#but i think he would be opposed to making sanji cook people | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ryiju-muunie · 3 months ago

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Resonance starts Revolution

FBI Agent!Zoro Roronoa/Sanji Vinsmoke Warnings: graphic depiction of violence, eye gouging, gun wounds, shooting, car chase, unrealistic violence sort of, cross dressing, animal/human hybrids, POV Zoro, drug dealing, this takes place in land-locked michigan, brook is a skeleton, humor, zoro has gender issues lowkey, transphobic!Franky, betrayal with a twist, this is not going the way you think, angst, ambiguous relationship, open ending, maybe ooc at times Word count: 12217 DESC: Zoro was a skilled agent used to going undercover to finish the job. He didn't expect to have to deal with an annoying cook while trying to take down a major drug dealer. OR Sanji was a skilled chef used to cooking for the pickiest of clients. He didn't expect to have his whole night shifted upside down due to the looks of a beautiful lady.

Hope you like this xx

NOTES: I had this idea while seeing a TikTok of Zoro dressed up in a fancy dress. I wanted to write this for SO LONG and I'm finally doing it! I really wanted this to be a heartfelt story with random details thrown in and mini subplots that all tie in together!

Zoro Roronoa was one of the most skilled agents in his force. It was obvious from the way he never backed down from a fight, especially to protect his colleagues. He never stopped putting his life on the line if someone was injured. In fact, it made him feel stronger. It gave him a sense of pride to risk it just to ensure his friends were safe. It was in his blood; from the fact he came from an extensive line of tigers who fought mercilessly against tyrants and enemies of nations. He would do anything to take down the biggest of criminals, so it wasn’t a surprise to him when he was called in to talk about a new mission.

His boss, Nami, who was one of the only people on the force he was truly scared of, sat before him. Her desk and the way her chair propped the woman up, made her seem taller than she truly was. She wore dark colored pantsuits typically. Her ginger hair was back in a slicked bun, a few strands sticking out from the wear of the day, and her tabby ears were flattened against her head. Either way, she looked great for being just a bit older than the agent himself. She looked young. It was the fact she wasn’t as stressed as everyone else, taking on a leadership role rather than a hands-on one. Or it was the fact she was practically loaded.

This job paid well, but Her's paid excellent. She was drowning in so much money she didn’t know what to do with it. Zoro half hoped he’d have that problem soon, but like everything it took time. He wasn’t opposed to saving up, but collecting swords was an expensive hobby he couldn’t seem to quit.

“Roronoa,” she spoke, lips pressing together as she looked over a manilla folder in her dainty hands. It was a new job, but something about it was making her hesitate. The man always got first pick due to his seniority and the fact he was, let’s face it, strong as hell. A bit of a flex, sure, but it was true.

“I’m not sure if you’d want to take this,” Nami finally continued, closing the folder, and handing it to the man. His brow furrowed just a tad. What did she mean? Nothing could really deter him from fighting, even the darkest of cases. There were things he had seen that he vowed he would never let happen to another human being, but that didn’t mean he would be scared to have it happen again. If the worst of it was a little undercover torture, he could take it.

The man was a disciplined specimen. Every day he would wake up early to work out and eat a balanced breakfast, consisting of heavy protein and a lot of vegetables. This didn’t mean he skimmed on dessert. No, he had more of a sleeper build as they called it. A softer frame, but when he flexed, suddenly, he doubled in size. It was amazing how his body worked, turning the spy into a whole new creature when he was fighting.

Zoro looked down at the file and opened it, seeing the face of someone he knew all too well. The Soul King of Detroit, Humming Brook. God, that guy really got under his skin. It was someone he was so close to catching, but he always slipped out of his reach. He was a skeleton, which was a whole other phenomenon he chose to ignore, with disgustingly bony cat ears coming out of his large afro. He always donned a sort of vintage look, kind of like a pimp. A big purple top hat with a zebra trim, and a large coat to match. No one knew how old the guy was, but everyone assumed he was ancient. I mean, hello, talking cat skeleton for crying out loud!!

Humming Brook was one of the first cases the tiger took on himself and one of the first cases he failed. It was a huge blow to his rookie ego, but it was something that had to happen. It humbled him and helped him grow to become a stronger agent. He vowed he would destroy Brook and all he was worth. And he’d make sure that bounty of 383,000,000 dollars was squashed. No one would take him down but the green-haired agent himself, and himself alone.

So, Brook was there, but why would Nami say he wouldn’t want to take on this case? Reading it, it was the same old same old. A drop point at some fancy restaurant downtown, a restaurant that was known to protect some of the biggest drug lords in the city. It was exclusive and quite hard to get into. But knowing Zoro, he could get into anything. Then he saw it. He saw the face of a woman that they had brought into custody a few months prior, a woman who was a part of a notorious drug ring Ninja Pirate Mink… something. She had signed a plea deal, her immunity for information against the Soul King.

The thing about that woman was that she resembled Zoro an awful lot. Her face was like his, but a bit rounder and fuller, with poutier lips. Her hair was blonde with brown roots, bangs coming down to her eyebrows. She was a bit curvier and quite a pretty woman. If she wasn’t a part of a drug ring, he’d consider her a ten.

It clicked as he saw her, looking up to see his boss, “...You want me to dress up like a chick?” Of course, that’s what she wanted, and he couldn’t even be mad. It was such… such a good plan. Of course, he was going to do it. Dressing up never bothered the man or even once touched his masculinity. He never gave much of a thought to dressing femininely but for a job? He’d do anything. If it meant dressing up like a woman and living as that for months or doing it for one month.

When he asked, it wasn’t a question as much as it was a statement. Zoro had already agreed in his mind by taking the manilla folder and opening it. If it involved Humming Brook, he was going to do more than just dress up. He was going to become the best damn woman he could be if it meant he would be caught.

The plan was simple enough. Cameras had been set up already by another set of agents, putting them in perfect view of the drug lord’s signature table. He would have to catch the lord in the act of taking the drugs, see them exchange currency, and then exit. All they needed was evidence. It was just the last piece of the puzzle for the FBI to take him down and put him behind bars. He could see it, the Soul King rotting in a jail cell. All he wanted was to be able to see him in court as they brought in pounds of evidence, a handful of witnesses, and video footage of the exchange.

All of this was dependent on Zoro, and his ability to look as feminine as possible. That morning, he went to the special effects artist they had hired for this operation. His name was Usopp, an alligator he had actually heard of. He was known in the community for being able to morph faces into works of art, both realistic and utterly inhuman. It was amazing how a few prosthetics and blush could turn a brooding man into a plush woman.

He applied some prosthetics to his bottom lip, cheeks, and neck- everywhere. Anywhere that would be considered traditionally masculine or too sharp, it was covered in some tan mush the agent didn’t know the name of. Once it hardened and once the makeup artist began to apply the foundation, it was hard to recognize himself in the mirror. Zoro felt like one of those actors going into a role, just to play a new person every day. It felt strange to have that… plastic [if it was even plastic] on his face. It didn’t burn, no, it just made him very aware of his skin and its imperfections.

They didn’t speak, but the two men had a mutual understanding. This was for a job, and it had to be perfect. It wasn’t about whether he liked it or not but getting as close to the photo as possible.

Although Zoro had to admit, it was a little weird when he had to put on the fake breasts. It was a kind of suit that he had seen drag queens wear the one time he had watched Drag Race at 2 in the morning. It wasn’t a good skin match, but Usopp quickly corrected it with more foundation and powder. It wasn’t uncomfortable either, new to having two big lumps on his chest. Especially since they were … oddly realistic. Well, the makeup was making them very realistic, with skin imperfections and veins.

Once the prosthetics and makeup were done, it was time for the wig. The wig was the freakiest part, how realistic it was. It was nothing like those costume wigs Roronoa had seen in Spirit Halloween or Walmart during the holidays. It had bangs, which he thought would mean they’d pop it on and call it a day. But no. They had to glue and fasten the hair to his head, even though he said he’d be careful. Usopp simply shook his head and got to work with glue and patience. Now, the wig was uncomfortable. It squeezed his cranium and brushed against his neck uncomfortably. That’s why the man always had his hair in a short buzz cut, it was easier and saved time. Not to mention he saved butt loads on shampoo and conditioner alone.

To skip the gory details, once he was tucked and waxed [which was worse than any torture Zoro had faced in his entire life] it was time to put on a dress. Hours had gone by, pure silence on both ends. And finally, Usopp spoke up.

“This is when you can, uh, choose your outfit. Nami thought it would make it less awkward if you chose it yourself,” he spoke nervously, a tan hand coming to rub against the back of his neck. Choose whatever he wanted. Well, he wanted a dress that was for certain. He knew when it came to fancy places women always wore dresses, well the women he knew. And he knew, something something, they color coordinated, right?

Hm, he didn’t want to match with the blonde, but he didn’t want something that wouldn’t go with his lipstick. It was a dark red shade that Zoro was starting to like. So, something red, then maybe if the dress came low enough, he could wear some sneakers. I mean, women had to be comfortable too!

“Red,” Zoro gruffed, pointing to his lips, “Something like this.”

Usopp nodded and motioned for him to stand up from his chair, following him into a room of dresses. Every style and every length of dress was littered on rows of hangers. Well, this would be his heaven if he really cared, but he was in search of something that matched. That would be easy right? Wrong! Fashion is way harder than anyone has ever let on!

It took the agent ages until he found the perfect dress. A dark velvet shade of red, on actual velvet. It was off the shoulder and long-sleeved [which defeated the purpose of waxing his arms but WHATEVER], showing off his newly made chest and how seamlessly his makeup artist blended it into his shoulders. It was floor length, even dragging a bit as he walked. It was perfect, and with some convincing, he was able to put on his own ratty sneaker's underneath. The only thing he didn’t like was the feeling of the blonde hair brushing against his back, but he’d deal with it for one night.

When Zoro finally got to look at himself for the last time, he was stunned. Was this what looking like a girl was all about? Being cutesy? He had to admit, he didn’t mind looking like this. It grew on him how he felt in this dress and with these fake breasts on. But before he could marvel at himself more, the door behind him opened, and in came his partner for the operation.

Sadly, he wouldn’t be doing this alone. His partner today was the most annoying rhino he had ever met, Franky. As always, he strolled in with an air of confidence. Usopp had gotten to him too, an older suit donned on his large muscular body and a large blob of facial hair littering his face. It didn’t go with his blue hair, which was swooped up in his usual style, but he didn’t really care. Nami had insisted he had a chaperone, someone to keep their cover believable. The woman he was impersonating never went to restaurants alone, and it would cause suspicion if she did the one-night Humming Brook would be there. Besides, the bigger the man the less likely anyone would try anything weird on him.

“Oh, who’s this hot chick?” Franky grinned, eyeing the tiger playfully before continuing, “It’s Zoro!” He pointed to his colleague with a stupid smile and then clasped his large hands together, “How's it feel to be hot?”

Zoro frowned, “Great. How does it feel to have a beard?” He motioned lazily to Franky, who was looking past him to admire his own reflection in the large mirror.

“I feel like a hundred dollars!” He shouted, raising his hands, and pointing two thumbs in his direction, “Do you have your girl voice down, hot stuff?” Of course, if Franky was dying Zoro would do anything to save him. But it didn’t stop him from wishing he would shut the hell up and go live in a cave where he would never bother anyone again. They were work friends, and that was about it.

“Girl voice? The hell is that?” Roronoa furrowed his brow and turned to look at himself in the mirror. What was a girl's voice? I mean, some women had higher voices than him. Was that what his colleague meant? That was easy, right? He cleared his throat and smiled firmly, “I’m Nanami Tera-” voice crack “-moto.”

Franky pressed his lips together before bursting out into loud laughter, bracing himself on his knees as he cackled out, “Oh you sound like shit! BAHAHAHAH!” He threw his head back and snickered, just rubbing it in Zoro’s face.

Well great, he didn’t have a woman voice.

Then thought for a moment. Franky was wrong, he knew plenty of women with deep voices! Like Robin, their other co-worker had a nice deep, and smooth voice. A woman could have any kind of voice! The hell was he on about trying to make him pitch it up higher when he couldn’t? Zoro pressed his lips together. Of course, he could make it sound a bit more feminine, but who needed a high voice? He surely didn’t to be the perfect woman.

And he was going to be the perfect woman.

The two arrived at the restaurant a few hours later once it hit 7:30 PM. Their reservation was for 7:45, and Nami had insisted they were at least ten to fifteen minutes early. The two stepped out of the rental car the operation was loaned, closing their doors, and promptly locking it. The restaurant, Baratie, had a sort of underwater theme to it. Blue walls and several floors just from the look of it. And of course, there would be loads of people. It would be easy to spot the Soul King for the fact he was a literal skeleton, so they didn’t have to worry about it. All they had to do, truthfully, was show up and sit down at their preserved table.

Brooks table was a corner booth right beside the kitchen, to the left of it. As they were seated, they saw a large window for food to be seated and taken by the servers. That meant they had eyes on the chefs too, which was useless to Zoro at that moment. He was more focused on seeing the drug lord in the flesh as he was seated, Franky sitting across from him with his back to both the skeleton and the kitchen.

To say that thing was tall was an understatement. He was huge, his legs almost coming out from under the table as he lounged. His large coat puffed out, and his top hat perfectly sat atop his large amount of hair. Beside him were people of all varied sizes and faces, all with one common goal, completing the drop. There was a high-profile client who was coming to drop off a generous sum of money and pick up a heavy number of drugs, Sukiyaki Kouzuki. He was a man who had never been seen in the flesh, due to some gang related activity involving his son. That made it easier to make this drop in public. No one would notice him slip in and out, being just a simple older man as he was described from witnesses.

Zoro was focused on catching glimpses at Humming Brook, he didn’t notice the waiter coming up to begin serving them. He had his hand resting underneath his chin, propped up by the table as he stared. He wasn’t thinking of much, but just imagining how it would feel to rip those bones apart. Would he fall? Would he even feel it? Would he die? Or instead, would he just come back together like those turtles in the Mario games? All those thoughts were squashed as he heard Franky clear his throat. The man’s eyes flitted to his coworker, who was giving him a wide-eyed stare and motioning to the antelope-server with his head.

Oh right, he had to order something.

The tiger shifted in his seat, leaning back, and man-spreading his legs. His right arm lounged over the back of the chair as he picked up the menu with his left, “Uh… Get me a… Pasta…?” Zoro put the menu down and looked up at the server, raising his eyebrows.

The deer staring back at him looked a bit… would perturbed be the right word? No, something more like stunned. He had blonde hair, a bit that covered his left eye, blonde ears, short antlers that barely poked out of his hair, and a very strange eyebrow. It curled a bit at the end, in a way Zoro had never seen before. Stubble covering his chin and littering a bit of his cheeks, clearly, he didn’t do an excellent job shaving. Or that was the style among aristocrats. His expression was a mix of a slightly opened mouth and a wide eye, followed by an intense flush on his cheeks. What? Had he never seen a woman before?

Zoro cleared his throat, “Curly-brow, did you hear me?” It was rude, but he didn’t care. It wasn’t like he’d see this guy after this, and if he did, he doubted he’d be recognizable when taking all this makeup and fake boob-age off.

Curly-brow, as the agent was going to call him now, blinked a few times and pressed his lips together, “Yes.” That was all he said, instead opting to stare at the agent dumbfoundedly. God was this guy stupid? Can’t a girl get some quality service without having to ask twice?

He blinked slowly, “Okay.” Roronoa shifted back to sit comfortably in his seat, turning his attention to the skeleton, who was busy laughing loudly in his corner. What was he even laughing about? There had to be some information he missed while dealing with that dumbass. No one new had joined the table and no one had left, which was a good sign. The drop wouldn’t happen for some time, as their leak said it would be about 11. They had a lot of time to sit and wait until it was just the right time.

But as Zoro was intensely staring at the drug lord and planning his next moves, he was interrupted again by that bumbling server, “And what’s your name miss?” Seriously? Did this guy not get the hint he didn’t want to be bothered?

He turned his head back to the blonde and went to say his actual name, before pausing, “Nanami Teramoto,” then the green-haired male narrowed his eyes, it would be good to know the server by name in case he needed water, he supposed, “Yours?”

“Sanji Vinsmoke at your service! It’s such a pleasure to serve such a beautiful woman like you, Nanami-swan!” And he was down on one knee like a pathetic antelope-dog, taking Zoro’s freshly waxed hand in both of his smaller ones and grinning.

What the … hell?

Zoro wasn’t sure how to feel. I mean, he knew he looked great in this disguise. In fact, he felt great in this. Although, he’d never admit this to Franky, knowing he’d never be able to live it down. But being fawned over in this sort of costume, especially with this level of theatrics was making him … flustered. Never had someone looked into his eyes, held his hand, and said earnestly that he was beautiful. Never had someone stared at him like he was a treasure that had been hidden for thousands of years, uncovered by just them. It was weird, sure, because he was being treated like a pretty girl … but, he had to admit it was getting to him.

If he ignored the woman part, it was a nice compliment, that’s what he was getting at.

So instead of speaking as he should have done, the agent just stared at the server with his ears pressed back and with a dumbfounded expression [think of the Megumi face]. The corner of his mouth twitched as if they had just made eye contact, staring at what felt like forever. His cheeks were heating up in a way they never had before. Not like he liked that guy or anything, this whole display was annoying!! [He’d take the compliment sure, but Sanji gets off your knees PLEASE] So flustered was the wrong word. Him, the great Zoro, getting flustered over some guy? Psh! He just was compliment starved or something!

The server paused and slowly let go of Zoro’s hand, standing up and shuffling away with a red face, mumbling something about pasta. Before he scurried off to clearly hide in the kitchen.

Franky burst out into laughter, slamming his fist loudly against the table, “Damn girl! You got him!! Even acting like that!” He smiled, wiping the corner of his eye with a large finger.

“Like what? All I did was ask for pasta,” the agent frowned, shifting around to get a better look at the Soul King who was chugging an unmarked bottle while his table chanted. What morons, he thought, rolling his eyes away from the scene.

“You know,” his colleague cleared his throat, bringing a glass of water Zoro didn’t notice had been placed there, to his lips, “Like a man! Slouching and shit.”

…Did women not slouch? He was weird, but he knew plenty of women who had mannerisms like that, deep voices, high voices, good manners- you name it. But they were still women. While he was in this get up, he was a woman. Regardless of how he acted, he wasn’t going to change himself to fit a societal expectation. If Franky thought he wasn’t being womanly, well, who even cared what Franky thought? He was some bull-headed rhino with a tusk for a nose!

Zoro decided not to say anything but nod along. If he thought being a woman meant sitting straight and talking like a baby, he sure as hell had never met a woman before.

Thirty minutes had passed before they saw Sanji again. They hadn’t gotten their food, but this wasn’t just your regular restaurant. It was notorious for taking a few hours for the experience. It was all about sitting down and enjoying the company of the person you chose to bring with you, so for Zoro it meant hell. He hadn’t gotten much progress in staring at Brook; Every time he thought the drop would happen it turned out to be just a prostitute going to powder her nose in the bathroom. Hey, he couldn’t judge. He was starting to feel a bit oily too, thankfully Usopp taught him how to powder and reapply lipstick.

The deer pranced over their way, a rose in his hand as he completely blocked the agent's view of the Soul King. Zoro furrowed his eyebrows and sat up, shooting a glare at the server. He didn’t seem to notice, instead handing him the rose with a smile. The man looked at the rose, then at Sanji, then the rose, then at Sanji again. Oh, this guy was going to be persistent.

“Yes?” The tiger asked, trying to sound polite but the flatness of his voice said otherwise. He never had many ranges in his voice, aside from when he got angry.

“For you, Nanami-swan,” the server nudged him with the rose. He was so shameless about it, doing it in front of the man Zoro’s fake identity was clearly on a date with. Franky couldn’t have cared less, watching for his own entertainment instead.

“Oh, thanks,” Zoro took the rose and looked down at it, before sticking it in his own cup of ice water, “Bye now.”

Sanji didn’t seem to hear the bye, instead going to speak again, “We have our own indoor garden on the second floor. I hand-picked that for you to ensure you had a great evening.” Great. I don’t care.

The green-haired male went to speak but he was interrupted, “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but” the antelope put his hand atop the others, which caused a weird feeling to arise in Zoro’s gut, “You have such captivating eyes.”

And the flush was back, causing him to just stare blankly at Sanji. His eye twitched this time, his palms beginning to feel just the right amount of uncomfortably sweaty with that soft and warm hand atop his own. How was this guy so soft? He had to lotion himself, or were those deer guys just naturally soft?

Not to mention, this guy was good at compliments. Zoro must have been very compliment-starved, all his words were catching him off guard. No other reason for feeling that- no not flustered, just … caught off guard! Yeah! No one spoke about his eyes, let alone called them captivating. To him they were just … dark. Dark and brooding perhaps? Well, I take that back, Franky called his eyes soulless once. They were soulless, dark, and they were brooding. They weren’t captivating. He was beginning to suspect this guy was just saying anything to get into the tiger's pants.

Before he could speak, the blonde was gone and going to another table. Great, now he was sweaty and left to stew over what he could have said. Zoro stood up from his seat, taking the small clutch purse Usopp had recommended for the evening in his hand, “Bathroom,” he mumbled, pointing his free hand to his face. He was not going to use the bathroom in this get-up. He wasn’t sure how women did it without getting the dress inside the toilet. He wasn’t going to bother.

Franky nodded his head and took a sip of water, turning his head over to the skeleton as his colleague walked away. Brook was doing nothing of importance since the drop was oh so many hours away. Why couldn’t they have gotten there closer to the drop? Nami was always so damn particular about everything, it had to be early, and it had to be when she said so. That’s why she was such a good leader, everyone was terrified of what she’d say if you objected.

The bathroom was easy to find, just tucked in the corner beside the entrance. There were three floors to the restaurant, the first of which was for the host to check you in and for general waiting. The second was the garden room, more of a middle-class seating area. The room was littered with distinct kinds of foliage, making it seem like a homely cafe rather than a fancy restaurant. However, the third floor was where the criminals were hosted. Zoro wasn’t sure if it was owned by another company, but it was completely different. It had a fancier feel, something he’d see out of a mob movie.

If anything, this whole place was a sketchy front for something much worse. But he didn’t have the evidence for that.

He walked into the bathroom and set the clutch bag on the counter. The mirror was big, perfect enough for many women to crowd around and touch up their makeup. Thankfully, he was alone, aside from a few women in some stalls. The man paid them no attention as he pulled out a small compact and a puff. Makeup was so complex, it even confused him. Every step had to be taken exactly right or the whole routine would turn flat. It could take minutes to mere hours, that’s where he didn’t understand it. How could someone spend so much time on that stuff when they could be doing anything else, like collecting swords?

God, Zoro missed his swords. He knew that was weird, but when he was away who was there to polish them? Who was going to dust them off every night? He’d have to give them extra care the next morning because he knew they’d be missing his touch. They were his babies, in all seriousness. If anything happened to his wide collection, he’d lose it.

As he was lightly pressing powder into his nose, an older deer entered the bathroom. She looked to be about sixty, with grey hair pulled into an intricate style, with a large tuft covering one of her eyes, and greying ears hanging from either side of her head. The man didn’t pay much attention to her as she stood beside him and propped her own bag onto the countertop. She looked familiar, but he didn’t want to stare. He had met a lot of women in his line of work who were criminals. She was one of them.

With a slight sigh, Zoro rummaged into his bag for the lipstick. It was a small tube that could have easily fallen out, and he was beginning to suspect he dropped it. There was no way he had! He was so careful! But, as he kept scouring, he couldn’t find it. It wasn’t inside the clutch, even as he emptied it out onto th-

Clank.

And there fell a handgun onto the countertop.

The agent froze, staring blankly at the gun. How could he have forgotten he packed a gun? How did he not, I don’t know, see it, and think to himself, ‘Let’s not empty out this clutch for I have a GUN INSIDE IT!?’ Especially, since he had dropped it in front of a civilian. An older woman, no less, who was unsuspectingly applying a dusty shade of coral to her lips. She hadn’t seemed to notice the gun as Zoro scrambled to get it back inside the bag.

But then, she glanced over and looked down at the shiny metal thing that caught her eye. She … strangely enough, didn’t seem too bothered by it. Instead, she went back to looking at her reflection and murmured, “Good idea.”

He blinked slowly and placed his hand overtop the gun, moving it back into the clutch without a sound. I mean, the top floor was riddled with criminals. Was it hard to believe anyone seated up there didn’t arm themselves? But the bathroom was at the entrance, and the restaurant had two floors. One floor had to be the one opened to the public, the front where they could appear as normal and quant as they liked. Then, of course, the third floor was housing the Soul King of all skeletons!

“You know. My son works on the top and I always tell him, ‘You need to arm yourself. It’s dangerous!’ But he never listens,” she shook her head and put the cap back onto her own lip product, pressing her lips together, “Maybe he gets that stubbornness from his father…” The woman looked at Zoro and smiled, the wrinkles on her face pulling back slightly and creasing around her eyes.

The man nodded slowly, his cat-like ears flattening a bit as he spoke, “Yeah.” That’s all he could muster himself to speak, closing the small bag and pressing it close to his stomach. She wasn’t scared, but she was used to this. Watching her in this light, being face to face with the woman, she looked so familiar. But he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

“If you are dining on the third floor,” the older deer continued, pushing some hair behind her twitching ear, “Be careful. Apparently, some FBI agents are coming to arrest that, uhm, skeleton man. It’s going to be a blood bath. I told my son, ‘Don’t work tonight!’ But he insisted on being there to help in case it went sour, you know. He’s so kind. I had to come and see him.”

They had a mole.

Zoro felt his ears begin to ring as the woman continued. They had a mole? Someone knew about their operation. His mind began to run through names, someone who could have revealed such confidential information. It couldn’t have been himself and Franky was too stupid and dedicated to telling a soul. Not Usopp, he signed so many NDA’s that it would kill him to dare cross the fucking FBI of all places! It had to be someone else he didn’t know, someone in the background of the operation that handled all the messy details he didn’t need to worry about.

The tiger decided not to let Franky know, but instead keep it to himself. If they were discovered, the last thing they should be doing was talk about it in public where someone could hear. As he approached the table, he saw his enemy, that damn server, striking up a conversation with his co-worker. Simply great, he had been waiting for him to get back. This love-server-cook was starting to get on his nerves. Sure, his compliments made Zoro feel all nice and fluffy inside. And sure, they were coming from a genuinely heartfelt place- but it was just annoying! He had a job to do! Even if they were, three-Ish hours from the drop.

Three hours? God!! Couldn’t this skeleton make it interesting and, I don’t know, throw a bomb at them? Speed this up!

Zoro shook his head and cleared his throat, causing Sanji to turn on his heel and gape at him, “Oh Ms. Nanami-swan! I’m so glad you’re back!” The man smiled tightly and shuffled back into his seat, sitting down and sighing. Is this what it meant to be a pretty girl? Always having men come up and try to fuck you? It was irritating.

“Hey,” he nodded to the server then turned to Franky, “Anything interesting?” He raised an eyebrow as his colleague shook his head to signal a bored no. Clearly, he was feeling it too. He could use this server to cure his boredom. Doing a quick glance, he could see that the Soul King was busy laughing loudly with his posse, so there was nothing to check for now.

This deer-antelope guy could serve as entertainment for now.

“What’s your name again?” Zoro asked him, turning his head and letting his long blonde hairbrush against his cheek. It was a direct blow to Sanji’s ego, even if it was accidental. He could tell from the way he paused, and his eyes widened.

“Sanji,” he spoke, a little frown pulling at his lips. Well, shit. He didn’t mean to make him sad. It’s not Zoro’s fault the guy has the most unmemorable name on the entire planet!

The tiger pressed his red lips together and looked at the rose sitting in his ice water, “I really like the rose you gave me.” His eyes slid over to the server, and he smiled just a bit, “It was really nice.” There wasn’t a reason to be rude to the guy even if he was a total pain in the ass. And he needed something to pass the time, so idle conversation would do for now.

However, the conversation was cut short because Sanji instantly got a nosebleed. His cheeks reddened and he covered his nose as blood gushed down his chin. Oh … great. Without speaking he awkwardly pointed to the kitchen and made a B-line for it, squashing any chance of conversation. Zoro looked to the side with disinterest, blinking slowly. Well, so much for entertainment.

Two hours passed with no word from Sanji and strangely enough, no food. It was one thing to have a dining experience with appetizers and drinks being served at your leisure, but they were the only table without an entrée. This whole operation stunk. Not only was the infamous Soul King doing nothing but laughing and making a mockery of himself, but he was doing just that!! Nothing!!! What a lame ass night!

Franky was trying to occupy himself by folding his cloth napkin into various shapes that didn’t hold, while Zoro was staring up at the ceiling. At this point, if Brook was going to do nothing the two agents at least deserved to eat. He was going to get up and complain, maybe talk a cook's ear off so he would get his damn pasta sooner, but finally, something happened.

An older man entered the restaurant from behind him, stalking past his right. He wouldn’t have paid attention if it weren’t for the fact that he was headed toward Humming Brook’s table. That’s what caused the man to sit up and nudge his partner with his foot. Franky sat up and furrowed his brow, about to speak when Zoro kicked him and moved his head toward the back table. That old guy had to be Sukiyaki, here early for the drop. It was strange, why was he here so early? It didn’t make sense for the leak to know one time but for it to instead be another. Unless their leak had tried sending them misinformation to get them off track, making them miss the target time. At that moment, Zoro had to really appreciate what Nami did for them. Even if it was fucking irritating how early she made him arrive at operations.

The man, who was presumed to be Sukiyaki Kouzuki, approached the table and raised his hand in a greeting. He didn’t speak from what the agents could hear but instead motioned to sit at the table with them. Brook sat up straighter and said something, as the older man nodded in agreement. He wore older attire, which led Zoro to believe they had the right man. All those groups wore vintage stuff. It was their code, how they found each other. He never understood it, but he didn’t want too either.

“Do you think the drops even tonight?” Franky asked, keeping his voice above a hushed whisper, “What if the leak lied and this isn’t the guy?”

Zoro shook his head, “No this has to be. An hour earlier isn’t anything. Maybe she just got confused,” he replied, looking down at the table, “We need to find a way to hear what they’re saying.”

“Let me bug the table,” Franky smirked.

His coworker frowned, “You are not.”

“I can totally bug the table.”

“Do not- FRANKY!” Zoro reached his hand over the top of the table, trying to grab the buffer man across from him. But he was too late, as the rhino got up and winked at him. Of course, he was reckless, and he was stupid. He was going to do something stupid and get both killed at that rate. It would be better than just sitting around, he supposed. I mean, if Franky did something that made them obvious to those bunch the worst that would happen would be some shallow gun wounds. And he could handle that.

Franky strode over to the table, catching their eye instantly. He looked like one of them; If Roronoa didn’t know him he would’ve thought that at least. They spoke for a few seconds, and he placed his hand on the table. It was a subtle move, trying to put the bug down somewhere, on the table or a saltshaker, without them noticing.

Then he stood back up, pointing back at the other agent and laughing. Zoro had to admit, he was charismatic. Even if he was an idiot, he was a good talker. That’s one thing that he, himself, lacked. His voice was always so flat, and he always thought with logic rather than noting how people felt, unless, of course, he really liked them. Feelings just got in the way of working a case. It was better to use logic than do something irrational.

It was starting to look off, though, when his partner wasn’t returning from the table. They were all talking, Brook sitting up and looking at him with intensity. If Zoro didn’t know any better, he’d say they were found out and Franky was being held at- oh shit.

The man put a hand on his clutch. The gun was still inside if he ever needed it. With the way these things were going, he would need it. He stood, trying not to make the fact he was aware of the situation known. He could still pretend to be oblivious in the face of danger up until the moment it was about to kill him.

“Oh Nanami-swan do you need anything?” Just the voice he did not want to hear. He wanted this server, and all these guests, as far away from the impending altercation as humanly possible. Zoro knew it would get ugly and Zoro knew, just like that older lady prophesied, it was going to be a bloodbath. If he could simply get to Franky… if he could simply avoid the damn server.

So, he did just that, he ignored Sanji’s voice and walked past him to the Soul King’s table. The agent donned a smile and placed his hand on his colleague's arm, looking to face the menace himself. Up close and personal, he could truly see what held brook together. The bones were almost melted together, a disgusting shade of off white. Almost yellow, like they had been baked in the sun and left to rot. His hair was infested with bugs. As he approached, he could simply smell the scent of death radiating off the skeleton. And there, in his bone hand, was a gun. It was pointed to Franky’s stomach, but not pressed against it.

“Oh, who’s the lovely lady?” The skeleton turned his attention to Zoro. Of course, he knew who his fake identity was. He had to have been playing stupid, she was a part of Sukiyaki’s Pirate lyn- Whatever! Zoro chose to stay silent, looking over at Franky, who … didn’t seem phased. He had a plan going on inside his head on how to get out of this, he was sure, so the other wasn’t too focused on his expressionless face. For being an idiot, he knew how to navigate some situations.

“This is my girl,” Franky put his arm around Zoro and pulled him in, pressing something to his back, “Zoro Roronoa.”

…

Zoro froze, his body tensing at the realization that the object pressed against his back wasn’t a hand but a gun. He couldn’t move, or he’d be shot in the spine [duh], and he didn’t want to cause a scene. The worst thing he could do was cause a panic and let the Soul King get away. And … Franky. He couldn’t let Franky get away without explaining himself. This had to be a ploy, a technique he hadn’t told his coworker about to better further their plan: their operation.

The gun pointed at the rhino, and slowly turned to the tiger, “You know Zoro, I think we would’ve made such great friends if you got to know me.” Brook giggled, that notorious cackle. It was spine-chilling. It was God awful. It sent a shiver down his spine as he was trying to think. A weak spot, a way to get out, a vanishing point. Something that he could use and something he could get out with.

“Zoro’s does not like us. He’s not down with the times,” Franky chided, tauntingly, in his co-worker's ear. It was ironic, all of them in such vintage wear complaining about him being out of touch. Really, he could laugh if he wasn’t about to die.

“Now!” The Soul King grinned, his skeletal face pulling back grotesquely, “You’re going to vacate the premises and let us do our deal quietly. Or I’ll just have to, I don’t know, kill you and everyone else!” If he was anyone else, he would have taken the offer and let himself be defeated. If he was anyone else that is.

Instead, Zoro let out a breath and stepped on Franky’s foot, digging the heel of his stiletto into his toes. He yelped and dropped the gun, giving him a split-second window of opportunity. But before he could even use his legs and kick the table forward onto the drug lord as he intended to do, there was a gunshot, and he felt two hands grab his shoulders. He didn’t feel it at first until the throbbing sensation began to fill his hip. It was a slow and dull pain, that grew fiery and more intense with every breath he exhaled. A taunt, and a warning. It was the gun that sounded off and silenced everyone's chatter, made the cooks look up, and made the man who pulled him away glare ahead at them.

The agent looked up, finding himself lying flat on his back. The table had fallen back onto Brook, and the gun was nowhere in sight. Had he flipped the table like he intended before he was shot? The man tried to sit up and assess the situation, get eyes on Franky, and put an end to this, but someone put a hand on his shoulder and forced him down. He looked over, squinting at the light blinding his eyes as he tried to find who was holding him back. He was a damn FBI agent for crying out loud! He could handle himself.

“There’s a strict no-shooting our guest's policy,” Sanji spoke coldly, standing up and pointing a hand over to the drug lord, “Especially, our female guests. I’m going to have to ask you to surrender your gun while we call the authorities.”

Was this guy an idiot? Telling a criminal that they had to surrender their gun to a server and do nothing while they call the cops? Oh my god. He was a civilian, the most he could do was evacuate the building while the real authority was able to deal with this bullshit.

Zoro didn’t wait, he sat up and pushed the curly-browed server out of his way as he stood, “Shove it,” he grumbled, attempting to ignore the searing pain building in his side. This was different from the other times he had been shot. It felt as though the bullet was lodged between two discs if that’s even how his hip bones worked, making every movement a grinding mess.

The Soul King pushed the table from his person onto the agent, causing him to stumble back as he gripped it. His heels dug into the tile as he halted himself and shoved it toward Franky, who was just standing there like the useless traitor he was. Another gun, more like a flurry of guns, pointed and cocked in the tiger's direction. All from Brook’s posse and all ready to kill him at any given moment.

He had to say, if he was going to go out in this dress and makeup, he was going to make it badass.

Zoro glanced at Sanji, who was gawking at him, “Get out will you?!” He barked, motioning to the rest of the restaurant as he looked at the drug lord, “Let me handle this!” And it was a split second before the chaos ensued.

I know, reading this there are lulls and pauses between each event. But I want you, the reader, to imagine that everything is happening back-to-back to back-to-back, no pauses, no breaths.

The guns went off and before he knew it, he was ducking and diving to force the antelope onto the ground. He fell onto his side, the side that didn’t hurt yet, but on top of the server. The man crouched and rolled onto his side, trying to find his clutch. While getting shot and thrown to the ground he dropped it somewhere, losing his gun. Bullets flew past him as he got onto his knees and pounced on a nearby prostitute. Bullets flew from before and behind him, clearly these guests had motives to defend themselves. Not that cook, who just laid there petrified.

The woman shrieked as he pulled her down onto the ground, tussling until he managed to get the gun out of her hands. He cocked it and ducked down behind the drug lord's booth, peering over, and shooting a few bullets at the Soul King. It was a mistake, as one bounced off his bones and aimed itself right back at him. The agent ducked his head back and heard the bullet hit someone else, causing a scream to erupt. He turned his head to see a large man, burly and blonde, with the fury of ten thousand men building in his face as he hunched over.

Oh, Zoro was going to get in so much shit for this.

He looked over at Sanji who was now trying to crawl back into the kitchen. Good. If he could escape it would be one casualty, he wouldn’t feel guilty over. The man turned his attention to Brook who was … gone!? And Franky was missing too. They escaped during the chaos when his guard was down. When he was worried about that stupid server. Of course!

Roronoa stood up and dusted himself off. The gunshots had gone down, and it had turned more so into a bloody mess. People running, screaming, shooting occasionally, and fist fighting for their lives. Yeah, he would be in shit for this. He turned his attention to the booth where the two most important guests had gone. By this point they were going to escape, in that car that Franky had driven them in, giving the agent no way to follow. He was trying to think, trying to plan, but the pain in his side was getting worse. Bullets like this were easy to ignore in high stress situations, but this was different. It hit something, something bad. But… he had to ignore it, right? For the sake of catching Humming Brook and for putting him away for the last time.

“Sanji!” He found himself calling out, stumbling over to the kitchen, and forcing the door open, even if it protested. The kitchen staff were hiding underneath tables and behind countertops, clearly unprepared for such a disaster. That lady was right, they should’ve been armed or better yet not have shown up tonight.

Zoro called out the deer’s name again and saw his head poke out from behind a table. He rushed to the server and pressed his lips together, “Do you have a car?”

“Ma’am I don’t think it’s a safe idea to leave right now,” he spoke unsurely, motioning back to the door where the chaos was getting louder.

“Answer me Curly,” he gritted, trying his hardest not to strangle the server.

Sanji exhaled, “Yes I have a car.” Perfect.

“I’m commandeering your vehicle. FB…I…” Zoro placed his hand on his hip, before realizing he didn’t have pockets or his clutch, where his wallet was … where his badge was. His eyes hardened with annoyance, and he looked away, trying his best not to seem disheartened by the fact he was going to lose this case all through his simple mistakes. Was it his fault that Franky was some stupid double agent? Was it his fault that he didn’t catch it sooner? I mean, he was one of the best agents on the force! How could he not realize that the rhino was really for the drug lord this whole time? It was something that he should have known, or at the very least suspected.

The server’s face was neutral, barely showing off any thoughts rattling in his brain although the other man was sure he was full of them. I mean, the woman you had been fawning over all night turns out to be a super cool FBI agent? Of course you’re going to have questions.

He pulled the car keys out of his back pocket, “Take it.” Zoro did, looking them over for a moment before clutching them into a fist, “I hope you can drive stick.”

Are.

You.

KIDDING.

ME!??!?!

“You can’t be serious.”

“Of course, I’m serious! Stick is the best way to drive, you know.”

This could not be happening. The one way out to find the one criminal boss he had been searching for, for years was coming crashing down over the fact he never learned how to drive stick shift. I mean, it never really mattered to him, he wasn’t a car guy. Swords were where his interest piqued, but there weren’t that many kinds of swords or ways to handle them that differed. Learning stick had never been a priority for him, as he never did a lot of driving when it came down to his job. His partners always preferred it because he had a history of crashing company vehicles.

Sanji must have seen the expression dawning the other man's face, a mixture of annoyance and pure defeat, as he stood up and grabbed ahold of his hand, “I’ll drive.” Okay he really was an idiot. He couldn’t have a civilian with him, that was a bigger risk than anything he had pulled tonight. Especially since, if something happened, Nami would have to terminate him for endangering his life. It was a huge risk, something that could easily end his career. But what choice did he have? He couldn’t exactly go out there and ask everyone to stop their fighting so he could take someone's automatic keys.

“Fine.”

The two men rushed down the stairs to the lobby, where Brook and Franky were busy shouting. It was a relief to see they still hadn’t left yet, but another heaving sigh to see it was a chef who was stopping them from exiting. What was with these stupid blonde workers getting themselves into trouble when the real authorities could handle it? Zoro put a hand onto the server's chest to stop him from walking any further down the steps, lest they be caught and shot at once.

The man was the same man who had been shot by Brook’s ricochetting bullet, shouting at them like they were nothing more than measly children who had gotten into trouble at school. He didn’t fear them at all; he looked like he could take both on without batting an eye.

“Do you bastards know how hard it’s gonna be to clean up this damn restaurant because you wanted to sell some fucking drugs!?” He shouted, shaking his fist at the two of them. The older gentlemen didn’t even seem to care that Franky was pointing his gun directly at his stomach, or that Brook was also aiming a firearm at him.

“Zeff, you have got to be kidding me,” Sanji breathed out, a look of terror riddled on his face. Zoro knew he had a few more seconds to act before the two criminals noticed him and the guns were turned in their direction. So, in the heat of the moment, he decided to cock his gun and shoot Franky in his shoulder. It would be a shallow wound that wouldn’t kill him but disarm him in that moment and for the time being.

Franky let out a gasp and clutched his shoulder, turning and pointing his gun to the stairwell. The agent pushed the server down the steps and dove down, trying to evade the flurry of bullets sent his way from both Brook and his fellow agent. A few passed him but a lot of them dug deep inti his skin. A pang of nausea swelled in the base of his throat as his vision turned white. Bullets hit his shoulders, his arms, causing him to bite back bile and bite his tongue, stopping vomit from coming up and covering his dress.

The antelope grabbed the tiger, pulling him up and gaffing, “We have to go! They’re getting away you- get up!” He pulled on Roronoa’s arm as he sat there, on his hands and knees. The man felt his breathing become shallow, heaving into the ground as he tried to ground himself. It was a different kind of feeling. Had he been shot these many times, or had he? Had he been shot before? Maybe he was shot before… Maybe he was never shot...? They were getting away, but that was so far… Getting up was far. If he could just stay like this for a second and rest, then he’d get up and catch Jack Skellington and Moto Moto… whatever their names are…

Zoro’s arm was numb, he couldn’t feel the fact Sanji was trying to drag him forward as he heaved. He didn’t hear his words, but instead a ringing sensation deep in his ear drums. Was this what death was like? It was so comforting. Just … to close his eyes for a little bit and rest them. Then he’d get up. Yeah…

“GET UP!” He felt a stinging sensation form across his face, causing the agent to gasp and heave, choking on air and impending vomit. The man leaned his head back, reveling in the fact his senses were starting to come back into his body. Was he… slapped? No, he couldn’t have been. Zoro looked over to the server who was staring at him with wide eyes, his hair pushed back to show both of his eyes. When were they blue? When were they so piercing?

No- focus.

Zoro shook his head and looked down, puke and slobber littering his hands. Okay, gross, when did he do that? Whatever, he blinked a few more times and lifted his arm, trying to feel for Sanji. Once he got ahold of the other man’s hand, he pulled himself up and exhaled. He had a job to do. Afterward, he could nap, yeah, napping would solve it. Just a long… long nap.

“Where did they…” The agent began, but he saw the drug lord and his cronies as they were scurrying across the parking lot. It had only been a few seconds but God it felt like years. He nodded his head and pulled the other along, fumbling his hands for the keys. No, Sanji had the keys. Right. Right. He looked over at him, “I want you to follow that car no matter what.”

The antelope nodded in turn, clicking his keys on to show his car. It was … dated, to say the least. Roronoa wasn’t a car guy, but he knew an old car when he saw it. It looked polished, and very well taken care of. Something that couldn’t go up past, say, 65? Which, if this was going where he thought it was going to go, it would be an issue. It didn’t have a hood, but instead an open-concept design. Maybe it was some ancient convertible that didn’t even look like a convertible.

As they dashed to the car, they could hear gunshots sounding a few cars ahead before a loud screech. They were leaving and they were leaving fast. Zoro threw himself over and into the car, although he didn’t have to because his colleague opened his own car door and closed it behind himself daintily.

“Start it up!” He grumbled, situating himself and craning his neck to look over where Brook was heading. Sanji turned the car on and backed it out, oh-so-slowly, causing an impending aneurysm to form in the agent's skull.

“I’m going you- you!” The server bit back, hitting the gas and turning his car to follow the other vehicle. Humming-Brook and Franky were already down the road, but not far enough that they lost sight. Going stick shift was mildly annoying, as Sanji had to continuously shift gears until they got to a speed that the tiger was able to approve of.

They gained, instantly, on the Soul King. Zoro lifted himself up and cocked his gun, noting he didn’t have a lot of ammo left before it would be useless. He pointed at it, and before he could shoot a bullet flew and hit the side of the barrel, sending it flying out of his palm and onto the road.

“ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!?” He screeched, gawking at the car in front of them. Brook, in the passenger seat, was chortling his annoying ass laugh in their direction, waving his gun around before aiming it again. Zoro ducked down and grabbed onto Sanji’s steering wheel, in the heat of the moment turning it to the left to avoid a flurry of bullets coming their way.

“NANAMI-SWAN HOLD ON!” Sanji screamed, swatting her hand away and swerving back into their lane. They rode up into the median, narrowly avoiding a few trees as they attempted to settle back into their own lane. The two were gaining speed, but the closer they got it was going to give Humming Brook an advantage of shooting them at close range. It was utterly terrifying being this close and this fast on a road that he swore would’ve been busier by now.

If Zoro could simply get into the vehicle and crash it, they could hold him off until the rest of the FBI got there.

Then it hit him, “Sanji. Pull up beside Franky.” He pulled himself up onto the seat, heels digging into the leather as he tried to steady himself. It was one chance he got to jump onto the other car and crash it. It was one shot he had or else he knew it would end up terrible for him. The last thing he needed was to be paralyzed after such a night. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, so much so he was beginning to forget the number of times he was shot. Who cared? He could always just … go to the hospital after this. And take a long nap… Yeah.

“Pull up!? But Nanami-swan, what if they shoot you?” Sanji was already pulling up as he spoke, knowing the agent knew what was best. But it didn’t stop him from sounding a bit anxious. God these wind speeds were making the man regret this wig. The blonde strands were blowing in his face and sticking to his red-painted lips, becoming utterly distracting.

Zoro looked back at the deer and smiled faintly, “Stop the car after and call the police, will ya?” The two exchanged eye contact, intense eye contact. It was an intensity the two shared in a mutual understanding. In a way, this was goodbye. In this case, Sanji was put into witness protection and left the state. In case Zoro was put into a coma. In case he never made it after this. And in case this was the last time they ever spoke. It was sad in a way, to say goodbye like this. In any other circumstances, he would have asked for a phone number to catch up with the man later. But this was better, wasn’t it? His identity was hidden, and the antelope would be protected.

In a way, it was good that it ended like this. Even if what they shared was one strange evening together, full of compliments and odd feelings, it was good it ended this short. Sanji nodded with determination. He understood what he had to do, and he understood what it meant. Even if they never spoke again, they had an understanding that transcended the server treating him nicely because he had the appearance of a beautiful woman.

Zoro turned his attention to the car beside them, as the server bumped their wheels together. It created a loud screeching noise, causing sparks to fly between the metal and litter the road. He had one shot to do this. One shot and then one last aim. If he could crash them into a tree on the median or take control and crash the car into the upcoming bridge, something, it would all be worth it. He would take down the Soul King. He would be victorious.

The agent jumped, and at that moment, he didn’t care if this was his final moment. He was going to win.

He tumbled inside the open concept car and grabbed ahold of the seats to steady himself. It was easy to be thrown into the back, but now he had to make sure he didn’t get shot again. God, that would be annoying. Zoro looked up and saw the Soul King pointing his gun directly into his forehead, a narrowed smirk adorning his bone-face.

“Oh, you just don’t know when to quit, do you?” He giggled, cocking the gun, and pressing the end deeper into the other's skin. If this was supposed to scare him, it didn’t anymore. He had nothing to lose, only something to gain. Knowing if Sanji had stopped by now the police were on their way, and soon the drug lord would be surrounded. If he died in the process, it would only serve to further his sentence. He’d even get the death penalty too if he was lucky.

Zoro grabbed the barrel of the gun and forced it up, letting it shoot into the air as they fought for it. Guns didn’t work on the skeleton, but he wasn’t aiming to shoot him. If he got ahold of that gun, he’d shoot the driver, Franky. If he shot Franky, it was a higher chance he’d lose control of the vehicle and crash. That’s what the agent was betting on. Just crash. The two struggled for the gun, until it flew out of their hands and onto the pavement. It broke into pieces, shattering behind the vehicle as it zoomed toward the bridge. It was a cement bridge that would total the car at the speed in which it was going. There was a slim chance any of them would survive, but it wasn’t zero for the Soul King. If guns didn’t work a car crash would immobilize him just long enough for the police to get there and handle it.

The agent lunged at Brook, grabbing ahold of his maggot infested hair, and pulling himself into the seat. That alone caused the car to swerve as Franky tried to adjust to the new weight beside him. He punched and punched, taking many hits back to his face as they tussled in the seat. It hurt, the bones digging into his skin as the skeleton grabbed ahold of his face. He was trying to poke out his eye, blind him and pop it in one go.

It was a searing pain in his left eye, as the Soul King stabbed him with one boney finger. Zoro screamed, threw his head back and hit Franky with it. He couldn’t see, feeling a cold rush of blood gush down his eye as he started to see black. Stars flooded his vision, speckling red and green as he almost threw up. Well, this was going to be permanent huh? So much for having 20/20 vision he supposed.

He gagged, trying his best to still be conscious and fought through the pain as he turned his head. Blood poured, dripping down his chin all over the seat of the car. He felt pain prickling in different areas of his body, but he couldn’t tell if that was Brook punching him or those gun wounds catching up to him. This was the end for Zoro, he realized shakily. Both hands grabbed ahold of the steering wheel, fighting Franky as he yanked it to the right. He kept pulling it, turning it further and further away from the road, closer and closer to the pillar of the bridge. Just a few more seconds, just a few more seconds, he thought. But it was getting harder to see, or even breathe. All he could feel was that pain in his hip and the pain in his eye. It was a hollow sensation, ringing deep in his brain as he faded in and out of consciousness.

His hands never let go of the steering wheel even as it faded into blackness. Followed by a terrible screech.

Sanji took the news that Miss. Nanami Teramoto was actually an FBI agent named Zoro Roronoa pretty well.

He didn’t really mind the fact that it was a man cross dressing that whole night, he didn’t care. Of course, he had been blinded by his beauty and that long lustrous hair. But when it came down to it, that wasn’t what made him visit the man at the hospital. It was the eye contact they shared before he was convinced, he had died.

It was the mutual understanding this would be the last time they ever spoke under this pretense, or truly the last time they spoke at all. He was sad at that moment, wishing he had at least said something more than nodding his head and doing as he was told. He wished he had said something cool so that Zoro could remember him by.

But he had time to make up for that and introduce himself to the real person he had interacted with that night. The real person that had captivated him. The person whose eyes bore into his soul, with their darkness and their intrigue. The person who he found his heart beating faster for.

Zoro.

He arrived awkwardly at the room, seeing the other man lying on the bed. The deer wasn’t sure if he was in a coma, or just asleep. From the looks of it, he was leaning more toward the coma. The tiger’s face was badly bruised and bloodied, swollen and half wrapped [and stitched] in more areas than one. His one eye was covered in gauze and a patch, and his hair was greasy. It was green, something the others hadn’t expected. He looked like … like he had moss on his head.

What a funny thought.

Sanji inhaled and sat down beside him on a chair, putting his hands in his lap. What were you supposed to do if someone was in a coma? He had seen enough movies to know you could talk to them and in some instances, they’d respond to you when they woke up, remembering the details of every word you had said. Or the moss-head wouldn’t remember, which would be less embarrassing if he decided to pour his heart out.

“Hey Zoro,” he spoke stiffly, brushing his hair past his cheek, “It’s Sanji. I’m the server from that night? I think you’d remember me.” Sanji let out a breath and looked away, trying to collect some kind of dignity, if he had any left. “You know. I’ve been thinking about you a lot. I’m not mad you’re a guy,” he glanced at the tiger, “I think it’s cool- uhm. You’re pretty cool for stopping a drug dealer in heels. Um…”

What else could he say that wouldn’t be totally weird?

“When you wake up, I want to, you know, take you out.” I can’t believe I’m doing this- “Maybe get some coffee and get to know each other. Instead of as Nanami, but as yourself.” The man closed his eyes tightly, a bit of embarrassment filling his face. Asking out a guy in a coma? Really weird. Not like he’d even respond either.

The antelope opened his eyes and looked at his lap, letting out a breath. He should probably leave. If he wasn’t family, there wasn’t a point in staying too long. So, he got up and headed to the door.

“Curly,” that voice made him stop in his footsteps, “Why don’t you get me some coffee from the cafeteria instead?”

Oh.

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flimflamfranky · 7 years ago

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some predictions or something

I’ve seen some speculation about future arcs floating around and I wanted to add a few cents before the Whole Cake Island Arc ends because I have some Thoughts.

Disclaimer: this is basically stuff that I want to happen and that I think might happen but, of course, there’s no guarantee of any this. I’m just putting this out there so that if something does come true I can say “ha I was right!” and if it doesn’t, I can remember them for fanfics or stuff. Also this is my first meta post (if you can even call it that) so I don’t really know what I’m doing.

Prediction 1 - Vegapunk Arc

Vegapunk has been hinted at and referenced for a long time in One Piece, dating all the way back to Alabasta (maybe even earlier). Not only is he a marine scientist but he's also responsible for some crazy shit, like robots, cyborgs, and basically everything the op world knowns about devil fruits (including inanimate devil fruit users and artificial devil fruit users). Considering how important his presence is and how longs he's been around, it's very likely that he’s gonna pop into the story eventually. And it's probably gonna be some time soon, considering we have now meet two associates of his - his presence is already affecting the story more and more.

The question is how exactly he will show and for what purpose. Which leads me to Franky and Kuma. Now these three characters are already highly related. Franky and Kuma are both cyborgs using Vegapunk’s inventions. If Vegapunk shows up, Kuma will probably follow. Kuma is a big mystery on his own - we know he was part of the revolutionary army at some point but then ended up working for the government. And it's implied that this joining with the marines wasn't exactly willing on Kuma’s part nor was being turned into a cyborg.

I should also mention that I don't think Vega is working with the marines voluntarily either: His backstory with Judge seems to imply that Vega might have been coerced into working with the marines. And based on the morals Vega demonstrated in the Punk Hazard Arc, i don't think Vega would willingly take away someone's free will by turning them into a cyborg (especially since he did deliberately leave some free will with Kuma so that Kuma could oppose the government, at least a little).

Of course, his involvement with Judge and the human cloning stuff indicates that he’s not a completely morally good but we also don’t know his goals or motivations for doing so, so it’s hard to say definitely if he’s good or bad. But given what we’ve seen so far, I’m leaning more to the good side.

So if Vega and Kuma do show up, they might not be as enemies. I mean, the Straw Hats already owe a great debt to Kuma and I can’t imagine Luffy leaving that to go unpaid (just look at his alliance with Law). They would definitely start out as enemies but they might not stay that way. At the very least, I don't think they'll be entirely antagonistic.

And that leads me to Franky. If we get a Vegapunk arc, I think we'll get a parallel Franky arc. Franky still has some mysteries in his past, namely his parents. Considering some of the other Straw Hats’ pasts have been expanded, I think it's likely that we’re gonna get more on Franky. In addition, backstories and character arcs tend to parallel or mirror the current arc. Just looks at Whole Cake Island - they're dealing with enemies that deal exclusively with food and cooking, and Sanji, the cook, is the one getting the character arc. If we do get an arc about Vegapunk, I think it's logical to assume that we'll probably get one on Franky as well, especially since there is more to be explored. And Franky foils both Vega and Kuma very well. Vega and Franky are both extremely smart scientists that have both dealt with robotics/cybernetics (though obviously Vega has a more expanded repertoire). Not to mention, one is a (maybe) trapped marine while the other is a free pirate. And with Kuma, well, one is a cyborg with free-will and his original personality while the other is a cyborg with no or little free will left (which i really hope they explore cuz that would be an interesting contrast).

I'm not really sure how this arc would come about but it’s possible that it could be related to Kaido. After all, it's his army that uses the artificial devil fruits that Vega invented. So Vega might come up there, though there's not a whole lot of evidence to support this.

But mainly, I really miss my boy and I want an arc about him. Is that too much to ask?

Prediction 2 - Wano / Zoro Arc

I've already seen some speculation about Zoro getting an arc, and i just want to add my two cents to it, considering Wano is coming up next and a Zoro arc is very likely (Wano is the samurai country and Zoro has some heavy samurai themes). We might get some backstory for Zoro, considering we know next to nothing beyond Kuina. It would probably something to do with why he became a swordsman (we know why he wants to be the best but we don’t know why he wanted to a swordsman in the first place), but I'm not really gonna expand on that cuz there’s not much to expand on.

Instead, I’m gonna talk about swords.

I think that Zoro’s swords will have a heavy focus in Wano (cuz of course they would). Most obviously, Zoro currently has the sword of a very famous Wano samurai, Shusui. This has already been brought up by Kin’emon and i think this will be a major source of tension, considering that the sword is a national treasure of Wano and that Zoro will absolutely not give it up (he earned it a duel, fair and square. As far as he is concerned, the sword is his and I can’t imagine him giving up). I can imagine there being some important and symbolic duel for the sword, with Zoro going up against Wano’s strongest swordsman to keep the sword.

However, i don't think that Shusui is going to be the only important sword. After all, Law is also with the Wano group, and he and Zoro share one very key thing together - they both own cursed swords. There hasn’t really been much focus on these cursed blades expect for when Zoro first got his. Considering we now have two in the country obsessed with swords, I think it's highly likely that they will become important.

Of course, there will be much more to Wano than just this, considering Kaido’s forces are currently there, and the whole political drama with Momonosuke will be extremely important. Needless to say, there will probably be a lot going on, and things are going to go horribly wrong. The whole Wano arc is probably going to be a messy political drama, which will be very interesting.

I’ll be honest though, the thing I'm most looking forward to is seeing those samurai aesthetics (and seeing all my favs again).

Prediction 3 - The Reverie (and Vivi)

The Reverie has also been hinted at over the past several arcs, and I am 100% certain that we’re getting an arc about it. It's far too important for it not to be.

The Reverie, as far as we know, is a meeting of basically everyone of any political importance - royalty, the government, the whole shebang - to discuss matters of world-wide importance. We already know two characters who are attending who are related to the straw hats - Shirahoshi and her family and, perhaps more importantly, Vivi. And let's face it - the Straw Hats are going to crash this party. It's big, it's important, it's a match made in heaven. And i think a Vivi reunion is a real possibility that I desperately want to happen.

A side from that, I do have theories about how the Reverie will be important. I believe that it's gonna kick off some really big, wide-reaching change, like Whitebeard’s death at Marineford. In fact, it might just kick off the beginning of that huge war that Oda has been hinting at. I mean, this will be the most likely place for it, where a bunch of hugely political people are. The reverie will result in some sort of paradigm shift in the attitudes of the OP world.

Also the revolutionary army will probably be involved somehow. They have to have some plan for the reverie, it would be the place to get some attention and make a point.

I honestly think that the Straw Hats will get involved for Vivi’s sake. Luffy and the crew don't really care much for politics, and I doubt that they would willingly get involved (though a party might tempt them). In any case, I can only really see the Straw Hats getting involved for a nakama, and since Vivi is a past nakama who will definitely be there, it's very likely that they'll do it for her (also I really want a Vivi reunion dammit). I just hope that nothing bad will happen to Vivi, though I am prepared for the possibility (this is One Piece, where any opportunity to make you cry is taken).

Prediction 4 - Brook

This one is a bit more tenuous, since there's not much to indicate if we'll get another Brook arc. and if we do, I'm not sure what it will be tied to, in terms of events that are happening. but I do think that it’s a strong possibility, considering there’s a trend of Straw Hats getting expanded backstory, and how little we know about him. We know his time in the Rumbar Pirates and that he was a soldier for a ‘certain kingdom’ (and isn't that a statement that begs to be explained). If we do get more Brook backstory, I think it will have to do with this ‘certain kingdom’, possibly why he left and how he joined the Rumbar Pirates. It was probably his time in this certain kingdom where he developed his love of music and it is canonical where he got his sword skills, so it is very important to Brook’s character. i mean, his first backstory was more about how he became a skeleton and his goal (which is to reunite with Laboon), but we don't get much about his motivations outside of that. We don't even know his original goal, the reason he became a pirate in the first place. i mean, I could theorize as to what his original goal was, but we don't have any canon about it. So i really do think that we’ll get more brook backstory cuz there's still so much to explore.

Though again, I don't know what it would tie into. Depending on how important/powerful his kingdom was/is, it might come up during the Reverie, which would be really cool and interesting, but I don't think it that's likely, especially since there will probably be more important matters at hand.

Basically, I would like another Brook arc, but there hasn’t been much to indicate that we’ll get one.

Misc Predictions

These don’t really have enough to stand on their own so I’m just gonna make a little list of things I think that we could see / things I want to see.

The last ancient weapon, Uranus. Considering the other two have been very important and heavily involved in several arcs, the last one probably will too.

and related to that, potentially a Robin arc? She got a bunch of character development with one ancient weapon so she might get more with another one (though she didn’t get any with Poseidon so this one’s more unlikely but I can still dream)

I heard somewhere that Oda said there was going to be Elbaf arc, which would also probably mean an Usopp arc, which I would love.

#one piece #one piece meta #arc predictions #*shrugs into the void*#i dont know what im doing #probably none of this is going to happen but i can dream #mainly i really just want a franky arc #my stuff #meta

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