#so I knew I had to include bloody zoro

[bumbleboa]

Happy birthday to the biggest Zoro enthusiast I know, @calysto1395 !

[rubyin-wonderland]

Trapped

opla!Zoro x gn!reader

Summary: your job as a medic and Zoro's role as your patient is set in stone. That is, until you find yourself needing the medical attention

WC: 2.6k

Warnings/tags: internal injuries, a bit of blood, being stuck in a cave, mild claustrophobia, a little steamy but nothing NSFW

You woke up in pain. You were splayed across a rocky floor, right next to a wall of rock which had formerly been the roof of the cavern.

Your only source of light was the torch you had brought with you, which lay on the ground next to you.

You felt warm waves of pain flowing from your shoulder, knee, and side, as a result of being knocked aside by a sudden cave in.

You looked around, hoping someone was trapped with you. "Zoro?" Your voice was weak. He had been next to you when the rocks had begun to fall. He had pushed you out of the way. There was no chance that any of the others could've made it to you.

"Zoro!" You regained your voice, praying that you weren't stuck, alone and injured, waiting for help to miraculously find you.

You tried to stand, but with your injured arm, which you didn't dare to look at, and the pain in your knee, you just fell over. That only added to the pain you felt, which was nearly all encompassing.

You weren't used to being injured. Not this bad, at least. You were a medic, not a fighter. If someone got scraped up, you were there to soothe the ache and mend the skin. Whenever there was a fight, you stayed away from the greatest source of danger. You fought, and you fought well, but you stayed to the side so that you could use your talents without struggle afterwards.

"Zoro!"

You called one last time, hoping that maybe he hadn't heard you, or that he was scouting through the tunnel. Anything. You couldn't do it alone.

There was a great amount of shuffling, and from a dark corner of the cave, from the highest point where rock met roof, Zoro appeared, climbing down and kneeling next to you. His eyes scanned your body, catching on your arm.

Meanwhile, you scanned him, nothing that while he had a few scratches, including one dried cut on his cheek and the beginnings of a bruise under his eye, he had managed to escape the situation unharmed.

"Are you okay?" You asked out of instinct. It was second nature to make sure people were okay. Especially with him. None of your other friends were more prone to fights and injuries than your swordsman.

He was your primary patient, and not just because of your relationship. He would have more scrapes in a week than the others would have for months. Even given his seemingly endless attempts to worry you, you couldn't help but love him, even if seeing him banged up, bruised and bloody made your heart stop.

"I should be asking you that." He murmured, eyes drifting to your shoulder once more. "Is it bad?" You asked, barely having the heart to look at it yourself.

Zoro didn't answer, opting to stare at it instead, like he could fix it with a frown. You spared a glance and sighed. "It's dislocated."

Zoro looked relieved. "Good. I've seen you fix those before." "On other people. I don't have practice on myself."

You weren't used to taking care of yourself. Of course you patched up wounds, and stitched the odd cut together, but there were some things that were done easier on other people, and with both arms intact.

You shifted in your spot, groaning at the irritation. "You have to do it." Zoro frowned. "Me?" "Yeah, there's no one else down here." "What if I hurt you?" His voice stayed completely serious. "Zoro, my arm is dislocated."

He nodded reluctantly, adjusting his position at your side. "Fine. How do I do it?"

"You have to take my arm," he did as told, grip loosening when he heard you inhale in an attempt to get the pain away. "And you have to guide the ball of my humerus back into the socket. You're gonna have to pull."

He tried to hide his fear, but it was evident he was not having fun. You were the knowledgeable one. You knew how bodies worked and how to fix them. He knew how to fight and earn injuries. Your roles were reversed in a way neither of you cared for.

"It's gonna be okay. My muscles will do most of the work, you just have to guide them, okay?" He nodded and you closed your eyes, waiting for the pain.

You felt the tug before your arm reconnected, in a flash of pain that left you screaming, squirming in agony.

Zoro removed his hands from you immediately, unsure of what to do. He wasn't used to this.

You eventually relaxed, resting your uninjured arm over your forehead, which was now sweaty. "You did good." You said simply. "Now we gotta get the fuck out of here."

"I talked with the others." He gestured at the wall of crumbled rock. "There was a hole up there. They're coming around to get us." "Pick me up. We'll meet them halfway."

Zoro did as told, walking around to your other side, lifting you up by draping your uninjured arm over his neck.

The two of you walked for a bit, stopping briefly when your knee felt particularly bad, or if you just needed to take a break, head bowed as you tried to catch your breath.

Zoro did his best to help you, shouldering most of your weight to help with your knee, which was giving you a pronounced limp. He held the torch as it burned, illuminating the seemingly endless corridor.

Your side burned, but you said nothing of it, hoping that he wouldn't notice, but that was no use, as he stopped at any disturbance in your walking pattern, being as accommodating as he could.

He eventually offered to carry you, but the process of getting you into his arms was an astonishingly painful process that left you sobbing into his shirt for a minute before you insisted on continuing your journey.

Every movement was painful to you, but you concealed it as best you could until you needed to stop.

You felt guilty about burning up the torchlight, but Zoro refused to hear it. "I'm not letting you push yourself. Wait until you feel better."

You walked until your feet were sore, and even Zoro stopped on his own at one point, looking at you.

"Shouldn't your arm be in a sling?" He asked, peeking at your injured arm, hanging limply at your side.

You laughed at your own negligence. "Yeah it should. You know, of this whole 'best swordsman' thing doesn't work out, you'll make a wonderful medic."

He was unresponsive to your joke, and for a second, the two of you understood.

You understood why Zoro tried to play off his injuries, telling you "it's not that bad" or "I've had worse" to reassure you that he was going to be okay. He didn't want you to worry too bad, spending your time worried over nothing, especially if there were other things to be done. He wasn't trying to be difficult.

And Zoro realised why you cared so much. He could see why you wanted to make sure he was completely alright. Because he usually wasn't, and the both of you knew it, even with the attempts at distraction and the words playing it off.

The two of you stopped moving for a second, having understood each other in a way nobody could have predicted happening.

"Yeah. A sling would help."

Zoro helped you lean against the wall of the tunnel, gently setting you down and making sure you were as comfortable as possible.

He then stepped away from your body, removing his shirt. Even in the dom light of the torch, you could see him clearly.

"I don't know where the sling comes in, but I'm really enjoying the view." You smiled weakly, unable to stay serious in this dark cave for too long. He huffed, hiding a smile of his own.

He took a knee in front of you, one leg on either side of yours, making sure to not rest any weight on you, disturbing your leg.

The shirt he had was simple. It was a wrap shirt, which was convenient for the sling. He folded it into a triangle and tucking in the sleeves, before approaching you with the makeshift sling.

He tied the ends in a knot behind your head before gently taking your arm and sliding it into the pocket. You winced as it moved, but the second it was securely in place, you felt mildly better.

He sat slightly above you, waiting for you to insist on moving again, but for once, you let the torch burn.

The light was bright enough that you could see the scar dragging across his chest, a reminder of the time you had nearly lost him. You remembered the worry that had overtaken you that day, and every day since then, hoping he would take his injuries as seriously as you did.

And so, you didn't ask to be picked up just yet.

You lifted your free hand and held onto Zoro's shoulder, gently feeling the warm skin. He shivered, you hand unusually cold.

One of his arms was supported by the wall next to your head, the other sat on his knee, and as you caressed his shoulder, your hand moved up to his neck, pulling him down towards you, so you could capture his lips in a kiss.

The second your lips touched, your hand moved to his cheek, where it usually sat. Unfortunately, the other hand was out of service to cup the other cheek, but you didn't let it hurt you.

He didn't even hesitate to reciprocate, kissing back furiously. He fell onto his second knee to hold you closer, arms wrapping around your body, doing his best not to irritate anything, holding you tight.

For a while, your senses were filled with him. You nearly forgot that you were stuck in the cave as your lips pressed against his again. You parted for seconds at most, only stopping to inhale one shaky breath before he captured your lips again, and whatever small amount of air you had taken in was taken right back out again.

Your lips parted from his once, and you said his name, which drove him to near insanity, watching the sly smile overtake his mouth.

There he was. The Zoro you knew. Just seeing his smile was enough to make you believe that you weren't injured at all, and the two of you were back on the ship, in your shared room, alone except for each other and the rocking of the sea. When you were healed, you were going to demand a night like that with him.

You moved, your kisses now running along his jaw, moving to his neck, your nose just beneath his ear.

His three earrings were cold against your skin. They ticked a small bit, but you didn't move, pressing kiss after kiss on the skin of his neck.

While you did this, he resisted the urge to move his face to your throat and kiss you there as you buried yourself between his neck and shoulder. At one point, he found himself making a noise that sounded like your name. He could feel your smile against his skin and shivered as you pulled away.

The second you heard him speak, your lips curled upwards and you smiled as you dragged your lips lightly up to his face again. Impatiently, he caught your lips with his just as your mouth pressed an extra kiss to his cheek, right over the little cut.

His lips now on yours once more, he took control. He shifted his position over you, cautious as ever about your injuries, taking your face in his hands and kissing you gently. He slowed it down. Making it passionate.

You felt your heart pounding in your ears as he did this, your body yearning to touch his. And so, your free arm grabbed at him, starting at his exposed collarbones, around to the planes of his back, feeling the muscles tense under your cold touch.

As he kissed you, your hand traveled north, along the small bumps in his spine, past his strong shoulders, to brush over the base of his skull feeling his breath hitch as you reached the prickly green hairs at the base of his neck.

He finally pulled away, with a relaxed smile on his face. Not his cocky grin, but something more relaxed. Actually happy.

You smiled back, hand cradling his cheek. "I love you." You pressed one last kiss to his lips. "It's why I keep asking you if you're okay."

"I love you too." He responded, "it's why I don't want you worrying."

The two of you sit against the wall, smiling at each other. You can still feel him on your lips, like an echo, fading into the cavern.

You want this moment to last, but you needed to get back on track.

"We should probably start walking again." You sighed, glancing at the burning torch. Zoro sighed as well, taking your good arm, and carefully standing you up, taking the torch, and walking.

You walked in silence as the light of the torch began to dim. "What should we do when the light goes out?" You asked, eyes straining to see in the darkness. "We'll stay put. Wait for them to find us." "That could take a while."

You hadn't meant to sound so worried, but it did make Zoro look down at you. "I could try carrying you again."

You agreed, and soon you were in Zoro's arms, the torch carried in his mouth. You bit back any sounds of pain as he lifted you up and began to run. He ran for a while, but the torch was dimming fast. You were nearly submerged in darkness, and you told Zoro to stop.

"We should find somewhere to wait before it goes completely dark." You suggested, staring at the embers of the torch.

He mumbled a response and set you down against a wall, tossing the torch into the darkness.

Your free hand reached out to find him, pulling him down to sit next to you. "So now we wait." You said into the darkness. You heard Zoro hum in agreement.

"They'll find us any minute." You mumbled, resting your head on Zoro's shoulder, your free hand now being held between both of his. "We just have to wait."

The two of you sat in silence. The way you sat was similar to the way the two of you would nap on the ship. If you ignored your surroundings and forced yourself to feel Zoro enough, you could convince yourself that you were actually there, and not stuck in a dark, stuffy cave waiting for people to come save you.

Eventually, you felt yourself drifting off, imagining you were back on the ship, happy and uninjured.

Zoro felt your breaths slow, until your soft snores began. Despite the urge to nap with you, he stayed alert. He needed to be there for you when the others arrived.

When they did eventually arrive, Zoro picked you up, careful with your injuries and carried you out, all while you were still asleep.

At the first shine of natural light on your face, you awoke, a small groan drawn from your lips.

"We're out." You observed, taking your first breath of fresh air. "Yeah we are."

"As fun as this has been, I think you should stick to being safe and let the injuries fall to me." Zoro suggested, looking down at you, wreathed in the warm sunlight. You breathed a small laugh. "I won't argue with you."

[tasiawrites]

Usopp always bounces back

Sweat rolled down her back as she looked at the other members of the Straw-hat Pirates. they did, they had one! the fight wad tough but they did it. Her eyes scanned the deck looking for her lover. he should be okay. she didn't see him. "where's usopp?" she asked hurriedly to nami hoping she had seen him. all she got was a shrug in response "he's probably somewhere around. you know how he is. " she did know how he was but he never disappeared not like this.

she found him eventually up front with the god trio. he had broken his nose again, his hair was a mess too his hat was gone and his hair made a dark halo around his pale face. there was so much blood. everywhere on everything, his clothes his hands his face. "what happened zoro? sanji? luffy?" tears rolled down her cheeks before she could even realize.

"why are you crying?" Usopp gurggled out the words and gave her a bloody smile. "stop talking save your energy sopp" she held his hand she wasn't a doctor there was nothing she could do. "haha I think I'm dying but that's okay God Usopp always bounces back…'' Chopper walked around the corner with a solemn look on his face. he shook his head crying even he wasn't sure he would be able to save his friend.

usopps eyes were closed he could hear what was going on around him but his thoughts were louder so much louder. "not this time" it was him all the way back when he left the crew. "I'm supposed to help my friends achieve their dreams I'm a supposed to be a brave warrior of the sea" he tried to counter. "no usopp you are supposed to be dead don't you want to stay with me" it was his mothers face this time her smile and her arms reaching to him. 'no..' his voice was soft weak.

"Usopp you can get through this" her voice made it through. she was crying robin and nami were holding her as the boys took him to the doctor's office. "really" he wasn't asking the her that he knew no he was asking the her in his insecurities."just kidding" the her in his mind laughed a sneer on her face cold and unloving. "you're not a hero," everyone on the ship joined in laughing at his miserable state. "you are just the silly little boy i chose to abandon usopp" his father walked up to him laughing with a drink and another kid in his arms.

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is this what I'm supposed to be writing? no but fuck everybody including me apparently

[idleglowingpixels]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[daily-dose-of-imagines]

The harm you do

anon asked: Hello! I'm kind of new here and I saw that requests are open so-If you feel okay with it, Can you make a headcanon with Female! Y/n who did a selfh#rm for really long time and didn't stop until she been noticed doing that by Luffy, Zoro and Whitebeard? Like how would they react to it?

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Hi anon and thank you for requesting with us! I don't shy away from these types of asks because I know for some, it is very cathartic to read, including myself. I do hope you enjoy!

>Admin T

Warning/tags: Explicit mention of self-harm, in detail description of self-harm, blood, and sadness. If you do not or can not handle these types of scenarios, please do not read this.

° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °

Zoro

Zoro, I'd feel, would understand. Not the physically hurting oneself part, but the sadness, the self loathing part.

When he noticed the harsh, bloody line on your thighs, he knew that you had done it to yourself. Something so precise couldn't be an accident.

It would also make sense as to why you seemed less inclined to smile or be apart of the conversation.

It would explain why you seemed to stay in your room.

It would explain why whenever Zoro would train with his swords you would look at the blades with a sad longing. Zoro was never the type to want to put it his blades, or hide them from anybody, but the way you looked at them, made him want to throw them in the ocean, never to be seen again.

he wouldn't out right tell you he knew, nor would he outright say for you to stop.

But he would hold you stick close to you, make sure to cheer you up when you needed it most. Have you enjoy the things you used to enjoy.

He hoped it would make you feel better enough to stop, but only time will tell.

Luffy

He would be so confused. Why would someone willingly hurt themselves? Maybe for other people, he'd get, but this? No, he didn't understand.

But what he did understand that whenever he saw the thin red lines on your wrists, and how sometimes they would bleed when stretched too far, or when you were anxious you would go back to your room to create more, it made him feel useless and horrible.

He felt as if he had no right to keep you around, if he couldn't help you from whatever was going on, be it depression or anything else.

He didn't know what to do, when you kept going to your room to create more.

One day, before you would leave to put more lines in your skin, he grab you by the upper arm and pull you into a hug, telling he loves you, that you are wanted, that he doesn't want you to keep doing this.

It hurts him to see you so distraught and distressed. He will do anything to make you feel better, even if it was just a little bit.

He will stick by you, and will check up on you almost every ten minutes for however long it takes for you to truly feel the need to live once again.

Whitebeard

For as long as he lived, he has seen many depressing things.

But you hurting yourself was the worst thing he could possibly imagine. The bruises, the cuts, the blood, the utter darkness in your eyes.

It would unnerve him

I would give him shivers of anxiety, not wanting you to hurt yourself to the point to where you wouldn't return.

It makes him sad, because you are sad.

One thing he will do is call to you for some errands, keep your mind off of things, keep you busy.

And when there is downtime, he would tell you fun stories about his days on the sea, in an attempt to make you see that the future is worth living for, that life can be exciting and fun.

He would discreetly look, after some days, to see if there were any new marks, and to his surprise, there were only a few.

He would smile to himself, happy for the progress, for any progress.

And he hopes one day, you will be free from your own mind and really feel what it means to be alive.

[doctorgerth]

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

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

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

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

Zoro

wanting you to stay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- “Oi, what are those for?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

- “Oi! Wait!”

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

- “Come to say goodbye?” you smiled brightly

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

- “Huh?”

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

- “Zoro, my home is here! My family-”

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

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

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

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

- “(Name)! Stop! Please stay!”

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

- “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!”

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

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

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

- “You…love me?” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Law

when you get hurt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- “What’s wrong, captain?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- “Why-” 

- “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!”

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

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

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

- “So, you love me, huh?”

- “Please stop talking.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- “Captain?”

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

- “Do you really love me?”

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

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

- “Yes, I-“

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

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

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

Marco

wanting to protect you

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- “I said no!”

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

- “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- “Oh…”

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

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

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

[friendlyfrat-boy]

The Straw-Hat Among Us Ch.5

Green: Roronoa Zoro

”Nobody move,” Zoro barked.

He’d heard something. Something heavy and dull had hit the floor, and damn everything if he wasn’t keeping everyone calm and collected. If someone had been killed… Even if someone had in fact been murdered mere moments ago, in the midst of a fucking crowd, panicking would only muddle what little clues that had.

What they needed now was not to run around like headless chickens, it was to get the lights on. As the Electrician, this was his duty. “I’ll go fix the lights, nobody move a single step.”

Nobody answered, but the silence was enough for Zoro to know his words had gone through. The thump had come from right in front of him, a little to the right, so all he could do was hope that nothing too bad had happened. That could wait for later, though. At this moment, his focus was more on retracing the steps they took and returning to Electrical.

The door to the outside was closed again. At this damn time. Zoro fished out his ID-card and swiped it. The door gave a pssh and opened, allowing Zoro exit into the fenced outside, slightly brighter than the inside due to the flashing lightning above the reactors.

There was someone there, standing by the electrical box. Who could possibly be out and about? Could it be the killer? Or one of them?

“Ahhhhh, Zoroooooo! It’s good you came, I have no idea how these-,” Kizaru stopped himself, eyes falling on some undefined point beneath Zoro’s face. His hands stalled completely in shock.

“What the hell is it?” Zoro growled, maybe a little too irritated for his own good, especially since Kizaru hadn’t done anything.

“I, uh,” Kizaru stuttered, pointing a trembling index at Zoro’s chest.

In turn, Zoro glanced down.

And was promptly met with a vast expanse of still-wet blood. Parts of it had even dripped down the entirety of his suit, marring his boots and dripping into the snow below. There wasn’t any question of it any longer. Someone in there had been killed in a most flashy manner, and Zoro was absolutely covered in his blood.

He had to physically stop himself from desperately wiping at his suit. This was evidence. As much as he hated this, he couldn’t remove it without removing something that might allow them to catch the killer.

“...Kizaru, before we go about accusing, we need to get the lights back on,” Zoro bit out, fearlessly stepping closer to him. His boots left bloody prints in the snow behind him, but he tried to ignore it as best as he could. “Is that clear?”

“Huh? Uh, ummmm… Yeaaahhh?” Kizaru answered, stepping aside as Zoro got to work. Luckily, his hands were unsullied, meaning that he didn’t get any unidentified blood on the delicate wiring. “Um, Zorooooo?”

Zoro leaned his head slightly, keeping his eyes on his work. Someone had really had fun here. “Yeah?”

“What happened in theeeeere? Is everyone alriiiiight?” Kizaru asked, and going by the sound of it, he was genuinely worried.

Zoro shrugged. “We don’t know yet. The lights went out, I heard a thud, so I went out here and now…” And now he knew for a fact that someone wasn’t alright. Not that he could do anything about it at this moment. All he could do was connect a few severed wires, turn on the disconnected servers, and…

Light streamed into the outside from the inside, proving that the lights had gone on.

And in the next moment, a scream rang out, followed by gasps and movement. “-Fuck,” Zoro muttered. Can’t rest for a second. While he ran back to O2, he could tell Kizaru was following him, which was probably a pretty good thing. He didn’t trust him much, and not from how he spoke or anything, just… How could Zoro possibly know if Kizaru had been in Electrical to fix the wires or to tamper with them?

Zoro filed that little possible suspicion into another file. It could wait. Right now they had to-,

They arrived in O2.

Someone had died alright. Judging by the purple suit and the pale complexion… it must have been Caesar. Even when Zoro and Kizaru returned, no eyes turned to them. They were fixated on a certain man dressed in pink. His fists balled were his side, a dark tremble coursing through his body.

Zoro stared sharp-eyed as Doflamingo leaned down, hand reaching over to Caesar’s head to lift it ever-so-slightly.

It was a grisly sight, really. The head was only attached by a thin sliver of skin and flesh, stale blood dripping lazily from it. Eyes and mouth wide open.

Yet, Zoro stared not at Caesar, but at Doflamingo. His face had darkened significantly, the mere look in his shaded eyes bringing the rest of the group to silence.

“Who did this?” Doflamingo growled in a low, guttural voice, his bestial eye darting about the room, glaring deep, stabbing daggers into every single member of the crew, Zoro included. “Who killed him?”

Nobody spoke a word. Nobody dared so much as question Doflamingo. Not that anybody could answer him either.

But the silence could only go on for so long. “Calm the hell down,” Smoker said. “All you’re doing here is making things worse than they already are.”

“How can it possibly be worse?!” Doflamingo snapped, baring his teeth like a rabid animal. “I don’t trust you. You know why? You’re way too calm. People die, and you take over as leader like everything’s humpty-dory. Like the situation isn’t getting to you in the least, and that disgusts me. You act as-, as if nobody’s going to die again! As if we aren’t going to turn on each other and point fingers and continue this twisted little game!”

Smoker glanced away. A shadow flitted over his face. “I’m keeping it together.” He glanced down at Doflamingo where he sat in a pool of blood, pink stained with red, shaking and foaming at the mouth. “Someone has to.”

Doflamingo seethed, teeth grinding together noisily.

But things had already gone too far. “Nobody move,” Zoro repeated, finally getting some attention on himself. “We need to handle this calmly. And that begins with everyone taking it easy and looking around.” Zoro glanced down at the body. A wound like that wouldn’t leave anyone nearby unbloodied.

The eyes on him slowly drifted down. People noticed the blood on him, and Zoro could do nothing but sigh, shoulders dropping. Though, on closer inspection, he was hardly alone in being completely bloody. He was almost about to disregard Doflamingo as a suspect since he must have gotten this bloody while inspecting Caesar’s body, but that wasn’t entirely so. No, he had a few splotches on his back that couldn’t have come from going down on his knees.

The only other people apart from Zoro who were bloodied were Usopp and Buggy, albeit by far less than Zoro himself.

In other words, the only person there who wasn’t covered in blood was… Smoker.

Oh, and Kizaru, but he was too far away from the body to be a suspect to begin with. Then again, not suspecting him at all would be more foolish than suspecting himself.

“Z-, Zoro, you’re all covered in blood!” Usopp said, somehow not in an accusatory way, more so worryingly. “Wait, you too, Buggy!” And somewhere along the way, he must have glanced down at himself. “And-, and ME!!” Usopp almost collapsed right then and there, swaying and noodle-legged.

Zoro nodded. “Except for Kizaru and Smoker, we were all close enough to the murder to be sprayed. Logically speaking, one of us did it. Who, I cannot say.”

“I, uh, um, can I clean it off?...” Usopp gestured to the blood on his chest, “p-, please?...”

Zoro shook his head. “If you tamper with evidence, I’ll assume you’re the killer.”

Usopp gulped but didn’t say anything else.

“He was bit,” Doflamingo muttered, leaned over Caesar’s body. “Something bit into his neck, gouging out most of it.” He scoffed. “No surprise we’re all covered in blood. Almost more surprising one wouldn’t be.”

“Heeeeeey, I didn’t do anything!” Kizaru said in a meek defence.

Doflamingo clicked his tongue. “I wasn’t talking about you. Not that you aren’t suspicious in your own right. Don’t think I didn’t see that tunnel right next to your little hidey-hole. Bet in comes in handy for sneaking in and out.”

Kizaru crossed his arms, a little pout appearing on his face. “If you waaaant, you can see when I’m on the cams or nooooot. If I’m not there, the light isn’t blinkinnnnng.”

“Hah! As if you couldn’t have a ‘friend’ come over and take over for a moment! Your arguments are ridiculous, murderer.”

Tapping his foot, Kizaru turned away, actually a bit peeved over being suspected.

Usopp took a step closer to Doflamingo. “Hey-, hey, now, take it easy, there, we’ll figure this out! No need for any accusations or nothings!”

Doflamingo growled, clearly not above turning on the poor kid in turn. Oh, well. This had gone on far enough. Standing around here was almost disrespectful to the body, and even more so to the group as a whole. They had to figure this out, and not by shouting petty insults at each other.

Reaching down low, Zoro pressed the button on the side of Caesar’s broken helmet, and stood back up once the red light in his own helmet started flashing.

Doflamingo, who had been too focused on thinking up something suspicious about Usopp now jerked around, a ferocious glare sent at Zoro.

“Come on, let’s go.” With that said, Zoro stood up. People started filing out of the room without much complaint, but Doflamingo lingered around the body, shooting hesitating glances between the leaving crewmembers and the body. Zoro stopped, turned around, and established eye-contact with Doflamingo. “...Just take his body.”

He didn’t reply. Not verbally, at least. He stood up, clutched the body close to his chest, and carried it outside while Zoro followed.

A few minutes later, they were all collected in the Office, waiting for Doflamingo to return. Soon enough, even he returned, chest and arms smeared with blood. Zoro already knew that they wouldn’t see a smile on his face anytime soon. And with that, everyone sat in their seats, generally more spread out now than before.

And it wasn’t just their dwindling numbers either. No, even though Doflamingo should have been sitting right next to Buggy, he’d moved his chair a bit to take up the space Caesar left.

There were only six of them left. Barely half had died, and yet they felt so few. “...Let’s review the facts,” Zoro said, taking lead for no other reason than because it felt right. “To begin with, neither Kizaru nor Smoker are to be exempt from this ruling.” Kizaru seemed a bit surprised by this. “-The reason I say this is because of several little… reasons. Suspicions.”

“Let me guess, nothing concrete?” Buggy asked, eyeing the splotch of blood by his own collar and chest with no little apprehension.

Zoro shook his head. “Kizaru is suspicious on account of what he could do, what his role implies. There is no proof that he tampered with the lights, but if he did, he could write off his tampering as trying to fix it. Furthermore, with his role as Security Guard, he’d easily be able to know where everyone was, such as where Marco was or when Shanks left the Shuttle.” He paused for a moment, a thought striking him. “If I remember the floor plans correctly, the tunnel behind the CCTV room should lead to a hole beside the fence outside of Electrical.”

Usopp mumbled something, but once he received a number of looks, he repeated it louder. “Ah, erm, well, that isn’t quite proof, is it?”

“No, but it’s a damn good reason to suspect him.”

Beside Zoro, Smoker nodded as well.

“What about Smoker?” Buggy squinted at the taller man, “what’s up with him?” As it seems, the red-nosed clown was only asking it as a sort of formality. Everyone should be doubted, even those who really ought to be exempt. Smoker himself did not object to this suggestion, at least not verbally.

“The only thing suspicious about Smoker is how unsuspicious he is. There isn’t a spot of blood on him, despite being one of the three people closest to the body. Though, we should remember that this is no real reason to suspect him either. This isn’t the kind of murder that you can come out of without any blood on you.” At this point, Zoro noticed how Usopp was staring at his chest, not at his eyes. “-Everything alright, Usopp?”

“Huh? Oh, um! Uh… I just, well, if we’re going by the ‘someone-who’s-bloody-did-it’, aren’t you, I dunno, the most suspicious one here?...”

A fair point. Looking at the people present, it’s obvious who got the most blood on them. Doflamingo got a small bit on his back, Buggy and Usopp both got loads on their chest and collars, and Zoro is almost completely covered from the chest and down, although his legs mostly got covered by the blood running down his legs. “I would be, if I was the imposter.”

Doflamingo shot a dark glare at Zoro. “He was bit in the neck, severing the large arteries. The one closest to the body would’ve gotten sprayed the most. The closer, the more intensely. The speed of it would cause a large amount of blood to run down the length of their body. Going by the blood patterns,” his eyes sharpened, “you would be the most suspect of us all.”

Zoro raised his hands in surrender. “I would be, if I was the imposter, which I’m not.”

“Hah, sure!” Doflamingo said with a cackle. “Just as your partner told you, no?”

Crossing his arms, Zoro felt a glower twist his face. This vengeful bastard would be the death of him. Literally, too! “You’re suspicious too, you know.”

Doflamingo cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, really now? And why is that?”

Luckily, Zoro actually had an answer there. “We can’t assume you’re acting faithfully. You could have bided your time this whole time, strengthening your alibi through Caesar until you disposed of him. Then, once the lights came on, you could go down to his side and smear the blood already on you by using his body as a paintbrush. If you left some sort of proof on the body, you could have also disposed of it just no-,”

“HOW DARE YOU!?!” Doflamingo roared, flying to his feet. “Implying that-, that I’d slay my fellow man! For what? For the sake of the kill?! You insignificant tapeworm, speaking as though you evade suspicion!”

Zoro scowled, readying himself for an argument before Buggy stood up, stopping any such turn. “Calm down, you flashy idiots! This is the time for-, for logical debate, not name-calling!” He sat back down, leaning back with his arms crossed. “Sheesh, going at each other’s throats like rabid animals.” He soon received the darkest of glares from a certain Doctor. “Oh, um, sorry. It was in poor taste.”

“Bet your fat, red nose it was.”

“WHAT WAS THAT YOU-,”

“B-, Buggy! Relax!”

Surprisingly, at Usopp’s gentle coaxing, Buggy visibly relaxed, though it was clear his anger seethed just beneath the surface.

“And him, then?” Doflamingo asked, gesturing to Buggy. “Tell me about why he would be suspicious.”

Zoro shrugged. Honestly, he hadn’t given it much thought. “It could’ve been the same situation as with you, but… Usopp is alive, and apart from the blood, there’s nothing incriminating about him.” Much like himself, that is.

“What about Usooooooopp?” Kizaru asked, breaking his silence after a long while.

Zoro tilted his head. “-What about him?”

“What about him is suspiciouuuuuuus?”

Furrowing his brows, Zoro had to give it some actual thought. Usopp was alright, wasn’t he? He was covered in blood, but going by the way he glanced at the blood on his own and Zoro’s suit, he obviously wasn’t very happy with it, unlike what some inhuman alien would be. Sure, he could just be a great actor, but Zoro could tell that this wasn’t just all faked. He knew his friend well enough to know that.

N-, not that he didn’t not trust him or anything! “He… he’s covered in blood, but that’s the only reason to suspect him.”

Kizaru seemed somewhat unsatisfied with the answer, but still nodded.

Out of pretty much nowhere, Smoker raised his hand. “Final question before we get into the meat of the discussion… should we assume Teach was an imposter or not?”

An entirely necessary question. As they had been discussing earlier, whether or not Teach was an imposter was unconfirmed until they got the other one. If they killed the other imposter and the killings stopped they would know Teach was the one, but until then, they can’t know. “-We’ll assume he wasn’t the one, but still discuss the what-if’s of if he was an imposter, which he hopefully was.”

Smoker nodded, happy with the assessment.

“To begin with, Zoro said, turning to Kizaru. “We’ll assume for the sake of argument that Kizaru was an imposter and that he caused the blackout.” Zoro ignored the upset “hey!” he got from the mentioned member. “If that is the case, who did the actual murder? The one who did it had to have been liable for having part in all other events, meaning that Buggy, Usopp and Doflamingo are off the table since they were in duos before this.”

A beat passed before Zoro realized what he said.

“-Still, I didn't do it. If-, if we assume Kizaru wasn’t it, then it's possible that one of the two duos included both imposters, and since Caesar’s dead, that would mean that Buggy and Usopp are both imposters, in which case-,”

“But that isn’t possibleeeee? I was watching them the whooooole time,” Kizaru drawled out, his calm eyes containing an odd, sharp edge to them that Zoro hadn’t noticed before. He swallowed hard.

“Well, okay, it isn’t Buggy or Usopp. Then, if it was just one of them, like Buggy, for example, working together with one outside member, they could-,”

Doflamingo drew a sharp breath. “You really don’t want to accuse Usopp, do you?”

“Wh-, what?” Zoro turned to Doflamingo, face dark and flushed.

“Just a thing I’ve noticed. Buggy is one thing, but when it comes to Usopp… Oh, you’d rather accuse yourself.” Here his voice turned cool, icy cool, a frozen razorblade. “Why is that?”

Shit. There were so many eyes on him. Not many, not as many as those that had turned on Teach, but the emotion was the same. “If… if we assume that Kizaru and Smoker worked together-,”

“Or,” Smoker said, turning a half-lidded eye on Zoro, “how about we assume that you and Kizaru did it? Or you and Usopp. Even better, you alone. How would that pan out?”

Zoro stammered. “I-, it, stop that! I’ve done nothing wrong, damn it! I’m not the killer, stop looking at me like that!”

“Um, Zoro?...” a meek, faint voice Zoro knew all-too-well asked. He turned to Usopp. The younger man glanced between Zoro and his blood-stained chest. “Did-, what did you do to the real Zoro?...”

His eyes widened. He simply couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There was a lot he could believe, a lot of suspicions he could face, but from Usopp?... “You too?...”

“I damn well knew it,” Doflamingo spat. “I knew you’d be the one. I should’ve voted you off before you-, before this all happened.” He turned to Smoker, to Buggy, to Usopp, and to Kizaru. “Let’s vote. Don’t listen to that cold-blooded killer. He’ll muddy your mind with uncouth thoughts.”

Zoro couldn’t even reply. The voting mechanism came up.

He stared at it as if he was drowning, a hundred feet below the pulsating surface, looking at his single thread of life. His lifeline. If he voted right…

He pressed skip.

This had to work. It had to.

Otherwise, not only would they be voting off an innocent man, but they’d be doing it instead of a guilty one.

The projector came on, and the results were shown. Zoro’s heart sank on the spot, his shoulders slumped and he stared at the ground with such vengeance that one might have thought it hurt him personally.

There were three votes for Zoro, one from Doflamingo, one from Buggy, and one from Usopp.

Two decided to skip, namely Zoro and Kizaru.

Smoker, unlike last round, voted for Buggy. Considering that the only one who voted for Zoro last round was Smoker, this was a bit odd. It was obvious Buggy took this personally and wanted to lash out at him, but at the moment, nobody was light enough of heart to allow it.

Everyone stared at Zoro.

He stood up, and walked towards the exit with large, confident strides, passing by the card-swiper and ID-reader. Behind him, the rest of the crewmembers meekly followed. He glanced at the machine that read the vitals of everyone aboard. Four dead. Grey lines among green, jagged peaks and valleys. Soon he’d be one of the flats.

He grit his teeth, and continued his dance with death. The pit of lava stretched out before him like a red carpet. Four souls lingered in there, the smell of sulfur and nitrate emanating from it.

Zoro walked out onto the plank, and turned around. They were staring at him. Asking him to do what they couldn’t tell him to.

He reached out his arms at his sides. A trembling smirk crowned his face.

“I will die facing the heavens!”

He took the plunge, falling backwards into death.

Facing that clear, empty sky.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 990 - Initial Thoughts

Well, okay then!

The new chapter FINALLY gets translated so I get check it out, both sides are teasing, pleasing and treasoning Something big is bound to happen in 10 chapters time though, OP1K is closing in on us quick and fast. Spoilers for Chapter 990, Support the Official Release

YES POUND, the receipts are enough to bring him on the ship, the family is complete!

Sasaki’s loose though, mainly thanks to BM’s Delphinium, it’s interesting though, their friendship seemed legit so this cuts deep for Sasaki - he’s not bothered about the Wano stuff as a whole, he just wants payback for himself

Thankfully, the Su Long Minks are able to kick most of the Ass, only Jack is really holding them off thanks to his durability as the Scabbards and Kaido still stare each other down (bit of an odd tactic, especially since Su Long has a time limit until death)

The Teases though! Inu and Neko stop Kin’emon from attacking, in shadowed out Su Long forms, so they could have the honors of taking on Jack

King just echoes my concern about Queen screwing up so much, but interestingly Queen doesn’t think that Babanuki was swayed, Tama’s DF still allows a wildcard to come into play

King though is rallying the Flying Six, meaning this will be some of the bigger fights

I TOLD YOU HAWKINS WAS ALIVE! Though shame he’s not the guy with Law, his buddy though Drake is there with him and there is a note that Hawkins could easily bounce since he doesn’t want to be here.

Here’s the interesting part though, 1% - that’s the probability of ‘that man’ being alive by the morning. But who is that man? Drake could easily think it’s Luffy (or ‘Stealth Black’) but what if it’s not, what if it’s Kaido? or Jack, or Queen or King? Maybe the 1% is Luffy but that’s his chance of Dying? The odds are nondescript, but Hawkins should know how Luffy’s avoided death, even in Marineford his cards would not be certain of Luffy’s death after all

Also gotta talk about that BIG ASS HELMET behind Hawkins, first the sword now this helmet, was there some Ancient Giant Shogun or something?

Back with the enjoyable Ulti/Pay-Pay stuff though, I really hope we see them again. But seems that the Yamato bounty has been called off for them and all focus is on the raiders. 

Pay-Pay just give her the damn Piggyback ride!

Who’s Who is making his moves though, asking Drake to take down his primary target: Queen. Hawkins looks at his cards though, did his predictions change?

The Oniwabanshu do provide a proper challenge for the samurai prisoners and yakuza but old Mega Forehead leaves the battlefield, and it is noticed

Good on the raiders to at least try and pave the way for Luffy against a Number, but Zoro and Jimbei are quick clean up crews

Thriller Bark mentions again, I feel like Moria is still set to show because of this

Zoro being a bit bloodied seems a bit worrisome, given how the rest are unharmed, including Sanji who was drilled into a building by King

LUFFYWHYAREYOUINGEARFOURTHYOUSAIDTOCONSERVEENERGYNOTWEAROUTYOURHAKIFORANOTHERTENMINUTES!

I had to look at Myo-o (Fudo Myoo) for a reference and...I kinda see it? I guess Hyou isn’t used to this much Haki coating and steam emanating from the body

Alas the twist belongs with Drake, Who’s Who led him straight to Queen because they knew he was a traitor

I’m conflicted by Hawkins as well on this, it seems he’s testified information that points to Drake being the one that freed Law - and he would be sore about that given how he got cut up - but surely this’d also be an out for him? Maybe he’s playing a longer game, making sure he knows what Drake’s plans are before joining in on them?

I still don’t think it was Drake though, the guy was wearing a kimono and the wooden sandals wasn’t he? Sure it could be a disguise but why hide that from us after we knew he was in SWORD?

X Calibur, yes. Just, yes. I was hoping he’d have an attack like that. Though it is a shame that Luffy couldn’t take out 2 Numbers alone

Drake sees his opening though, another unlikely ally declaring themselves! This one though thanks in part to Coby, who’s pro-Luffy dialogue convinced Drake to make a gamble on it.

‘Pirate Alliances and Betrayal go and in hand’ was the theme that carried over into Wano as we (still) fear the stability of Law and Kid’s working with Luffy, as well as whether the Straw Hats will be forced to sacrifice the samurai to defeat Kaido. But right not the treachery is unravelling for Kaido’s forces with Drake. It’s interesting that Drake thought he could escape Wano but decided to stick to the mission, Hawkins as glad as I am that he’s alive does make me concerned, is it just bitterness or observation. I hope the latter partly because of my 5 Captains theory. The pace of the story is jam packed because this whole chapter is just moments after the last, the battle is still in its infancy as Inu and Neko have just turned Su Long - and they refuse to show us STILL! No Carrot this chapter but the focus has mainly been away from the crew as a group aside from Zoro and Luffy, looking more at the enemy side as we prepare truly for the tower climb, the Flying Six will have to fight the rest of the crew if they are to push their way up to Kaido, who’s basically just chilling, but Jack’s about to be wiped out so if Oda does show it that may be a little cathartic Painfully, another week break, it was only 2 weeks since our last one D: Oda I know you’re giving space for the Volume Release as we feast on the juicy SBS content and whatever Sanada says, but the 1000th Chapter is so in sight it hurts to delay!

[neverwatchedonepiece]

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

Neptune’s finely tuned Roid-dar in action.

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

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

[title]

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

Just a thought.

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

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

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

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

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

It’s clear who the best king here is.

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

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

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

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

Jimbei’s Glorious Reaction Face

LUFFY-KUN, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nami and Fishman History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I can’t wait to hear the rest. 

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

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

[gomugomunosword]

Not the Same

Luffy takes a bath with Zoro for the first time since the two year separation, and finally has the chance to inspect his first mate's body for any changes, some more unpleasant and unwelcome than others.

zoroxluffy - one shot

"Zoro, you have so many new scars."

"Huh?" Zoro didn't bother opening his eyes, sinking lower into the warm, soapy water with a huff instead. "Yeah, well so do you."

To be honest, Zoro wasn't surprised at the serious direction the conversation seemed to be going. He knew something was up the minute Luffy asked - well, pestered - him to take a bath with him, though the fact it was about scars surprised Zoro a little more than he liked. He had always considered himself well attuned with Luffy's sporadic and usually unpredictable nature, though this time he had been caught off guard.

It was unsettling. Had he really lost that tight connection with his captain in those two years spent without him? It was almost too painful to think about.

"Yeah, but..." The sound of uncertainty laced between each word that fell clumsily out of his usually very certain captain had Zoro's one eye lazily inching open. What met him next had him widening the eye even farther.

Luffy, one hand out stretched towards Zoro, fingers centimetres away from Zoro's face, right above his scarred eye, his other hand clutched tightly on the painful-looking starburst scar on his own chest, and his face... Oh god his face. It was a look of anguish so incredibly pain filled that it had even Zoro breathless, and he'd seen his fair share of sad Luffy expressions. He'd thought Luffy's tearful expression when Usopp left the crew had been bad enough, if not the worst he thought he'd see his captain's face display, yet here he was, again surprised with the turn of events.

If not for the hand that splayed over his chest, Zoro would have wondered, no, worried, what it was that Luffy was thinking of that brought him so much agony. But he knew.

Ace. Luffy's irreplaceable big brother, the one who had died in his arms in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of judging eyes. And Zoro hadn't been there, damnit, he hadn't been there for the one, most probably only, time his precious captain had needed him most. That hurt. That hurt a lot, especially when Luffy had been there for all the times Zoro had messed up, had been there to push him on with a grin and that infuriatingly contagious shishishi laugh of his that lit up even the darkest of days.

Zoro wasn't an idiot. He knew the others probably felt the same, actually he knew they felt the same, since all eyes had fallen onto their captain's clearly displayed new addition to his numerous scars, and all eyes had been the same: regret. Guilt. Pain.

Once the hype of reuniting had died down and the excitement had bubbled down to a nearly tolerable state of rippling buzz, Zoro had watched as one by one the crew mates had given in to their emotions and finally let the smiles fall from their faces as they regarded the still smiling captain.

His smile hadn't faltered, hadn't lessened from its dazzling brightness, yet everyone still automatically knew. He wasn't the same. While they had been separated, unable to get to his side, Luffy had been put through an unbearable nightmare alone, with no comfort able to be given to him by his nakama.

Of course he would be affected, of course he would not be alright, but Zoro had never imagined him to be this badly not alright.

"L-Luffy?" He stuttered, when the expression got too much and it hadn't morphed into Luffy's usual cheerfulness.

Something close to recognition suddenly filled Luffy's darkened eyes, and he instantly brought a quick smile to his face, the pain gone in a second. "Shishishi, sorry 'bout that, Zoro. Was thinking too hard." He dropped his hands back into the water and started popping the soap bubbles, the cheeky glint back once more in his eyes, though Zoro could feel different.

It was the same smile, same laugh, same face and same voice, and yet it wasn't the same. Just as Zoro had acquired a new scar that was accompanied by its own emotional baggage, Luffy had also acquired his own share of a scar, though it came with an emotional baggage that far surpassed the amount that Zoro wanted his captain to have, surpassed what he even considered tolerable.

It was then that he understood what Luffy had been trying to say about the scars.

Swallowing down any doubts about how wrong what he was about to do was, he lifted a hand out to press lightly against Luffy's exposed chest, his fingers gently, more gentle than he had ever touched anything before in his life, pressing against the red star of a scar.

At the light touch, Luffy made a noise of shock, or perhaps even mild pain, which immediately had Zoro still, his one eye flashing to his captain's face to assess the damage. His wide, dark eyes and slightly open mouth, however, held nothing of displeasure, which encouraged Zoro to continue the exploration, albeit with a bit more confidence.

The scarred skin was tight and still unbelievably hot, seemingly humming through the glossy flesh, which slightly shocked Zoro. He had read the newspapers regarding the incident, had obsessed over it, so he knew the basic story of how Luffy had gotten the burn, had even begged Mihawk for any details.

Akainu, the brutally tough admiral marine that could turn any part of his body into magma and could burn anything in his path, including grieving, young pirates. His magma did not discriminate, and most definitely did not hold back on pirates whose mind had, by all reports, completely broken, if they were in its path. And Luffy had been unfortunate enough to be included in that bloody path.

Closing his eye, his whole hand now pressed tightly against the hot scar, Zoro felt anger roar through his body. He should have been there, should have tried harder to get there. If he had been there, maybe Luffy wouldn't have gotten that scar, maybe he wouldn't have hurt so badly. Goddamnit, he was the worst first mate in the history of first mates. He wasn't even able to be there to shield his captain when he was supposed to.

How embarrassingly shameful.

What was the point of chasing his dream and being by his captain's side forever if he couldn't even guarantee that?

"Zoro~!" Luffy sighed out, his own hand lifting to softly tap against Zoro's wrist. "Now you're the one thinking too hard."

With his eye open, Zoro saw the smile that graced his captain's face, noticed the tightness that pulled at the edges of his mouth, tight with something Zoro infuriatingly couldn't identify. He really had been away from his captain for too long.

"Hmm." But he let go anyway, pulling away to lean against the side of the bath, one cool, grey eye steadily regarding the grinning boy in front of him.

Luffy's expression, after a second, crumbled into a thoughtful frown. "Neh, Zoro?"

A tightness instantly formed in Zoro's chest. Neh, Zoro's never ended well.

Luffy, however, was completely oblivious of the uncomfortable feeling growing in his first mate in front of him. "Neh, Zoro, if I was... If I was the one that had been captured by the marines and was going to be executed instead of... Ace... Would you have done what I did?" If Zoro thought he had been shocked by Luffy for the last time that night, he was completely wrong.

The scenario ran through his head, the thought so painful and so entirely excruciating, that he was unable to say a word, body frozen and heart aching. If that had happened, Zoro would have been seething, completely and utterly so distressed, he would have laid down his life to reach his captain. He would have slain any marine and pirate alike that tried to get in his way.

He would have truly been the demon his reputation had deemed him to be.

Luffy, however, took the frozen and silent swordsman to be confused. "I mean, would you have saved me, Zoro?"

"Of course," Zoro replied, this time with no hesitation and a whole lot of conviction. "I would have done everything you did and more to get to your side, captain."

Luffy's answering grin was spectacular and so finally Luffy that Zoro felt the worry he hadn't realised he'd been accumulating over his brooding captain release from his body as he sank lower into the cooling water.

This was what he had waited for, so impatiently. The smile that was the same. Because he understood what Luffy had said about his scars, he understood the look of agony and the lapse of confidence Luffy had shown him. He understood it all.

Lifting a finger, Zoro pressed it softly into Luffy's scar, lifting his other hand to touch a finger to his scarred eye. Luffy, once more, opened his eyes in shock, a wordless look of confusion filling his young yet seemingly old features.

"I understand," Zoro stated, simply. "It's the same, isn't it? It's the same, but it's not the same."

This time, when Luffy smiled, it was small yet somehow right. This time, when Luffy touched Zoro's wrist, it was to unclench his hand to press into his own, his rubber fingers massaging the fingers apart until he could slide them in-between them, a warmth radiating from his skin that instantly sent a jolt of heat to Zoro's chest. This time, Zoro didn't pull away, and this time... This time he smiled back.

[askkidandzoro-blog]

Thanks a lot. It’s always great to have such cool followers like you. ;)

Now for answering the ask... how about another short story? Maybe I can even get Zoro to throw in some illustrations while I’m at it~

(For bigger versions of the pictures look here: AO3)

“Date idea 63: Go on a double date.“

And while it had not been the worst idea, it certainly had not been the best either.

Maybe it was because Law hated any activity including crowds of people. Maybe it was because Zoro seemed bored by every suggestion not related to physical exercise. Maybe it was because letting Kid loose on most public places could be considered an act of sheer irresponsibility. Maybe it was because Sanji desperately insisted on “something romantic.” Or maybe it even was all those things together. No matter how - in the end the result stayed the same: Just the four of them in the middle of nowhere-woods plus one tent.

They quickly had decided on sharing tasks. Kid and Law would set up the camp while Zoro and Sanji were off collecting firewood and comestibles. It was as simple as that. The definition of “simple“ however is known to lie in the eye of the beholder....

It had been a hot August day so far, draped in a cloudless sky and filled with the chirping of thousands of crickets. In the forest it was cooler though and Sanji was all too eager to leave the aisle behind where their camp was located. One hand wrapped around the handle of a wicker basket, the other dragging Zoro along, who was loaded with every backpack they could muster. After the shower of summer rain the other day - so Sanji thought - the woods had to be stuffed with mushrooms. In fact he could already smell them; amongst all the other damp, soily scents.

“Can’t you let go of my hand?“

Zoro was not too amused about the cook clinging onto him. How was he supposed to collect firewood like that?

“Not happening“, Sanji smiled, following a narrow trail uphill, “I came here for mushroom hunting, not for tracking down lost mossheads.“

“I know the way!“

“As if!“

Laughing Sanji dragged Zoro farther along the path until they reached the top of a small mound. From here the view was breathtaking. Old, gnarly trees watched over the sink in front of them, enclosing it like a protecting cocoon. One side was covered in steep stone, the other in every shade of green possible. A certain magic seemed to fill the place and from underneath branches of fern tiny, yellow dots looked up warily at the two intruders.

“Chanterelles!“

Full of excitement Sanji started to climb down the slope. Those spicy mushrooms were what he had come here for. He even bravely had accepted the possibility of encountering ticks, mosquitoes, deer flies or other vermin in the process.

“Just look at them, marimo! They’re huge! And so many of them!“

He squatted and started to fill his basket to the brim. The smell was irresistible and - oh! - he knew exactly what meal to prepare this evening. After all he had brought along two crates of eggs, which waited for being scrambled. The mushrooms would be a delicious addition and there were more than enough of them to suit their needs. In fact they were so many that he had to use both hands to collect them.

Wait. Both hands?

He stared at them for one moment, then spun around to look back at where he had last seen Zoro.

“Damn it! Marimo!“

Of course he was gone. Lost. Like always. How naïve had Sanji been to expect anything else?

“Oh, you...! Just wait ‘til I’ve found you!“

Angrily he got up again, grabbed his basket and stomped back uphill.

“Oi! Marimo!“

From the top of the mound he already had found him. Which Sanji deemed to be pure luck. Usually Zoro managed to get swallowed up by earth.

“Why did you wander off like that?“, Sanji scolded him while approaching him through waist-high spruce trees, “All on your own!“

Zoro, who had been stuffing branches into his backpacks until now, looked up and furrowed his brows.

“I’m collecting firewood as told, idiot cook!“

“Yeah, but don’t get lost the very moment I’m not keeping an eye on you!“

“I’m not lost!“

“Yes, you a...aaaaaahhhh!“

Sanji had almost reached the spot where Zoro was standing, but then suddenly jumped back fidgeting.

“There! There! There...!“

He pointed at Zoro’s feet, his face the epitome of horror.

“Huh?“

It did take Zoro not too long to realize.

“Oh, that’s why my legs are itching....“

“You’re standing in an anthill, you shitty retard! Get out immediately!“

“Already doing that! Don’t yell at me!“

With a few angry steps Zoro escaped from the tiny insects, which were tirelessly defending their stronghold. It was not all that easy though, as the ants turned out to be clingier than the cook.

“They’re inside my trousers!“, Zoro grunted while wildly shaking his legs and hitting the fabric with his hands. It looked like some silly dance.

Which Sanji did not seem to enjoy watching in any way.

“Stop that, stupid mosshead! You’re getting them everywhere!“, he yelled and even took some more squeamish steps back, “Take off your pants instead!“

“What?“

“Take off your pants!“, Sanji repeated hysterically, “We need to burn them!“

“BURN THEM?“

“At least boil them!“

Zoro stared at Sanji irritated, scratched his leg and then said: “If you really think that’s necessary....“

“I’m pretty sure it is!“

“Okay, okay....“

He knew in which cases resistance was futile. Sanji being afraid of insects was one of those cases. So he took off his shoes and his trousers, then crammed them into one of the backpacks. He shouldered the backpacks again, then stood up straight and looked at Sanji with a grumpy face.

“Satisfied? Can we go back now?“

“I... I guess....“

Undoubtedly Zoro looked hilarious wandering through the woods half naked, and bright red underpants did not help at all to improve that picture.

“You’re looking silly, marimo“, Sanji said as he desperately tried to hold back a giggle.

“Very funny, cook! You know whose fault it is!“

“Ah, come on, let’s check on the others. I’m sure they’ve already put up the tent.“

Little did he know....

The sun burned down at the aisle without any mercy. It were days like these when one could encounter the rare sight of Law in t-shirt and shorts. Any other day he was simply feeling way too cold for what others would describe as proper summer outfit. Today he was feeling way too hot instead. Either way - temperature was just not his thing.

So unsurprisingly he was just sitting on a log right now and skipping through the instruction manual of the tent. It seemed big enough for four people to fit in and even came with its own built-in mosquito net and a canopy in front of the entrance. Sadly though the pictures looked nothing like what Kid was currently struggling with.

“You might be doing this wrong...“, Law said in a bored tone.

“Whatcha sayin’?“

An angry red head appeared from behind a mass of gray tent canvas and mixed up poles.

“It doesn’t even look anything like a tent“, Law added and held the manual in Kid’s line of sight, “And I always thought you were good at engineering.“

“Oh, just shut up and get your own work done!“

“Already finished.“

He pointed at a perfect circle of stones on the ground next to him. It was meant to be the fireplace later on.

“Applause, please....“

Kid rolled his eyes, then vanished behind the tent canvas again. Law only shrugged and went back to reading the manual.

For quite some time none of them said a word. Finally Law sighed and slowly got up from the log.

“Why are you doing this without looking at the manual in the first place?“, he asked and approached that disastrous gray mass.

This time Kid’s head popped up faster than an angry snake.

“You’re such a wiseass, Trafalgar! Why don’t you go on and pitch that bloody tent?“

He kicked some of the helplessly stuck together poles. What only made Law sigh once more, before he almost gently shoved Kid aside.

“We don’t want it broken, Kid. Unless you have the ultimate answer to how to deal with a mosquito-plagued Sanji.“

A grumpy growl was all that could be heard.

“Well, then. Let me see if I can fix this....“

That said Law disappeared somewhere between and under the different layers of canvas. He rumbled and fiddled about, pulled the poles out of their loops, stuck them back in and finally....

“Bwahahaha! Law! Your manual sucks big time!“

“Stop laughing! At least it looks like a tent.“

“It’s upside down!“

Kid was laughing tears, while Law tried to adjust his creation so that it would be a bit more usable. To no avail.

“Forget it, Law! Haha! That’s even worse than mine!“

“You wish. Yours looked like a sick giraffe“, slowly but steadily Law became annoyed, “If I only knew how....“

He grabbed the manual again, comparing it to the thing in front of him.

“A sick giraffe? At least I didn’t forget half of the pieces!“

Kid picked up two parts of an incomplete pole and waved them in front of Law’s face.

“Quit it, Eustass! I’m trying to think!“

“Yeah, obviously you’re not trying hard enough“, he put the two pieces together, then he leaned over the tent to reach some of the loops, “I guess it’s meant to go in here....“

“No, it’s not! Give it to me!“

Still with the manual in one hand Law leaned over the tent from the other side and tried to take the pole away from Kid with the other.

“I won’t! You’re so fucking bad at this...!“

“You’re one to talk!“

Both they were clinging onto the pole in an attempt to wrestle it out of the other’s hand. The tent meanwhile was greatly in their way and not too stable at the same time. In fact it was already tipping, when Law lost his balance and fell face first into the canvas. On top of him landed a cursing Kid and the whole motion finally caused the indefinable structure to overturn.

In uncontrollable wobbles they rolled downhill, still yelling and throwing insults at each other. Somewhere between them gray canvas and an assortment of springing poles.

It was a little stream which ended their journey.

“Fuck that shit! I’m SO done with this tent! I’m wet all over! Law, you’re an asshole!“

“Yeah, you too. Could you please get up? You’re heavy.“

Law was lying on his stomach and seemed to have decided that resignation was the best way to deal with this situation. Underneath him the water was flowing happily, on his back rested a tent and his idiot boyfriend, and to make matters worse the manual in his hand was completely soaked.

Out of all moments this was the one when Zoro and Sanji decided to return from their mushroom hunt.

The sight was not quite what they had expected. For both pairs.

“Are the two of you too stupid to pitch a tent?“, Zoro complained, not knowing if he should be angry or puzzled. Meanwhile Sanji seemed to be frozen stiff in shock.

Kid, who just had crawled to his feet again, stared at them for a second, then he responded: “And you are stupid enough to lose your pants and shoes in the woods? With what were you thinking? Your dick?“

“We didn’t have sex!“

It took them some time to get everything explained.

In the end though Sanji regained his ability to move and shooed wet Law and Kid together with the tent canvas to a sunny spot, so they could dry. After them he sent Zoro, whom he had ordered a treatment from Law against his ant-bites. And while the doctor-in-training applied ointment to the irritated skin, Sanji was happening to the camp. He pitched the tent, lighted the fireplace and prepared four huge servings of scrambled egg with chanterelles. All on his own! So much for teamwork.

Night had settled and an ocean of stars sparkled down from above. The view was exactly what Sanji had wished for when he had decided the hillside to be the best camping spot. Now he sat on one of the logs next to the fireplace and admired the dark velvet sky. On his lap rested Zoro’s head, which he caressed from time to time, both hands deeply sunk into the mossy hair. Zoro himself enjoyed it with closed eyes, but was not yet asleep for a change. Too pleased was he by the cozy atmosphere created by tamely leaping flames, the scent of burned wood and the cool of the night. Calm guitar sounds coming from Law sitting at the other side of the fire rounded everything perfectly off. Although he was just strumming some improvisations, giving Kid next to him rarely seen smiles every now and then.

“You know what?“, Kid said after a while and put a grilled marshmallow into his mouth, “This whole double-date idea certainly wasn’t the best.“

“Yeah, might be“, Zoro answered with a content smile, “But it also wasn’t the worst.“

They all laughed. Yes, this was something they could happily agree on.