1.1 Paragraph One Piece Stories
Yes, that reads 'one point one' … meaning these are 1 paragraph plus 1 sentence. It's a nice progression from the first chapter, no?
Preemptive warning – there are a lot more dark ones this time. Still some humor and coolness and suggestiveness, but a disproportionate amount of dark.
1.
The Pirate Warlord Crocodile was as ruthless, cruel, and cold as the reptile in his name. Although he was annoyed by the threats of exposure, he remained grateful to Empirio Ivankov for correcting a fundamental mistake in the universe. Crocodile had been a terrible woman. These traits earned her nothing but disgust and contempt.
As a man, they brought him power.
2.
Any good doctor would notice the small burns - red welts dotting the necks, chests, and shoulders of his nakama, but since none of them complained of discomfort, Chopper assumed it was mild rash from the Alabasta heat. It was only after the final battle with Crocodile when Chopper insisted on a full physical of the crew that he became alarmed. Somehow, the crew - Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Vivi, Usopp, and Sanji - not only had those small marks, but also suffered from mysterious, perfectly handprint-shaped burns on their hips and thighs. Worst of all, he couldn't get information from any of them! Chopper's frantic questioning was met with either carefree laughter, murderous glares, or red-faced stammering.
Nico Robin smiled secretively and whispered, "So that's the irresistible charisma of those who carry the will of D."
3.
Sanji wondered if all of this was a hallucination in his dying mind. What felt like years were really moments as his body and brain slowly started to shut down. The first time he saw Brook, Sanji was certain the skeleton was an echo of what he saw in his reflection in the sea below, distorted, hollow-eyed, bones protruding from transparent skin.
Sometimes, Sanji woke certain he was still starving.
4.
Robin called her techniques 'submission holds' to placate the more delicate members of her new crew. Only a few of them – Chopper, Zoro, and possibly Franky – knew how difficult it was to twist a man's body enough to keep him down… without accidentally paralyzing or killing him. Accomplishing this delicate task took concentration and finesse. Those were scarce resources in battle, and anyway, it was impossible to give that level of attention to more than one person at the same time. Robin's choices were to kill and paralyze the majority of her opponents, or to put herself and her nakama at risk by not incapacitating their foes.
Devil Child Nico Robin had lost count of the number of corpses left in her wake.
5.
Ever since the day he stood against the Sea Train and failed to die, the ratio of human to machine in Franky's body had steadily, inexorably decreased. The man and the cybernetic parts were one, he would say. Franky was rarely introspective. He lived in the moment. It's not like he had anyone with whom he could discuss the philosophy of robotics. Who could he even ask? The only one who might understand had ceased to exist years ago.
The empty shell that had once been Bartholomew Kuma paced lifelessly, its eyes glowing and empty.
6.
Chopper's nose was nearly as good as any animal's, though he usually wished he didn't have that 'gift'. Some of his crewmates weren't especially concerned with hygiene, and he really didn't appreciate knowing so much detail about everyone's sex life.
Worst of all, though was the day he began to smell the sickness mixed with the smoke on Sanji's breath.
7.
Dawn broke over the Sunny. Robin savored her morning cup of coffee while Sanji prepared breakfast for the still-sleeping crew. Zoro was supposed to be on watch, but his snoring form and the fumes he was emitting suggested an atypically large sake binge sometime late the night before.
Sanji couldn't help eyeing him speculatively, humming the tune of 'what shall we do with a drunken sailor' under his breath.
8.
The first time they had gotten to be alone after Alabasta, the hungry, desperate press of bodies caused a thump that was loud in the closet they had hidden themselves in. But they couldn't bring themselves to care about the noise as the physical need rose, the secrecy of their affair only added to the thrill. Nobody knew, nobody even suspected, nobody…
A muffled voice came from outside, "Chopper! Chopper, come quick! Robin just got a nosebleed!"
9.
Zoro had a choice. His captain demanded to know what happened at Thriller Bark, and Zoro's code of ethics gave him the options of obeying captain's orders or leaving the crew. Luckily, Hawkeye's training had been useful for more than swordplay, and Zoro had learned to deceive with the truth.
His words were slow and measured, "Bartholomew Kuma came to collect our bounties, and I convinced him to leave, but not… peacefully," Zoro finally said, the small voice inside him vowing not to regret this.
10.
While her official expertise lay in Archaeology and Assassination, Robin had a wide variety of interests and studied a great many things. Genetics was among them. She knew the quirks of Longarms and Longlegs and Giants and Fishmen DNA. She knew why royalty tended to have unusual hair or skin colors. She even had some guesses about Shandians and Skypieans, aided by discreetly collected samples and Chopper's medical testing equipment. Yet one seemingly small thing eluded her.
She could not find the source - or even guess the evolutionary function - of spiral eyebrows.
END
As usual, lots of extras can be found in the Author Notes on my livejournal (squizbee), linked in my profile