I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils.
~William Wordsworth
It was a solemn night on the Going Merry, and while every detail of the night was exactly like that of the nights before, something was different.
"HCCKK!!!" a wretched noise rang out.
Roronoa Zoro was a beast to be reckoned with, and that he had been taken by a mere viral infection of the respiratory system was a great blow to his pride.
Lying in dry-sinus agony, sitting on the center point of awake, asleep, and hysteria, the man of steel found himself yearning for watery solace in the form of a glass.
The Men's Quarter's door opened gently, letting in a peel of light, and closed just as silently.
Delilah had strangeness about her; she could be seen singing to flowers, fawning over the most un-cute of "cutie pies", awing at simple machinery, and giving nicknames to people who often didn't appreciate them.
All in all, she was a perplexing lady, and therefore fit into the crew like one piece of a continual puzzle.
It was late in the night, and normally she would be tucked away, under many blankets, asleep, but Delilah had offered to allow Chopper to sleep, promising that she would give Zoro his medicine and tend to him as needed in his current condition.
Looking over him in his hammock bed, Delilah couldn't help but smile.
How this menacing demon of a swordsman could look so cute in his sleep was surely a mystery.
Delilah inserted a water syringe in between Zoro's lips and let his dry throat be soothed by too-sweet medicine.
Setting a cool towel on Zoro's forehead, the twitches and aches of his fingers told Delilah that he wasn't the least bit comfortable.
Losing to the temptation to take this chance, Delilah reached out and touched the forearm of her crew mate.
As far as touching went, Delilah had danced with Ussop, Luffy, and Chopper, had given manicures to Nami and Robin, and had brushed hands with Sanji as he served dinner(not to mention many random hugs with all her nakama).
All the while, Zoro sat in the background, obviously not trusting her in the least. Delilah had no idea why he had such contempt for her, but any time she was near, he sought any means of escape.
It was like they were magnets with the same attraction, and for every step forward she took, he'd take one back.
His skin: it was rough and coarse, reminded her of his voice. It made her twitch at how warm it felt.
A returned twitch came from his arm as a result of her cold fingers. Though scarcely she knew what she was doing, she stroked him again and giggled at the response, as though he was a bunny twitching his whiskers.
"Zoro-bunny. . ." she whispered to her naivete self. "Zoro-bunny!~"
This time, two groggy, bloodshot eyes opened in slits and stared at the giggling girl who had yet to notice him.
He was beyond off guard, and though his eyes saw, they did not at all allow his frontal lobe to process her visage and so it sank back into his subconscious mind.
A subconscious mind that let all magnetic bindings in his thoughts be dropped.
"Hehe. . . Marimo-bunny."
When Delilah reached down to feel again, she was met with a calloused hand that gridlocked on her fingers. She tried to subtly pull away but couldn't.
A feeling of impending doom came upon her as she looked to his eyes, which were still watching her blankly.
"Z. . . Zoro--" Delilah was alerted by a sharp tug on her hand, with little backing behind the strength of it.
Then, another pull, and damn it all-- she was lying there, atop a heap of muscle and sickness.
Before she could protest, question, or even think, a bearing of iron arms closed around her and a huge flow of blood gathered in her head, making her cheeks flare and her ears burn.
After a moment of mortified silence with Delilah's eyes spread open like saucers, she began to struggle and twist under the iron grip, but with no luck.
She whispered her inquiries, like "what are you doing" and "why won't you let go", but they fell on deaf ears, as she soon realized that he was sleeping.
Finally, after what must have been ten minutes of struggling, she wormed her arm out and pinched his neck, and in response, he turned over on his side, only making an awkward situation worse.
Twitching in disbelief, the blood in her cheeks nearly had her face bursting as hot breath fell over her neck. Every hair on her body stood pin straight in alert.
Like a child content with a teddy bear, Zoro stopped his tremors and twitching, happy with himself. This only made more room for Delilah's twitching.
In panic(for reasons unbeknownst to her), Delilah began wildly thrashing and wiggling to escape, but this only taught her just how strong Zoro was, without even realizing it.
After forty minutes of futility, the moon was setting and a tired Delilah fell asleep with her qualms.
The morning would bring nothing good.
. . . . .
After a night of immune system struggles, Zoro became wary to the presence above him.
Looking up to see Luffy and Ussop, both staring blatantly, he glared and sat up.
"What is it?"
The two looked at each other, and Ussop pointed.
"Why--"
Zoro looked down and saw something that he had yet to notice, right beside him. Or rather, someone.
In a whirl of disbelief, Zoro jumped out of the hammock, but ended up knocking it over, letting Delilah fall to the ground, as well.
Zoro made it his purpose to avoid the troublesome girl at all costs(for reasons that he didn't care to delve into), and there she sat, sleeping beside him for who knows how long.
Hitting the floor, Delilah awoke with a yelp, and when met with the eyes of her crewmates(the one of the swordsman especially), she let out a blood curdling scream.
Scooting away and shaking his fist, Zoro shouted, "Why are you screaming?!"
Alerted by the sound of a woman in peril, Sanji flung himself into the room and legs readied for battle.
Delilah frantically backed into Sanji's legs and hid herself behind him, and all hell broke lose.
"What did you do to Delilah, shitty marimo-head?!"
"What did I do!? Stupid-love-cook, I'll--"
First a kick, then I punch, and then blur of many more.
Delilah scooted herself fearfully towards Luffy, Ussop, and the recently awakened Chopper.
"Do they do this a lot?" she asked with worry in her voice.
Ussop nodded matter-of-factly.
"Hungry. . ." Luffy muttered to himself and grasped his stomach, then sprawled up the ladder, ignoring his crewmen's spat.
Chopper and Ussop followed in suit, and Sanji yelled after them, "HEY! IT'S NOT READY YET!"
Knowing full well what to do, Delilah chased up after Sanji, but her luck wasn't really with her today, because a familiar gridlock closed around her wrist and pulled her back down.
Two black wolf eyes bore into her, and she, the little lamb with no escape, sheepishly tried to brake the lock he had on her eyes and on her wrist, but, again, with no luck.
"Well? What the hell is going on!?" He shouted the last line, impatient.
"I--I--I--"
He shook her wrist and a vain pumped out on his forehead. With Zoro's strength, he had Delilah flailing around like a rag doll.
"Answer me!"
"I-Yai-I-Yai--"
"Answer me, damnit!!"
Delilah grabbed his green hair and held herself still.
"I'm trying to freaking answer you!"
"Grr--Then do it!"
"Grrrr--- Well, I was giving you medicine last night and you grabbed me and I fell asleep on you!"
"Yeah, like I'm gonna believe something like that!"
"It's the truth!"
"I would remember!"
"No, 'cause you were sick and asleep!"
"Lying little bitch!"
"Stupid ugly jerk!"
"GAH-- annoying loud shrew!"
"GRR-- meanie marimo-bunny!"
" . . . WHAT?"
"You heard me!"
"Bun. . ny?"
"YEAH! Marimo-bunny!"
. . .
"Aren't you going to insult me back?"
"Ch. . . he." Then he chuckled.
"What--- What?!"
Zoro's laughter, broad and loud, right in her face, really pissed her off. He let go of her wrist, but she didn't indignantly refused to leave.
"Nothing." He wiped a fake tear out of his eye and went up the ladder for breakfast.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
"Loser. . ."
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"