Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece just my OC's
A/N: It's Kira's besty again, Moonlit-Gail! Her computer's still on crack and acting like a witch with a capital "B"! Anyway, she wanted me to update this for her and thank a few people.
Thanks to XxNaiXx for being the first to review. Kira really, really appreciated it. Thanks to Magic126 for faving and subscribing. Thanks to UnperfectButLovingIt and NarutoGal8 for subscribing. Thank you to anyone else who read, Kira appreciates it. Enjoy the new chapter and don't forget to review and subscribe to the story alert so that you know when this is updated :D
Time Skip
Your eyes fluttered open as a groan escaped your lips. You slowly sat up, minding the now dulled pain in your back. 'Ugh, where am I?' you asked in your head, looking around the room. "I see you finally woke up. How do you feel?" your head swiveled around looking or the source of the familiar voice. When you looked around you saw none other than Roronoa Zoro leaning against the door frame. "Better, thanks. Where am I?" you asked, sweeping the room with your eyes once again.
Other than the bed you were laying in, you saw a small table with medical supplies, a small counter, papers sprawled everywhere, and a small window in the corner of the room. "Our ships medical ward. That was some major blood loss you had there. Chopper said that you opened up the scar on your back because it wasn't stitched or properly bandaged. He said you're lucky that it wasn't infected." Zoro said in a stern voice. "Chopper?" you asked.
He nodded. "The ship's doctor. He said to take you to meet the rest of the crew when you woke up, so let's go." He said, pulling you up by your hand. You pulled back. "Crew? I thought I said I'm not joining your stupid crew!" you yelled, angry. "Look, Luffy doesn't know the meaning of 'no'. If he wants you on the crew, he won't stop till you are." Zoro sighed. "Great, just great." you mumbled under your breath. "Come on. They're all waiting in the kitchen." he said and walked off. You followed closely behind. As you came to a stop in front of a door, you strained your ears to understand the mumbling that came from the other side.
You could only hear bits and pieces of the conversations going on. "Kira Yiaba. Now I know why that name sounded so familiar! She's supposed to be one of, if not, the greatest female swordsman in all the West Blue! Some even say the whole world!" you recognized the voice as belonging to the girl with orange hair. "I have as well, navigator-san. She, supposedly, uses two swords to take down her opponents, or, if they're not available to her, she's a master in three different styles of martial arts." said another female voice. You could have sworn you saw only one female with the group; so, she probably stayed back on the ship.
Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Zoro glance at you. Apparently he heard as well. You shrugged it off and walked inside. As you entered, the whole room became silent almost instantly. The awkward silence was broken by the girl with orange hair. "Hi! I'm Nami, the navigator on this ship!" she introduced. "And I'm Robin, the ship's archeologist." said a polite raven haired girl, that looked maybe a year or two older than you. One by one, the crew introduced themselves.
"I'm Sanji! And, my beautiful, fair maiden, I am your faithful chef!" the boy with blond hair said, making a failed attempt at flirting with you. You heard Zoro scoff from next to you. "I'm the brave captain Ussop!" you turned your attention to 'long nose' when he said this. 'Why do I find that hard to believe?' you thought, sarcastically.
"Don't believe a word he says." Zoro's gruff voice whispered in your ear. It took all you had to suppress the shivers his voice sent down your spine. "I'm Tony-Tony Chopper" the little deer-like creature said, shyly. You almost smiled at how cute he was. You were about to say your thanks, when…
"You know me, I'm Luffy! The captain!" Luffy shouted with an idiotic grin on his face. You growled at him and turned you face in the other direction. You were still very much pissed at the so called 'captain'. "What's your problem?" Luffy, so stupidly, asked. You marched up to him, grabbed the front of his red, button-up, vest, and slammed his back against the nearest wall.
"Tell me why I shouldn't just kill you all, right here and now!" You growled. "What?" you heard Nami gasp. "I have 'Straw-hat Luffy', 'Demon child Nico Robin', and 'Pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro' all in the same place at the same time. Seems like an easy catch to me." You said.
"Then if you're so sure your able to fight us, why did you run away from your fight with Zoro?" Luffy asked, smirking from under the brim of his straw hat. "That's different. Don't say things you don't understand." you seethed, pulling him up and slamming his back against the wall again. You didn't need some pirate telling you how to fight. "How?' he asked, calmly.
"I spent the last four years of my life trying to find him so we could do battle with swords! I'm not about to fight him with my fists. I'm a swordswomen first and a bounty hunter second. But that doesn't mean I can't beat him, or any of you for that matter, with my bare hands." you told him, trying to get through his thick head. The crew, especially Zoro, looked a little shocked at what you just said.
I mean spending four years of your life trying to find someone, and then realizing you can't fight them, after you finally found them. That's got to suck. 'She's got spirit, that's for sure. And she's easily the most devoted swordsman I've ever seen. No matter if she's a girl or not. I'll be happy to fight her, when the time comes. But, for now, I have to stop her from killing that idiot.' Zoro thought, a ghost of a smirk on his face.
You raised your fist, getting ready to slam it into Luffy's stupid face. Before it made contact, though, a large, rough hand grabbed yours, stopping it in its path. Another arm came and wrapped itself around you bare stomach, stopping you from your advancement on the captain. You dropped Luffy to the floor, as the arms pulled you back.
"Killing him isn't going to help, you know." Zoro said, still holding onto you, in case you snapped again. "So, it would still make me feel better." you mumbled so only Zoro could hear. He chuckled as you relaxed. He slowly took his arms away from you, but kept them hovering there, just in case. When he was sure you wouldn't attack Luffy again, he released you completely.
"Luffy tell her it was just a test! Now!" Nami hissed at her captain. 'Test?' you thought. "Oh, yeah. I was just testing you to see if you would stick up for your dream. You passed!" Luffy exclaimed, happily, like you didn't just try to kill him. You gritted your teeth in annoyance. "Idiot." you mumbled. Then a little louder you said. "Word of advice: Never piss off a swordsman. Ever." and with that you walked away from Luffy.
"Hey." Zoro called to you. You turned to him. "So, four years, eh?" he asked, causing you to blush a light pink. Zoro smirked. 'She actually looks pretty cute with that blush.' he thought.
"Don't read too much into it. I just heard of your skills as a swordsman and knew I'd have to meet you eventually if I wanted to be the best. Besides, I was looking for someone with real strength to fight, someone who could last more than ten minutes in a battle with me. Those weaklings barely deserved the right to call themselves swordsman. I was just looking for even a slight challenge." you said, looking anywhere but at him. You blush darkened as he chuckled slightly.
"How about a deal?" he asked. This got your attention, as well as the rest of the crew. "I'm listening." you said, slightly skeptical. "I decided I want to fight you, as well. But, since you don't have your katanas with you, sail with us 'til we reach the next island and you can get a pair." You looked ready to object but he cut you off. "I'm not asking you to join our crew. Just sail with us 'til we can fight. Wouldn't want four years to go to waist, now would we." he chuckled seeing you blush again. "After our fight, if you still don't want to join, I won't make you." he said, his eyes never leaving yours.
The crew looked a little shocked that the normally passive swordsman would say something like that. Luffy wasn't too keen on letting you get away, but he trusted his first mate's judgment. You thought it over in your head, weighing your options. "Fine." you finally said, albeit reluctantly. He stretched out a hand for you to shake. You looked at it, and thought over it. 'This is stupid.' you growled in your head. 'I know, I can't.' you sighed and shook your head. The crew gave you a questioning look. "Sorry, I can't." you shook your head more fiercely. "I can't! Sorry!" you cried, running out of the kitchen and onto the deck.
It took Zoro a matter of three seconds to figure out what just happened. He quickly ran on deck to see you running up to the railing. Your head whipped back and forth, trying to spot an island close by. 'Damn it!' you mentally cursed. "Wait!" you heard Nami call out after you. "What?" you asked, getting annoyed. "There's not another island for at least another twenty miles." she explained.
"Only twenty? Sweet, I thought it would at least be another thirty." you muttered, getting ready to dive in. 'All I got to do is swim far enough away that they won't see me. Then I'm home free.' you thought getting ready to dive in. "You shouldn't go in with that wound not totally healed! You'll just reopen it!" you heard Chopper call out, frantically. 'Just let me go! God these people are stubborn!' you thought. You dived into the crystal blue sea, sighing contently as you hit the water.
With the crew
"God she's just as stubborn as you, Zoro. Is it a swordsman thing?" Nami asked. Zoro growled in annoyance. "I'll take that as a yes." she mumbled. "I don't care if it's a swordsman thing or not! We need to get her back! She could seriously hurt herself!" Chopper said frantically. "Zoro, go-!" Chopper was cut off by a sudden splash. He looked around to see Zoro was missing, indicating he jumped overboard. "Yep defiantly a swordsman thing." Nami said. Usopp nodded in agreement.
With you
You kicked yourself to the surface and started swimming as fast as you could to get away from the ship, and it's annoying crew. For some reason, though, you started thinking back to the crew, more specifically: Zoro. 'Ugh, this sucks! I know the dude for two days, and I can't get him out of my mind. I made the right choice, right?' You heard a splash behind you, and you whipped around to see the source of it. You saw Zoro's green hair coming towards you, and before you knew it he was right in front of you.
"What was that?" he asked, slightly irritated. You closed your eyes and tried to swim away, again, but he grabbed your arm. "Come on. What's so wrong about us?" he asked. "Besides the fact that your captains an idiot? Nothing. I-I just can't go with you, okay?" you said, barely above a whisper. 'I can't risk getting attached to the crew. It's almost time.' you thought.
"No. Not okay. You're coming with us." he said, firmly. "Why? Why do you care so badly if I come with you or not? And don't you dare say it's because of your captain." you demanded from him. "Because…you're interesting. You're not like other girls. I like that. And I can't wait to fight you." he said. "Is that enough reason for you?" he asked. Without knowing what you were doing, you nodded numbly, blushing brightly.
He grinned, and slid his hand down your arm, to grab your hand, leaving goose bumps in its wake. 'I swear he's doing this on purpose.' you thought, your blush fading, so your face became just dusted with a light pink. Zoro swam back to the ship you in tow. You started thinking about why you were acting this way around him.
You were so deep in thought that you didn't realize that you were already at the ship until Zoro called up to the crew. "Hey guys! Throw down a latter!" "I got a better idea, Zoro!" Luffy shouted excitedly. "Uh, oh. Better hang on tight, Kira." Zoro muttered, as he moved his arms to wrap around your waist. You instinctively wrapped your arms around his neck, in response. "Gum-Gum Pistol!' You heard Luffy shout.
"What-!" you were cut off by two rubbery arms wrapping themselves around you and Zoro. You tightened your grip around Zoro's neck and buried your face in his chest. You whimpered softly as you landed on deck. You felt Zoro's chest vibrate as he chuckled. "Scared of heights?" he asked, still chuckling. "Shut up." you mumbled against him. "Are you all right, Kira?" Nami asked.
You kept your tight grip on Zoro, and kept your face buried in his chest. You opened your mouth to speak, but all that came out was a choked sob. You were shaking like a leaf, and your eyes were shut tight, trying to stop the tears that threatened to spill out. "Zoro, take her to the infirmary." Chopper said, worriedly. Zoro's arms tightened around you for a moment before he swept one arm under your legs, and picked you up bridal style. He silently carried you back to the medical ward.
"Hey, what's up? You don't deem like the type to get shook up that easily." Zoro said as he gently laid you down on the bed. "N-nothing. I j-just don't like heights. That's all." you managed to choke out, turning your back to him. "Well, umm…If you ever need to talk…or something…you , know…What I'm trying to say is-" "It's okay, I get it. Thanks." you cut him off, giggling slightly at his stuttering. You gave him a small smile to reassure him. He scratched the back of his head and gave a lop-sided smirk back. "Chopper should be back in soon to bandage up your back, again. Until then, you should rest." He said. "I'm not a kid. I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt." you pouted, slightly.
You hated being in the doctor's office. Normally, on the rare occasions that you do go there, they forbid you from fighting for a while. You ignored them, obviously. "Really? Then why don't you sit up?" Zoro said, still smirking. You steadily pushed your arms under you, and gingerly tried to sit up. When you finally did, you hissed in pain.
Your eyes were shut tight, and you bit your lip so hard, it bled. Zoro sighed, leaned forward, and wiped the blood trail off your chin. "Your so stubborn." he said, still cleaning off the blood. You lightly blushed and looked away. "Hey, are you embarrassed? It's okay to show pain, you know." he said, lightly grasping your chin and turning your face back too look at him. "No it's not. It shows weakness." you said, eyes downcast, since you couldn't look away because Zoro was still holding your chin.
"It's okay to show it once in a while. No one is going to think any less of you because of it." Zoro said. While he was talking, your eyes started to brim with tears. "Yes they will! I'm not supposed to show weakness! If I do they'll-!" you cut yourself off by covering your mouth with your hands. Tears were streaming down your face by now and you sobbed into your hands.
Zoro frowned. He gently took your wrists and pulled your hands away from your face. "Who's 'they'? What'll 'they' do?" he asked in a stern voice. "Please don't let them take me back! I don't want to go back." you whimpered. Zoro sat down next to you pulled you into his lap. "You're a part of the crew now. We won't let anyone take you away." He said wrapping his arms around you and letting you cry into his chest.
You thought about what he said, and decided that maybe being on a pirate crew might not be so bad. After a few minutes your sobbing died down. "Are you okay?" Zoro whispered to you. You slightly nodded against his chest, not trusting your voice. "Why don't you try and get some sleep? Chopper will probably bandage you in the morning." he said, laying you down on the bed.
"K." you mumbled out in a weak, hoarse voice. God you hated this. You felt so weak! "Oh, and no late night swims, okay?" he smirked at you. You smirked weakly back. You smiled lightly at his retreating figure. Well, maybe, if you have him to take care of you, showing a little weakness isn't so bad, after all. You gently laid your tired head on the soft pillow. Your last thoughts were on a certain green-haired swordsman before you fell asleep.
