

"You have to get out of here, Zoro," Said Coby as he got a knot undone.

"Listen, you two. That manic will kill you when he finds you both helping me," said Zoro.

"I don't care. I just can't see the Marine's name being treated like this. The Marines should be honorable." Said Coby.

"I can take care of myself. But, thank you for caring." Said Aya as she smiled. Zoro blushed then he shook his head. "Look, I can't leave! I'll be out in ten days and-"

"Actually, they were planning on killing you tomorrow." Aya interrupted. Zoro paused.

"What?" asked Zoro in disbelief.

"Helmeppo was not planning on holding his promise to you. He planned on killing you from the start. Which made Aya and Luffy really angry. Aya even hit him for it." Coby explained as he got a few of the knots undone.

"Yeah, and now the Marines are dead serious on catching the two. Don't worry, I'm not asking you to be a pirate. I just hope you help them. You three are incredibly strong. And you can save each other from a tragic fate." Said Coby. Zoro was silent.

"End of the line!" Shouted a voice. Coby and Aya froze then turned to see a tall, heavyset man with a huge axe for a hand with ten Marines soldiers. "For the crime of treason against me, I sentence the three of you to execution." Said the large man as his men readied their rifles. Coby, Aya, and Zoro froze.

"Luffy, where are you?!" thought Aya.

Luffy entered a room and looked around. The room was pink, like a tornado barfed all over the place. "Yep, this looks like yours." He said. His eyes spotted three katanas resting by the . Two of the swords had black sheathes, another sword stood out from the rest. It had a white sheathe instead.

"Wait, there's three of them. Hey, weirdo, which one's Zoro's?" asked Luffy. Helmeppo was out like a light. "Huh, must've fell asleep." said Luffy. He looked out the window and saw Coby, Aya and Zoro being targeted with rifles by the Marines. Luffy gasped and quickly grabbed the three katanas. He ran over towards the window and opened it. Luffy clutched the window sill and walked back, his arms stretching as he did. "Gum-Gum Rocket!" Shouted Luffy as he launched himself out of the window.

"FIRE!"

The sound of gunshot echoed as they fired. Luffy landed in front of the three. Everyone watched as the bullets made contact with his body.

"LUFFY, NOOO!" shouted Coby.

"STRAW HAT!" shouted Zoro.

Their eyes widen as they saw the bullets pulling back Luffy's skin as it stretched. Grinning, Luffy stretched his body and the bullets rebounded back. "See ya!" yelled Luffy as a bullet nearly missed the Marine captain's head. Luffy threw his head back and laughed. "That won't work on me! I told you I was strong!" laughed Luffy while everyone, except Aya, stared at him with disbelief.

"Nice of you to show up at the last minute," said Aya as she tried to steady her heart beat. She stood up and walked over to Luffy and hit him on the back of the head. "What the hell were you doing?! What took you so long?!" She shouted.

"Ouch! Why'd you hit me?!" shouted Luffy as he hold his head in pain.

"For being a dumbass!" Aya shouted back.

"Who the-who the hell are you?" asked Zoro. Luffy turned to him and winked.

"My name's Monkey D. Luffy. And I'm gonna be King of the Pirates." He said, confidently. The shock fell from Zoro's face, and he rolled his eyes.

"King of the Pirates? Yeah right. Do you have any idea what that means?" He asked.

"King of the Pirates means it sounds like. How can someone not know what it means? Besides, she has the same dream as mine. Aya's going to become Queen." Luffy asked. Coby nodded his head, grinning.

"Yeah! It sounds really nuts and impossible but it really looks like they're serious. They have every intention on becoming the King and Queen of the Pirates. They have their mind set on obtaining the One Piece." said Coby. Zoro raised his eyebrow.

Luffy held out the three swords to Zoro. "Here you go, just like I promised. I didn't know which one was yours so, I brought all of them." said Luffy.

"They're all mine, kid. I am a user of the three-sword style." said Zoro. Luffy shrugged, still holding out the swords.

"Just take them already. Just know that if you fight with me, you'll become a government defying villian. It's either that or you're left here, killed by the Marines, execution style." He said. Zoro smirked.

"What are you? The son of the devil? It doesn't matter. Because if I don't choose your side, I'll end up dead on the sticks. So let's see what you got." He said. Luffy pumped his fist in the air.

"Alright! You're finally joining my crew! This is the best day ever!" He cheered.

"Would you quit fooling around and get these ropes off me?!" Shouted Zoro, annoyed.

The entire time, the Marines stood in shock at what they had just witnessed. Nobody should have been able to survive that. "Straw hat's different from the rest of us. He must have eaten of the those legendary devil fruit we've heard about." said Captain Morgan. The Marines gasped. "Yes. The very fruit that gives the one who consumes it other-worldly powers. The power to breath fire. The power to cause Tsunamis. Little is known about them. And, it seems that straw hat has just shown the power of his devil fruit. Well," Captain Morgan held his axe into the air. "If we cant' shoot them, charge!" He yelled as he and his men charged at the four. Clang! The sound of swords clashing, were heard.

The Marines stood frozen in fear as they saw that Zoro was released from his binds. He was now standing before them with two swords in his hands and one in his mouth. "Make one move and you die." Said Zoro as he glared at the soldiers. The soldiers froze in terror not moving an inch.

"Today I'll officially become a criminal. Having fought the Marines. I'll become a pirate, that I can promise you. But I tell you this now,...being a pirate won't stop me from fulfilling my ambition." said Zoro.

"What's that?" asked Aya.

"To be nothing less than the world's greatest swordsman. If something along the way stops me, then I'm making the two of you take full responsibility. After which you have to apologize to me," He said. Luffy smiled. "The world's greatest swordsman. Sounds pretty cool. The King and Queen of the Pirates would have nothing less." said Luffy. Zoro nodded.

"Big talk coming from you. From this point on, whether I'm a criminal or not, I will let the name Zoro be known throughout the world." He said.

"Kill them at once!" Yelled Captain Morgan. The soldiers charged again.

"Better duck." said Luffy. Zoro quickly ducks down. "Gum-Gum Rocket!" yelled Luffy. He knocked down the soldiers in one sweep. Zoro gasped. "Just what are you? " He asked. Luffy smiled.

"I'm the guy who ate the Gum-Gum fruit!" He said.

Luffy rushed forward towards Captain Morgan. "Bring those Marines right down to their knees!" Shouted Coby. Luffy threw his arm back punched Captain Morgan but hit his axe instead.

" You brat! You have no right to defy my superiority. I am the Marine Captain, S. M Morgan!" Shouted Morgan.

"I'm Luffy. Nice to meet ya," said Luffy.

Captain Morgan swung at him but Luffy jumped out of the way and into the air. The Captain's axe slammed into the ground. Coby's eyes widen in shock as his mouth dropped. While in the air, Luffy slammed his feet into Morgan's face, knocking the captain down. Luffy landed on his feet as Morgan started to get back up. The Marines watched in shock.

"You brat!" Growled Morgan."DIE!"

Luffy rushed towards him and dodged out off the way as the captain swung at him. He kicked him in the face, knocking Morgan down to the ground. The soldiers froze. Luffy grabbed the captains shirt and threw backs his fist. "You're going to pay for crushing Coby's dream!" Shouted Luffy as he punched Morgan.

"Hey! Stop!" Shouted Helmeppo . Luffy ignored him and continued punching Morgan. "Hey, you idiot! I said stop!" Shouted Morgan.

"Oi, Straw hat." Zoro called out. Luffy stopped and turned. Helmeppo had a gun pointed at Aya's head. Coby didn't move a muscle.

"If you care about her life, don't move! I'll shoot if you do anything else!" Yelled Helmeppo. Aya glared at him. Luffy smiled.

"You really shouldn't have done that." Luffy giggled. "She's not afraid to die."

Helmeppo's eyes widen in shock. Suddenly, a hand gripped his wrist tightly and twisted it painfully. Helmeppo cried out in pain as he dropped the gun and it fell to the ground. Aya kneed the man behind his leg knocking him down.

Coby watched in amazement. Zoro stood impressed. Luffy grinned.

"You witch!" Helmeppo shouted in pain clutching his broken wrist. "I'll see you hanged for this!"

"Shut up." Said Aya. She threw back her fist and punched Helmeppo in the face. He fell to the ground, knocked out.

Suddenly, Captain Morgan appeared behind Luffy, raising his axe.

"Luffy! Behind you!" Warned Coby.

Captain Morgan was about to hit Luffy on the head. But, Zoro rushed forward and sliced his swords straight through the captain. Captain Morgan let out a gasp then he fell on his knees to the ground. Zoro landed behind him on his feet, perfectly. The Captain didn't move at all. He was dead. The Marines cheered.

"That weird. They seem pretty happy that he's dead." said Coby. Luffy shrugged and smiled at Zoro.

"Thanks for the help," He said.

"Yeah, thanks." Aya said.

Zoro smirked and nodded. "Just doing my job, captain," He said. Luffy smiled and laughed. Zoro's smirk turned into a smile. Suddenly, his eyes began to close then he fell backwards collapsing on the ground.

"Zoro! Are you ok?" asked Coby, panicking. Zoro opened his eyes and groaned.

"Yeah. I'm just...hungry." He said. Luffy blinked before throwing his head back, laughing.

Everyone went back to Rika's family restaurant. Their were people in their who were chattering very loudly and celebrating. "Man! I can't remember I had a last good meal like that. I was ready to eat my own bootstrap if I didn't get anything to eat." said Zoro in a joking tone. His bandanna was now tied around his shoulder, revealing short sea-green hair. Coby, Rika and Rika's mother were laughing while Luffy was wolfing and gobbling down the food.

"You finished already? There's a shock." said Rika's mother.

"How could you have a bigger appetite than a guy who hasn't eaten in three weeks?" asked Zoro. Luffy shrugged.

"My brother's always been like that, it's like his secret power or something." said Aya in a joking tone.

"I'm just enjoying the food. Right, Coby?" Luffy said. Coby laughed.

"Yeah, thanks for fixing this up for us by the way," said Coby. Rika's mother smiled.

"My pleasure. After all you did save the town." She said.

"You two are the coolest people I've ever met." Said Rika to Luffy and Aya. Luffy grinned.

"Heck yeah we are! And we'll be even cooler when we're King and Queen of the Pirates and get the One Piece. Oh yeah, when we get the strongest crew in the seas." He said.

"So, how many other crew members do you have besides me and her?" Zoro asked.

Luffy took a sip from his orange juice. "Just you." He said. Zoro's smile fell. He pointed to himself.

"Me? You know, that doesn't amount to a good enough crew." He said. Luffy shrugged.

"So? We're pretty strong." He said.

"Well, do you at least have a boat?" asked Zoro. Luffy pointed out the window to a small boat that was tied and docked to a post. Zoro fell off of his seat.

"How did I get myself suckered into this?" He asked himself. "You two have got to be the worst pirates ever in history."

"Hey, watch it." growled Aya.

"Come on. It'll be loads of fun." said Luffy smiling. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Say Luffy? Where are you guys planning on going after you leave here?" asked Rika. Luffy grinned.

"The Grand Line, of course." He said. Coby coughed as he nearly choked on his juice.

"No way! That's too dangerous!" He shouted. Luffy tilted his head.

"Why?" He asked.

Coby looked down. "As you probably know, that place is so dangerous, that only one man was able to pass it. And that was the King of the Pirates himself. Gol D. Roger. It is said that the Pirate King had placed his most valuable treasure, the One Piece, at this location. Many countless men had tried to obtain this treasure, but...it lead them all to the same terrible fate. There's a reason why that place is called a Pirate's Graveyard. No one had ever made it out there alive." said Coby as he began to tremble. Luffy leaned back in his chair.

"Eh, I'm not afraid. We're still going there anyway." He said.

"I guess we have to live with it." said Aya. Coby stood up from his chair.

"No! You can't!" He yelled. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you care? You're not planning on coming with us, are you?" He asked.

Coby shook his head. "No. But, I still find Luffy and Aya as great friends. Even though we haven't known each other for long. Right, guys?" asked Coby. Luffy grinned. Aya smiled.

"Of course. Even though we have to part ways, we'll always be friends." He said. Coby smiled sadly.

"When I was just a little kid, I never had any friends. None that would fight on my behalf either. So I always tried my hardest to never fight for anything. But the three of you have taught me a lesson I could never learn on my own. You taught me how to fight for what I believe in. So I decided to make my dream a reality. I'm gonna join the Marines." He said, confidently.

"Good for you," said Aya. "I'm glad your sticking up for yourself. You follow your dream." Coby blushed.

Suddenly, the doors of the restaurant opened and some Marines walked in. Everyone froze in silence.

"Hey, you." said one of the men, walking over. "We heard that you are pirates, correct?" asked the man. Luffy nodded.

"Uh, no." said Aya. "We're not pirates."

"Yep. You heard right." said Luffy.

"Luffy!" Aya gritted her teeth with anger. The soldier fixed his cap.

"As we are grateful that you saved our town from that tyrant, we can not allow to go freely. There for, your crew must leave town, immediately. We will not arrest you." He said. Aya stared at the Marine soldier in shock.

"Come on! They saved our town! You're really going to kick them out!?" The townspeople argued. The Marines were silent as they had their heads down, while the people continued and began to throw insults at them.

Luffy shrugged and got up.

"Guess it's time to go. Thanks for the food." He said, bowing his head to Rika's mother.

"Yeah, thank you." said Aya.

"Hey, wait a second. You're leaving already?" asked Rika. Luffy nodded.

"Yeah." He said, lifting a bag of food the Rika's mother had prepared for the journey. He flinged it over his shoulder and started to walk out of the restaurant, with Aya following. Zoro followed after them with his katanas.

"And what about this guy? He with you too?" asked the Marine, pointing to Coby. Luffy stopped. He smirked.

"What I can tell you is what he's been doing up to this point," He said. Coby's eyes widen.

"Luffy...you wouldn't!" He thought.

"Yep. He used to be some fat lady's cabin boy for two years. He's such a dork and a complete loser. He's the weakest person I've ever-"

"Damn you!" yelled Coby as he punched Luffy. Everyone gasped while Zoro smirked. Luffy smirked and threw his fist back and began to punch Coby repeatedly. Zoro grabbed Luffy by his vest, stopping him. Coby collapsed on the floor.

"That's enough, Luffy. Just let him fall. Let's go." He said. Luffy smirked again and nodded, following after Zoro and Aya.

"Luffy...that was on purpose. He did it so it wouldn't look like I was a pirate. It's not fair! Again and again, I have always relied on Luffy for help! Well no more!" Thought Coby as he stood up. "Sir! I'd like to be a Marine! I'll do whatever you want me to do! Just allow me to join!" yelled Coby. The Marine soldier gave him a questionable look.

"You don't know how many of my men have died in the hands of pirates. However,...permission to join, granted." He said.

"Sir!" Coby yelled.

"That was some act you pulled back there. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw right through it, though." said Zoro as he, Luffy and Aya made their way to the docks.

"But, did you have to be so hard on him?" Aya laughed.

"Coby, could handle the rest himself. I have faith in him." Luffy said. Zoro shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it's a real fitting way to leave this town with everyone hating us. Very pirate-like." He said. He, Luffy, and Aya climbed into the boat. Luffy giggled.

"Yeah." He said as he began to untie the boat.

"Luffy! Aya!" The two twins turned to see Coby, Rika, and her mother. Coby saluted. "Thank you! You have done more for me than anyone else in this world has." He said. Zoro smirked.

"That's new. I've never heard of a Marine thanking a pirate before. That's one for the history books." He said. Luffy grinned and the three started to sail off. From the boat, Luffy waved.

"Bye! Hope to see you all soon!" He called.

"Bye, Luffy," said Coby. Rika waved back as well.

"Bye, Big bro Luffy! Bye, Big sis Aya! Bye, Big brother, Zoro!" She shouted.

"SAALLLL-LLLUUTEEE!"

Coby turned to see the entire Marines from the base saluting to the pirates. "See ya!" called Luffy. The ship began to sail further and further away.

"You have good friends." said the Marine leader. Coby felt his eyes burn as tears began to appear. But, he wiped them away. No more. He was not going to be a wimp anymore! Coby smiled. "Yes. They are. And I know that somewhere, someday, somehow, we'll meet each other again. I can feel it."

Luffy smiled as the sun began to set. "Alright. The adventure's finally coming to a beginning." He said. Zoro nodded.

"Yeah, and we'll probably face more of them pretty soon." He said. Luffy giggled, agreeing.

"Got that right." He said. Then Zoro frowned as a thought came to his mind.

"Say is there any reason why you two want to be King and Queen of the Pirates?" He asked. Luffy turned to him. Zoro saw the seriousness in his eyes.

Luffy and Aya looked at each other then back towards Zoro. "We made a promise to someone a long time ago. That we would gather a crew and become King and Queen of the Pirates. And I, for one, always make sure to keep my promises." said Luffy. Zoro smiled softly. Luffy turned back to the sunset.

"Me too." Added Aya. "I want to leave my mark on the world before I die."

Zoro gave her a confused look. Then he saw Aya softly make a sad smile behind Luffy's back while her brother wasn't looking. He frowned in confusion wondering what she had meant by that.

"Ok. It's time to start the real fun. Let's head our course. To the Grand line!" Shouted Luffy as he stared over the horizon with excitement.

#One Piece #one piece anime #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #OC #fanfiction

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authenticaussie · 5 years

Note

What do you think the difference would be in a TMNT/OP fic with different collections of turtles?

oooooooo okay so I should be getting ready for class tomorrow but you have 100% captured me I’m so invested in this

mainly I know 2003, 2012, and Rise - well, at least, they’re my favourites and have the most distinct characterisation tbh bc they’re long-running series - SO I’ll do those guys :DD

THIS GOT LONG (because of course it did, I’ve never made a short post in my LIFE) SO FIRST:

the main difference in fic would be tone!!!!!!!! The turtles are all really affected by the shows they come from so there’d be big differences in how they react to the new situation. Combining OP and 2018, they’re both such loud and bright shows that writing them sad would be kinda….disatisfactory to a reader. 2012 is the one where you could get kinda dark, and go down the genetic experiment and “oh wow these kids need a therapist” and Luffy being >:T wtf why are your lives so Fucked Up route, and 2003 would be hilariously awkward because they’re technically all in the same age range but they act so different wheezes

Second!!! Fun character analysis and Shenanigans under the readmore.

2003

Probably the most responsible on this list, they’re like??? tbh, barely teenagers?? Or at the very least, 18 or 19, and they can be air-heads but 2003 goes feet-first into the whole plot and character and Everything Happens. I mean, literally in season one there’s this whole subplot about how you define monsters and genetic testing and Wild shit like that so they feel Way more adult than the Strawhats get at times. Even though One Piece covers some dark topics it….the characters - the strawhats, in particular, is what I mean - don’t feel like adults the same way the 2003 turtles do. 2003 also doesn’t feel as dark as 2012 gets sometimes, but I feel 2012 is also because they seem really young, and in 2003 at least they get to process their trauma. 2012…..kinda beats them up a lot akhsdg pft.

Sticking them with the Strawhats would be !! Honestly really funny? I feel Mikey would get along with them really well - in every iteration he’s very good at going with the flow, and hey, pirates? and they’re nice? and cool powers? - he’d have the time of his life. Donnie would try and figure out What Was Going On (as the resident “please fix this in case it’s dangerous” guy, that’s probably what his role would Often be) but I can see him being easily distracted by Franky and the whole devil fruits thing. GOD him and Franky is a thought and a half omfg. The level of tech in One Piece is so different when compared to the modern world, and it operates on rules but like, rules that are just ever so slightly different.

Raph would be in debt Immediately. Mainly bc Nami’s manipulative like that but also because he’s just………..Like That. He’d be rude and insulting and if the strawhats were helping them out he’d be the team’s voice of reason. Or, distrust, I suppose. The one who hangs back, who’s prickly, who’s the last to offer his trust because his family needs him to be uncompromised, just in case. I think he and Zoro would clash for a bit, not like, in words but just in gestures, until the crew + turtles had been through their adventures, and gotten to the end of Whatever fic was being written, and then they’d be friends. Not best buds but like, healthy respect for each other.

Leo……….absolutely does Not understand why Luffy is leader. It’s like making Mikey the boss; it doesn’t make sense to him, because Luffy is too trusting and he’s strong but strength doesn’t make a good leader, and in 2003 Leo’s kind of a pushover so he’d stay on the sidelines and watch with Raph. But, as everyone knows, Luffy’s magnetism is Pretty Hard To Deny, and the crew’s respect for him does a lot to show to Leo that he may be missing something but that he doesn’t have to understand.

2012

I always……..feel so bad for TMNT2012 //weeps They’re just kids and they get put through so much like wow I’m only at season two but from spoilers there’s like?? their dad keeps DYING and being bought back to life???/ THAT’S GOTTA FUCK YOU UP!!! Plus all of them have all these different insecurities and they’re kinda mean to each other (Raph….has only given a proper apology for being a dick once so far, and I’m like. mid-way through season two. I’m sorry if this makes me mikey kin @@zali but pLEASE I cannot stand this LET THEM BE NICE TO EACH OTHER ;A; Like they’re still obviously a family but gosh they’re– so prickly)

Honestly depending on how the Strawhats meet them, like holy shit :o they might be Enemies. In 2003 I feel like they’ve been through enough to try and de-escalate a situation first, but 2012 are so Paranoid that unless they had April with them they’d be like WELP this is another mind-control alternate dimension thing, time to ninja vanish. And sure, after they ended up on whatever quest they needed to go on, Luffy would be fascinated by them (2012 definitely pushes the limits of what you can Actually do, in terms of hiding and shit, but I think that makes it fun !!) but I feel the turtles would be pretty paranoid at first. Mikey & Donnie would be the first two to be dragged out of their shells (snickers) because Donnie would be super curious (and also…probably kinda aggravated and confused) about how the one piece world rules work, and Mikey because…friends!! They already have a reindeer mutant on the crew, they’re obviously cool with mutants :D

akhsdg okay I mention that 2003 would hang back and assess Luffy’s leadership still but like 2012 would be such a dick. He never seems to learn the lesson that people have different strengths and different ways of doing things >:T and watching Luffy lead would drive him crazy. I bet he’d try and make plans and be all structured and in control and Luffy would wreck things and/or the strawhats would be like “lol no lmao, you’re not the captain”. Even if he did have a good plan, like….the Strawhats rarely follow plans if Luffy says they’re doing something different snickers. I feel a major part of this could just a nice subplot line of Leo learning to Chill and also like………give the 2012 a fun adventure I’m begging you sobs. Do a Long Long Island filler arc or smth, where it’s dumb and silly and barely dangerous because they’re all competent af.

Also: Mikey constantly trying to find a devil fruit because “dudes, it’s probably not gonna apply when we go back home and think about how SICK superpowers would be!!!!!!!!”

He does not get one, to his disappointment.

2018

These guys are IDIOTS and would fit in with Luffy’s brand of chaos p e r f e c t l y

Okay so yeeeeah I’m probably biased because I think Rise may be my favourite (the family dynamics!! the character designs!! the animation!!! the stupid jokes!!! the sudden flashes of deeper plot!!!!!!!!) BUT. No-one can argue with me that Rise turtles are chaotic as fuck and they’d have the time of their LIVES with Luffy’s crew. Raph would fall in love with Chopper (Chopper would be terrified of him, continuing the terribly sad trend of Raph being Bad With Animals), Donnie would go wild glitter-eyed over the devil fruits and technology and immediately try and do a million mad scientist experiments (and look. SMILES are fucked up. But this boii would totally try and make one/figure out how they worked). He’s….a mad genius and maybe a little bit evil.

Leo would either drive Sanji crazy or be INSTANTLY adopted and taught how to be “cool”, but I can also see Sanji and Zoro lowkey fighting over him SNICKERS. Because Leo has a sword so he’s obviously Zoro’s, but he’s suave and likes fashion so he MUST be Sanji’s, and it’s not an argument persay, until Leo says he thinks both of them are cool and then it’s a battle to the death.

(The end of leo’s sentence was “not as cool as me tho ;P” only they didn’t notice that bit.)

April would absolutely fall in love with Robin. And also Nami?? But I feel mainly Robin like Oh Man Robin is so cool and both of them are hypercompetent??? April’s like teach me how to be a badass assassin and Robin smiles and laughs and absolutely does.

Mikey’s so loud that he almost terrifies Usopp, and terrifying Usopp is kinda a no-no in Luffy’s book, but he likes these guys and Mikey’s just excited to have an artist friend and so both of them bounce around the ship like ping pong balls.

There is………yeah. A lot of paint covering the Sunny after they’re through. I can’t decide if Franky would cry or laugh but I know one (1) single drop of paint got on Nami’s tangerines and she Banished them. Rise turtles probably have a really good time and the crew figures out they’re basically children really quick and make sure nothing bad happens to them. Leo promises to try and get better at portal-making so they can come visit New York sometime, and everyone is like “what the fuck is new york??” at the same time as Donnie says HEY WAIT, I THINK WE’RE ON AN ALTERNATE DIMENSION and they get teleported home :DD

THANKS FOR LETTING ME SPILL ALL MY TURTLE FEELINGS EVERYWHERE

#tmnt #rottmnt #tmnt 2003 #tmnt 2012 #one piece #missjenca #ask aussie #bip bop nari drops #wow I love combining my special interest s aljshdg //BLUSHES #so anyway HERE'S MULTIPLE PARAGRAPHS OF POTENTIAL FIC THEMES lajkhsdf sweats pft #I'm..........so weak pft

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zonamievents · 5 years

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ZoNami Summer Festival #5-6

Themes: Sleeping Under the Stars and Summer Rain Rating: K / G Word Count: 2,825 words Note: Due to a scheduling conflict, I wasn’t able to post a story for day five. Therefore, themes 5 and 6 have been combined for this chapter. Enjoy!

Hiking was something Zoro enjoyed because it broke the up his repetitive training regiment. He thought about going off on his own the moment he saw the mountainous range of the island they were going to be stopping at next. The New World was large but Luffy’s gut was larger, and restocking so soon after their last stop over made the swordsman realize that he hadn’t taken full advantage to stretch his legs last time they were docked.

Apparently, neither had their navigator.

“It’s this way,” her judgemental tone of voice caught up to him faster than her scrawny legs could carry her. “Idiot.”

Growling after enduring her lobbing insults at him all afternoon, Zoro spun around to bite back at her. “I’m not even going anywhere specifically! How can I be going the wrong way!?”

“Because if you take ten more steps through these trees, you’ll reach the edge of the island and fall into the ocean. Can’t you feel the sea breeze?” Nami wondered, sounding honestly suspicious of his capabilities if he was really about to plummet into the sea.

He could feel a vein in his forehead throbbing due to the frustration boiling up inside of him. His so-called hike through the lush jungle was more of a stroll than a hike due to his nagging guide. The entire crew voted that he bring her with him and he was forced to do so. Now, while climbing over roots and trying to find the ground through the overwhelming amount of foliage around him, all Zoro wanted to do was return to the Sunny and head straight to his gym.

Away from her.

Intentionally, hopefully unnoticeably, he had been avoiding Nami ever since their...naked swim. He didn’t know why - he wasn’t afraid of her or anything - but it was easier for him to pretend that he was paying her as little attention as possible when she...had nearly made him stand to attention the other night.

“If you have no destination, what’s the point of wandering around here? We’re lucky we haven’t been eaten alive by bugs by this point.” Said the woman in short shorts that were laced up along the sides and a stretched out band around her breasts.

Compared to her, his simple faded t-shirt and cargo shorts must have seemed much too modest. If any bugs were going to target either of them, she must have looked like a damn buffet.

“Not everyone has to walk with a destination in mind, you know. Shouldn’t a navigator like exploring?” Zoro snidely asked. Just as he surely pushed her buttons, there was a large tree branch blocking their path. It irritated him to no end that the polite thing to do was to hold the massive branch above both of their heads so they could pass through easily, and he wore his frustration plainly on his face.

As Nami walked by him, she retorted, “I do, but we’ve been ‘exploring’ for a while now and the sun is going to go down soon.” “So?” Was his answer to her concerns.

Nami eyed him, clearly miffed. “Following you placed us on the other side of the island from the Sunny and it’s--!” What he thought was going to be a lecture suddenly ended with a sharp gasp. “What?” Zoro inquired, scanning the encroaching trees and bushes to the best of his ability.

“It’s about to pour.” Nami whispered.

“Huh?”

“There’s a huge amount of rain coming. I can feel it - we only have a few minutes before it touches down. We need to find some shelter!” She shouted with a hint of worry in her tone.

Zoro shrugged off her concern easily enough. “It’s just some rain. Just because your hair’s going to get wet doesn’t mean we have to duck and cover.”

Suddenly, two fists had grabbed hold of his collar and dragged him downward a few inches until his body was hunched over. Brown eyes sat directly in front of his face, burning while she explained. “When I say it’s going to pour, I mean there’s going to be a torrential downpour. We have to find shelter right now!”

“All right!” Zoro yelled in her face. The proximity to her set him on edge more so than it ever had before, which angered him thoroughly. In the past, if she had cautioned him so strongly, he would have picked her up in his arms and ran until they found a place to wait out the storm. However, it now felt like he was encroaching on her personal space and, in doing so, forcing himself to confront something he wasn’t prepared to handle.

“C’mon!” Nami demanded when he didn’t say or do anything else. She let go of his shirt as she took the lead. Racing off, Nami chose to stop entertaining him and she took over the role of navigator once again. He was expected to follow after her until they found a shelter of some kind. It wasn’t until he heard the warning of a booming rumble of thunder overhead that Zoro realized how credible her warning was. Swiping away leaves and kicking up dirt as they ran, the two of them darted through the jungle in the hopes of finding anything remotely resembling a type of shelter.

Right when the path began to clear out somewhat, Zoro watched from behind as Nami steered herself to the right and bolted. Her sharp change in direction caused him to skid but he could only assume that the direction they were traveling in was unsafe, and she somehow knew that. The silence of their search somehow made the impending storm feel more ominous. They’d never been so awkward around each other before. Perhaps if he had simply ignored his nerves, if he had picked her up despite the urge not to, they’d at least be able to move faster on foot--

“There!” Zoro declared when he spotted something: a single layer of branches laying across a long piece of lumber, fastened to two trees that had been previously chopped down. It looked makeshift and dingy, but it was the best thing that they’d most likely find on such short notice.

“Are you crazy!?” Of course, Nami found something to complain about. “If that thing gets hit by lightning, we’ll be dead!”

“What if we don’t find anything better!?” Zoro pointed out.

“What if the person who made that comes back to find out we’re borrowing it, and they kick us out into the rain!?” Nami bellowed.

She wasn’t wrong. That was a possibility. Nevertheless, a storm was coming that put her on edge, meaning there wasn’t time for a petty squabble and calculating possibilities. “Then that’s their problem! If this thing is as bad as you think it’ll be, we can’t run around this entire jungle looking for a better option, Nami.”

She knew he was right. He saw the recognition in those incredibly expressive eyes of hers. Though it alarmed him to think that he was suddenly paying attention to her in such a vigilant way, Nami decided to accept his reasonings and dove under the plank of strapped branches. Once she was seated, Zoro felt a rather heavy splash of water smack down on the back of his neck. He ended up imitating her by diving into the shelter too.

Then, that torrential downpour she mentioned crashed down upon the jungle like it had a bone to pick with it.

Pelting the shelter with a barrage of rain drops, the constantly drumming against the wooden surface drowned out the sounds of the rest of the world.

Again, silence between them made Roronoa Zoro feel more awkward than he ever had in his entire life.

The air between their crouched bodies was thick, sizzling as if it was an attempt to convert itself into steam. The smell of the Earth being washed by the storm was usually so soothing to him that it made him wish he had entered the jungle alone, if only so he could drown at the thoughts and feelings he’d be tempering down for the past few days. Drops of rain water splashed onto his exposed toes through his sandals but he barely noticed them in comparison to the discomfort that consumed him when he was alone with Nami in the middle of nowhere for an undetermined amount of time.

Even though he wasn’t socially apt at creating small talk, he was shocked that Nami released a fake yawn, putting on a facade to manufacture a situation where talking would be impossible. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up when the rain has stopped.”

All Zoro had to do was glance at the ground they were sitting on to realize, “There’s no way that’ll be comfortable.” She was a prissy woman, she needed a pillow beneath her head if she was going to sleep soundly.

The look she shot him said something to the contrary though. Her inner thoughts reached him in that moment, where he heard her think to herself, ‘Nothing is more uncomfortable than this.’

By this, she meant...them.

Him.

Bashful over his inability to conquer whatever he was feeling, Zoro looked away from her as she prepared herself for her nap. It was so unnerving that a woman he’d known for so long was suddenly some sort of pariah to him. He went from placing his Wadou Ichimonji in her capable hands to resting his swords on his lap as he waited for the rain to stop. He went from being uninterested in her Happiness Punch to acting like he was frightened over her body more than he ever was scared of the monstrous Pica!

He scoffed before he realized that she might not be asleep yet. It would have been easy to be spiteful and choose not to care, however, Zoro was aware that she only came with him because she cared about his safety. For some reason, acknowledging that made his heart constrict in his chest. Even though she had badgered him the entire way, screaming at him about how inept his directional sense was, knowing that she wanted to waste her day tailing him triggered a response in him.

One that he doubt it would have triggered before.

Reacting to her naked body like this made no sense to him! He had never reacted to anyone like that before, not ever! Being apart of the Mugiwara crew had put him in some precarious situations and yet nothing lingered in his system the way that one intimate moment with Nami had. Maybe the key to it was the intimacy - a concept that was entirely foreign to him.

Would he define their promise to travel together even after his dream was achieved as intimate too? On the night of her birthday, he had promised to let her hire him when she continued to make her completed map of the entire world. She would definitely need the protection, based on the terrifying places they’d visited already in the New World. Committing however many more years to her was just a natural response. It wasn’t meant to be a marriage proposal or anything! They were all chasing their dreams, so Zoro had committed to sticking with her until she completed hers. They’d have their own separate lives after that, wouldn’t they?

A looming sensation of prophetic dread found its way into his gut and warned him that it might spend some time there.

It baffled Zoro wholeheartedly that he was reacting so strongly to the possibility that the two of them might drift apart someday. For a man who had no interest in the future that night at the Wedge, he was suddenly engrossed by the odd sensation that there could come a time when they were no longer together. Maybe it was because he always assumed that if he wasn’t with the Mugiwara crew anymore, it was because he died in battle. However, if that happened, then Nami would have no one to travel the world with.

Nami would have no one to protect her.

Now, the dread in his stomach was slowly crawling up into his chest, looking to squeeze that troubled heart of his.

Zoro couldn’t understand what on Earth was happening to him. With an unfounded amount of courage summoned, he turned to look at the woman who had been vexing him since the day he met her. Her shoulders rising and falling the way they were proved to him that she was indeed asleep, which almost impressed him. Still, when he regarded her the way he did in that moment, all he could think about was whether or not he could get a handle on what she had done to him. Would he be able to find his equilibrium and straighten it out, returning it to its former glory?

...Was there any way to do that aside from accepting that he couldn’t look at her the same way as he did before the night in the ocean?

When she wasn’t putting him down or screeching like a bat out of hell, Nami was a remarkable woman. That was something he had understood even when he only saw her as a friend. Now that the tectonic plates of his stone cold heart had shifted, Zoro couldn’t help but think of her as something greater than a crew member or a partner in crime. It was scary to recognize that. If he had been standing, he might have wobbled the same way that his self-control was.

But instead, he was sitting underneath some random shelter in the middle of a jungle, watching over Nami like it was a task he would happily take on forever.

“Hmph.” He grunted instead of laughing at himself, worried he could wake her. Maybe his crush was hyperbole that he invented because he was nearly at his breaking point of self-control when he felt her curvaceous form pressed so close to his. Perhaps he was delusional in hoping that she’d feel the same way, that she would want to explore what intimacy would be like between them. Zoro had no clue what the future meant for him now and, ironically, he suddenly couldn’t see beyond the very instant in time that he was in.

So, he watched over her with appreciation rather than the disdain he first sat down with. He waited out the storm like it was nothing more than a drizzle that passed them by. In reality, the sun went down behind the storm clouds by the time the downpour ended. Carefully, he reached through the darkness of the night and ended up patting the back of Nami’s thigh. “Hey.” “Hm?” She grumbled in her huddled form on the ground.

“Come here.” Was all he intended to say to her.

But the sleep-ridden Nami was confused by his order. Her shadowy form sat up in order to rest on her elbows just so she could vaguely see him as she whimpered a distraught, “What?”

“I said, come here. We’ won’t be heading back tonight.”

“B-But I was sleeping--”

“Just come here, dammit.” That fear he thought he vanquished reemerged when he had to face her once again. Sighing, Zoro knew he had a long way to go before he could tell her anything remotely related to how he truly felt.

As a compromise - for the sake of his pride and for her evident confusion - Zoro moved his hand over her leg until her found her hand near it on the jungle floor. He took it softly and guided her over to him. Slowly, cautiously on both of their ends, he led Nami into his lap. The clutter of their limbs made things rather awkward at first, but what else was new for them as of late? Eventually, she folded herself up in between her legs and found a comfortable place to rest her head on his chest. Right over his thundering heart.

“Mm, thank you.” Nami murmured genuinely to him. Zoro would have responded, but he could tell by the way her voice faded out that she had fallen back asleep rather quickly in his presence. Gratefully, almost too eagerly, he wrapped his arms around her body to provide her with some warmth throughout the night. Then, with nothing else to do, he leaned back against the trunk of the dismantled tree.

“Huh.” He said to no one in particular when he caught sight of some stars blinking at him through the trees that littered the jungle. With their leaves so full, it was shocking that he could spot anything beyond the branches overhead.

If they were on the Thousand Sunny, they could have had a better view.

If they were on the Thousand Sunny, he wouldn’t have had this moment.

That realization alone was enough to put a smile on his face as he finally drifted off to sleep too.

#ZoNaSummerFestival #ZoNa #ZoNami #ZoroXNami #SwordGust

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onepiecefeatstuff · 5 years

Text

Sea | Sanami week 2019 bonus

The sea looked especially bright that night, or so it did to Nami’s eyes. She had always been fond of the ocean, that endless blue that she felt tight to even as a child. When her true home was scattered into pieces, controlled by a despotic ruler, she had found comfort in the sound of the waves. When she cried next to her mother’s grave, her tears linked her to the ocean even more. And for years, she had been calling the sea her home, it being the never ending constant in her life. The isles, the weather, the battles and the troubles they always seemed to be into were always changing, but at the end of the day, she always turned to the sea.

That night, however, there were no conflicts. No sea monsters to fight, no confrontations with other ships, no internal arguments about stupidities. That night was all about celebration. The crew wasn’t really celebrating anything specific, except maybe the fact that they all remained alive for now (which, for a pirate crew in the New World, was kind of an achievement). Still, what kind of pirates would they be if they had to have a reason for getting drunk and dancing in tables every once in a while? As the crew of the next Pirate’s King, they had to live up to some standards.

They had assembled a drinking night at the bar. Everyone loved it, yet never spent much time in it. They were planning on changing that. Zoro didn’t take long before opening up all the bottles; and everyone served themselves in big color-tinted glasses they were saving up for these types of occasions. Brook had begun to play a song that put everyone else to dance, and Ussopp decided it was best to do it jumping in the couch. If he had been more sober, Franky would have told him to stop, but by that time of the night he had already drunk a little too much and was showing his best moves on the dance floor. Robin was trying to calm Chopper down while casually drinking her whisky on the rocks the same way she drank tea.

After a while of dancing with Luffy, Nami felt the heat take over her, and her clothes started to stick to her body. Feeling sweaty, she went to get some air outside. She felt a ringing in her ear, possibly because of the loud music, but she could still hear the sound of waves calming her down. There was a soft breeze that winged her long hair and made her feel at peace. Her heartbeat slowed down as she carelessly moved around the deck, dancing to the distant noise she couldn’t quite recognize anymore, and she felt the urge to take off her shoes. She was about to when a voice behind her back made her jump.

When she turned back, the first thing she saw was a black shadow. Its outline, however, was easily recognizable: tall, slim and in straight posture. It could only be Sanji.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked him, taking a step towards him. There was almost no light outside, and she wanted to see his face. Not that she had a special reason to do so, but she liked to see who she was talking to. There was absolutely nothing more to it.

“You left kind of abruptly there… I was just checking if you were alright.”

“So you came here to smoke.” Nami realized she didn’t have to see his face to know that his cheeks were turning red, she just knew. She could read him like a magazine, even without seeing the cover.

“It pains me that you think that low of me. I truly care about you, Nami-san!”

Sanji tried his best to defend his honor, and began rambling about the values of chivalry and the endless respect he had for her. Nami wasn’t really listening to what he was saying, rather more interested in the sound of waves crashing to the ship. She felt as the water was speaking to her, calming her senses. She could hear it talking to her. Or maybe she had gotten drunker than she initially realized. She found herself swinging slightly, flowing like the waves, with the tide on her heels. At one point, she lost her balance and tripped, but Sanji was quick enough to hold her on time.

“Are you okay?” he asked her, pulling his face closer to hers in order to take a greater look of her expression. Her brown eyes looked almost as black as her pupils, and he could have sworn they were bigger than usual.

Nami hadn’t planned to stick to eye contact for so long, but he finally caught a glimpse of light reflecting right into Sanji’s eyes, and they looked as blue as the sea. Ocean blue eyes, looking straight into hers.

She felt like she might as well sink. And drown. And die.

Did he always had such beautiful eyes and she hadn’t realized until now? Or was it the lightning making them especially bright? Or was she just hallucinating from all the shots she had taken with Zoro? She had so many questions, and so little answers.

“Your eyes…” she began, not knowing how to continue “are like the sea.”

“Is that a poem?” Sanji adventured “Is Nami-san dedicating me a poem?!”

“No!” she yelled, a little too loud “Your eyes are so blue. Why?”

Sanji was starting to feel Nami’s weigh tiring his arm, but he didn’t want to lose grip of her. And of course, he didn’t want to unbalance her either. He might need to sort out his priorities on that, but he figured that it wasn’t exactly the time.

“You are asking why I have blue eyes?”

Nami sighed. He clearly didn’t understand the question. She already knew that the color of eyes was something inherited (genetics? She had heard that word before). What she didn’t know was…

“Who gave you the right to have eyes like the ocean?”

Sanji blinked twice. Clearly, she was drunk, or she wouldn’t be asking those things to him. The sober Nami never put that much thought into him or what he looked like. It was kind of bittersweet, getting all the attention he wanted but by a drunk version of his muse. Still, he had to admit he was quite enjoying it.

“I… don’t know.”

“Let me take a closer look!”

Nami stood straight, which was a comfort to Sanji’s arm, and put her face close to his. So close their noses were touching. Nami’s heartbeat could be as calm as the waves, but Sanji’s was pumping like crazy. He gulped but didn’t dare to blink as Nami examined his uncovered eye closely.

“Why would you want to hide the sea?” she wondered, her voice almost a whisper. She didn’t have to raise her voice now that they were so close together.

Her fingers caressed his cheek and went up to where his hair covered half of his face.

“It’s almost rude, you know. People should be able to…”

Nami didn’t finish her sentence. She had lost herself in another kind of sea this time, and she didn’t want to lose direct contact with it. She could see it all in his eyes: all her doubts, all her uncertainty, all her dreams and all her achievements. This ocean mirrored her reflection if she looked at it long enough, and she felt herself inexplicably tied to it, like there was some kind of bond she shared with these blue eyes.

It was such a powerful feeling that it destroyed her calm for a moment, and she had to look away.

“That was intense” she laughed, playing it down. She had now started to wonder how ridiculous the situation must look like from the outside, and that Sanji must have thought she was crazy. Well, maybe he already did think that about her. Either way, he couldn’t blame him for it.

Sanji nodded in agreement, but was left behind with a void inside. He knew it was stupid, because what else what he even expecting to? Their closeness had intensified all his feelings about her, but it was dumb to think she would have ever corresponded to them. Nami could be a goddess to him, but she didn’t have superpowers. She could look into his eyes, but not look into his soul.

At least, that’s what he thought before he felt a pressure on his lips. It was Nami, kissing him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Nami used his surprise to her advantage and twisted her tongue onto his, intensifying the kiss. When she parted away from him, she gave him a playful smile.

“I felt you were begging for that to happen.” She teased, and took his hand. “Let’s go dance, sea eyes!”

Sanji didn’t have time to react, as she was already pulling him into the bar again. He couldn’t even listen to the music blasting loudly. All he could hear was the sound of waves and Nami’s voice saying his eyes were like the sea.

Another year, another Sanami week end. I know I’ve been a little bit late to the party this time, but I had a blast writing these! It’s good to take off the dust of writing and it’s always a pleasure doing so with these two dorks. Until next time!

#sanami week #sannami week #sanami #sannami #sanji #nami #op fanfiction

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