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tooweirdforyou · 4 years

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Straw Hats With A Shipmate! Who Lost Someone Special

A/N : For anyone who has lost someone dear to them, whether it was recently or long ago, it’ll be okay. There are times where we either hate ourselves, hold regret, or refuse to accept the reality, but no matter what, we have to accept the truth. These things happen and we have to deal with it. I know some of us like to bottle these feelings up instead of letting it all out. But I just want to say that it’s okay to let it out. Don’t keep the pain to yourself because it’s not going to make things better. Let it all out and bring peace to yourself some day. Everything will be okay.

Warning : mentions of death, negative, heartbreaking thoughts, etc. + MARINEFORD SPOILERS.

Note : I don’t expect you to read this, nor do I expect you to appreciate this. I don’t know my readers, so I don’t know how sensitive some of you are. I don’t normally write this kind of stuff either, hopefully this is the only time you’ll see this.

of course this will have a sweet ending.

This is also pretty long.

Summary : The crew witnesses their crew mate’s loss of a loved one, and notice that their shipmate is acting as if everything’s fine. They won’t accept that.

Everything was peaceful.

The crew was just sailing around the seas for a bit, enjoying their time together after two years apart from each other.

After Fishman Island, the others were just taking a breather and relaxing.

However, you knew that your home island was nearby.

You wanted to visit it, which the crew agreed, since it let them experience your island and perhaps learn about where you came from.

Unfortunately, you didn’t know how horrible things have been since you were gone.

Nor did you ever expect to see someone so dear to you, die right before your eyes.

When you docked at the island, instead of a warm aura and a homely greeting from the civilians, the island was in ruins.

There was hardly anybody around, and the people that were still there, were all weak and barely alive.

Nothing was right, nor was anything left. Buildings in ruin and destroyed, fields and trees of the forests were burned and there was blood shed all over the ground.

Nothing could be seen but blood. It was truly a horrific sight to be seen.

The crew mates all stare at the sight in horror and shock.

After hearing your stories of how beautiful and amazing the island was and how kind the people were, they were definitely not expecting to see the opposite it was.

“Oi, this isn’t anything like you described. You sure we’re on the right island?” Luffy mindlessly comments, the others staring at Luffy like he was an idiot, Usopp clearly stating it aloud. “Oi, Luffy! Don’t say things so bluntly!”

You, ahead of the group and had an expression of fear and horror written all over, just snap back into reality and turn to Luffy, seeing the others staring at you.

“..I was thinking the same, Luffy.” You weakly smile as a forceful chuckle escaped your lips, you rubbing the back of your neck awkwardly. “I guess things can change when time passes.”

“Maybe we are on the wrong island..”

You weren’t. You knew you weren’t. This was the place where you were born and raised.

Although it was completely destroyed, you recognized some of what was left in the rubble, even some of the old people that were barely hanging on.

Your words were heard, the others noticed how quiet it was and already understood the truth. Something happened while you were away from home, and it wasn’t good from the looks of it.

“[Name]-chan... we don’t have to-“ Sanji starts but you only smile lightly at the crew. “It’s fine. Before we go back to the ship,.. can we look around a bit? It’ll be quick.”

They knew what you meant and what you wanted to do, all of them nodding. “Of course, take as long as you need. There’s no rush.” Robin assures softly, Nami nodding in agreement. “We’re here if you need anything.”

You nod at them and continue to lead the group through the streets, them following you in silence as Luffy kept his eyes on you.

You heard some of the groans and noise of discomfort and pain from the ones who were on the brink of death, your head lowering down as you bit your lip, trying to ignore them.

As much as you wanted to run to them and help them any way you can, you somehow already knew it was useless.

Whatever happened while you were gone, it was too damaging to be fixed. The many bodies that were spread across the town made sure of that.

In the back with the crew, you hear Brook, Usopp and Chopper freaking out every once in a while at the sight of the bodies, Sanji and Nami mentioning about feeling a bit sick and just shocked at the sight of them, while Franky, Luffy, Robin and Zoro all stare silently, many thoughts running through their head.

There was one thought they all had in common.

Just what the hell happened?

You continue to walk with your head down, before noticing an all too familiar house and look up, beginning to jog over towards it, a hopeful look in your eyes.

“W-Wait, [Name]!” Usopp calls at the others try to catch up. You ignore him and sprint towards what was left of the home and slam the door open accidentally.

“[ Special Someone ]!” You call out a bit too loudly, looking out frantically for them. “[ Special Someone ]! It’s [Name]!”

A small hum could be heard in another room, you rushing over just as the others arrived at the home.

You ran over and widen your eyes at the sight of them. [ Special Someone ] was leaning against the wall, breathing slow with many cuts and dried blood all over them.

Their clothes stained with the red liquid and the entire house was a wreck, with smashed furniture and shattered glass all over.

“[ Special Someone ]!” You shout in disbelief and horror, unable to process anything as you lunge yourself to the one person who was always by your side.

“[Name]..?..” they breathed out, weakly forcing themselves to sit upright more, you aiding them carefully, as their arms rested in their lap.

“Wow.. I can’t believe it.. how.. lucky.. I get to see you?..” [ Special Someone ] coughs out roughly, spitting a bit of blood out onto their hand as they did so making you even more shocked.

The crew enters the room with eyes wide as saucers. “[Name]?” Nami questions, mouth gaped at the sight of you kneeling beside a person on the brink of death.

Tears brimmed your eyes as you turn to Chopper pleadingly. “Chopper, please, help them!” You cry out with a shout, Chopper’s teary shocked eyes widening more as he nods quickly and rushed over with his bag.

Chopper sits on the other side of [ Special Someone ], opening his bag and grabbing out the proper supplies.

“[Na..me].. stop, I’m fine. There’s nothing.. you can do.” They insisted, turning to Chopper with a weak smile. “A rein..deer?.. how cute..” Chopper didn’t say anything as he continued to do his work, quickly examining the injuries they had before patching them up.

“Shut up, [ Special Someone ], Chopper’s going to help you, okay?! Now, tell me who did this to you?” You say, clasping their hand in yours as they cough once more and tilt their head back.

The others could only watch in silence with sad, concerned or pitiful looks at the sight, assuming that this person was someone so dear to you. They didn’t know who it was but they knew enough.

“... Marines..”

Everyone tensed at the word, a few of them in disbelief. Marines did this?

You didn’t say anything, your grip on their hand tightening as you chew on your inner cheek. “Marines, huh?...”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long ago did this happen?” Robin cautiously and slowly asks, [ Special Someone ] looking up at her.

They look away and flinch at bit at Chopper’s work as they whisper out an answer. “.. one week.”

No one expected that. Everyone’s eyes widened even more. One week!?

“S-seriously?! This happened one week ago?!” Brook shouts incredulously, Usopp trembling in his shoes. “T-This happened while we were on our way here?!”

Your breath hitched in your throat, your body frozen and completely lost in thought. This..happened.. in a week?..

You.. You could have done something.. if you just got here faster? You could have prevented all of this, if you just arrived sooner?

No, you couldn’t blame yourself. How could you have known? You weren’t at fault, right? Right?

“[Name]. It’s okay..” [ Special Someone ] turns to you with the all too familiar smile of theirs, it was a weak one, but it was still the same.

“Fate has it twisted sometimes, but it’s never wrong. If fate had this in its destined path for me, then I have to accept it. If I must die, I’m happy to have died being able to see you one last time.” They managed to speak out in one breath, forcing their smile wider.

[ Special Someone ] notices Chopper moving away from him slowly with saddened and regretful eyes. They knew the result and reason for it already.

You chose to ignore their words and scoff, feeling tears brimming your eyes. “Stop talking like that, it’s not time for you yet. It’s not too late. Right Chopper?!” You look up with teary eyes at the small reindeer.

“You can save them, right!? It’s not too late!”

Chopper would look down, pulling his hat down to cover his face as his lips trembled and quivered a bit. “[Name], I—“

“Chopper! You’re supposed to be the best doctor I know, so please, tell me it’s not too late!” You cried out, turning to look at the others.

The others already knew the answer too just from the look of Chopper and how weak [ Special Someone ] was quickly getting.

“Franky? Usopp? Zoro?” You call out to them, receiving no answer and just sad looks of pity and sorrow.

“Luffy!” You call out to your captain desperately, seeing his head tilted down with his hat shadowing his face.

“Everyone.. WHY AREN’T YOU ANSWERING ME?!” Confusion ran over you, too worried and afraid to face the truth and have any sense.

Nami stares at you with her own tears threatening to fall, already knowing what was going to happen.

Chopper grips his hat tightly as he stares down, tears streaming down his cheeks and dripping to the floor.

Sanji couldn’t stare at you, his eyes closing shut as he wished he could help you somehow.

Franky looks at you with a frown placed on his lips, staying silent because he thought it was best to remain so.

If Brook had eyes, he’d stare with sorrow and tears as well, also remaining quiet.

Zoro just shut his eyes, almost unable to watch you looking at them so desperately and pleadingly.

Robin looks a bit pitifully, sad eyes washing over her and over at you and your teary form.

Usopp felt tears threatening to stream down his cheeks as well, feeling regret and sadness for you, hands clenched tightly into fists.

Finally, Luffy still held no reaction, arms at his side, head still lowered. But he was trying hard not to get angry or tear up himself, this reminding him of Ace’s death a bit.

“[Name].. it’s too late.. I’ve already lost a lot of blood and my wounds are.. too hurt to be healed.. the damage is done..” [ Special Someone ] breathes out, a small smile forming on their lips.

“[ Special Someone ]... what are you saying?.. I..”

“[Name]..”

“Stop..” you look down, your hair covering your eyes as your lip quivered.

“I’m thankful you found people to keep you company..” they turn to the crew with a soft smile.

“Stop it..” you whispered, teardrops slowly falling.

“Thank you for taking care of [Name].”

The crew only smiled sadly at [ Special Someone ].

“STOP TALKING, ITS NOT TOO LATE FOR YOU!” You cry out loudly, tears finally falling down your cheeks as you shouted. “[ SPECIAL SOMEONE ]!”

[ Special Someone ] only leans their head back and their breathing only shallows as they slowly lean down into your arms.

A small smile formed on their lips as they whisper out through your cries.

“I’m sorry... and thank you... [Name].”

“[ SPECIAL SOMEONE ]!”

Your scream and sobs filled the entire island as you clutched their body close to yours, eyes shut and cheeks soaked with tears as the tears drops fell onto their slowly dying body.

The crew watched silently, feeling their heart ache and sting at the sight of you sobbing and desperately clinging into whatever was left of your precious childhood memory.

Later that same night, after you were left alone to make a proper burial for [ Special Someone ], you returned to the crew, who sat waiting in the small home in silence.

“Everyone..”

Your voice would bring their attention to you and see the weak smile settled across your lips. “I’m sorry for wasting your time!... we can set sail now.”

They would be shocked to say the least. How could you ever think you were wasting their time? Much less, after such a traumatic and shocking event just hours prior.

“[Name], what do you mean? You weren’t wasting-“ You interrupt Usopp with a small forced chuckle.

“It’s okay, it was my fault. I should’ve known there wasn’t a point to come to this island, it’s kind of pointless considering how rundown and ruined it is now.”

“Wait, what’s going on, don’t you feel upset at all?” Nami asks with furrowed brows as she stands up to look at you.

You stare at her with a bit of wide eyes before closing them slowly and put on a big and bright smile.

Your words shocked them and made them speechless. They didn’t know what to say.

“Of course not! About what? There’s nothing to be upset about at all!”

Not even Luffy was sure what to say to that.

So it led them to heading to the ship to set sail the next early morning.

One day.

One day since the crew witness you experiencing and watching the death of a loved one right before your eyes.

Yet, here you were, all smiling and laughing in front of them, as if nothing happened at all. You were making jokes and trying to make the others laugh as well.

But they weren’t.

Sure, they gave sad smiles to you, a few of them offering weak or forced laughs in addition, but they couldn’t understand why you were acting like this.

Were you afraid to seem weak in front of them?

They weren’t sure but they knew something was up. But seeing you be so joyful as if nothing happened was too heartbreaking for them to say anything.

Three days.

Three days have gone by since the day you had witness the death of a loved one.

The crew was getting worried for you. They assumed maybe you were trying to be positive and remain happy in front of the crew, or maybe you really were over the death you witnessed first-hand but that was proven wrong just this morning.

The early morning, Sanji was getting ready to prepare breakfast when he heard noises in the aquarium lounge.

Confused, Sanji takes a peek in the room to see your shaking form, your back facing the doorway as you were curled up, hugging your knees.

He could hear your quiet cries as you hid your face into your knees, thinking you were alone to finally let it out.

Sanji could feel his heart break seeing you all alone, but as much as he wanted to comfort you, he knew it was better to leave you alone. Especially since you were acting like nothing was wrong just yesterday.

But he told the crew.

“I didn’t go up to them, out of respect for their privacy.” Sanji exhales, puff of smoke exiting his lips.

The others listened in silence to Sanji’s explanation of what he saw this morning.

Silence was brought upon the crew.

“..So they’ve been holding it in all this time.” Nami mumbles quietly, eyes saddening at the thought of how much you kept to yourself to keep up such a happy facade.

Thinking about how much you were struggling inside broke her heart.

“I can’t imagine how hard they’re struggling right now.” Brook spoke softly, looking down at the table.

Chopper had tears in his eyes at the thought. “[Name] is going through a lot and—! And we’re not there for them!” He cried out.

“What should we do now that we know what’s really going on these past few days?” Robin questions aloud, the question going through all their heads.

Zoro turns his head over to Luffy, who had been the most quiet ever since they ship left your island.

He was observant so he was watching your fake smiles closely and knew too well that you weren’t over it.

You were hiding yourself, and your feelings from the crew.

But hearing Sanji’s explanation of what he saw, seeing you all alone and crying to yourself made him fill with rage yet, also regret for not being there for his shipmate.

“DAMN IT!”

Luffy’s fist made contact with the wooden table roughly, almost breaking it into two as Luffy growls loudly. “HOW COULD THEY JUST KEEP IT ALL TO THEIR SELF?! WE’RE THEIR FRIENDS RIGHT?! WHY DON’T THEY JUST TELL IS SO WE CAN BE THERE FOR THEM?!”

“Luffy!” The others widen their eyes at Luffy’s outburst but they couldn’t exactly disagree with him.

Why didn’t you just tell them the truth of your feelings instead of putting on such a fake act? Didn’t you trust them at all?

“Luffy, you have to understand. It could be hard for [Name] to share this with us! They’re still grieving, so give it time. Okay?” Nami tries to calm down their Captain but it was no use. He wasn’t listening.

“I don’t care!” Luffy shouts, frustration building up. “We’re supposed to be friends, damn it, so why can’t they just tell us how they feel instead of being so positive all the time? It won’t change what happened, but coming to us so we can be there for them can help! That’s what we’re here for!”

“Just calm down! When [Name] is ready, I’m sure they’ll come talk to us. So settle down already and be patient!” Zoro shouts back, having enough of this.

He too was concerned and also frustrated with you for not talking with them but it wasn’t their choice.

It was yours, and they couldn’t do anything but be there when you were ready.

Five days.

[ Special Someone ], the person who always brought you joy.. comfort.. laughter.. and made sure you were the best you that you could be.

They stuck with you through all your ups and downs, all your pains and sorrows, all your anger, complaints and hatred..

Even with all your flaws, [ Special Someone ] never left your side once, always sacrificing themselves for your well-being.

Always making sure you were healthy, eating well, sleeping well, had fresh food and clothes everyday, and ensured that you could live with peace and not a worry in the world.

So why?

Why was someone so selfless, generous, caring, kind... why was someone like that not given the privilege to stay alive? How could someone like them die? After everything they did for you, why was it them and no one else?

Why? Why.. why did they have to die?

You turn onto your side on the bed, hands clenching the bedsheet as you thought about the same thing every day and night, the scene of them dying right in your arms replaying over and over for you every time you shut your eyes.

“Why?..”

Hugging your pillow tightly, you glance at the time on the wall and sigh, deciding to get up to greet the crew.

You sit up and get up from your bed, dusting your clothes and began getting ready, making sure you looked decent enough to show yourself to the others, before finally stepping out of the room.

When you finally step out, you see the whole crew on the main deck, doing whatever it is they do.

They immediately all turn to you when they heard footsteps. You look at them and blink softly before smiling brightly and waved. “M-Morning, you guys!”

‘Shit- please don’t have noticed that..’ you thought, hoping they didn’t notice your voice having cracked a bit.

It was quiet as they continued to stare at you, before Brook interrupts it.

“Yohohoho~... it’s the afternoon, [Name]-san..”

Your eyes widen a bit at your mistake. Did you really stay in bed for that long?

“Oh.. is it? I must’ve overslept..” you lightly laugh to ease the growing tension you felt but no one said anything in response.

“..[Name]-san.. have you been crying?” Robin questions softly, a small frown present on her face. Her question startles you as you shake your head immediately.

“What do you mean, Robin? I’m fine, I haven’t been crying at all.” Instinctively, you began wiping your eyes with your sleeves, which already sent answers to the crew.

“Seriously, what’s with you guys today? You’ve all been acting strange for a while.” You smile softly and pull at your sleeps.

“Maybe you guys just need a little adventure. Maybe-“

“Shut the hell up.”

Shocked, you turn to Zoro at his sudden blunt burst from the railing.

“Zoro!” Nami and Usopp hisses beside him, quietly scolding him for being so rude at the moment, making Zoro scoff.

“I’m rude? They just accused us for acting strange the past couple of days. I don’t disagree with them about us being a bit different lately, but they’re the one who’s been acting the strangest out of all of us. And you all know this too. Am I wrong?”

While you visibly flinch at his words, Nami and Usopp faltered a bit and looked away. “Still..”

“Zoro’s right.” Luffy, who had been quiet ever since two days ago when Sanji told them about your moment in the Aquarium Bar.

“Luffy?” Chopper questions softly from a distance, looking at their captain.

Luffy looks up and glares hard at you.

Behind his hard glare was a very faint soft expression with hurt eyes. Hurt, knowing that his shipmate was suffering and he couldn’t do anything to help them. Until now.

“Tell us the truth, [Name].” Luffy’s tone made your breath hitch from how serious he sounded. It wasn’t like a friend, it was like a captain. “Do you hate us?”

Your eyes widen at his question and you looked at him incredulously. “What? Of course not.” You immediately answered, brows furrowed.

That answer was obvious, so why did he ask?

“Okay. Are you happy with the crew?” He asks again, and you just stare at him in confusion. “I’m happy. I’ve always been.”

“...are you keeping secrets from us?”

All eyes were on you as you close your mouth and bit your tongue from saying more.

You stare at Luffy and tried to decipher what was going through his mind before closing your eyes.

“Not at all.”

“I thought our captain told you to tell the truth.” Zoro says instantly after your reply and you bit your lip slightly. “I did.”

“[Name]-chan..” Sanji sighs softly at your denial and stubbornness before Usopp frowns and spoke. “[Name]... I can tell when you’re lying and..”

“You guys, I’m fine, okay! Nothing is wrong, I’m not keeping secrets from you, so let’s just stop this and continue our day, okay?” You exasperatedly sigh, rubbing your head a bit as Franky shakes his head.

“[Name], I’m afraid we can’t.” He says, making you turn to him with a sigh. “Why? Why can’t you guys just-“

“We saw you crying alone, [Name]..” Chopper quietly mumbles, looking up sadly at you. “Why didn’t you come to us?..”

“I-“

“[Name].”

Luffy looks at you, his expression slowly softening as he stares at you deeply. “... you don’t have to be alone anymore. Actually.. you were never alone to begin with.”

You didn’t say anything and just looked away, hands clenched tightly and you bit your lip.

“I know what you’ve been going through. I felt the same two years ago in Marineford, okay? I..I felt so helpless and angry when Ace died.. I thought I was completely alone after losing him and I couldn’t live with myself.. because Ace died.. for me..”

You gulp at Luffy’s story with Ace, knowing fully well how heartbreaking it was for Luffy to be reminded of these memories, his last memory of Ace.

Hesitantly, you look up at Luffy to see pain and small tears brimming his eyes.

“It hurts a lot, [Name].. I know, alright? You feel all alone, and let regret, resentment, pain, sadness, everything, build up inside you, and you either hold it all in and put on a happy smile, or you could just let it all out and scream out the pain.” He continues, his jaw and hands clenching tightly as his tears fell down his cheeks.

The others stayed silent, all of them reminded of their own past and memories of when they lost a loved one, or when they felt completely alone with pain and regret.

Zoro, with Kuina.

Nami, with Bellemere.

Usopp, with Kaya.

Sanji, with Zeff.

Chopper, with Hiriluk.

Robin, with Jaguar.

Franky, with Tom.

Brook, with his whole crew.

Luffy, with his brothers.

You thought back to just a couple days ago with your own loved one dying in your arms and look down sorrowfully.

“I still think about it everyday, but I don’t feel as much pain or regret anymore. I’m almost thankful I survived.. why? Because it means I won’t leave you guys alone. I’m right here with you all, because you guys are my friends, my family!”

You feel tears brimming your own eyes, a few drops already falling down your cheeks.

“I’m not alone because I have you all by my side so I’m never alone! You all help me realize this and I eventually got over Ace’s death.. and even though I think about it everyday, I’m not alone anymore and I don’t cry about it too much. Because I have you and everyone else!”

You wipe at your eyes and sniff a bit, the others smiling softly at their captain, their hearts touched by his words as a few of them could feel themselves tear up.

“You’ve been crying by yourself, all alone these past few days, haven’t you?”

You didn’t answer. You knew the crew knew the answer already.

Luffy began make his way over to you, continuing to speak.

“It’s okay to be sad, to be hurt, to feel pain, and to cry. You could be angry, you can scream, you can sob, you can do anything you want.”

Luffy was now right in front of you, looking at you with a piercing expression.

“But you don’t have to be alone during these sad times. You never have to be alone again, because we’re right here.”

Luffy then tightened his fists and shouts right at you. “SO STOP KEEPING IT ALL TO YOURSELF AND SHARE YOUR PAIN WITH US! YOU WILL NEVER BE ALONE BECAUSE WE’RE YOUR FAMILY AND WE CARE ABOUT YOU. SHARE YOUR PAIN WITH ME!”

He extends and spreads his arms out, glaring hard at you with tears in his eyes as your own widen at his shouts.

The others smiled wider when they see your tears streaming faster down your cheek and your expression soften as your body lunged itself into Luffy’s arms.

Your arms wrap around his neck and legs around his waist as Luffy immediately wraps his own around you tightly, your face buried into his neck.

Sobs screamed out from your voice, your throat burning but you didn’t care. You sobbed right into Luffy’s neck, his hearing might’ve been damaged but he didn’t care either.

“It hurts.. it hurts so much, Luffy.. why?” You sob out, clutching onto him tightly as you gripped his shirt. “Why did they have to die?! Why..”

Luffy didn’t say anything, just held you closer and just as tight.

The others felt themselves tear up more at your sobs and unable to help themselves, they also ran to join in the hug.

Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Brook all jumped into the hug, all sobbing their own cries and tears, which made you and Luffy drop onto the ground with the others on top.

“[NAME]-CHAN!”

“[NAAAMEEE]!”

“[NAME]-SANNN!”

Franky wipes his own stream of tears as Robin and Zoro smiles at the sight of their crewmates.

Despite your sobs, you couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at the others and sniffled, smiling genuinely at your family.

You should have known better than to keep it all in and to yourself. You weren’t alone.

You had family who loves you and were there right by your side, through all your joy and pain.

“Thank you, everyone. I’m so grateful..”

You smile wider and shouted loudly with closed eyes.

“Thank you, for loving me!”

A/N : y’all I-I teared up writing this-

I hit the maximum allowed per post wtf- I’m sorry this is rushed too ;~; I wanted it out quickly.

;-; I hope you enjoyed.

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danwhobrowses · 3 years

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One Piece Chapter 1024 - Initial Thoughts

Happy Volume 100 Day! Indeed, Volume 100 officially comes out today, it's a shame we didn't get more of those We Are One segments (just like the Nissin noodle commercials) but it wrapped up nicely

There's also a chapter to deal with though so let's get to it

Spoilers for Chapter 1024, Support the Official Release too!

I forgot to mention the special Popularity Poll colour spreads last time but here's our middle one mainly involving the Straw Hats, Vivi, the remaining Supernovas, Bon, Merry, Woop Slap (seriously how?) and some villains (Crocodile, the rest of Moria and Enel). Sneaky bit of Sabo on the side too who'll be fully displayed in the next spread

Oh Usopp, your braggadocios scamp you. He's spreading Fear of God by claiming some recent KOs are due to his Conqueror's Haki

Also claiming to have defeated 2 of the Tobi Roppo...I mean he contributed at least, maybe word it like 'I fought two of the Tobi Roppo and I'm still standing'

Plus he's riding a very unimpressed Alligator SMILE atrocity XD

Horsealina chan (aka Speed) is back to protect sweet child Tama, as it turns out the KOs are from Big Mom's Conqueror's Haki who's fighting on this floor, which must mean that Law and Kid are taking it to her

Also it's still worth applauding that Nami, Usopp, Speed nor even Tama have succumbed to BM's Conqueror's Haki

Luffy's status is still unknown to the crew though, and Nami does seem a bit nervous about it when asking Franky

Franky's right though, no news is good news because if Luffy was defeated or dead he'd be paraded around by the Yonko

Franky is also making motions to move Nami and Usopp with him to the performance floor, so the crew's gonna be converging soon

Some Heart Pirate action too as they fend off any attempts at enemies intervening on Zoro and Sanji's fight with King and Queen, seems like Law they don't like to be told to do stuff by the Straw Hats either

Everyone's bouncing from the Third Floor too thanks to Maria's arson attempts

Out in a blaze of Yohoho is Brook carrying Robin, but no you're not cremated just yet, need to be ashes for that

Look at Robin so peaceful, as Brook guards over her and also is eager to know how things are going

He calls Jimbei who's on the Fourth Floor with Kid's remaining crew, didn't know Kid has a feral female crewmate

Trust Jimbei to be concerned about the big picture of Kaido, but he also mentions how people are fleeing the castle, is it because of the fight in the Performance Floor or because we've reached mainland?

Showing Kawamatsu defending the line does make me think the former

But back to Yamato vs Kaido now, looks like some parent/child attack tennis

Since we can't avoid it now I know the Vivre Card Databook is saying that Yamato is female but since Yamato is identifying as Oden and was still canonically called Kaido's son I'm gonna continue to use male pronouns for the time being. Don't read too into it okay or leap at me for using the wrong pronoun because it's a can of worms right now and I don't want to be part of it

I mean, come on Yamato it's not like you expected Kaido to take it easy on you when you're trying to stop one of his endgame plans

Flashback time! And that's where the Dragon statue used to be...

Kid Yamato is precious, and also has Conqueror's Haki

Kaido all about not winning any Father of the Year awards, he's been starving Yamato, says if he wants to be Oden then he'd be better off dead, then threw him in a cave for a month

Yamato isn't alone though, there are three master swordsmen samurai in the cave too

And now he entices them, with a serving of food for one and a load of swords to fight over it

And the twisted cherry on the bastard cake: 'But I thought you were Oden', was there ulterior motive though? Oden would be able to inspire the Samurai right? I guess not for his own gain though given how he's treating Yamato

The Samurai grab the swords, but they hand Yamato the food: Samurai don't get hungry...unless they're Kin'emon and Momo, like how Kunoichi don't get hungry unless it's Tama

Full on Tama vibes from Kid Yamato eating their first meal in ages, I see that Oda

Dang then one of the Samurai just cut the chains off of him

Since I was given away on spoilers (like seriously guys use the 'Keep Reading' thing, it's the best way to hide spoilery stuff for those who don't wanna be spoiled) this must be Ushimaru, and he does look like those old Zoro pictures

He also now has an eye injury, but he feels disgraced, probably because he was captured rather than killed

Look at this little baby who is probably 5 foot tall hiding behind Oden's journal and doesn't know how to read yet

Looks like Yamato had 3 Dads, all of them Samurai, who taught him to read Oden's journal so he could fanboy more

10 Days pass and Yamato is weakening, seems like the Samurai feel that Yamato will need to be in the fight

Ushimaru though with the Shimotsuki crest on his back has had enough of prison, the Samurai are busting out and in turn giving Yamato freedom from the cave too

Amanowato, I feel like that's important, but the only thing I can find is a special dance (Amanowato Mai) that's performed on the day of the Annual Festival - October 15th...which is a Friday so maybe...

Back to the present and Yamato asks the tough questions, what right does Kaido have to steal freedom?

But Kaido makes a usual cruel response, there are no easy answers

And then we conclude with a clash of Thunder Bagua

Whooof, lot in that chapter huh?

We've got collective chaos with the Straw Hats as they do as expected begin to converge towards the performance floor, perhaps for the final hold off before Luffy and Momo arrive.

Oda though must've known that we were hoping for a Zoro flashback, because he then gave Yamato one instead XD It was cool to see some supportive people in Yamato's past, but while Yamato4Nakama fans will point that he now has a link to Zoro via Ushimaru we also have to note that Yamato's backstory may not have enough tragedy to be a Straw Hat (I'm joking in this btw, Carrot doesn't either unless the Dukes die but Zoro and Usopp's backstories aren't so tragic either)

Yamato giving me Tama vibes when a child is interesting, I do wonder why we have gone that route other than adorableness, but you can see where his strong admiration for Samurai lies too. Wonder how he got Oden's journal so young though

But yeah, no break which is good, I have a feeling though we'll get one next chapter after the colour spread is finished, 1025 could be setting something up big so Oda can pass out for a few days till giving us fire once again

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animequeen122 · 4 years

Text

A New Dream Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I psyched myself up got dressed and headed towards the kitchen. Thankfully I knew where it was not only from watching the show but from the noises coming from one location. I couldn’t help but smiles. Despite being transported to the One Piece world and having my whole image changed, I was happy. I love this world and the people in it. So I entered the kitchen with a very big smile on my face.

“Sam darling here take a seat.” Sanji says trying his best to be a sauve gentleman.

“Thank you.” I reply getting comfortable. I look around the room to the faces of the crew. It was so unreal to see them all in the flesh. Brook does get up and walk over to me.

“No Brook. You cannot see them.” I say before he gets to me.

“But I didn’t say anything.” He replied looking heartbroken.

“Remember when I said I know everything? I know what you say to girls and more often to Nami. So no.” I remind him. Brook than sits in the corner with a cloud of sadness around him. The rest of the crew began to laugh. It was so infectious that I joined in. It felt so good to just laugh after everything. They begin to stop laughing as Sanji starts handing food to Nami, Robin, and myself.

“Tell us more about yourself.” Robin says picking up her wine. I take a bit of the food and can’t help but sigh in happiness. The food always looked so good on tv but it tastes even better in real life?

“My name is Sam and I am 27? My birthday in my world is March 30th but I don’t know what day it is. I am one of four kids, all girls.” I say taking another bite of food and taking a sip of wine.

“Must have been tough on your old man.” Franky said before chugging some cola.

“If it was he never said anything about it. Dad loves us and is happy he had daughters.” I say trying to not sound mean.

“Why do you like Zoro so much?” Luffy says with a mouthful of food. The whole room goes silent again. I feel my face getting red again. Goddamn it Luffy! Why did you have to ask that question.

“Don’t ask the lady a stupid question.” Sanji said kicking Luffy on top of his head. I put my hands in my lap and just looked at them. I was never good with facing my feelings or the people I have feelings for. I am awkward and just stop talking. Besides Zoro, based on what I have seen, is probably not interested in a relationship. There are so many things he wants to do. One of which is to make Luffy the king of the pirates. But I couldn’t help having a little bit of hope. I was in a different body in this strange world, maybe there was a chance.

“You don’t have to answer that right now, Sam.” Nami says also punching Luffy on the head. I couldn’t help but think I was going to have to answer her later.

“I like all of you. For different reason. Jimbei is my second favorite because of what you have done for Luffy.” I cheerfully say smiling at him.

“Thank you for your kind words but I only did what I thought was right.” Jimbei states proudly bowing his head a bit.

“Still that whole battle showed me good characteristic of people as well as bad. It still makes me sad thinking about what was lost.” I reply with sadness filling my voice. I felt tears begin to form as I remembered Ace and Whitebeard dying because of Blackbeard. Thinking of Blackbeard I began to get angry. No pissed is the better word. If only Whitebeard turned him away everyone would be alive. But at the same time I have this feeling that things would have been different and not in a good way. I sigh. This world is harsh.

“Are you okay Sam?” Chopper asked looking concern.

“Yeah it just has been so much. I feel happy and sad.” I truthfully say picking back up my fork to start eating again.

“I have a favor to ask.” I ask having finished my meal.

“What do you need?” Luffy ask sounding kind of serious. I had everyone’s attention so I might as well ask. What is the worst that can happen? Though I hated asking anything of anyone. I felt that I was being selfish whenever I would ask, but that wasn’t true. By me not asking I would get stepped on. I was not going to let myself be like the old me. No one was going to take this away from me.

“Since my body has changed I wanted to see if anything else changed. Normally I am not very strong plus I was kind of hoping that I ate a Devil Fruit.” I laugh. It sounded so stupid but what if. I always thought if I could live in this world I would have eaten a Devil Fruit.

“I don’t see why not. Hey Zoro bring down some weights.” Luffy says getting up. I quickly follow the group to the deck of the Sunny. Zoro had grabbed some of his smaller weights which were still bigger than anything I had ever lifted. In my old world I was only able to life up a 15 lbs weight. I was kind of already regretting this decision. No I was not going to back down. Not now and never again.

I walk over to the smallest weight, again not that small. Everyone was looking at me seeing what I would do. I took in a deep breath and reached for the weight. Grasping the metal bar in my hand I start lifting. To my surprise it did not feel heavy. I managed with ease to lift the weight over my head. I set the weight back down and took a step back.

“Well.” I say looking very much shocked. I just lifted a weight that I never could have from my old world. I look at my hands thinking what the fuck am I now. It seems that with this new body there were more possibilities to me now.

“I am guessing from your expression that that was not normal.” Robin calmly states while everyone else is looking different modes of shock.

“Absolutely not. I could barely life weights and suddenly I can lift Zoro’s? Something happened and I don’t know what that was.” I reply trying to think of what could have one transported me to this world and two gave me this body. I wonder what else it could have given me.

“There does seem to a mysterious force at work.” Robin commented.

“You guys are surprised by that? Why this one time…” Usopp started to say but I cut him off.

“Not now Usopp.” Usopp looked like I had just kicked his puppy. I was not in the mood for one of his lies or stories. I have been taken from my home and given an entirely new body. I was freaking out. Plus Zoro is real! My heart cannot handle that fact.

“Sam you’re getting red again.” Chopper pointed at my face.

“It’s nothing Chopper. I am fine.” I told him trying to think of anything to get rid of my blush. Nami looked at the sky and got a very concerned look on her face.

“Guys there is bad storm coming our way. We will have to see if you have a Devil fruit power later Sam.” Nami told me. I nodded and started to head inside when something knocked into the Sunny. Everyone stopped and went over to the rail to see what it was. I stood next to Zoro not because I wanted to but because that was how we were walking to the cabin. Once again the boat rocked really hard. I was leaning too far over and fell. I hit the water and it was like all my energy was taken away. ‘It looks like I have devil fruit powers’ I thought as I slowly sank to the bottom of the ocean. The short air I had swallowed was gone and soon darkness began to block my vision. Just before I blacked out I saw a figure swimming towards me. Before they reached me I blacked out.

Editor’s note: This is the second chapter. The first chapter is better but I still like this one too. This may be a slow update as I write when I am inspired. So I hope you are patient with me. But I promise to do the best I can! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

#zoro x reader #roanoa zoro #zoro #one piece #reader

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purghhappenings · 4 years

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Hey hey hey!

This is technically my third time trying to post these but they won’t post and if it gives me problems again, I’m gonna go postal.

Down below I am going to give you snippets of the Strawhats daily life and what they do during quarantine, as always my HC’s are bullet points but somehow also little stories. I don’t know how I work either. It will also be mostly an AU Modern life just cause on the sea I don’t know how it would really effect them? Other than in fights and everyone would have to debate do you get six feet away and try to duke it out or do you fight like normal and just really sanitize afterwards

During this quarantine I am home 24/7 and would be more than happy to talk, I’m figuring out now how to steal episodes of different shows so that i can make AMV’s so stay tuned for that,

Lets seriously start a discord

Or come talk to me on twitter!!! <3

Luffy: Is really glad to not have to work or do anything really, they live with most of their friends and the ones they don’t live with, well they never claimed they wouldn’t go out so its not a promise broken really. He doesn’t know much about the virus except what everyone else tells him but he does misunderstand the “high risk=old” thing and fights anyone for an entire day who tries to go near his grandpa, and while Garp and everyone else want to correct him it’s kind of cute so they let it slide and send all the newbies to talk to Garp(okay Aokiji sends Akainu but nobody stopped him so they all go down with that secret)

Zoro: “the bars are whAT?!” is not fucking happy. He expresses this every day and let me tell you when the liquor stores closed down for not being essential it took several hours to calm him down and for Sanji to be like “i know a guy” and everyone was immediately like ?? Usually Luffy says that??? and by knowing a guy, Sanji meant Judge has several cellars dedicated to alcohol so yes, they did acquire some alcohol. And thankfully Judge can’t even leave his house to track anyone down so was it really even stolen to begin with?

Nami: Has so many side hustles she isn’t even worried about money, what she is worried about is people who don’t have supplies or food, so with Sanji they go around just making sure their neighborhood/relatives(that they like)/friends have everything they need and let me tell you when they saw people hoarding and over buying? Since police can’t go out for every little thing, you really can’t prove if they beat the shit out of you and left you only with necessities. Nor will you because once the other guys find out?? Oh its on, do not panic buy around these kids, they’ll fuck you up like it’s their job.

Usopp: Swings wildly from believing they have COVID19 and that it doesn’t even exist and somehow its all a way to control the masses(their hysteria knows no bounds) Usopp doesn’t go out much and cleans the crap out of everything every 3-4 hours just to make sure, they are considered essential at their job being an engineer so they 100% go out in a hazmat suit, works in a completely sterile environment and does not touch anything in the suit until they have taken a shower and removed their clothes from the day. Are they overreacting? Yes. Do they care? Absolutely not. Because if they get sick there's a 100000000% chance everyone in the household will get sick and that’s on Usopp, but they do make funny videos when their home with Zoro and Luffy about how the virus is affecting them.

Sanji: As previously stated he’s okay on money(they all are with how Nami runs their finances) and has taken up cooking meals for the elderly(making sure his dad(Zeff) stays healthy) and also beating the shit out of the people hoarding and trying to upsell supplies. Its one thing to joke, and hey Sanji can take a joke, but he can’t handle anyone going without because of stinginess. Sanji also, because he’s literally the purest child starts posting videos on how to make something delicious and also nutritious taste good on a budget, or with a picky eater who doesn’t like vegetables *cough cough* Luffy *cough cough*. He helps Zeff with the restaurant but makes people tip the servers at least 20%,

Chopper: Is stressed the fuck out, at every turn theres something new with the virus, he’s got one more exam to pass and “they’ve changed it from being in class to online which changes the rules and if he fails or has questions theres nobody there to help him-” and god save the queen Law comes in like a knight in shining armor and is like “I’ll be there to help you answer some questions you have a difficult time on” and choppers like “wut no that’s cheating” and Law and Robin are both like “yo it’s not like in the field you won’t be able to consult other doctors so it’s not” and choppers now suddenly fine with the not-cheating. While he’s not freaking out about exams, he’s freaking out about his essential friends, and that’s almost worse. Law’s thinking of writing him an anxiety prescription until all this is over(Law is also in panic mode 25/7).

Robin: calm, cool and collected, has a contingency plan for her original contingency plan. No peanut butter? She can make it. No fresh meat? Frozen will do just fine. Somebody is buying more than what they need and trying to mark it up? “Franky.” and like that the problems were handled. 100% helps Usopp and Law and Chopper with their anxiety about this, while she is concerned she also goes about her relatively normal daily business, like reading outside on a sunny day, going to the park with Luffy(they just walk, they don’t touch anything) practicing social distancing, washing her hands a bit more. (honestly everyone be like robin)

Franky: Is fine up until the store runs out of cola and now it’s fucking war. Him and Zoro are devising a plan to topple the world and Luffy will join in only because he is a child of chaos. While he’s not being melodramatic, he’s doing house repairs for the low and yard work(with Zoro and Luffy's nonessential asses) for older people who can’t get outside and do it and are too old, or for new moms and dad, single parent households, the whole shabang. If you don’t have money they take I.O.U’s because one day, they’ll need a favor that’s just their destiny.

Brook: Was immediately placed on lockdown for being the oldest of the group(mostly as a joke but the younger ones do go to the store for him, even Usopp) but he spends his time making music and funny videos so people can have a laugh. He’ll do concerts online and remake songs about the coronavirus, and even review some other songs(kind of like Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross, he’s so affectionate) he puts up halloween decorations mixed with Christmas decorations and the entire neighborhood follows suit and one morning he and the gang walk around in renaissance gear and scream “bring out yer dead!” and while the neighborhood thinks it's funny, the police do not(but they aren’t fast enough to catch the heathens).

Jimbei: Doesn’t see his people as much as he’d like but, thankfully they social distance and walk in the park to hold him over. He also spends a lot of his time helping the elderly, and also other people in need. And if a few people who try to upsell things are suddenly hospitalized, Law’s not going to inquire about the increase in assault victims and if he doesn’t inquire and the people don’t file a claim with the police, did it even happen? Jimbei works with Franky sometimes but mostly handles his own neighborhood and stopping punks from doing dumb shit(see Eustass for example) and if the gang sneaks over at night to hang out with Jimbei well he thinks its sweet and also dumb but he loves it.

Thanks for reading! Let’s be active and talk rn!!!!!!!!

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anubislover · 5 years

Photo

Halloween AU Fic: Hide and Seek with the Heart Stealer

Bright moonlight shone over the old cemetery, carved headstones old and new casting shadows like soldiers in long, neat rows. Translucent spirits floated about, some wailing in despair, others striking up conversations as they went on a leisurely stroll. A few zombies shuffled about aimlessly, searching for human flesh, and a werewolf could be heard howling in the distance.

Normally, Nami wouldn’t come within miles of such a spooky place; despite being a witch, she was a notorious scaredy-cat. But there was one thing that could make even the most haunted graveyard bearable: treasure. Luffy, her grim reaper friend, had complained to her about how he’d attempted to ferry the spirit of a selfish miser, but the old man had refused to move on, too obsessed with the chest of gold he’d had buried with him. At the word “gold” the greedy witch had eagerly volunteered to relieve the ghost of his worldly attachments, much to Luffy’s obvious delight.

Map of the property in hand, she carefully crept through the cemetery, everything from her long, sunset-colored hair to her high-heeled feet cloaked in a powerful invisibility spell. Even with her magic, and despite having years of experience breaking and entering into more guarded places than this, she knew to be cautious. She wasn’t worried about the ghosts, as the golden, enchanted Jack-O-Lantern charm at her waste would keep her from being possessed, and the zombies were easily avoided so long as she kept her eyes open.

No, her biggest concern was the undertaker who ran this particular necropolis. Those guardians of the dead were considered strange, even amongst the supernatural community; no one quite knew for sure where they came from, and they weren’t exactly social beings, mostly rarely straying from their territories for more than a few hours. Nami had always been told that if you ever saw one out and about, it was best you run, because horrifying trouble was afoot. Really, only reapers were known to socialize with them regularly, and that was purely as a business arrangement.

The undertaker that called this graveyard his territory was notoriously creepy—rumor had it he enjoyed collecting the hearts of trespassers. His abilities made him especially troublesome; her fellow witch, Robin, had warned that he could see through even the best illusions if he suspected something was off in his domain, and he was known for cutting people into pieces and rearranging their limbs. There was also gossip circulating that he was something of a mad doctor, performing dark experiments on his victims.

So, despite her spectacular skillset, she remained alert as she tiptoed past the crumbling mausoleum in the center of the graveyard, hoping she could get in and out before the heart stealer could notice her. Luffy had assured her that the undertaker wasn’t as bad as all that, that he’d never seen him steal any hearts, and he kept to himself most of the time anyway, but Nami was fairly certain the reaper didn’t realize that he wasn’t bothered only because Luffy was doing his job. That, or the undertaker didn’t want to deal with such a hyperactive being.

Wind tousling her short, ruffled, black and purple skirt and the lapels of her matching crop top, she briefly wondered if she should have brought a sweater. Cute as her outfit was, the icy touch of the restless dead made ever her usually hot blood go cold. She dared not cast a Heat Egg to warm herself, though; that would break the mirage, and most definitely attract attention.

Some company would be nice, she thought, rubbing her arms. Unfortunately, her friends would be more of a hinderance than a help. Luffy would probably run off to push zombies back into their graves. Demon Hunter Zoro would have gotten lost within minutes. Franky and Brooke wouldn’t have looked out of place among the dead, but the cyborg was too loud, and the skeleton would have driven her crazy with requests to see her panties and skull jokes. Robin might have been more manageable, but her morbid sense of humor would have kept Nami on edge all night. Sanji the werewolf would have gladly protected her with his life, but his fawning and constant declarations of love ruined any semblance of stealth.

So, forced to go it alone, the mikan-haired witch cautiously navigated the maze of headstones, until finally the scent of fresh-turned earth tickled her nose. A glance at her map confirmed it; she’d arrived at the miser’s grave. The marker was simple, cheap, and had no flowers or signs of mourners—typical of someone who had valued money more than living, determined to take it with him to the grave. Normally, Nami wouldn’t stoop to robbing the dead, but that was because most were smart enough to not demand they be buried with a chest of gold, instead leaving it to their loved ones. What good would it do anyone buried in a grave, least of all him? It was better for everyone that she dig it up and go on a shopping spree, redistributing that wealth and showing the old miser’s spirit that money was great, but only if you used it to enjoy life. Once that happened and the old fool was free of his material attachments, Luffy would be able to guide him to the afterlife. Really, everyone won.

Warily, she looked around. The zombies were shuffling about on the other side of the cemetery, and the ghosts were too wrapped up in their own affairs to notice her. There was also no sign of the mysterious undertaker, a fact that allowed her heart to stop pounding like a marathon runner’s.

“Treasure, treasure, treasure!” she whispered giddily, breaking the invisibility spell to instead enchant a nearby shovel. Next, her wand was transformed into a second shovel, and she immediately set to digging. She doubted the old man would have paid for a particularly deep grave, but she had no interest in wasting time, especially now that she was out in the open.

In less than an hour her shovel was halted by a dull thunk, and she bounced on her toes in glee, thrilled she’d finally hit gold. Eagerly, she pried open the coffin, though her cheer was dampened as the scent of early decay and embalming chemicals wafted into her nose.

Yeech! Glad I got to him before he got too rotted, she thought, holding her breath as she yanked the small wooden chest out of his stiff arms, though she grinned as she heard the tell-tale clink of coins within. Climbing out of the grave, she took a moment to study the lock; nothing impossible or magical, thankfully, but it was intricate enough that she’d have to bring it home, lest she linger too long.

“At last she crawls out of the grave she dug herself,” came a cool, baritone voice behind her.

Whirling around, Nami quickly transformed her wand into a staff, hoping she’s simply been caught be a nosy ghost. Alas, it seemed her luck had finally run out; leaning against the headstone was the infamous undertaker. His long, charcoal coat was tattered along the edges, and his matching top hat had long, diagonal tears that indicated he’d once fought a particularly vicious beast. Slung across his back was a black, polished coffin wrapped in chains. Dark bags under his eyes and the narrowness of his face should have made him look gaunt, but the sly smirk, olive skin, and glittering gold eyes counteracted it, making him unnaturally handsome. Ominously, he had DEATH tattooed across his long fingers, and she could see crosses and other designs inked into his muscular forearms, exposed by his rolled-up sleeves.

He assessed the beautiful thief with interest. “Most graverobbers don’t come this far into my territory, Miss Witch, and I have to commend your illusions—I hadn’t even realized you’d snuck in until you started digging. Of course, the moment anyone breaks ground in my territory, not even the best spell can hide them.”

Swallowing hard, Nami took a cautious step away from the open grave. Inwardly, she cursed her lack of forethought; of course there would be some sort of magical alarm to alert the graveyard’s guardian of thieves and desecraters. It had been foolish to assume that, just because she’d gotten so far in undetected, that she was in the clear. Life was never that easy, especially for her. But she’d been so eager to get her hands on the treasure before someone else could, so over-confident in her skills, that she rushed in without thinking. Who was she, Luffy?!

Knowing she had no chance in a fight, she went to the old stand-by; charm her way out of trouble. “Coming from someone as famously powerful as you, that means a lot,” she cooed, leaning against her staff in a way that seemed casual, but positioned her right forearm beneath her generous bust to give it that little extra lift. She was pleased to note that Law’s gaze immediately dropped to her chest. He may live among corpses, but he’s certainly not dead, she thought cheekily. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you, mister…”

“Dr. Trafalgar Law,” he stated, tipping the brim of his hat. “And will you give me your name, or shall I just call you Miss Witch?”

Looking up at him through dark lashes, she gave a coy smile. “Well, you are the dark and mysterious undertaker; if I gave you my name I’d have no more secrets, and that just doesn’t seem fair.”

His smirk widened at her answer. “Oh, I’m sure you’ve got secrets aplenty behind those pretty eyes.”

Her giggle was calculatingly shy. “How sweet! I really am sorry to have disturbed you, though. Were you sleeping?” She might actually feel bad if she had; those rings under his eyes screamed “insomniac.” Perhaps she’d do him a favor and cast a sleep spell over him to make sure he could enjoy a nice cat nap while she left.

“No, I was conducting some experiments,” he replied casually. “I was testing how a beating heart reacted to electrical shocks. Unfortunately, your arrival distracted me at a rather inopportune moment, and now I’m in need of a new, fresh heart.”

Like a bucket of ice water, fear washed down Nami’s spine. Suddenly, the way he was looking at her chest was a lot less encouraging.

“Well, I hear the local butcher’s shop sells pig hearts at a decent price. If you hurry, you might get there before it closes,” she coaxed, desperately trying to keep her newfound terror from showing on her face, even as cold sweat formed on the back of her neck. It seemed those rumors might have some merit after all.

Law took a slow step forward, chuckling when Nami instinctively took one back. As his head tilted, the brim of his hat cast a menacing shadow over his eyes. “I’m in no rush, especially when I’ve got such a lovely guest to entertain. It’s not every night a witch comes calling, after all.”

“Unfortunately, this witch has a busy schedule, and I’d hate to overstay my welcome.”

“Yes, I’m sure picking the lock to that chest will take all night,” he said, a hint of sarcasm creeping into his voice. “Perhaps I could save you some time—I have the key tucked away in my lab. If you’d be kind enough to aid me in my research, I’d be happy to give it to you as payment.”

She could only imagine what kind of wicked experiments he had planned for her, and she gripped her staff tighter. Her every instinct was to turn it into a broom and fly away, but she knew the second she tried, he’d strike, and she doubted she was strong or fast enough to escape if he got hold of her. “That’s very generous of you, but I doubt I’d be much help. I’m not very well-versed in the sciences.”

“Nonsense. Mugiwara-ya is always going on about how smart you are, and your weather spells could prove quite useful, especially if you can produce lightning.”

“I—what?”

His gentlemanly grin morphed into something more devious and threatening. “Your idiot friend has a nasty habit of incessantly talking my ear off about his beloved nakama. Is it true you once robbed Thriller Bark? That’s quite the accomplishment, Nami-ya.”

“You knew who I was the whole time!” she screeched, pointing her finger at him accusingly.

That was a mistake, as Law’s hand snapped out like a whip, grabbing her wrist and yanking her forward until she was pressed flush to his chest, his other arm wrapping around her lower back to entrap her. The staff was knocked carelessly to the ground, where it reverted back to the small blue wand with a pop. “Of course I knew,” he chuckled lowly, his hot breath tickling her ear as he gazed down at her smugly, hunger and amusement glittering in his amber eyes. “There aren’t many witches bold enough to attempt to steal from my territory, and what hot-blooded male hasn’t seen your bounty poster?”

Despite the dangerous situation she was in, Nami couldn’t stop the faint blush from rising to her cheeks. Up close like this, there was no way to ignore the strong line of his jaw, the wolfish flash of teeth, or the intensity of his eyes. Even in her three-inch heels he loomed over her, frightening but somehow equally enticing. Had they met at a bar instead of a graveyard, she wouldn’t mind being in his muscular arms, and might even press a teasing kiss or three to his smooth, tan throat.

Swallowing hard, she forced herself to remain calm. “Well, then, if you know who I am and you know Luffy, then you should realize that I’m here doing him a favor. He can’t reap the old man’s soul if he’s still got worldly attachments, so he asked me to take them off his hands.”

“An honorable motive, but if that’s the case, why didn’t Mugiwara-ya ask me to do it? Or at least inform me ahead of time of the plan? And given your reputation, how do I know this was the only grave you planned on robbing? It all seems a little too convenient.”

Nami could have screamed. Why didn’t Luffy do any of that? Really, the undertaker should have been his first choice for help, not a known thief.

Openly admiring the witch held captive in his arms, Law continued, “I find myself at a crossroads, Nami-ya; by rights, I should punish you for trespassing and stealing from my charges. I’m sure I’ll hear the old man’s groaning for days because you managed to dig up his plot and find his treasure. Typically, I demand an organ or two as recompense.” The heart stealer chuckled as he felt the shiver of fear rock her whole body, her free hand shooting up to futilely push at his chest in an attempt to make him release her. “On the other hand, the old bastard had been pretty rude when picking out his spot, and I’m sure if I removed any vital body part, Mugiwara-ya and your friends would be coming for my head.”

“Then how about you let me go? I promise I won’t tell, so nobody will think you’ve gone soft and try to steal from your territory in the future,” she pleaded, mentally making a note to thank Luffy for his inadvertent protection after she beat his face in for getting her into this situation.

“I have a better idea; it’s impressive that you managed to get this far, which shows your magic is powerful, or you’re at least clever enough to use it to its fullest potential. So, I propose we play a little game. You hide, and I’ll try to find you.”

Nami ceased struggling, caught off guard by the sheer absurdity of his suggestion. “Hide and seek? What are we, children?”

“Would you prefer I treat you like the other morons who dared desecrate my home?” he retorted harshly. When she quivered in response, his calm, arrogant grin returned. “We’ll have three rounds—five minutes each—and if I can’t locate you even once, you’ll walk out of here alive, fully intact, and with treasure and key in hand.”

Such a deal seemed deceptively simple, and Nami knew a hustle when she heard it. No one proposed a game they couldn’t win, least of all supernatural creatures like them. “And if you win?”

The arm around her lower back shifted, his large hand resting on her exposed waist, calloused thumb rubbing teasing little circles beside her navel, coaxing another shiver from his prey. “I’ll admit, I’ve always wanted to study a witch’s heart,” he relished the way her brown eyes widened in panic, “but again, Mugiwara-ya would hound me to give it back before I could make any real use of it.” Releasing her wrist to rub his chin, he considered her carefully before his mouth stretched into a wide leer. “Since you tried to steal from one of my charges, it only seems fair that, each time I catch you, I get to steal something from you.”

As much as she hated the idea of losing any of her possessions, the thought of him taking her heart was far scarier. Teeth digging into her bottom lip, she weighed her options. “I can use magic, right?”

“Of course. It’d be too easy, otherwise, and I want to see if you’re as powerful as Mugiwara-ya brags. I’ll even give you a 20-second head start before each round,” he replied, curling a strand of silken, sunset hair around his left index finger.

Sneaking around and avoiding creeps like him is my specialty, she thought. Besides, I can easily just hop on my broom and fly right out of here.

Taking a deep, fortifying breath, Nami met his piercing gaze head-on. “One condition—you can’t take my wand or anti-possession charm.”

The hand caressing her hair dropped to play with the little golden pumpkin at her waist. “A reasonable request. I’d hate for the ghosts to interfere with our game, after all.”

“Then you’ve got a deal. Three rounds of hide-and-seek, and win or lose, I get to leave alive and with all my body parts in their correct places. Otherwise, Luffy will come kick your ass.”

Reluctantly, Law released her, and as the ghostly chill of the cemetery brushed her skin, she almost wished she could stay in his arms. He exuded more body heat than she’d expected—weren’t undertakers supposed to be as cold as the dead they kept?

Unwrapping the chain around his shoulder, the coffin dropped to the ground with a menacing thud. Turning around, he folded his arms across the top, resting his head on them to cover his eyes. “Best start running, Nami-ya. Unless you’re that eager for me to catch you.”

The second the first number left his lips, the witch snatched up the chest and her discarded wand, transforming the latter into a sleek wooden broom. Climbing on, she pushed off the ground with all her might, shooting into the air like a firework. Not wasting time, she flew as high and far as she could, heart pounding as she spotted the front gates, determined to cross the border of the cemetery and finally escape. Like hell she was going to stick around and play games with a creep like that!

Unfortunately, when the edge of the property was mere feet away, she was suddenly surrounded by a strange, blue bubble, and in less than a second her broom vanished from underneath her. A moment passed where she seemed to float in mid-air before gravity claimed her, sending her plummeting towards the cold, dead earth. Screaming, Nami was certain the next time she opened her eyes, Luffy would be standing before her, tasked with collecting her soul. After all, not even a witch could easily survive falling a hundred feet and cracking her skull open.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her, and after a few moments, she realized she was no longer falling. Cracking an eye open, she was startled to find herself cradled in Law’s arms, safely on the ground, her broom and the treasure resting at his feet.

Smirking down at her, he said, “Flying out of the cemetery wasn’t a bad idea, but you never should have attempted it while carrying the chest. It made it extremely easy to find you.”

“Wha—how?!” she asked, wildly gesturing to the sky.

Insufferably smug. That was the only way she could describe him as he replied, “Everything inside this graveyard is under my control. I can find anything and anyone and shift things around at my leisure. I can empty locked coffins, uproot trees, and even pluck tricky little witches out of the sky.”

Frustrated—not just at the unfairness of Law’s powers but at herself for not anticipating just how much power an undertaker would have inside his own territory—she squirmed in his arms, fighting to get down. The ghoulish man refused to relinquish his prize, though, and simply held her tighter. “Ah, ah, ah, Nami-ya. I found you, and I refuse to start the next round until I’ve claimed my reward.”

Autumn brown eyes flashed in anger, but she knew she didn’t have a choice. Arms crossing, she pouted. “Fine. Just remember the wand and charm are off-limits.”

“Don’t worry; I’ve got something better in mind,” he whispered, leaning close so his steamy breath danced across her lips, throat, and collarbone.

Before she could question him, he closed those last few inches, pressing his mouth to hers in a hot, deceptively gentle kiss. His lips were slightly chapped, but they slanted over her soft pout almost perfectly. When she didn’t resist—too shocked to fully grasp that the mysterious being who held her captive was kissing her of all things—his lips parted, taking a moment to teasingly nibble her plush, rose-pink bottom lip. The slight sting made her heart stutter, and unconsciously she clenched the lapel of his coat in a delicate fist.

It only lasted about ten seconds, but when he pulled away, it took Nami a moment to find her voice. “The hell was that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I stole a kiss.”

Nami stared, gob smacked. This guy had a pair of brass balls on him the size of Franky’s fists, that was for sure! She usually wasn’t one for letting a man kiss her—most who tried wound up with a crack in their skull and a lightning bolt through their nervous system. But Law…

He just caught me off guard, she justified, glaring up at him, even as her heart rattled against her ribcage. I most definitely didn’t enjoy it.

Ignoring her sneer, he carefully set the witch back on her feet, though it didn’t escape her notice how he continued to hold her close, letting her soft curves slide along his body. Nami told herself she was not impressed with the muscles she felt beneath his white dress shirt—plenty of guys had washboard abs!

Once he knew she was steady, he turned away. “Time for round two. Leave the treasure here; it’ll be too easy if you carry it around, and I want to see whether Mugiwara-ya’s full of shit when he brags about you.”

Part of her hated the idea of leaving her ill-gotten goods behind, but she comforted herself with the knowledge that, so long as she won, she’d get the gold back. Heeding his advice, Nami cast her best invisibility spell before dashing off as fast as her long legs could carry her. Frantically looking around, she spotted a copse of gnarled trees not too far off, perfect for taking shelter in.

Darting between the twisted trunks, part of her couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty of the place. I guess even a graveyard has its bright spots, she mused. The October chill had turned the leaves red, gold, and orange, matching her hair and probably serving as the only real splash of color in the dead and grey yard. It was both amusing and comforting that, if her invisibility spell somehow wore off, she could probably climb a tree to blend in.

She was almost tempted as a thorny bush briefly snagged the hem of her skirt. Carefully detangling it, she was grateful it hadn’t cut her—among the supernatural, if someone got hold of your blood, they could track you easily, whether by smell or spell. Law already had the home field advantage, and she refused to hand over another.

Heavy footsteps startled her out of her thoughts, and she turned to find Law strolling into the trees, glancing about so casually she nearly forgot she was invisible. “I know you’re in here, Nami-ya.” He patted the trunk of a gnarled elm. “Unless these old things have started growing fruit, your scent is quite distinctive. Ozone and mikans—a stunning combination.”

Mentally, she cursed herself. She’d done her best to wash away the lingering aroma of her weather magic and potions, but the man had a nose that rivaled a werewolf’s. Or maybe it just stood out because he was normally surrounded by the scent of death? Either way, it appeared she’d be found once more.

Not yet! Nami assured herself. Just because he knew she was there didn’t mean he had caught her. A little spell could distract him long enough for her to sneak away and find a new hiding place. After all, she only had to elude him for five minutes. If she was smart, she could keep just enough distance and run out the clock. Quietly pulling out her wand, she aimed a gust of wind towards some distant thorn bushes, pleased at the way they rustled noisily.

The moment she saw Law’s course divert to the sound, she carefully tiptoed towards the edge of the trees, minding where she stepped to avoid snapping any twigs. Unfortunately, a low branch caught her skirt, and as the fabric ripped, she knew the undertaker would hear the sharp, out-of-place noise.

Choosing to run rather than stay and be caught, she bolted, but just as she’d crossed into the open graveyard, she stumbled, tripping over a fallen headstone and plunging to the hard ground. She bit back a yelp as she felt a rock cut into her knee and another scrape her elbow. Before she could regain her feet, Law was literally on top of her, grasping at her invisible, squirming form and pinning her with his body weight.

“Drop the illusion—you’re caught, and I need to see how badly you’re hurt.”

“I’m fine!” she argued, struggling beneath him.

“I can smell the blood, Nami-ya, and if we don’t bandage your injury, you’ll attract all manner of creatures. Things far worse than me.”

She shuddered. He had a point. Vampires, werewolves, and all sorts of other monsters would flock to her location if she spilled more than a few drops of blood. It was one of the dangers of being a witch—she was closer to human than most supernatural beings, and therefore often seen as prey. Some creatures even found the taste of magic in a witch’s flesh to be a fine seasoning and hunted them specifically, while others sought to enslave them. Luffy had saved her from one such monster—a shark demon named Arlong.

So as much as she wanted to defy Law and try to make a run for it, she knew it was better to take her chances with the undertaker than whatever foul beings she might attract. At least he knew Luffy would kick his ass if he dared cause the woman further harm.

Breaking the spell that surrounded her, the witch’s beautiful body was once more exposed to his intense gaze. Getting off her, Law tsked as he studied her scraped elbow. “Here,” he murmured, pulling a roll of white bandages from his coat pocket, along with a small bottle of pale green liquid. “Let’s clean that up before it gets infected. Zombies pass through here frequently, and sometimes bits of rotten flesh fall off and seep into the ground. I’d hate for you to catch some horrible infection.”

“Thanks,” she whispered, surprised at his consideration.

Ripping off a small piece of the gauze, he soaked it in the potion before rubbing it over the injured skin. Nami hissed slightly at the sting, and for a moment, she imagined he looked apologetic before he began wrapping her elbow in the soft bandages.

“Not a bad job hiding this time, though the trees were kind obvious. Still, your Mirage Tempo spell is as strong as he said. There wasn’t even a shadow or a ripple when you moved. Guess Mugiwara-ya was right to brag about you.”

“Does Luffy come here that much?” she asked, eyes fixated on the precise but gentle manner he treated her arm. It was hypnotic, in a way, seeing how evenly the layers of linen fell on top of each other.

“You have no idea. At first it was annoying how often he’d hang about jabbering on about his nakama, but I guess he grew on me; kind of like a tumor.”

There was no stopping her giggle. “Yeah, that’s a fair description.”

“He talks about you the most. I guess he realized the best way to get me to actually pay attention is when the punchline is him getting his ass kicked by a pretty witch. Plus, I liked that most of your victories came for actually using your brain.”

Full lips quirked at the compliment. “I’m surprised he hasn’t introduced us. Normally, when he makes a new friend, he’ll throw some kind of party to show them off.”

“My duties mean I can’t leave the cemetery too often; otherwise grave robbers will ransack the place while the zombies and restless spirits would roam free and cause all kinds of trouble for everyone. Besides, most don’t care for the company of an undertaker—people tend to run away if they see us coming. Makes me rather unpopular at parties.”

A twinge of sympathy pricked her heart. Law may have been a cocky jackass, but she couldn’t imagine dealing with that kind of responsibility or stigma. Her own life was filled with freedom and laughter and nakama and adventure, and while sometimes she was certain her friends’ recklessness would lead her to an early grave, she wouldn’t trade it for the world. And she was now ashamed to admit, she’d certainly bought into some of the unwarranted prejudice without even questioning it. “That…sounds lonely.”

One shoulder raised in a shrug, though he didn’t meet her gaze. “I prefer not being bothered, but that obnoxious reaper has gotten it into his head that we’re friends ever since I saved his life.”

Like a lightning bolt had been blasted through her spine, she jerked forward in realization. “Wait—you’re Tora-o?”

He grimaced. “Damn fool refuses to get my name right.”

“Luffy’s been going on about you for months! He said you were a doctor!” she accused.

“I am a doctor—I’m just also an undertaker.” Moving down to clean up her leg, he continued, “And did you really expect some normal human surgeon would be able to fix him up? The damage he’d sustained was remarkable. Had it not been for the Will of D, he’d be deep in the bowls of Hell, not badgering me when he should be reaping souls.”

Rosy lips pursing, she nodded in agreement. Those with the “D” initial were rumored to have devil blood in them, making them particularly strong and dangerous. It was even said that they could look into your very soul and uncover your deepest secrets. She’d never believed such stories until she met Monkey D. Luffy and witnessed the insane things he could do. That didn’t mean he was invincible, though, and she’d spent over a month feeling guilty that she hadn’t been around to help him during his time of need.

“Well, then, thank you for saving him, Dr. Law,” she said, voice sincere and soft. Whether Luffy was part Devil or not, she owed him more than she could ever repay, and he did always seem to have a knack for sensing if a person was trustworthy or not. If this man was really the one who saved him, the one he’d been raving about and declaring his new friend, perhaps he wasn’t as sadistic and cruel as he was made out to be. “He’s a pain, but he’s one of my best friends, and I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“You’re welcome,” he murmured, tying off the bandage around her knee. “But if your thanks are freely given, I’ll have to claim something else as my prize.”

With her guard down, Nami was easy prey. He lunged forward, burying one hand in her mikan hair while the other clamped over her hip, dragging her into his lap. Hungrily, his mouth captured hers, biting at her bottom lip in a sensual demand for her submission.

For her part, the fiery woman did her best to keep her mouth closed, unwilling to let him have his way without a fight. Amused at her feeble defiance, Law chuckled low in his throat as his left hand stroked a hot trail up her bare midriff to shamelessly squeeze a soft breast. Outraged and a little aroused, she tried to pull back, but the right hand entangled in her vibrant waves held her in place, forcing her to do little more than gasp from the hot pleasure that shot from her sensitive chest to pool in her lower belly.

Taking his chance, Law’s slick tongue darted between her parted lips to dance with hers, dominating and devouring her soft gasps. He tasted like cinnamon and spiced rum, and was that brimstone that lingered in the back of her throat? It was utterly heady and enticing and she couldn’t stop herself from kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and battling his slick tongue until her lungs were screaming for oxygen and they both had no choice but to break apart, panting and desperately gulping down the cold autumn air.

Pupils blown wide, chest heaving, and lips bruised, Nami was amazed at how aroused she was from his kiss. Normally, she was the one who teased and tempted, but she never gave in to her own desires. Sure, Law was handsome with a dangerous appeal, but that usually wasn’t enough to make her want to indulge in the sexual vices many of her kind relished in.

“That time, I stole your breath away. I wonder what I should take for my last prize,” he growled, yellow eyes bright and lust practically dripping from each word like molten honey.

“Nothing,” she panted, “because I’m going to win.”

His laugh was low, confident, and sent a spike of heat between her thighs. “Pride goes before the fall, Nami-ya. I’ve won twice—what makes you think you can beat me now?”

A seductive, calculating smile curled her lips. “Because now I know your weakness.”

Smirking at her proclamation, he helped her stand, his movements smooth and graceful and predatory. “That so?”

“Yeah, so quit wasting time and start counting.”

The fire in her eyes pleased him. Turning away and covering his eyes, he began the countdown to the final round.

Nami smirked in earnest, only bothering to put about a dozen or so feet between them before pulling out her wand and getting to work. This time, she wouldn’t settle for just invisibility—she would cast every veil and illusion she knew.

First, a thick stream of fog poured from the tip, filling the graveyard with a near-impenetrable miasma. She even went the extra mile and gave it a mikan aroma, hiding her own scent in the process. Once she was satisfied, she set about creating mirages of herself to dart about and distract him. Next, she used a little bit of heat to burn the piece of bloody gauze she’d swiped from him his pocket during their kiss; perhaps he hadn’t planned on using it to find her, but she wouldn’t take the chance. With the ashes scattered to the winds, she concentrated on casting her invisibility spell, pleased when she no longer left so much as a shadow. Finally, she added one last touch—tiny clouds under her feet, allowing her to hover just above the grass so she’d leave no footprints, break no ground, and make no noise.

This much magic at once was sure to bite her in the ass later; her stamina wasn’t exactly at Zoro or Luffy’s level, but at this point, more than treasure was at stake. Now, she fought for her pride. The desire to show up that smug undertaker and prove her reaper friend’s claims that she was one of the smartest, most talented witches around trumped even a mountain of gold.

The witch was done running, and Dr. Trafalgar Law was going to learn not to mess with her.

“Three. Two. One. Ready or not, here I come,” he finished in that low baritone voice. Turning around, he blinked in surprise at the half-dozen Namis that stood before him, identical, catlike smiles on their faces. “Well. You’re definitely ready.”

Without a word, the mirages ran off into the fog, each in a different direction. A low chuckle escaped his throat as he gave chase, unknowingly passing the real witch.

Extremely pleased with herself, she took a seat on a nearby headstone. Her copies would fade quickly, as they couldn’t maintain their form if they got too far from the original, but it was enough to send Law on a wild goose chase and throw him off her trail. It was a big graveyard, and even after he realized he’d been fooled, he’d likely waste his time searching the more obvious hiding spots, like the mausoleum or the copse of trees again. All she had to do was sit pretty and wait.

Unfortunately, after only a minute and a half, she was already bored. Yes, the thick fog was excellent for hiding in and getting smug heart stealers lost, but it blocked out any scenery beyond about ten feet, leading to her staring at nothing but dull, grey graves. Maybe it was because the night so far had been such an adrenaline rush, but the sudden lack of stimulation left her anxious and unsatisfied.

Kind of wishing I hadn’t been so efficient, she thought with a sigh.

Footsteps echoed through the fog, and her heart leapt. Law’s silhouette broke through the dense veil of mist, and she felt oddly relieved. She rationalized it as preferring to know where he was so he couldn’t catch her by surprise, but really, deep down she was just glad she wouldn’t end up dying of boredom before she could rub it in his face that she’d won.

Creeping behind him, the little voice of caution she normally listened to asked why she wasn’t trying to sneak away from him—the undertaker was still a dangerous opponent, after all. A thousand voices answered, her pride declaring that it would be more satisfying to show him up with how close she’d been the whole time. Her rational side chimed in that Law would be expecting her to run to the gates or other obvious hiding spots, so the smartest thing was to stay close where he’d never think to look. One more voice pointed out that, dangerous as Law was, if Luffy trusted him, she really had nothing to fear even if he did catch her, so why waste the energy running?

The fog swirling around them blocked out even the brilliant light of the moon, and the man before her paused, peering about, trying to choose his next course of action. The look on his face was one of genuine confusion, brow furrowed and lips pursed as he tried to determine her movements. Nami wondered if he’d intentionally come back to where they’d started—he lived in the graveyard, after all, and probably could navigate it blindfolded, as the thick fog didn’t seem to effect how easily he sidestepped every rock and grave. He was as graceful as a shark in the water, perfectly at home in his element.

She really should just leave him be, not take any chances, but something in her took over, and her hand reached out, batting the top hat off his head like a cat knocking over a vase.

She leapt to the side just as he whirled around, grasping at the empty air. She stifled a giggle at the irritation on his face when he realized she’d tricked him.

“Getting confident, are we?” he murmured, carefully scanning the area, searching for the slightest clue as to where she hid. The quick response showed he’d absolutely expected she would be there, but the way he looked right past her betrayed how little that knowledge meant when he couldn’t find her.

Amused and pleased that she finally had the upper hand over the thus-far unflappable undertaker, her lips curled into a feline smirk. Carefully and silently, she wove another mirror image of herself, and together, they snuck up towards his back. Nami gave his coat a playful yank before skittering away, watching as he attempted to grab the illusion, only to be angry and disappointed as it dissolved into a fine mist the moment he touched it.

He almost looked like a little boy pouting that he’d been denied a treat, and she audibly chuckled at the comparison.

That was a mistake, as he quickly dashed towards the noise, Nami only just dodging his lunging form. Stumbling slightly, he growled, but the smirk had returned.

Ok, better take this seriously, she thought, creating two more copies as she backed away.

He seemed to have caught onto her trick, though, ignoring the mirages to search for any sign of an invisible enchantress. “Clever as a cat, and twice as cute. Much as I’m sure this is plenty of guys’ fantasy, I’d much rather get my hands on the real Nami-ya.”

Mockingly, one of the doppelgangers struck a rather provocative pose, licking its lips enticingly and running its hands along its curves, capturing Law’s full attention.

It didn’t escape the real Nami’s notice that he was watching the display with barely contained hunger. “When I find you, you’re in so much trouble,” he rasped.

An idea popped into her head, and she instantly channeled her energy into creating more illusions, surrounding him with mirages of the beautiful witch he sought. Each one posed and strutted about attractively, giving “come hither” gestures and inviting stares.

Law didn’t move, simply watching the visions of Nami as they danced around him. He may know they were just illusions and were only there to distract him, but like he said, this was most guys’ fantasy. His eyes ogled each one, taking in every dip and curve, admiring the sensual show they gave. A faint flush had risen to his cheeks, his breathing was irregular, and though his eyes remained fixated on the illusions, a tattooed hand reached up to undo one of the top buttons of his white dress shirt, fanning the fabric against his skin as if it were a scorching summer afternoon.

For her part, Nami was starting to feel a little hot under the collar, too. Watching Law watch her was…arousing. His reaction was different than most of the men she’d encountered; blood didn’t gush from his nose, he didn’t turn into a slobbering idiot, and he wasn’t making crass, gross comments. He was just silently appreciating her sensual beauty, clearly turned on but patient enough to sit back and enjoy the show without losing his head, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

A bead of sweat trickled down her cheek as her breathing grew ragged, and the witch quickly realized it wasn’t just from arousal—casting so many illusions, especially after the powerful weather and invisibility spells, was draining her magical reserves faster than she’d anticipated. She knew she’d have to drop either the copies or the veil hiding her from view; there was a full minute left before the game was over, and she wasn’t certain she could maintain it all for that long.

Deciding to sacrifice her invisibility, she snuck behind Law before dropping the veil, joining the virtual harem of Namis, arching sexily against a gravestone to blend in. He spun slowly in a circle, studying each beautiful body with clear appreciation, before halting suddenly.

“Decided to join the fun, did you? Did you get tired of watching me from the sidelines?”

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she was grateful she wasn’t the one he was looking at, as it would have instantly given her away.

“There’s one more of you than a minute ago, so either you decided to give me one more lovely vision to appreciate or staying invisible for so long was taking its toll. Given how little time is left, I’d say the latter.” Licking his lips, he nodded. “By my count, you’ve got twenty seconds left. You’re absolutely as good as I heard, and you’ve provided a hell of a distraction for the evening, but it’s time we finish this.”

Before she could even think to ask what he meant and blow her cover, he murmured, “Room,” and the blue bubble from before engulfed the area, encasing Nami and all her doubles.

“Scan.”

Instantly, the weather witch stood before him, and tired as she was, she didn’t resist when his arms encircled her, yanking her forward and molding her soft curves to his hard, muscular frame. Instead she banished her doppelgangers, sagging slightly in relief at no longer having to expend her energy on them.

“Caught you, Nami-ya,” he murmured, voice dark with promise as his hot breath tickled her ear. “Now I get to claim my final prize.”

Heart pounding in anticipation, she couldn’t help but shiver at the promise in his voice. Much as she hated losing, her first two forfeits had been so sinfully delicious that she was quite eager to find out what he had in store for the grand finale. Closing russet eyes, she waited with bated breath for him to claim his prize.

After a full minute of silence, Nami cracked an eye open, curious as to why she wasn’t being ravished. To her shock and disappointment, Law stepped away, tossing a gold bangle into the air and catching it effortlessly. “I think I’ll take this. Gold for gold seems fair, doesn’t it?”

Upon realizing that he’d taken Nojiko’s bracelet from her wrist, cold fury swept through her like January wind. “Give that back!”

“Why would I do that?” he asked, giving it another toss. “The only things off-limits were your wand and charm—surely a thief like you has plenty of bracelets at home.”

“It was a gift from my sister,” she snapped, lunging forward, but he merely lifted it high in the air, using his impressive height to dangle it just out of her reach. No matter how she stretched and strained, the simple gold ring eluded her grasp.

“Is it really so special?” he grunted as she attempted to climb his lean frame like a tree. She doubted he was really complaining; the feel of her luscious curves rubbing against him was turning him on if the telltale bulge pressing into her hip was any indication.

Hatching a plan, the sunset-haired woman grasped his coat, sighing in his ear, “It’s precious to me—you can have anything else, but please, give it back.”

“Tempting, but we agreed I’d steal something—offering me anything I want defeats the purpose. Besides, why steal what you’d willingly give?”

Inside she was seething, but externally she remained coy and submissive, giving in to her earlier urge of trailing her lips along his Adam’s apple. “Please, Law-kun,” she whimpered, flicking the very tip of her tongue against his skin. He tasted like rain and fresh-turned earth, a delicious contradiction she found herself relishing, going in for a firmer lick. This time, she caught a hint of ice and electricity, and she nearly moaned at the tantalizingly dangerous flavors. He tasted like a storm, and as a weather witch, she couldn’t help the giddy anticipation that ran through her.

Throat muscles contracting, his arm slowly lowered, hand at her waist grasping her hip in a bruising grip. “Are you a witch or a damn succubus?” he growled, arching his head back to give her more access to his vulnerable flesh.

At that point, it would have been easy to grab the bracelet and run, but honestly, she was way too turned on. Watching him grow so visibly aroused as her provocative copies teased and tempted him was hotter than any strip show. She’d always found more pleasure in gold and the thrill of a good con than in the sins of the flesh, but tonight, she was feeling greedy in a different way. Perhaps what enticed her most was the fact that she’d finally found a man who was as intelligent as he was handsome, who could actually challenge her in a battle of wits and wills. If she couldn’t walk away with the treasure chest, she’d settle for hot, carnal satisfaction.

Apparently he was in agreement, as he lowered them both to the ground, wrapping her long, powerful legs around his waist as he pulled her in for a smoldering, lustful kiss. His hot, wet tongue stroked along her own as his hands roamed her delicious body eagerly, squeezing and massaging every inch of sensitive flesh they could reach.

Straddling him, Nami couldn’t help but feel like the richest woman in the world as she buried one hand in his soft hair while the other scratched his nipple through his shirt, coaxing a deep moan from him. Involuntarily, he bucked beneath her, and she smirked, pulling away to taunt, “Been some time since you’ve had a woman, hasn’t it?”

His glare could have terrified a sea monster, but he admitted, “Like I said, I don’t get many visitors.” Biting along her jaw, his hands cupped and fondled her chest, chuckling as he pinched the diamond-hard peaks. “And you’ve got no room to talk. With how responsive you are, you haven’t been bedded in ages, either.”

“Maybe,” she squeaked when his tongue delved into her ear. In retaliation, she ran her nails across his scalp as she suckled his pounding pulse-point, pleased when he moaned.

“Then I guess we’re both a little pent up.”

Satisfied with the dark purple bruise she’d marked him with, her lips delicately trailed up his cheek. “Bet I can make you cum first,” she panted in his ear. “Winner takes all.”

“You sure about that?” Grasping her hips tightly, he ground his obvious erection against her sensitive core, smirking at the way her hazelnut eyes rolled back in pleasure. “Then you’ve got a deal.”

A sharp whine escaped her throat as he gave another heady grind, and Law chuckled, mouth latching onto the pale column of her throat, sucking and biting as he continued to roll his hips in a slow, steady rhythm. “Fucking hell,” he growled against her skin as she matched his rhythm, bucking and grinding in a desperate bid to tease him to completion. “That’s it Nami-ya—ride me. Wish I was inside you right now. I’d fill you up and fuck you senseless, give you more pleasure than you can handle. You’d like that, wouldn’t you sweetheart?”

Swallowing hard, she couldn’t help but imagine how that would feel. Based on his height and what she could feel tucked away in his jeans, he’d be deliciously hard and girthy, stretching her until she reached that delightful crux of pain and pleasure. Heat and pressure built up between her thighs as she envisioned having him eager and naked beneath her.

“Yeah,” she moaned breathily, nibbling his ear, tongue playing with the duo of gold hoops, “but I bet what you really want is me tied to your bed, naked and screaming your name. Your own, sexy, bewitching fuck toy, wet and waiting for you every night.”

“Fuck!” he grunted, rhythm stuttering briefly as his dirty fantasy was turned against him. Eyes clamping shut, it took him a moment to regain control, but when they opened, they had a truly devilish glint. “Damn right I do. I’ve got all kinds of whips and chains for the occasion. Other toys, too, that’ll take you right to the brink.” Slowly, his hands left her hips to provocatively squeeze the firm meat of her ass, even as the tempo of his rolling hips increased. “By the time I’m through with you, not an inch of skin will go unmarked. No hole unfucked. And you wouldn’t even want to leave, because you’ll be too busy begging me for more.”

Small, white teeth dug into her plump bottom lip as she felt his hips adjust their angle to rub just the right spot with every thrust, his filthy words making her embarrassingly wet. If he went into any more detail, she was done for, and she refused to lose this time. So, burying a hand in his midnight blue hair, she pulled him in for a wicked kiss, silencing his words and forcing his tongue to try a new trick, like thrusting in and out of her mouth in time to his hips. Sensing how close he was to the edge, she raked her nails down his back just as his teeth pierced the delicate, swollen flesh of her lower lip. The taste of blood mixed with one last rough, sensual grind made her see stars, and her hips began spasming, a dry orgasm overwhelming her.

Law clearly wasn’t much better, as he pulled away from her mouth to throw his head back in a loud cry, hips bucking and jerking against her erratically.

After several long, pleasurable moments, the pair came down from their high. As they sat there, breaths hot and heavy and exhausted, Nami’s head lolled against Law’s shoulder, while he struggled to keep upright, both their bodies lethargic and full of lead.

Finally, he murmured, “Seems it’s a tie.”

“Guess so.”

Cool, smooth metal slipped onto her wrist. “You can have your sister’s bracelet back; I don’t really have a use for it, anyway.”

“Thanks,” she sighed happily. A voice in the back of her head said she should probably get up, to leave before any regret could set in, but the rest of her was far too comfortable in his arms. She’d never been one for pillow talk, but she felt…safe in his embrace. Wanted. “I’ll stick to robbing the living, so you won’t have to worry about me digging up your graves again.”

The hum he let out sounded vaguely disappointed. “You know, even if you hadn’t broken ground, I would have noticed you. A vibrant thing like you stands out in a place like this.”

“Yeah, I guess without my Mirage Tempo, I’d be shit out of luck for camouflage.” Carefully, she adjusted her position, settling in so she could talk to him more easily.

Tattooed, muscular arms tightened around her trim waist, as if worried she was about to try and leave. “True, but that’s not what I meant. You’re warm and full of life; you attract attention like a lighthouse in the fog, drawing lost souls to you.”

An orange eyebrow raised at his response. Luffy had said something similar when they’d first met, but from Law, it sounded a lot more wistful. “So, you’re saying I should stay out of graveyards. Got it.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that.”

Annoyed at just how reluctant he was to just say what was obviously on the tip of his tongue, she grabbed his chin, forcing him to look her dead in the eye. “Law, do you want me to come back and visit you?”

It was clear he wanted to avert his gaze, but with no choice but to stare into her russet brown irises, he gave a defeated sigh. “I’m fine being left alone. Used to it. But I suppose if I must have visitors, you’d make far better company than Mugiwara-ya. Less noisy, at least.”

That brought a little grin to her face. “Probably. He totally set us up, didn’t he?”

“I have no doubt, especially since he tricked Zoro-ya and Black Leg-ya into wandering in last week.”

“Then you knew his plan the whole time?” she screeched, furious that she’d been tricked.

Once more his grip tightened, unwilling to let her storm off. “I guessed. It could have been coincidence, but knowing that idiot, he figured if he couldn’t bring me to his nakama, he’d send them to me. I doubt he planned this, though,” he said, indicating their entangled limbs and sticky laps.

With an annoyed huff, she rested her head back on his shoulder. “Why the game, though?”

“I really was curious if you were as good as he claimed, and I thought it might be amusing—especially after that first kiss,” he said, devilish grin returning to his lips.

“Cocky asshole,” Nami grumbled.

“Witchy graverobber,” he countered affectionately before brushing a kiss to her sweaty forehead. “Speaking of, getting rid of that gold really is a good idea—part of my job is making sure spirits don’t lose their chance to pass on to the afterlife. If Mugiwara-ya thinks you using the money for a shopping spree will help, I’ll let you have it, but only on one condition.”

“Which is?”

Carefully removing her from his lap, Law stood and hoisted her to her feet. “Come visit me again. Your idiot friend clearly thinks I can use the company—”

“We’ve played enough games for one night, Torao-kun; just say it’s because you want me to spend time with you.”

“Don’t order me around, Nami-ya,” he growled menacingly, but when she refused to back down, he sighed. “Fine. Come by and visit me every once in a while, and the treasure’s yours, plus I’ll let you know of any other greedy old bastards that need you to break them of their material chains.”

Grinning, she stood up on her tiptoes, pressing a quick peck to his jaw. “Deal. And maybe next time I’ll bring Luffy; we can kick his ass together.”

The smirk he gave her was dangerous and oh-so-sexy as the purple aura encased them up to the mausoleum, the treasure chest and a small brass key dropping into her hands. “It’s a date.”

A thought came to her, and her brow furrowed in confusion. “Hey, since you forfeited the bracelet, you didn’t get your last prize, did you?”

“What, are you saying I didn’t steal your heart?”

“Sorry, that’s locked up tight,” she replied as she tapped her chest, though she couldn’t help the cheeky smile that lifted the corners of her lips.

Law’s was just as smug. “Then I guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”

The End

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years

Text

645-647: "Destruction Cannon Blasts! Lucy in Trouble!", "The Legendary Pirate! Don Chinjao!" and "Light and Darkness! The Shadow Behind Dressrosa!"

There is something rotten in the state of Dressrosa right now. Doflamingo has some seriously shady shenanigans on the go. Turning humans into toys? Letting them live alongside relatives who - it appears - have their memories wiped? Tossing them for scrap if they show any signs of rebellion? Yeah, this whole situation is totally messed up. Now I get why a Resistance is mounting against the Donquixote Family.

I watched three episodes because I thought I might see the end of the Block C battles. No such luck, but Luffy vs Don Chinjao has been fun so far.

Still, that freaky Toy Human transformation reveal was totally worth it.

(Will catch up on replies this week too! It’s been a weirdly busy couple of weeks but next week won’t be as rammed. :D)

Electric Fist Bump

I am still not certain that Brutal Bull is, in fact, going to recover. Let’s just pretend he will. At least Luffy gently carried him to safety and thanked him for fighting with him. ;_;

A random called Ideo (way too much eyeliner, Shoulders McGee) finished the job by punching Hajrudin out the ring. After Ideo’s brag-fest, I thought Luffy would be the one to kick his ass too, but it was funnier than that.

A random competitor called Jean the Bounty Hunter (no relation to Dog) had seen through Luffy’s disguise. He knocked off Luffy’s helmet and slashed his beard. Instead of giving up his disguise, Luffy chased him (lmao) to get his helmet back.

Once exposing Luffy, didn’t work, Jean picked up all the weapons dropped by competitors who fell to Don Chinjao’s conqueror’s haki. Jean seriously thought he could defeat Luffy by carrying around a giant blade ball. Okay, mate.

Jean, at least, was allowed a quick shit-talk. He’d made so much money recapturing all the criminals Luffy set free from Impel Down. Now, Jean was aiming to snare Buggy (I guess he doesn’t read the papers), Crocodile, Jimbei, Ivankov and Shiryu (good luck with those names, mate).

Meanwhile, Luffy was standing there, reminiscing over all the old names like it was old times. “I wonder how Jimbei and Iva are doing?”

Jean got mad, threw his dumb sword ball and... it did not go to plan.

Luffy dodged.

Instead, a rather large and intimidating man absorbed all the swords.

Staring down Don Chinjao was too much for poor Jean. He was so scared, he made moe eyes before Don Chinjao took him out. (Good luck chasing after Crocodile from your new job on Doflamingo’s Factory Assembly Line!)

The fight between Luffy and Don Chinjao was actually fun to watch. The moment when they both punched out Sai and Ideo “Get outta the way!” was funny. And the Conqueror’s Haki clash was stylish (still love that blue filter), powerful (that Whitebeard soundtrack) and also pretty interesting.

Diamante watched the whole thing from his private booth. He used it as a teaching moment for Bellamy. “See, that is what it takes to be a king.” Don Chinjao sort of backed this up later when he said to Luffy that loads of people in the New World could use Conqueror’s Haki. “Only battling it out amongst themselves will reveal who the Pirate King will be. A battle of conquerors. That’s what’ll decide.”

I thought Conqueror’s Haki was a much rarer type. Maybe it still is, but that all the big shots are now concentrated in a smaller area, so there’s more chance you’ll meet someone with it. I know Shanks has it, I know Whitebeard had it, but I’m wondering if Big Mom and Kaidou also have it? (The jury’s out on Teach. Is he too much of a coward, or will he awaken it too? Who knows?)

Don Chinjao also kept veering between wailing with rage and attacking with rage at what Garp had taken from him (treasure and strength, apparently). He also kept demanding Luffy tell him what Garp had done. Luffy was like, “No, you walnut. I have no idea. How many times must I repeat myself?”

Luffy didn’t know whether Don Chinjao wanted to be sad or mad. Maybe Luffy should set himself up as a therapist because I think it’s a bit of both.

At the moment, Don Chinjao has transformed into an Upside Down Tornado of Large Man, so we’ll see how that pans out in the coming episodes.

Oh, and by the way, Bobby Funk wore his brother like a jacket during the fight. Don’t ask. It was deeply, hilariously weird and I’m glad they got their asses kicked because I felt wrong watching that.

He’s Not an Idiot. He’s Directionally Disadvantaged

On the way to Flower Field, Wicka was astonished to discover Zoro is the opposite of a homing pigeon. They yelled at each other the entire time. Wicka because Zoro veered away from Flower Field yet again, and Zoro because Wicka “sucked at leading the way.” Meanwhile, the concerned residents of Dressrosa wondered why the strange man was yelling at himself.

Wicka kept punching Zoro for not going the right way. Because the Tontatta people make up for their lack of stature with super strength, I actually cheered when Zoro had enough of Wicka smacking him. He set her down in a plant pot, was like, “I have friends I care about too. Stop complaining or ask some damned cat to carry you,” then walked off.

Damn straight, Zoro. Don’t put up with that crap.

Luckily for Wicka, Zoro has no sense of direction. He circled straight round, which gave her the opportunity to apologise.

I guess it’s for the best. Otherwise Zoro would end up stuck on Dressrosa forever. Or at least until Sanji turned up.

And speaking of Sanji, he has teamed up with Kinemon again. They are currently lurking outside the Colosseum. They have spotted something ominous. Lots of Marines gathered outside, including new Vice-Admiral Bastille, waiting to swoop and arrest any unsuspecting Block A and Block B fighters leaving the arena.

I laughed at Kinemon’s weird cognitive dissonance. “Yeah, well criminals should be caught!”

Sanji would not have it. He smacked Kinemon and was like, “You are working with pirates.” Lmao, Kinemon. Old habits die hard, I guess.

At least Sanji has returned to the Sanji I like best: sneaking about, trying to solve problems. He knows Luffy needs to know about the Marines lurking outside, but how to tell him?

Plus, what’s happened to all the Block A and Block B competitors who lost their fight? Vice-Admiral Bastille is on to something. None of them have left the Colosseum. Not a single one. That is strange. Something weird, and possibly sinister, is going on here. (I wonder if they’re being turned into toys?)

This is Why I Like Nami

This was only a short scene but I loved it.

In the last couple of episodes, I assumed Nami, Brook, Chopper and Momo were retreating to regroup with a master plan to win back Sunny.

Nope. As if they would ever leave Sunny in the hands of an enemy. What was I thinking?

Even though Nami sees herself as weak compared to the DF eaters and haki users of the crew, she is not helpless. One, she is smart, and two, Nami has freaking weather controlling powers! Nami used both of those qualities to her advantage. Chopper and Brook were a distraction. While Giolla’s attention was on them, Nami readied some thunder balls.

BOOM! Direct hit on Giolla’s submarine. Now, as a DF user, she has no means to return to Dressrosa and all her goons were smoked by thunderbolt.

Your move, Giolla! :D

How About Hide-and-Seek?

Like, with a four day head start?

No?

I guess Law must be content with running like hell from the two Absolute Monsters chasing him. Fujitora was not making it easy. Every time he sheathes that sword, a jet of purple (no idea what it is. Let’s call it pure purple) rocketed into the clouds and, hello meteor shower!

Luckily, Law can Room those and slice them like bread rolls, but Doflamingo’s bullet strings were another matter. Law scarpered, dodged, hid and tried to call Nami. To no avail. Why wasn’t she picking up?

“I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to buy time,” Doflamingo said. “And I’m not gonna let you have it your way.”

No Burger King for you, Law.

Poor, beleaguered Law screeched to a halt when he realised that, somehow, Fujitora had overtaken him. My new favourite Admiral was sitting on a rock, as if he’d been politely waiting for Law to show for ages. Then it was meteor time.

Even Doflamingo was like, “Wow, you have no mercy.”

Fujitora just said, “I’m all thumbs.”

Lmao, mate. Yeah, those extreme overkill meteors? I’m just clumsy. Nah, no one believes you, Fujitora. You love smashing felons. Admit it.

Meanwhile, deep underground, Usopp was beginning to regret feigning descent from Noland. The ominous, earth-shattering rumbles from Fujitora’s onslaught were passed off as “just Usopp’s amazing haki!”

When he realised the Tontatta people kept going on about the Donquixote Family, he consulted Robin. “Um, what kind of relationship do they have with Doflamingo exactly?” he asked.

“Well, they’re serious about fighting him,” Robin replied.

Usopp had an uh-oh moment. He drew Leo (the battle hype man) aside and asked why they wanted to fight Doflaming. That’s my Usopp! Asking all the right plot questions.

Apparently, the Tontatta want to rescue five hundred friends forced to work at the “shady factory”. Moreover, Doflamingo also holds their “obnoxious, selfish, mean, moody and short-tempered Princess Mancherie” there too.

Good sell, Leo. Good sell.

“Um, she sounds horrible,” Usopp said (lmao).

“Yup!” Leo cheerfully agreed. But then he added, rather sweetly, “But she’s one of us too. Noland would save everyone who’s in trouble, right?”

Usopp looked a bit ill at that point. He did not have to answer that question, as Flapper, another Tontatta kid, hoofed it into frame. Apparently, the Donquixote Family at the palace were on the move. Rumour had it they were probably moving to the Colosseum basement. And why were they moving there?

Under the Colosseum is only where the Shady Factory is hidden! :D

I thought the Factory would be in Green Bit. This is even better! Now I’m very suspicious about all the defeated fighters. They are prime for processing. At least I got one thing right about people being forced to work at the Factory (though it wasn’t related to stealing stuff).

This Really Makes You Re-Think Toy Story

I knew it! I knew there was something weird with the toys. At first I just went with it because, well, One Piece, right? There are giants, sentient fruit-eating swords, dudes stuck in barrels. Anything goes, right? I mean, who can explain the wonder of Gekko Moria?

Turns out this does not extend to talking toys. Talking toys are not normal. Unless they’ve been invented by Vegapunk, as Franky rightly thought.

Nope. These toys are not the work of Vegapunk.

They are the product of a twisted Devil Fruit user under the employ of Doflamingo, who transforms humans into toys.

Why? I have no idea.

But the reason has got to be some dodgy kind of punishment for something.

There was a creepy scene when a toy desperately tried to convince the woman who was once his girlfriend that he was a human, that they once lived together, were once happy together. The trouble was, his girlfriend could not remember him! She looked at him in disgust, said, “This toy has human syndrome!” and he was dragged off to a ominous looking building with the word SCRAP emblazoned above a forbidding door.

It seems a lot of the toys remember being human. Sol spoke to a guy called Milo, who is currently masquerading as Onepoko-chan the dog. Turns out the boy who plays with him is actually his son, and the boy’s mother is his wife.

What. The. Actual?

Sol asked the boy if he had a dad. Nope, was the answer. What about the wife? Had she ever been married? Don’t be silly.

Something really, really weird is going on here. And I never even mentioned the midnight curfew. Anyone who is caught outside after then is arrested (and probably turned into a toy). Toys and humans are allowed to hang about during the day, but at night? They are segregated. Toys live in toy homes. Humans remain in their homes.

This is totally weird and cool and I cannot wait to see where this goes.

Every time questions are answered in Dressrosa, another ten rise to take their place. :D

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asexualzoro · 7 years

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list of reasons I find zoro ridiculous

after my similarly titled mihawk post took off I decided to make a zoro post, since he’s my second favorite character and also arguably the most ridiculous character in all of One Piece. here we go

- I know what you’re all thinking. i’m gonna open this list with how he wields three swords, right? no. no, Zoro has done so much ridiculous bullshit, this doesn’t even seem weird anymore. i don’t even bat my eye at this. this is nothing. now that i’ve got that out of the way, let’s begin

- this dude has like, an obsession with cutting off his own limbs? and MAYBE i can understand trying to cut his feet off when they were stuck in wax—you’re trying to save your friends, i get it—but what about when he was sword shopping in loguetown? who’s first response when buying a cursed sword and testing if it’s really cursed is “i’ll toss it in the air n see if I get amputated lol.” plus there’s that old filler where luffy gets his finger stuck in a bottle and, when he asks zoro for help getting it out, zoro tries to CUT IT OFF. im convinced he lost that left eye of his bc he got dust or something in it and then tried to stab it out

- there’s like, several occasions where Zoro has been directed to head up a staircase and gone some other direction. it happened in enies lobby and in dressrosa? like, what’s the dude got against stai—... oh, wait

- his reintroduction post timeskip. get on the wrong boat? just cut it in half! who even cares! how’d you even end up on the wrong boat? you had to walk towards that boat, which means looking at the boat. that boat looked nothing like the sunny, wouldn’t zoro have noticed that? he also has to make an effort to climb on, which means, you guessed it, looking at the boat! he probably sees the crew members, maybe even gets helped up by one or a few. how did he not at any point in time notice that wasn’t his boat?

- also when they landed on sabaody the first time and zoro was like “i’m gonna go take a walk!” and both Sanji and Usopp tried to stop him, talking to him like concerned parents of a troublemaking toddler, like “Zoro you can’t go out there you’ll get lost!” to which Zoro replies “yeah but the grottos are numbered, I can find my way back if I just remember the number!” and Sanji and Usopp are like “okay, solid logic, even YOURE not dumb enough to mess that up” and what does Zoro do? what does he fucking do?

- I want to emphasize he messes it up because a bubble covers the 4 in “Grotto 41” so he thinks it’s grotto 1. BUBBLES. ARE. TRANSPARENT

- “sorry, I don’t pray to god” fuckin edgelord

- Zoro’s epithet is “Pirate Hunter” and it’s super lame. he could’ve been “Demon of the East Blue” but they went with pirate hunter, even though he became a pirate. even Chopper’s is better than his lbr

- THERES A SCENE WHERE SANJI THREATENS TO PUT RAZOR BLADES IN ZOROS FOOD N ZOROS LIKE “do it u won’t” SO SANJI DOES AND ZORO JUST EATS THEM? ODA EVEN GOT ASKED ABOUT IT IN AN SBS AND CONFIRMED YES, ZORO DID IN FACT EAT RAZOR BLADES. THIS 2EDGY4U BITCH JUST. STRAIGHT UP. ATE RAZOR BLADES

- in film gold he wears that black jacket under the white one. mind you he had no way of knowing he would be trapped in gold by tesoro or that they’d all have a dramatic coordinated outfit change once he was free so what the fuck was he doing? why did he wear that? who wears two jackets for no reason?

- “if i’m gonna be a statue I want it to be in this pose” “i’m glad I struck a pose”

- remember when zoro fought mr. 1 in alabasta and mr. 1 dropped a stone building on him and he was just like “this is a rocky day” or smth equally awful? i hate him

- the tarzan yell in skypiea

- actually, the goggles too.

- didn’t he try to convince someone he was fighting they were sunglasses bc they had some blinding light-based attack? I feel like he did but I don’t remember skypiea well enough to be sure

- Zoro vs the bird in skypiea. spent a fair amount of the damn arc running around skypiea getting messed w by a bird (which, according to Luffy, was more evolved than Zoro bc it had developed a sense of direction. burned by ur own captain)

- when asked why Zoro was able to speak with a sword in his mouth, oda said “IT’S HIS HEART SPEAKING”

- that colorspread Zoro where he reads a book about weightlifting while balancing a weight on top

- when Zoro fights that masochist guy in film gold (I think his name was dice?) and said some cocky ass one liner after the guy fell unconscious that went something like “What's wrong? Didn't it feel good? Aren't you gonna scream in pleasure?" awful

- Zoro almost gets murdered by Mihawk and then, later that day, tries to take on fishmen underwater. others r like “you cannot handle this, you will literally die” and Zoro doesn’t even care bc Luffy is in trouble

- he was sailing bc he left home to find mihawk and then couldn’t figure out how to get back

- remember that filler where Zoro taught Luffy how to skate but then forgot to teach him how to turn. I love both that this happened and the implication that Zoro is a person who knows how to roller skate and therefore has spent time roller skating. Zoro roller skating backstory when?

- when Zoro was fighting oz, a 500 year old corpse, he licked his sword. now, on top of licking his sword being ridiculous as hell because, listen, there’s NOTHING cool about licking your sword. you just look like a loser. but a sword that just came out of a 500 year old corpse? really? i know it was preserved by the cold and all but there’s no way it didn’t rot at all. that’s a rotted, frozen corpse. Zoro what in the HELL were you thinking. I hope you get sick

- i’m sure it probably wasn’t even the first time he licked his sword in a fight but I will say with absolute confidence he looked like a loser every single time

- I feel like he licked his sword while facing mr 1 but I can’t remember. if he did, that’s honestly iconic. stare down a dude that’s made of swords while licking yours? power move. only decent time to kick your sword

- Zoro, joining Luffy: “if you stand in the way of my dream i’ll kill you!” Zoro, a day later: “of course i’ll carry my captain in this heavy cage on my back to safety. oh this gaping wound in my side? nothing. who cares about bleeding to death, my captain needs me!”

- all those big weights he’s got. all of them.

- especially that time he was lifting weights post thriller bark after barely surviving kuma, still heavily injuries, complaining about how weak he is. buddy...

- that time in drum island where he decided to train by going swimming in the freezing ice-country water, then when he got out he got lost in the snowy mountains until he wandered into a random battle and took out some guy just to steal his coat

- this isn’t the only time he steals some random dude’s coat

- the chimney.

- that filler in smiles lobby where he gets, like, abducted by a bunch of children for a day and integrated into their family?

- Roronoa Zoro went fursuiting in dressrosa and that’s a canon fact you all must acknowledge

- speaking of being a furry anyone remember mugiwara theater?

- THE FUCKING MUGIWARA THEATER NAMES. mugiwara theater is a gift, alright? here’s some: nakamura hanzorou. zobear. ZOROMILK

- I FORGOT TO MENTION. THAT TIME ZORO N USOPP WERE HANDCUFFED TOGETHER AND ZORO TRIED TO CONVINCE USOPP TO PLAY ROCK PAPER SCISSORS WITH HIM TO SEE WHICH ONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE TO CUT THEIR HAND OFF

- also the fact that his logic was “it’ll be fine cuz chopper can just sew it back on”

- can we also talk abt how later that fight he uses Usopp as a sword because holy shit Zoro

- this isn’t technically zoro’s fault but the guy who sold him his sword to him in loguetown has a giant version of bounty image up above his bath, which........

- barto asked for zoro’s autograph and Zoro just wrote “sword”

- the grave of the rumbar pirates was finished right around when Zoro woke up from his coma post thriller bark and Zoro decided to walk over while Brook is sitting there mourning almost everyone he ever loved and just. plops his sword—an inanimate object—in the dirt by the grave of BROOKS ENTIRE CREW like “hey i’m gonna bury this here u don’t mind tho right? cool”

- he’s lucky Brook is such a cool dude cuz if I was mourning the death of MY crew and some fuck decided to plant a rusty sword there i’d just fuckin kill em

- in Zou they were talking abt whatever and Luffy mentioned how Sanji was as strong as one thousand men and Zoro, clearly jealous that Sanji got praised by Luffy, butt in with a stuttery objection on how HE was stronger than Sanji and worth TWO THOUSAND men, which luffy ignored, and Nami had to reassure him that yes, Zoro, we know you’re strong. toddler

- this is also not technically zoro’s fault but one time someone asked oda in an sbs which strawhats would eat ice in their drink and oda answered who would n wouldn’t (Luffy, Chopper, Brook, Usopp, and Robin would, if ur wondering). Zoro was on the wouldn’t list, and some fan sent oda a letter informing him of a panel where Zoro was shown eating ice to disprove this. someone pulled zoro ice eating receipts on oda and that’s a fact we all have to live with

- the first time Zoro meets mihawk—the strongest man in the world, the man he wants to defeat someday, and incredibly powerful and impressive dude—he cries like a baby

- zoro’s been crucified like 4 times now. once in his introduction than in three movies (6, gold, nebulandia). idk why this keeps happening but honestly? keep it up

- when Brook joined the crew, Zoro said he was sorry for Brooks bad luck as if one of the first things Brook ever saw Zoro do wasn’t to try and die for the crew via Giant Paw Ball of Pain

- speaking of, i’m pretty sure half the reason zoro DIDNT die in thriller bark is because if he died via smth as silly as a giant paw ball his injured pride would kill him again

- I was going to make fun of Zoro for wearing only a suit and a fake mustache in dressrosa as a disguise but then I realized, like, given how absolutely shredded Zoro was in Punk Hazard and how that suit somehow managed to squish it all down without zoro ripping the sleeves off? solid disguise

- when merry was burning and everyone’s bawling and remembering great memories on the ship and Zoro was standing there, 100% stoic, remembering a nap

- Zoro saw marines (Garp) coming to Water 7 while Luffy was still unconscious and ran off to warn the others but couldn’t find his way back to the hotel

- that G8 filler where he falls off a cliff in pursuit of his swords

- speaking of fillers, remember that amnesia one? (ha). highlights include Zoro trying to physically fight a small sea horse (plus Usopp doing a bad lip-syncing) and Zoro swimming through the Grand Line with his swords tied to his head by his bandana

- meets a dragon, eats the dragon

- it got mentioned once that Sanji and Nami canonly help Zoro and the other guys get dressed. so every time Zoro wears something absolutely ridiculous (which is often), it’s probably Sanjis doing

- “I can’t believe I cut a freaking booger!!”

- speaking of, remember that time Luffy flicked a booger into Zoro’s drink at the Baratie and Zoro tried to force him to drink it?? remember that?? I hate them both

- that time Zoro was trying to find the Right Eye in Skypiea, said that (though the path to get there was STRAIGHT AHEAD) all he had to do to find the right eye was just keep going right (even though that would just lead him in circles!). and then after that do you know what direction he went?? do you know?? he fucking went left

- the time Zoro got lost walking on a straight path in a filler.

- Zoro lost to a guy in a fight and just fucking let the dude cut him in half. like, yes, the baratie scene was all cool as all hell and I love it but Zoro did in fact basically invite a dude to cut him in half

- when they were hit by negative hollows and everyone else said stuff that was kinda funny but Zoro went straight up “I don’t deserve to exist” please honey talk to someone

- he was fighting Kaku and kept engaging in Kaku’s devil fruit bs and then berating himself for being uncool as if he wasn’t already fighting a giant giraffe

- to end this list, I want to get to Zoro’s absolute worst offense. remember when Zoro fought Kaku and he did that asura form thing? where he straight up grew four extra arms and two extra heads, all wielding swords? what the FUCK was that? and don’t tell me “fighting spirit” alright. that’s bull. people don’t just GROW EXTRA SWORD-WIELDING BODY PARTS because they’re just REALLY INTO a FIGHT. like I know this is One Piece and shit’s ridiculous all this time but this? this is too much. even for One Piece this is too much. this is so ridiculous. there has to be a line, even in One Piece, with what these guys are allowed to get away with. I can accept haki so good you can see the future. I can accept spinning so fast you set your leg on fire. I can accept being made of springs. I can accept booger bombs. I can accept all that and more, but this? this is where i take my stand. Roronoa Zoro cannot keep getting away with this! fighting spirit is just not an explanation. and the worst part? the absolute worst part?

- Zoro makes four extra limbs and two extra heads, all armed with swords, MATERIALIZE out of THIN AIR with absolutely NO REAL EXPLANATION and then pretty much NEVER DOES IT AGAIN! he did it once in sabaody (and once in strong world) and then hasn’t done it since! everyone else uses the power ups they got in enies lobby all the time but Zoro, somewhere out there, knows how fuckin sick this attack is (bc yeah it’s ridiculous as hell but like I still enjoy it) and he just won’t do it again. not once post timeskip has he used it at all. Roronoa Zoro knows what he’s doing and he is out there, right now, laughing

- roronoa zoro is one of my top three favorite one piece characters and I make this list entirely out of love. (feel free to add on more moments I may have missed and i’ll add them)

#One Piece #roronoa zoro #Zoro #im making a tag for these lists and it is:#ridiculous lists #I love this man. hes awful and I love him #I also want you all to know ive had this list in my notes for like a month and ive been adding to it this whole time #roronoa Zoro is a piece of work #my posts

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