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Sunlight glinted off the calm ocean and the ship rolled gently from side to side with the currents. A gentle breeze teased the slack sails but aside from that, the ocean was still as glass. It had been clear and sunny for days now and they had hogged the vast blue horizon to themselves.
Captain Zoro was bored out of his mind. His pirate crew were scattered around the ship much where he had left them. From his reclined position he could see Nobo the smithy working and a couple of the new lads carting barrels on the deck. He liked to keep the crew on their toes with new and interesting forms of *cough torture* training, but even that was beginning to wear thin. Just when he was starting to contemplate going for a swim to catch some sea kings, he heard the frantic shouts of the lookout from high above,
"Ship ahoy! Hard a-starboard!"
The swordsman leapt to his feet, every muscle twitching with anticipation. Finally, a fight!
"What flag are they flying?" Zoro prayed for pirates. Even though he knew that they needed money, he wanted to fight someone strong. He could train all day every day and it would never be the same as testing his mettle in real combat. He needed the threat of death to push him further. That was why he was a pirate: to feel the burn of muscles pushed to the limit, to taste blood and sweat, to go to the end of his endurance, to the absolute bounds of possibility… and push.
To be the best.
"They're not pirates Captain," Sparky shouted back down, reading his mind, "looks like the flag of the Kingdom of Erhardt."
Scamper, their monkey-like cabin boy, swung up to the crow's nest. He shaded his eyes with one hand and then grinned down, nodding frantically. He couldn't talk (Zoro had found him half dead in an alley with his tongue cut out), but he made up for that by sheer enthusiasm.
Zoro yanked a pair of binoculars from the nearest neck. He ignored the choking noise, put them to his eyes and scanned the horizon. What they hell were they on about? His first mate tapped him on the shoulder and sighed, then turned the Captain round to face the other ship. She was such a smart ass.
It definitely looked like an Erhardt Kingdom vessel and an expensive one, too. Banners of red and gold blew in the breeze and the sails were a rich dark red. It was a big ship; it could even be their flagship. The Kingdom was known as a soft target all through East Blue, they were more interested in food and wine than warfare. It was definitely worth a stop over.
"Everyone top side!" he bellowed, "Lets go get some sake!"
A rousing cry issued from below and his crew began to pour onto the deck.
"Scamper! Get down from there!" The lad dropped at his feet and grinned up at the swordsman. Zoro wondered if he would ever grow any taller, he had to be four foot nothing at best. "Go find Poker and wake him up."
Big blue eyes opened wide. Scamper obviously did not want to wake Poker. Zoro didn't blame him; he had to be the only man in the world who handled a hangover with less grace than Zoro did. The kid shook his head emphatically. "Yes," Zoro said, ruffling the boy's hair, "go get him. I'll give you rock candy…" Before Zoro could even finish his sentence, Scamper was off. He bounced merrily through the chaos and disappeared below deck.
"Alright scumbags, get your kit on and grab a grappling line each. I'm not having them just sail away this time." He glared at Nobo who at least had the grace to look guilty. The Erhardt ship was looming much closer now, the sheer size was incredible. It was almost an island in its own right.
Just as he was strapping his last katana securely to his belt, Zoro was hit in the stomach by a flying fur ball. A bellow rolled around the ship and a loud thumping noise roared towards him. Zoro looked down in surprise to see Scamper staring up at him.
"WHERE'S THAT SHIT OF A CABIN BOY IF I GET MY HANDS ON HIM I'M GOING TO… Oh, Zoro. Seen Scamper?"
Poker loomed over the swordsman, his cascade of black hair falling over his face. He was a huge man, in every sense of the word. Zoro appreciated his strength and loyalty, but he could seriously use a diet.
"Yes, he's behind me." Zoro replied, laughing at the gasp of betrayal before the boy was gone again like a shot into the rigging.
"Come on," Zoro laid a hand on Poker's shoulder to stop him from lifting off the ground in rage, "I told him to wake you. Look." He gestured out at the huge ship that was now only metres away. They were struggling to escape, but Zoro's ship was small and much more manoeuvrable. They had no-where to go. He could hear the sound of swords being unsheathed and knives being sharpened. Fat lot of good it would do them.
Poker beamed down at him, he loved a fight as much as Zoro.
"Well why didn't you say so?!" he shouted up at the terrified boy. Scamper just rolled his eyes.
Poker turned around to get a brief on the battle plan; he always liked to be prepared for every possible outcome. Unfortunately, his Captain was already gone. With a weary sigh he hauled his massive body up the grappling rope that Zoro had left behind. If he didn't get a wriggle on, all the fun would be over before he'd even got over his headache.
Zoro vaulted over the railing and landed on the deck, swords drawn. It was a bit disappointing. There were at least a hundred soldiers, but the swordsman's rough crew were cutting them down with ease. Most of them were armed with only a flimsy spear, sword and shield. Not really worth the effort. He blew a dozen men off the ship with a tornado, then marched off to find the Captain of the ship.
He was in a cupboard.
Technically, it was a dressing room (as the Captain made sure to point out) but it looked like a cupboard to Zoro. The rather small man in a dark red naval uniform explained that he wasn't a fighter and he left that sort of thing to people more that way inclined. Besides which, he had a very important job and no-one else could poss…
Zoro got bored. Quickly. "Name?!" he barked.
"Heathfield!" the man whimpered.
"So… Heathfield…" the swordsman purred, one naked katana biting ever so gently at the terrified man's throat, "what are you doing out here?"
"Um… we were just patrolling..?" The Captain asked. Zoro lifted the blade just a little.
"Ah! No… we were trading! We have lots of gold onboard!" He squeaked.
"Well…" Zoro relaxed his grip and indicated for the man to step out of the cupboard, "show me."
The man scuttled to his feet and brushed off his ridiculously big three-corner hat, placing it firmly on his head, then led the way.
Captain Heathfield prattled away, all nerves. "We have a huge treasure. You'll be very happy. It's actually quite amaz.." Zoro encouraged him to shush with a jab or two and very soon he was gloating over quite a decent haul. This would keep them in red meat and sake for months! And the rest…
"Well," Zoro grinned, "I'll be taking this then." He hefted a stupidly large load on his back.
"There's much more, we even have gold dishes. Take as much as you like!" The small man pulled an expression half smile and half grimace.
"I will." What a weirdo.
Zoro went back to the deck to grab his crew. The first person he saw was his first mate, Rosa Blackwell. As fierce as she was dedicated; she had a high brow, long dark hair and eyes as sharp and gold as a hawk. She was the perfect companion on the high seas, especially if you like to fight.
Currently she was illustrating that passion by whooping the crap out of anyone who came within ten feet of her.
"Rosa!" He called.
She turned and stopped twirling her blades, grinning when she spotted the overflowing sacks that practically hid Zoro from view. She strolled over to him, taking the time to throw a couple of her prized knives at soldiers who looked like they might be thinking about attacking her.
Zoro hefted his load so he could see her. "Tell everyone we're leaving."
"Here! You missed some!" A young soldier with a severely dented helmet hefted a last sack of coins onto the teetering mass then scrambled away.
Zoro balanced his load and walked slowly towards the railing, making sure not to step on anyone. He heard a collective sigh of relief and a gentle breeze rolled past him. He turned back, one eyebrow raised.
"What was that?!" The swordsman growled.
"Um… nothing." Captain Heathfield was smiling so hard it looked like his face hurt; sweat was pouring from under his hat. Various soldiers lounged about in unconvincing 'innocent' poses; tying shoes, picking teeth… one was even whistling.
Zoro dropped his load and marched back. The Captain hid underneath his stupid hat and squirmed. The swordsman put his favourite katana right back where it started. The throat.
"Ok, well I guess I'll just kill you and then search your ship," the swordsman grinned wickedly. He didn't mean it, but this guy didn't know that. He twisted the blade and a tiny bead of crimson rolled from the edge.
"I must protect the throne!" The little man started to cry. Damn him! Zoro knocked him out and put his swords away. Protect the throne?
"Look at this," Rosa called out.
A bolt of cloth hit Zoro in the face, just as he turned.
"Hey!" Damn woman!
"Just look at it, sheesh!" She huffed.
He unfolded the banner. It was red with a huge gold coat of arms.
"This is the symbol for the royal family," she grinned.
"Protect the throne?" Zoro smiled back.
"There's a daughter in the family, she'd be about the right age to get married by now." Rosa mused.
"Everyone!" Zoro shouted. The chaos on the deck died down and his crew emerged from all the corners of the ship. "We have a Princess! Search the place, but don't hurt her."
He stepped carefully over the bodies and picked up his loot again, hefting it over the side onto the waiting ship.
"Watch it!" Blue screamed. Their cook had obviously decided to take a walk. More like a squelch, really. The way the jelly-fish merman moved was hard to describe.
"Put that below deck!" Zoro called out.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Zoro leaned over the rails and took in the woodwork. It was a really nice ship. He cast an eye over the rest of the slowly waking soldiers. They didn't look like they wanted to fight anymore. He stretched and wished that there had been someone decent to challenge… Where they hell was everyone?
Zoro wandered back over the bodies towards the main cabin. As he approached, the door was kicked open and Nobo went flying past him, his ass briefly touching the deck before he skipped merrily into the drink. He could hear the thumping of bone on bone coming from inside. He hoped that the boys hadn't injured her too badly, they were good lads but they could get a bit excited. It would be difficult to get a decent ransom for damaged goods…
"Get your fucking hands off me!" A voice screamed from the doorway. Sounded like they had their hands full, he smirked.
"Can't you idiots even handle a delicate Princess?!" He peered into the room, the sight that greeted him wiped the smile right off his face.
"Princess? You wish shit-head." A thin curl of smoke snaked out of the doorway, announcing the presence of a tall slender blonde in a suit so sharp it was practically a weapon. The man cast a derisive eye over Zoro's crew and smirked. They were scattered all over the floor in a groaning heap of mangled limbs. Even Poker. What the hell was this guy?
He had soft blonde hair, clear blue eyes and a goatee that looked more like fluff than facial hair. However, despite long slender legs and eyelashes like palm fronds… definitely not a Princess. The way he stood showed that he was a fighter, that and the pile of bodies.
"So who the hell are you?" Zoro asked, rolling Scamper over with his toe. Dumb kid had just fainted, figures.
The man glared through a curtain of blonde and dropped his cigarette, grinding it out on Sparky's head with his toe. "This is my ship, asshole. I should be asking the questions."
"Your ship? You important?" Zoro quizzed, though it was pretty obvious. The guy's dark blue and gold stripe suit looked like it was worth more than all Zoro's swords put together. Such a waste.
"Important enough," the blonde scoffed. "I'm the Prince."
That explained the outfit. Also the determined tilt of the chin. It made no difference to him though; a royal was a royal. "Good. You're coming with me."
The leggy blonde grinned at him and blew a thin, steady stream of smoke out between pursed lips.
"Bring it on, Marimo. I'll use you to polish my shoes."
Marimo? Oh, now it was on. He lunged at the blonde and then sidestepped reaching out to sweep him up in open arms and hoist him high. He was coming whether he liked it or not. The Prince kicked him in the left kidney – hard – and proceeded to scream the place down,
"How dare you, you worthless pirate piece of shit!"
"Shut your mouth," Zoro grumbled in his ear as he tried to get the struggling bundle out the low door. All the wriggling was not helping, especially as Zoro was quite partial to blondes.
"Like hell I will!!!" The Prince proceeded to dig every part of his angular body into anything he could find. The swordsman got outside but after being kneed in the balls one too many times, Zoro finally put the asshole down.
"Look, you're coming with us either way, so if you don't want me to ruin your pretty face then just shut up and let me do my job." It would be a bit of a waste, really. Maybe if he tied him up and then carried him…
"Not quite what we were expecting then…" The soft voice of his first mate came from behind him. Should have known that she would be enjoying the show.
"He'll do," Zoro replied. "He's still of royal blood."
"Don't tell me I just saw you getting your balls kicked by an Erhardt Prince… If only the boys were awake to see it." She grinned laconically and jumped down from her perch on the rigging.
"Oh, mademoiselle! I'm so sorry that I didn't see you there! You are a sexy lady, aren't you? How lucky that I could.." The Prince began to prattle.
"Shut up!" Zoro snapped. She was enough of a handful as it was without some fop egging her on! He was already preening and fussing over her. There goes his sense of dignity and patriotism. What a poser!
He was very attractive though, in a polished, up himself kind of way. His body was toned and lithe. He was certainly a hell of a fighter and very fiery too. He was lucky that Zoro wasn't the type of pirate to take advantage of this kind of situation. He smirked. Pity really…
"Well, I'm going." Rosa grinned and leapt back across to the pirate ship.
"Wait, mademoiselle! I'm coming!" The Prince called, leaping in hot pursuit behind her. In a flash he was over the railing and on Zoro's ship, racing off towards the galley like his pants were on fire.
Well, that was surprisingly easy.
Now all he had to do was wake up his damn crew.
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