Hello!

I am so very sorry this wasn't out on Sunday, but alas I had a convention on that day. But to make it up to you all, it is currently 2:55AM. I hope you're all happy.

Special thanks to ShadedEclipse: Thankies~!

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Chapter 2 ~ The Pirate Hunter

"A demonic beast, huh?"

"Roronoa Zoro is his real name, but they call him 'Zoro the Pirate Hunter'."

I gently roused from my nap. It had been several hours since we left Alvida and were currently headed south-east. Coby was a fairly good navigator.

"He's a bloodthirsty hound roaming the seas, hunting men for the bounties on their heads! They say he's a demon in human form!"

"You ever hear the cliché 'don't judge a book by its cover'?" I said before stretching. "I could probably take him."

"Are you crazy Azure!" yelped the boy.

I just shrugged it off. He should know how tough I am by now. "He's most likely no more dangerous than a squirrel."

"But he's a dangerous pirate hunter!" he turned back to Luffy, who was sitting on the figurehead. "And pirate hunters don't mix well with pirates!"

"I haven't decided on whether I'll invite him to join my crew or not," said Straw-hat as he turned to face us. "If he's a good guy, then I'll—"

"He's in prison because he's not a good guy!"

I shook my head and smiled, then pulled out a book.

"We're finally here!" cheered Luffy as he stood on the dock. "We made it to the marine base town!"

"It's kinda small," I said as I hopped out of the boat. "Nice navigating by the way Coby."

"Yeah Coby," Luffy piped up. "You actually got us to our destination."

"Of course I did. It's a minimum requirement for those who sail the seas."

"Even I have some navigational skill," I pointed out with a peace sign.

"Luffy, you'll never be a proper pirate if you keep randomly floating around," stated the pinkette as he pushed up his glasses.

"Okay, I'll find a navigator," said Straw-hat. "Now let's eat!"

I grinned, "Good, I'm starved!"

We walked around town a bit, looking for a cheap meal. We found a nice little restaurant and found our way to a table in the corner.

"Hey Azure, why did you bring your bag?" asked Luffy as I placed my bag on the floor.

"Don't want my things to get stolen," I replied simply. It was the truth; I had far too many valuable things in my bag. At least to me anyway… He nodded and called the waitress over to order.

When I saw the amount Luffy ordered, my jaw nearly hit the floor. How can someone so damn skinny eat so much? And another thing, how does he intend to pay for all that? I decided that I'd rather not know and ate my own food, which was a lot, but considerably less than his.

"Well Coby," smiled Luffy after stuffing our faces. "I guess this is where we part ways."

"Yeah Coby," I gave my own smile, "It's been fun. I hope you become a great sailor."

Poor boy started to get all teary on us. "Th-thanks you guys," he sniffled, "I hope you guys become great pirate! Even if that means we'll be enemies."

"Hey I just remembered…" said Luffy after a moment. "That guy is supposed to be imprisoned here."

"Who?" I asked. After a second, "Oh! Roronoa Zoro, right?"

There was a loud crash as tables, chairs and food clattered to the ground. We looked up to see the people in the joint cowering against the walls.

"Maybe you shouldn't say his name around here," whispered Coby. Luffy and I nodded in agreement.

"I saw a poster that said that this is the base of Captain Morgan," he continued.

The whole room clattered and crashed again. I blinked in confusion before piling up our dished and paid for the meal. I grabbed the two boys and pulled them out before we made things worse.

Was the Captain a tyrant or something? I mean, I understand the terror of Roronoa; most people tend to fear those who fear nothing. But the marine Captain? I mean it was possible, but why? Laughter broke my mental bubble.

"What a great restaurant!" giggled Luffy. "I want to go back there again."

"Everyone is so jumpy," said a worried Coby. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

"You're not the only one," I smiled.

"I mean, I can understand with Roronoa Zoro's name; he might escape at any moment. But why did they get nervous hearing the Captain's name?"

"Who knows!" replied Luffy with his hands in his pockets. "Maybe they just got carried away."

"I seriously doubt that…" I sweatdroped.

We walked towards the tall tower-like building on the outskirts of the town. For a naval town, we were fortunate enough not to run into any marines. As we got there, Coby looked both pale and speechless.

"Wow, it looks so big close up…" I mumbled.*

"Go on in Coby," encouraged Luffy with a large grin.

"B-but I haven't mentally prepared myself yet!" said the bespectacled boy, trying to buy time. "And those people sure were scared of the Captain's name…"

"Coby, I get you're anxious, but you've wanted this for a long time. Stop being nervous and be happy. Be happy that your dream is finally coming true! You can— Luffy what are you doing?"

The stupid idiot ruined my speech. I'ma kill 'im. He was hanging from the 10 foot brick wall that surrounded the base.

"I wonder if I can see the demonic beast from here," he said looking around. He then jumped down and ran further down the wall.

"You won't just find him by peeking over the fence," stated the pink haired boy. "He's probably deep within the bowels of the prison."

"Or they could have just left him outside in the heat and let the birds pick at him," I shrugged with a smirk. Coby 'eep-ed' and I grinned; he was such a scaredy cat.

"She's right!" said Luffy excitedly, a ways away. "There's someone over there."

I grinned. "Maybe its Zorro!" I ran to join him on the wall. I glanced around the parade grounds and saw a man tied to a post. He wasn't very hard to miss, as he was in the middle of the grounds.

"There," I whispered. "That's him, right?"

Coby climbed the wall between us. His eyes widened in fear and ended up falling back to the ground on his rump.

"What's wrong?" asked Luffy as we glanced at the fallen boy.

"B-b-black b-bandana and a haramaki sash! It's really him! That's Roronoa Zoro!"

So since it was who we were looking for, I decided I could size him up. As I mentioned, he was tied to a cross shaped post: upper-arms tied to the horizontal one with the rest hanging over behind it and his waist tied to the thick vertical one. His black bandana overshadowed his eyes; his white t-shirt had an open collar with three buttons, his green sash with black pants tucked into black boots.

"He looks so… menacing!" panicked Coby.

"So that's him, eh?" Luffy thought aloud. "I could just untie those ropes and set him free."

"Those knots look too complicated," I mumbled, "you'd have t'a cut him loose."

"That's suicide!" yelped Coby as he scrambled back up the wall. "If you let him loose, he'll kill us then wreck the town!"

"Hey kid!"

The terrified boy yelped again as we looked to the voice while Luffy gave a very intelligent "Huh?"

"Come over here… and untie me," said Zoro looking at us. "I've been here nine days and I can't take it anymore."

"Hey! He's smiling," Luffy said trying to be serious. Yeah… didn't work.

"Luffy," I sweatdroped, "He's smirking."

""He's talking to us…" Coby trembled as he peaked over the wall.

"I'll make it worth your while," I can't believe Roronoa was trying to bribe us. "I'll capture someone with a big price on their head and give all the money to you. You can trust me; I'm a man of my word."

"D-don't do it Luffy!" begged the boy. "As soon as you untie him, he'll kill us and get away! I just know it!"

"He won't kill us," replied Luffy confidently. "He couldn't. I wouldn't let him."

I blinked. I'm fairly sure that wasn't arrogance. Knowledge? Trust maybe?

WHAK!

We all looked to my right to see a ladder. Then a little girl made it to the top, shushed us and hopped over to the other side.

"Hey!" Coby called after her. "D-don't, it's dangerous!"

She completely ignored him and walked up the prisoner. I'll just sum up the next few minutes.

The girl had offered Zoro two riceballs that she made herself; all the while he was threatening her to leave him alone. Then some random blond guy with a cleft chin flanked by two marines showed up and stomped on the riceballs because he said they were too sweet. He told a marine to toss the girl over the wall, but Luffy caught her before she crashed.

"Are you okay?" asked Coby as he checked the girl over. I watched as Straw-hat dusted himself off and head to the wall again.

"My, aren't you a stubborn one?" I heard a nasally voice from over the wall.

"Coby," I called softly, not wanting to draw attention. "Take my bag." I gently plopped my bag on the ground and followed after Luffy. By the time I got there, the blond was gone and Luffy was walking up to Zoro.

"You still here?" he asked as he looked up from his bindings. "Better not let Helmeppo's father catch you."

"Look, I'm looking for a few good men to join my pirate crew."

"Pirate crew? You honestly think I would lower myself to that level? No thanks!"

"But becoming a pirate is my dream! What's wrong with it?"

"You think if you untie me, I'm gonna join your pirate crew?" smirked Zoro. Up close, I could see that his hair was rather short and green. Like a moss green. Cool.

"I haven't decided on whether I'll ask you yet," smiled Luffy. "You've got a pretty bad reputation you know?"

"Bad reputation, huh… Well anyway, I don't go for that kind of deal. I've got my own plans for the future." His smirk widened. "I don't need your help. I can get out on my own. All I have to do is last here for a month, then I'm a free man! Captain Morgan's idiot son promised me. All I've got to do is survive here for a month. Then I'll be free to pursue my dream!"

"Hmm… I see. I don't think I could last a week without food," grinned Luffy. I sweatdroped; I don't think he could last a day.

"Me and you are different," replied Zoro. "I've got more willpower."

"It's not really about willpower," I said, finally making my presence known. "The human body can go three days without water and three weeks without food. Mind you, your body can consume any fat stored in your body, giving you maybe five extra days." I went over and poked his stomach causing him to grunt in surprise. "Just as I thought, you're all muscle. I'd give you four more days, tops."

"Azure!" Luffy grinned. "When did you get here?"

"I was here the entire time, retard!" I replied with a tic mark as I smacked him upside the head. I mean, yes I am oblivious, but that's just sad. I turned back to Zoro. "She's fine by the way, no injuries whatsoever."

"Tch, go look for you crew somewhere else."

I smirked at his attempt at being nonchalant. Just as Luffy and I started to walk away, he called us back.

"Pick that up for me," he ordered. Straw-hat walked over to pick up what was left of the ball but the frowned ever so slightly.

"You're not going to eat this! It's more of a dirtball than a riceball now…"

"You'd be surprised what people would eat when they're starving," I said, half turned to them with my hands in my pockets.

"I know," he sounded disgusted, "but this—"

"Shut up!" yelled Zoro. "Just shut up and feed it to me! And don't miss a single grain of rice!"

Luffy dumped the rice inside the man's waiting mouth. After him chewing and hacking, Luffy spoke up. "I told you it was mostly dirt…"

Zoro coughed, "Tell the kid, tell her I said it was delicious. Tell her I ate it all."

I grinned and Luffy laughed.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Really!"

"Yup" I replied with a grin. "He ate every single bite."

"I'm so glad!" said the little girl, whose name we learned was Rika.

"Could that guy really be as bad as they say?" asked Coby skeptically.

"He's not a bad guy! Rika cried. We had met up and were brought to sit in front of her home. "Everyone in town is afraid of him… but he did nothing wrong!"

Huh?

"He got thrown in prison because of me," she said guiltily. "Captain Morgan's son had a bunch of mean dogs! They attacked me… but Roronoa Zoro saved me! Besides those dogs were running loose and scaring everyone in town."

"That's why Zoro's in prison?" I asked surprised. "Because he attacked that butt-munches dog?"

"That makes sense," said Coby as he readjusted his glasses. "Zoro's a scary guy, but he only goes after people with prices on their heads and he wouldn't get thrown in prison for that."

"Captain Morgan and his son are the bad ones!" cried the little girl." They put people to death for no reason at all! Everyone is afraid of them."

Laughter erupted down the road. "You're not bowing your heads low enough scum! I'll tell my father on all of you!"

I groaned. "Brilliant, the butt-munch is here…" I muttered, causing Luffy to snicker. But I noticed the villagers bowing on their hands and knees with terrified looks on their faces.

"Do you want to be jailed like Roronoa Zoro!" he continued. "We're going to hold a public execution for him in three days! That'll make an example out of him! I can hardly wait!"

What! My eyes widened.

"Three days?" asked a confused Luffy. "But you made him a promise!"

"What? Where did you hear that?" asked the blond man. He thought for a second before he laughed again. "That promise was just a joke! He's just a stupid beast for believing it!"

That cock-sucking son of a bitch! I hate corrupted power-hungry people like him and his father was worse! At least he had a backbone! But getting angry wouldn't help the situation. I was just about to tell Luffy, but I was too late.

He had already had the man by the collar and punched him in the jaw, hard.

Coby and I each took an arm to hold Luffy back.

"That guy is scum," he muttered.

"Luffy! Calm down!" Coby cried. "You want to make an enemy of the navy!"

All the villagers were stunned to say the least. The Captain's son remained on the ground bloodied.

"Coby, Azure, I've made my decision," Luffy claimed. We both gave him a questioning look as his demeanor changed. "I'm going to ask Zoro to join my crew!"

Some of the townsfolk got over their shock as I heard some of them murmur; "H-he really did it!", "He punched Helmeppo!", "The Captain will be furious!"

"Luffy! Stop!" Coby cried again to the struggling pirate.

"Scum is scum," he replied simply. "No matter who you father is."

Helmeppo started to rise, with the help of two marines, and placed a hand on his injured cheek. "Y-you hit!" he yelled flabbergasted. Heh, flabbergasted… "You actually hit me! Not even daddy has hit me! I'M CAPTAIN MORGAN'S BELOVED SON! I'M TELLING DADY ON YOU!"

There was a collective gasp from the crowded. Luffy was still struggling in our grip. Well, more mine then Coby's.

"Don't go crying to papa! Face me like a man!"

"Luffy!" Coby tried again to no avail.

"Luffy," I muttered, "Please, calm down. Deep breaths."

Surprisingly, he did what he was told. I started to release my hold on him.

"You'll die begging for mercy! Helmeppo shouted as he was carried off. "You're a walking corpse! You… you… booger head!"

Booger head? How mature…

"He's not even worth hitting, "said Luffy.

"Now you've done it…" mumbled Coby.

I noticed something on the ground and saw it to be Luffy's straw hat. I slowly picked it up before fingering it a moment. Looking at it up close, I could see that it was old and worn, as if it had seen many battles. But despite this, it looked to be in fairly good condition.

I sighed and dusted it off before I went and flopped it on this head. He gave me a confused look before he placed a hand on his head.

"My hat!" he grinned widely. "Thanks!" I returned my own.

"You were great aniki!" said Rika as she ran up to us. "I feel a lot better now!"

"Then I wish I'd given a few more whacks for you!"

"Rika! A woman screeched. "Get over here!"

Rika's face dropped and with a reluctant goodbye, went over to the woman, who I assume was her mother.

"You shouldn't be talking to those people," her mother hissed. "If they think you're their friend then they'll kill you too!"

"But mommy," Rika protested, "they're good people! And Zoro, he's a good—"

"What are you saying!" the woman shrieked. "You didn't go to the parade grounds did you!"

"Um… well… n-no…"

"Hurry up and get inside…" her mother said as she slammed the door shut. Leaving a waving and smiling Luffy, a confused Coby and a sad me. Coby then rounded on Luffy and started freaking out.

"They won't let you get away with this! And Captain Morgan has the whole Navy behind him!"

I placed a hand on the frantic boy's shoulder in attempt to calm him down. It worked… a little…

"Yeah, whatever," said Luffy as he headed towards the base. "I need to talk to Zoro."

I sweatdroped.

*That's what she said! (I'm sorry -_-")

I think I'll do the disclaimer every ten chapters...

See you all next time!

Silver