Enter: Buggy Pirates!
"Off with your head, dance till you're dead! Heads will roll!" – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Yahoo! We have a singer, Zoro! Hey, Korinn, will you sing now?" Luffy asked me with star filled eyes.
"No. I told you I will only ever sing on extremely special occasions. This is not one. Period." I told him firmly.
"Oh, well then sing, under captains orders!" He said, getting around my wall of defense I had put up. "Now you have to!" He laughed, while I sighed and decided it wouldn't hurt me physically.
"Fine. What song?" I asked my new captain.
"Hm… how about a pirate song!" he told me going for the obvious.
A fierce one eyed man Named Baron LaBonne
A meaner pirate Had never been known
And he sailed On the Dark Lady
A ship strong and sound With a perilous crew
And high on the mast The skull and bones flew
Fleet and swift Was the Dark Lady
And ever night The Baron would drink a toast
He'd say, Here's to My lovely lady host
My one true love; Hear, hear the crew replied
And the Dark Lady sighed
"There, you happy?" I asked my beaming captain. He swiftly nodded his head and Zoro looked slightly impressed.
"You're REALLY GOOD!" Luffy shouted. I just smiled, and wondered how I could've been in a stranger situation.
"Yeah, you're better than I thought you'd be," Zoro told me, I just stared at him. What's his deal? And Luffy too, do they not know the song? I thought to myself. Is it a song only my people would know?
"Why, thank you, dears. So, where're we headed?" I asked and they both shrugged their shoulders.
"Don't know yet, but do you have any meat with you?" Luffy asked his stomach growling loudly.
"No, you could fish for it. Also, you don't know where you are going? That is how sailors and pirates alike die on the seas!" my eyes were definitely the size of dinner plates as Luffy and Zoro once again shrugged and Luffy began to climb into my boat and look through my satchel for meat. "I told you! I ain't got any meant! Now get out of my bag! You could hurt yourself!" I yelled taking back my bag before he dumped out its contents. I strapped it onto my thigh where it goes, and I now knew should stay.
"Aw man…" Luffy pouted, but as soon as he looked to the sky, he smiled his goofy smile. His arms stretched out to latch onto a bird and as he did this he yelled "MEAT!" at the top of his lungs. However this bird didn't want to become lunch and so it caught Luffy in its beak and continued to fly on. "Zoro, Korinn… I'm stuck…" Luffy told us simple as anything.
"WHAT?!" Zoro and I screamed at the same time.
"He's kidding, right?" I asked Zoro as he tied our boats together and then began to row with crazy speed. Trying to catch up to the bird.
"No, he is always getting himself into these kinds of situations… sometimes I think he is more trouble than its worth…"
We rowed for about five minutes before I heard cries for help. "HELP! PLEASE LET US ON!" Three men who looked like bozo's yelled to us, Zoro didn't slow down at all.
"You'll have to climb in as I pass, I am not stopping," Zoro told them as we kept speeding on. They somehow managed to climb into the boats and then told us to get out.
"These are our boats now!" Bozo #1 said to us.
"We take them in the name of Buggy the Clown!" Bozo #2 followed.
"So if you value your lives –" Bozo #3 started but was cut off by Zoro beating the crap out of them and somehow getting them to row for us.
"We didn't know these were Pirate Hunter Zoro's boats…" Bozo #2 said trying to smile through the swelling.
"And lady friend… how much you want for her?" Bozo #3 asked him undressing me with his eyes. He is so dead… I threw a shuriken at him, sadly for it to be caught by the oar.
"She's not for sale. So watch it." Zoro said protectively earning a sideways glance from me. Oh? I turned my head away as I felt heat rise to my cheecks. Damn these teenage hormones to the seventh hell!
"Okay, so where could that little trouble causing rascal be…?" I asked Zoro as we walked on shore.
"I'm not sure, but he is most likely where the most commotion is, knowing him…" Zoro told me. He was a lot taller than I had thought. Oh my, he is very, very tall, dark and handsome! I thought. Again! Damn these teenage hormones to the ninth circle of hell!
"Oh… well that's good to know…" I said worried, Zoro looked down at me and smiled. I blushed and this time he noticed. Shit, shit, shit, shit!
"Embarrassed?" he asked the smile changing to a smirk. I just looked down at the dirt, which had suddenly become very interesting.
"So…" I started, and then heard a loud yell. "That's gotta be Luffy!" I told Zoro pointing to the large building in the center of town.
"Yeah… let's get going." He began to walk, in the opposite direction! Does he not have ANY internal compass? You can see the fucking building!
"Uh… Zoro, it's not that way…" I told him before he got too far. "It's this way." I pointed into the other direction. He extended his hand in front of him and let me lead. I had a feeling he might get lost again, so I grabbed his shirt and pulled him along with me.
"Luffy!" Zoro and I yelled in tandum again like when the bird flew off with him. We looked at each other and I could've sworn I saw a light pink tinge to his tanned cheeks. But he looked away before I could fully see, and to our captain.
"Sorry Zoro and Korinn… They're gonna blast me." He stated pointing to a giant cannon that had been loaded and the fuse lit. I acted fast throwing a kunai at the rope fuse cutting off the burning part, as Zoro rushed over to flip it away from us and to them.
"Good god, Luffy. You are one giant trouble magnet, you know?" Zoro shouted as he continued to push up on the cannon's barrel.
"Hey I'm going to try to buy us some time, and distract them from Zoro… HEY! You BIG NOSED FREAK!" I yelled seeing Buggy the Clown who was notorious about being self conscious about his clown like nose.
"Did you just call me BIG NOSE?" he asked me angrily.
"Well do you see any other red nosed ugly ass clown here?" I taunted waving my hand around the surface of the roof. "C'mon, lets see if you can win against a girl, clown freak!" I grabbed some more of my hidden kunai's, shuriken's and stilletto's from various places within my clothing. I took my usual fighting stance and waited for his attack.
"You will regret FLASHILY saying that you stupid girl!" He shouted using his stupid catchphrase. His hands detatched from his body and he yelled "CHOP-CHOP ATTACK!" his hands charged at me, knives between the fingers.
"You fell right into my hands, red nose!" I flung my stiletto knives. "STILETTO RAIN!"
"CHOP-CHOP QUICK ESCAPE!" his body separated just in time to avoid the attack and send them into the wood panels behind him.
Damn these Devil Fruits! Can't people just be who they are born as? I thought angrily. "Well I guess it'll have to be hand to hand clowny!" I told him as I charged and he shouted for his body to reassemble. "You think that you're better cause you have those Devil Fruit abilities? HA! Yours are PATHETIC!" I yelled with a fist aiming for his head.
"CHOP-CHOP QUICK ESCA—"
"That's right not so tuff now, are ya?" my other hand had punched his gut and caused him to sputter.
"Ha ha ha! You will not win with one hit! Silly girl!" He continued to shout. Damn, will this guy shut his fucking pie hole? I rolled my eyes and heard a loud thud and saw that the cannon had flipped and Zoro was running over to me just as I saw Buggy's hand come flying to me. It hit Zoro in the stomach with the knives, and that was when I turned and kicked Buggy in the jems.
"Get over to Luffy, I'll light the fuse!" I told Zoro helping him up and then began to head over to the cannon only to see a slender orange haired girl lighting the fuse. Why is she lighting it to her own crew? I wondered and just then I ran over to Zoro and Luffy. The slender girl followed me to them.
"Hey, who the fuck are you?" I asked the girl as she approached us.
"Korinn, don't worry! She's Nami, and our new navigator! She was taking a map of the Grand Line from Buggy!" Luffy told me happily.
"Ok… Let's get outta here! Zoro! C'mon!" I yelled.
"Coming," Zoro finished up with the pirates attacking him and ran over to us lifting Luffy's cage and toting it down the steps quickly.
"Hey, Luffy… aren't you a rubber man?" I asked my captain.
"Yeah, what about it?" He said while stretching his cheek and tuning his head to the side.
"Can't you, I don't know squeeze out of the cage?"
"That's a good idea!" Luffy exclaimed only to stay put in the cage.
"Well aren't you going to try? It may be helpful…" I commented.
"Nope."
I facepalmed and Zoro just shook his head and the orangette sighed. We heard the cannon fire and we were blasted down to the street from the shockwave of the boom. "Ouch…" I stated rubbing my butt as I stood up.
"Yep, that hurt." Zoro just continued to lay in place in the street, not getting up only his chest moving in staggered breaths.
"AAGGHHH! ZORO YOU'RE BLEEDING!" the slim girl Nami screeched.
"Yeah, Buggy stabbed me… I need some sleep." He closed his eyes and started to snore in the middle of the street.
"You are PIRATES!" a old man who reminded me of a poodle came up to us shouted angrily.
"Yeah, what of it? You have a problem?" I asked angrily. I was tired from my encounter with Buggy and his crew of idiot circus freak posers.
"Are you with the Buggy Pirates?" He asked raising a kitchen knife that was attached to a long broom handle. I also saw that he had pots, pans and copper plates as armor.
"Nope. We just blew them off the roof though," Nami answered. "I am no pirate. Here, Luffy. This is the key to the cage. I got it before we got off the roof." She tossed him a small key for it only to be caught and swallowed by a little dog.
"HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!" Luffy screamed at the dog, who just bit his face. "OW! GET HIM OFF! HE IS HURTING ME!"
"Shu-Shu… come here…" The old man told the dog. "I am the mayor of this town… and this dog is the only thing that stayed here after the Buggy Pirates came. He is waiting for his master, the owner of the pet shop right here." He pointed behind him. "The man died a while ago, but Shu-Shu stays and guards it. I am not sure if he believed me when I told him that his master died. He just stays put like his owner told him the day he left for the hospital." The mayor began to get tears in his eyes as he told the story. "I now have decided to take back our town and get rid of the Pirates."
"Ok. Old man, why do you think you can?" Luffy asked him.
"LUFFY! Don't be rude. Even if the man is being slightly senile. He has made up his mind just like you." I smacked Luffy through the bars. "So, Mister Mayor, do you happen to know of a place where I can take the other idiot? He is the one sleeping at your feet right now…" I asked pointing to Zoro.
"Yes, you can take him right over there it is a clinic." He pointed to the building two doors down. I nodded and grabbed Zoro by his shirt collar and began to drag him over there.
"Luffy I am going to get Zoro there and I will figure out how to get you out of there when I am back, kay?" I told my captain who smiled and nodded.
I got Zoro over to the building and into a bed when I began to feel the ground shake that is when I bolted for my captain. "What is that?" I called to the Mayor, Nami, and Luffy.
"I-I-I-I don't kn-kn-know…" Nami stuttered shocked.
"Nami, why don't you take the mayor and yourself to a safe spot, I will stay with Luffy!" I shouted and just as I finished the sentence Nami was running with the mayor. "Ok, Luffy I am going to get over here behind the pillar, so I can make sure to get you out safe, sit tight." I walked over behind the wooden pillar just behind Luffy.
"I am Mohij! The Great Beast Tamer of the Buggy Pirates!" a man in what looked like a cropped shirt with fur and a white fur hat with bear ears proclaimed. "And this is my great lion pet, Richie!" the purple lion roared as the man said his name. "Now, who are you?" he leaned over a top his lion to look at Luffy.
Don't answer, don't answer… please, don't answer! I thought in vain. "I'm Luffy."
"I being The Great Beast Tamer will amaze you with my ability to tame any animal. Watch as I tame this dog… Now, dog, give paw!" He said with too much flourish as the dog did not 'give paw' but rather bit Mohji's hand. "OW! You stupid dog!" he yelled flinging the dog away.
"So, whats with your weird hat and shirt?" Luffy asked.
"This is no hat or shirt! It is my hair!" Mohji said offended.
"That makes it weirder…"
"You are going to DIE for that! But I may spare you if you tell me where the orange haired girl went! She stole something of ours, and we need it back."
"No, I don't want to. And you are giving up on the dog? I am not impressed." Luffy told him flatly.
"You are such a lowly criminal! You cant talk to me like that!" He bellowed. "Now you will die! Richie! Crush him under your paws!" the giant lion went up on its hind legs and came down hard sending debris everywhere and breaking Luffy's cage.
I hope he is ok… I know he is rubber, but still… I worried. "Oh, cool. I am free," Luffy said dusting himself off and I mentally slapped myself for worrying about him. "Now, I am going to kick your ass!" Luffy told the beast tamer. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" he yelled punching Mohji and Richie into the building Zoro was in that then crumbled.
"Oh… that was a rude awakening…" Zoro said moving the rubble off of him and dusting himself as he stood.
"ZORO!" I yelled. "DAMN IT! Are you ok?"
"Yeah, though it would've been nice to have more sleep. But nothing I can do about that now that I am up. Why, are you worried?" He asked with a smirk and raised eyebrow.
"Of course! That could've killed any normal human being, just so you know… and now I see I worried for nothing." I was blushing and mumbling like an idiot.
Just as Luffy and the guy with a lion ran off another circus guy came over riding a unicycle. "Roronoa Zoro!" he shouted. "I am the one Buggy sent to defeat you! Prepare yourself for the shame!"
"Really, now?" Zoro asked bored, looking at the man judging his skill from his appearance.
"Yes! No one has beat me in my lifetime. I am the acrobat Cabaji, Buggy's swordsman acrobat Cabaji!" He pedaled on his unicycle to Zoro yelling and drawing his swords.
"If I am to become the worlds greatest, I can not lose to anyone who calls himself a swordsman. I must never lose."
"HA! I am the best on this crew! Good luck with beating me!" Cabaji yelled haughtily.
"Well, I guess you haven't met Zoro here, huh?" I pointed out to him. Cabaji scowled at me and then turned all of his attention to Zoro. It was when he pedaled onto the side of the building he saw Zoro's injury. He popped down and swung at Zoro to kick at his side.
"That is low you circus bastard! You are going to try to use cheap tricks to win? Its because you know you cant!" I started to reach for my shurikens when Zoro came over and grabbed my hand to stop me.
"Don't you dare to interfere with this fight. If you do, I will kill you…" he said with steel in his voice. I let go of my shurikens and dropped my arm. "Wait, give me one of your knives." I gave him a kunai, but when he took it I did not expect him to stab his wound.
"Zoro! Are you a complete idiot?" I asked him as he pulled it back out and handed the bloodied knife to me.
"It's fine," he whispered in my ear with his hot breath tickling my neck. "Hey, Cabaji! Is this a good enough handicap for you?" Zoro drawing all of his swords and placing the white and gold one in between his teeth.
"You will lose no matter what!" Cabaji laughed madly.
"Go on, Zoro, kick his ass!" I told Zoro earning a smirk, one that I beginning to enjoy.
"Not a hard competition." Zoro charged at Cabaji setting his swords into position. "ONI! GIRI!" and as the cuts flew at Cabaji he fell. "Not a common thief or a petty cheat like you. I am a Pirate." Zoro then once again collapsed and began to snore.
"You are one big idiot…" I sighed walking over to him so I could fix up his injuries and make sure he was ok.
I set up some of the supplies I had gotten from the clinic earlier sterilizing needles in a small fire I started. Ok, first check that the bleeding isn't really bad… I moved to try and raise his shirt so I could take care of it. Zoro unconsciously stopped my fingers rolling down the haramiki. "Damn it Zoro, I need to move this to raise your shirt to fix your wounds." I told him irritated.
"No need to clean… only need sake and sleep…" he told me between snores.
"No. What you need is to have the wound cleaned and sealed." I told him firmly. "If you don't let my hand go, I will make this cleaning process painful. So wake up on three, or brace yourself." I waited to see if there would be a response, nothing. "Alright, one… two…" still just snores, "three!" I took out my kunai and ran it down under his shirt ripping it and giving me access to his wound and full view of his body. Oh my… why is he so…
"KORINN! Why'd you cut open my shirt!" Zoro yelled tearing me from my drooling thoughts. He sat upright and his shirt flew open even more causing my female side of my head to foam at the mouth and die happy only to come back as a little devil. Oh my god… he looks delish! My new devil on my shoulder whispered. I felt my face turn into a scarlet heat.
"I… uh… I had to… and… I warned you!" I stumbled out distracted by his tanned skin and perfect proportions. And your sultry look, mmmhmmm can I get me a Zoro please! My devil giggled. "You need to have your wound cleaned and sealed. I wouldn't want you to die now!"
"Hah, dying is for the weak… I only need sleep and sake. Plus no distubances." He noticed my red face just then and smiled only to make it flame up again. "Like what you see? I bet you are using the 'clean and seal' excuse!" he laughed.
"Not what I meant Zoro! You may get an infection, you may die from that! Now, lay down and shut up so I can do my thing!" I yelled at him pointing to the ground.
Aw, that's not nice! You don't think I look good?" Zoro fake pouted with smiling eyes as he leaned back. "I didn't think you were like that, your face however says otherwise as well as your eyes." I looked down so he couldn't see them anymore. "Your face is turning red again."
"You are attractive, yes. There is no way I could ever deny that… but I have to stitch you up. So, hush and be still." I got the needle out of the fire and lowered my head.
"Like I said before no need. And if you want me to be quiet and still you will have to work even harder than tha— OW!" he told me as I poked the needle into his skin at the moment. It was his turn to blush at his temporary weakness and my turn to smirk triumphantly.
"Aw, did I just hurt the great Zoro? Does Zoro have a booboo now?" I said in my best babying voice for payback. His blush deepened and that was perfect for me. "Oh my, are you blushing? Can it be? Zoro has a sensitive side?" I giggled.
"Wha-, I am not blushing! Its just… um… hot out… yeah that's it… its hot! And I am trying to control the pain from stabbing myself… not blushing." He said unconvincingly.
"Wow, Zoro, if I ever need to win an argument, remind me to never ask you!" I say laughing. "Only because you were so convincing!" I added sarcastically.
While I was working I had to practically pin him down because he kept trying to talk or move and sometimes both. I looked at what I had done so far and sighed. "Whats wrong Korinn? Did I make it too hard for you?" He asked with a sarcastic voice. I just turned my head to look at him with anger. Then I go an idea.
"Okay, Zoro, if you don't want to stay still then I have no choice. I am doing it with no thread. But rather a hot knife." I smiled evilly. "It will hurt more, but it will be over faster." I put a clean flat blade into the flames to heat it up.
"What do you mean hot knife?" Zoro asked worried.
"Well first lay down. Then bite on this stick, and I will try to hold you down." I pulled the blade out handing Zoro a stick I found around us. I sat across his chest and then gave him more instructions. "Stay very still, and if it hurts bite on the stick. Oh and keep breathing steady." I placed the flat side against the recleaned cut and pressed. He did keep his breathing fairly steady and stayed mostly still. The stick however broke under the strength of his jaws. The blade finished the seal and I climbed off his body and put some burn ointment onto the burn. "Not too bad, huh?" I asked a panting Zoro.
"You might want to watch out…" he said eyes dark and reaching for his sword,
"Zoro, if you kill me, I will come back from the underworld and personally torm—" I started as Zoro drew his sword and pulled me into him protectively.
"What do you want, woman?" Zoro asked a whimpering orange haired girl.
"Your captain told me to find you two to help me get my treasure to the boats," the girl said to us, I recognized her as the girl Luffy said would be their navigator.
"Ok, Zoro… she is not a threat, and Luffy said she is our navigator. Besides I can protect myself…" I told him as I wiggled out of his arms unsuccessfully. He smelled of hot steel coming out of the fires. It was a smell I was comfortable with as my family was part of the blacksmith trade. It was the scent of home and happier times, comforting and from him intoxicating.
"Oh, I'm sorry…" he said realizing what I was doing. "I forgot you have a tone of these things on you…" he said grabbing a handful of my weapons from the ground. "Well, let's head to the boats and help her out with the treasure. But first, we need to find Luffy."
We got up and started to walk to the shore with two giant bags of gold and other precious metals and jewels. "I think I hear him…" I said as I heard the sounds of a guy running form an angry mob and the saw him running to us yelling to hurry. "Yeah… that's Luffy," I sighed.
"What is with him? Always getting into trouble!" Zoro said angrily starting to run. "Why is there always an angry mob?" all three of asked no one in particular.
"Whatever, keep running!" I shouted to Nami and Zoro.
We made it safely to the boats and realized that Luffy had left a bag of the treasure on the shore.
"Well that was an interesting adventure… though it might've been smart to keep some of the gold…" I said pointedly to Luffy, who only smiled and said it was better that way.
"So where to next? We need to get some supplies and we desperately need a ship… is there an island close by?" I asked Nami.
"Yeah, Nami we need meat!"
"And sake… I lost too much energy last time."
"We also need some fruits and other nesceities."
"Well," the newest addition began. "There is an island about half a day's time form here." Nami pointed to a spot on the map called Syrup Island.
"Ok, so to Syrup Island we go!" Luffy yelled happily.