A/N
I wanted to say that this chapter is going to be dedicated to my very first reviewer Shad0wings
I know now that my writing is not sharpened enough, my English was mostly self taught and I am bad with marks and grammar.
I thank you for your lovely comment I will do my best and I will fix the mistakes that has been pointed out (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ .
Five days have passed, since the arrival of the straw hat's crew at Pladona, the island of herbs. After waiting for the log pose to adapt to the island's gravity they decided to depart before the upcoming storm, which was heading toward Pladona faster than they anticipated, afraid they will be caught up into the storm, and get stuck in the island until the storm subside they took the chance to hurry away having no need to stay any longer.
External pov:
After Nami told everyone about the upcoming storm they started to work fast to get everything on board and stored in place, and then they started to move the ship slowly trying to get Luffy back by the help of all of the crew members.
When Luffy got on the ship Zoro suddenly turned his head, narrowed his eyes and his hand went to his swords while he kept looking intensely at one of the cliffs a little bit far from the docks the crew asked him what was wrong but he just looked at it more and then just shock his head and said nothing, the rest of the crew shrugged it off and continued to sail onward towards the next island.
Everyone continuing their usual daily routine, Nami giving instructions for sailing, Franky taking the helm following her lead, Sanji making lunch and Luffy waiting for him at the kitchen's door, while chopper and Usopp playing cards and Brook playing his violin beside Robin who was reading a book she bought at Pladona's book store.
Only Zoro who seems to be on his guard as if something will pop out of no where and bite his head off, he kept going on patrols in every inch of the ship opening every door and slamming it shut after a really long glare at the poor furniture inside, the unusual loud and lively Swordsman ended up driving Nami and Sanji to their limits.
"Oi! Marimo-head why don't you settle down and go sleep somewhere, you are annoying everyone with your continuous movement and loud banging" Sanji pointed at him with a frying pan he just pulled out of a cupboard.
"Mind your own business you shitty-cook " Zoro quickly, but quietly replied back not even looking at Sanji, but he was just looking around, looking as if he was searching for something.
"What did you..." Sanji tried to shout at the green haired swordsman, but Nami interrupted him before he could finish his sentence by lifting her hand in front of his face to stop him, realizing that there is something wrong with Zoro.
"Zoro what is wrong with you? You are not your usual self, since we left Pladona, did something happen?" Nami asked but it took the swordsman a long time to reply.
"The Cliff... back there near the docks..." he said looking up at the ceiling and pausing for a while "I think we should gather around then I will tell all of you at once." he walked out of the galley without saying anything else.
"That shit head probably drank too much" Sanji said, but Nami just shock her head.
"He saw something and he was trying to confirm it you know how Zoro is, he would rather sleep the whole day or train, Sanji-kun gather everyone on deck tell them that we need to talk" Sanji nodded his head and hurried up to the others with a twirl and a sing song 'Yes Nami-swan'.
In a few minutes later everyone has gathered siting in a circle on the grassy lawn listening to Zoro "At that cliff back there, I saw someone. It might be a girl, or a young boy. Whoever that person is, they where followed by some men, which caused the person that was running to panic and jump off the cliff"
"What!? Why didn't you say anything? If it was a girl we could have saved her!" Sanji shouted standing up reaching out to grab Zoro by the collar.
"Calm down Cook-San and let's just hear the rest of the story from Swordsman-kun" the calm Robin smiled and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop the fired up Cook and calm him down which worked every time.
"That person glanced at our ship before jumping off. The people following that person kept looking for the body, but there were two of them that stood in the background, pointing at our ship" Zoro sighed heavily "I just thought I should check up on the ship before I could tell you anything, so I won't cause a panic for nothing" he leaned on the wall behind him and closed his eyes.
"Ehhhhh! The person who died kept looking at the ship. At our ship?! What if.. What if their soul possessed sunny or...or..or their soul will hunt us down or possess one of us!" Usopp said shivering and pallid down as he looked around slowly for any sign of ghosts or possessed nakama.
Chopper hugged him shaking in fear "d-don't say scary things! I won't be able to sleep at night you idiot"
Sanji just got up and walked off huffing "There is no such things as ghosts"
"Well before we met Brook there was no talking and living skeletons either" Chopper pointed at Brook "No offense Brook"
"No don't worry. It even scared me in the beginning Yohohoho" Brook laughed loudly
"Actually you got a point" with a sigh Sanji admit, shrugging.
"No he doesn't just have a point, ghost are real can't believe that you alrady forgot the pinky who hunted you with her ghosts causing you to cry about your shity dartboard-brows!" Zoro said smugly at Sanji.
"Says you, who wished to have never been born" Sanji fired back with a frown and a red face pointing accusingly at the now equally red faced swordsman that doesn't look so smug now, zoro decided it was best not to keep this one up, so he bit his tongue and laid back on the wall and closed his eyes with a gruffy huff.
"Oh so that's it, I thought there was something supeeeeer big" Franky asked and for a reply Zoro snored signing that he is already sleeping.
They looked at each other and shrugged, then one after the other each of them started to go back slowly to their work or chatted about the topic some more.
"I will go continue the lunch preparation. Oh god I never expected something useful out of that lazy ass Marimo" Sanji said reaching his arm towards the knob of the galley door.
"Well we had to know what was on his mind, and he was worried about all of us " Nami said climbing up the ladder that leads to the mini garden located on top of the galley to check on her Mandarin trees.
"Well, whatever Nami-Swan thinks I agree with it~" he opened the door leading to the kitchen and froze there without breathing looking inside the kitchen with a dropped jaw.
"Sanji are you ok, what's wrong?" chopper asked looking worried.
"Oi! Sanji make food for us, I'm hungry" Luffy shouted out from within the kitchen.
"Did you just say make food?" Sanji walked in the kitchen and locked the door up from the inside before the tiny doctor could look inside "Luffy there was food over there on that table. Where did it go?" Sanji got closer to Luffy who was sitting with a filled mouth and cheeks just like a squirrel, chewing on and on.
"Oh. I thought it was...a snack!?" Luffy said palling down a bit.
"No actually that was the lunch preparation for all of us" Sanji replied in an angry tone.
"Oh it was? I'm so sorry" Luffy tilted his head to the side avoiding eye contact with Sanji.
"Unfortunately, sorry is not gonna suffice CAPTAIN!" Sanji reached for the frying pan "I am going to get you for this!" he pointed the pan at Luffy, which caused him to panic and back off.
"I didn't know and I was so hungry" Luffy defended himself.
"I don't care I will get you and with the bounty on your head I will buy myself a nice fridge with a lock on it" Sanji swung the pan, but Luffy blocked it with his hands.
"Ahhhhhhhh! Are you crazy?! That's hot, it's hot! And if you killed me you won't be needing a fridge with a lock! And you alrady have a fridge with a lock!" Luffy shouted backing away looking around for an escape route.
"You know what. You are right if I killed you I can spend the money on a double date with Nami-San and Robin-chan" Sanji shot in for more attacks causing Luffy to back away more.
"I am sorry, Ahhhhhhhhh! Sorrysorrysorrysorry" that was all you can hear from outside of the galley everyone was looking at the door and at Chopper in his heavy point form who was trying to open the door looking terrified through the round window on the galley door, while shouting at Sanji from outside not to kill Luffy.
All of a sudden, Luffy busted out of the kitchen door blowing on his slightly burned hands "That is right, get out of MY kitchen and stay out of it" Sanji shouted at Luffy, still holding the hot pan in a threatening manar.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" a scream came from the ship's garden causing all of them to run up.
"Nami-San are you ok? What happened?" Sanji asked looking at Nami's back.
She started looking back slowly to show an angry face until her eyes found Luffy "So Luffy, Sanji's food was not enough for your greedy stomach? You dared to touch my Tangerine's" she threw a punch right in the middle of his face making him fall on his butt grabbing his nose in pain.
"It wasn't me! I didn't do it" he protest.
"Who else would do that? Eating stuff without asking" she pointed at the Tangerine peels under the tree.
"Wait miss navigator. Don't you think that the Tangerine peels is rather peeled neatly, unlike captain-san's nature?" Robin pointed out catching Nami's attention.
"Yah you're right, if it was Luffy he would trash the place or eat the whole damn thing with it's peeling" she looked thoughtfully at their captain.
"So you punched me for nothing" Luffy whined.
"Not really. It was for delaying lunch time" she pointed at his red nose with a hint of a sly smile.
She looked around. Everyone was around only Zoro who found the atmosphere noisy and went up to the crows nest to sleep there, and Usopp went down to his factory to get some tools. "Then who did it?" she asked more to herself.
In the meanwhile, Usopp was going down to his factory to get the tools he needs to create his new weapon, which he was working on.
"The great captain Usopp! Will make an awesome weapon as always. Everyone will look at it and drool and their eyes will sparkle, they will be on their knees asking me to build one for them too" he swaggered through the hallway between the soldier docks tell he reached the door to his factory at the end of it and opening it.
"Oh I don't remember turning the lights off, it's so dark in here" he stepped into the room touching the wall looking for the light switch, until he heard a loud crash, he quickly turned his head to look inside the dark room squinting his eyes to be able to see in the dark. That's when he caught the glimpse of shining eyes.
"G... g...gh...GHOOOOOOOOST! ghost ghost ghost!" Usopp ran off screaming trying to reach the others "Help help! There is a g..ghost on the ship" he jumped out of the trapdoor closing it behind him, he was barely breathing "Guys I ... I ... I saw a ghost in my factory, with big shining eyes and a black oval body" he was waiving his hands in the air frantically.
"Ggggg...ghost?! Do you think it's the one Zoro told us about jumping off the cliff?" Chopper stuttered terrified, while hugging Usopp who was shivering out of his own skin.
"I will go see for myself" Robin said, but Sanji stopped her.
"I will go instead. A lady shouldn't do dangerous stuff" he adjusted his tie, giving her a generous gentleman smile, and he was off.
Sanji went down the trapdoor and through the hallway to reach Usopp's factory. He pushed the door slowly and walked inside then he heard something moving "who is there?" he reached his hand looking for the light switch to flip it on, that's when he saw a shadow moving in the dark, "Show your self" Sanji kicked in the air trying to hit what he saw, but his feet caught nothing. He touched the wall again to find the switch and turned the light on, but there was nothing in the room only a few things collapsing on the ground, all of a sudden, a noise came from the opposite room, Franky's workroom.
Sanji turned quickly to the workroom reaching for the light, and switching it on. And what he saw was an empty room, with a few things falling and toppled on the ground here and there. "What the hell?! What is going on here?" he asked himself, getting out of the room, looking in both rooms and straight ahead the hallway at the ladder that leads to the lawn deck. "No one could have gone past me. Without me seeing them, but there was someone in Usopp's factory I saw them I... What is going on... I better tell the others about this" Sanji walked in the hallway, confused.
going back on the ship's deck, he told everyone what happened, all of them went looking around for suspicious things.
"Everyone be careful, and if there is something weird shout out loud" Nami said hiding behind the frightened Usopp and Chopper.
Everyone kept looking around the ship for almost 15 minutes, but no one found anything. Yet, they kept looking some more but still no luck.
In the meanwhile, there was a weird figure on top of the foremast, trying to get into the crow's nest "Why isn't the window opening!?" the person spoke trying to open the window to the crow's nest, but the wind is so strong it was pushing them to the sides "Finally! It opened" the window sledded up allowing the person to go inside, but with a strong blow of wind pushed their cape causing it to get tangled on their leg making them trip and fall inside right on their face.
They raised their head and looked up to find a green haired man looking at them with mixed feeling of shock and astonishment straight in the eye.
"Zorooooo~! Do you see anything suspicious from up there?" Usopp asked from below, while the wired intruder shock their head to the swordsman as a 'No'. Zoro's eyebrow arched in amusement at that.
"Uhhhh definitely, yes" Zoro said getting up and grabbing his swords "You will go down on your own" he looked at the outsider in the eyes with a scary smile stretched on his face and pushed up one of his swords from its sheath "Or do you want me to force you?"
The intruder looked at Zoro with horrified expression, sweat-drop showed on their face not knowing what to do. Deep in thoughts the intruder didn't realize that Zoro lost his patience.
Grabbing the intruder from their cape Zoro climbed down to the others holding up his arm with his hand fisted in a red cape and a person dangling down from it folding their arms and legs in annoyance.
"I found that person up there. They came in through the window" Zoro said putting the intruder down until they sat on the ground with there still folded legs in front of the others.
Everyone looked at the figure of the person who was sitting on the floor for a few seconds until Sanji fired up with anger.
"Oi! You shitty Marimo how could you treat a lady like this" Sanji shouted at Zoro grabbing him by the collar.
"Get your hands off, you shitty cook" Zoro brushed Sanji's arm roughly to force him to let go.
Nami stepped in, right between them. Knowing there well be a fight "Will you cut it out both of you? Try not to scare the girl out" Nami pointed at the girl sitting on the ground. while ussop and Chopper hid behind Franky mumbled something about her scaring them and creepy ghosts.
"Yes Nami-Swaaaaan" Sanji quickly agreed to what Nami said, turning his head to look at the anonymous girl, who looked back at all of them with wide eyes, she seems to be going through a brain shock.
"So, my beautiful lady what shall we call you?" Sanji leaned down, offering a hand to help the girl to stand up.
She just looked at the hand, Sanji offered and up to his face then back to his hand then she laid her own hands on the grassy ground to help herself get up "I can get up on my own you know" she said standing up dusting off her dress but suddenly froze in the process, slowly fisting her hands in the fabric of the dress holding it up a bit staring at it as if in disbelief but shook her head to shove what ever crossed her mind and continued "And why should I give you my name anyway? I don't know you guys" she asked looking back up with a pokerface.
Sanji seems to have frozen with depression with his hand still reaching out "Ohhhh! He froze. He is in a shock, Usopp help me get him inside the sick bay" Chopper checked on Sanji.
"I am fine, I was just... Just" he fell to the floor banging on the ground with his hand " I'm depressed, so depressed" he cried out.
"Oh it's just that sickness of his, you don't need to worry chopper" Usopp laughed at Sanji.
All of a sudden Luffy darted right between nami and Sanji almost toppling them on the ground and reached out and grabbing at the girls dress and inspected it while firing a million question per second circling around her and jumping with unexplained joy twirling her around even tried to look under her dress for unknown reasons which caused sanji to kick him off of her and apologised to the lady while swooning over her.
"You are scaring her, you idiot" Nami shouted hitting Luffy across the head "and what is with the billion question in a chain" she dragged him away.
"Why do all of you keep hitting me? I am the captain you know" luffy whined pouting like a child.
"Go. Sit. there." Nami pointed at the bench at the bottom of the foremast, she didn't want to deal with him right now, but she saw that he was going to complain about it "if you didn't do as I say I will ask Sanji-kun to deprive you of your precious meat for the whole day" with that said the poor captain obliged and sat down with his chin in his hands frowning and pouting still, his elbow risted on his knees while his legs are follded under him.
Everyone seamed to have relaxed not minding the unknown girl.
The only person that was throwing daggers at the girl was Zoro. Robin seems to suspect something wrong she looked at the girl and she walked closer to her "The reason you have to tell us your name, is that you are on our ship. If you are not saying anything, we will throw you over board to the sea beasts to devour you" Robin looked at the girl with narrowed eyes and a smile that promised mischief.
Zoro sat down on the bench next to luffy, not dropping the eye contact "Not only your name. How did you get on the ship is also something we need to know" he talked with irritation in his tune.
The girl looked at the straw hats, all of them had questions in their eyes "Ok fine! If you insist" she sighed deeply, looking away from them "My name is Koji" she said, folding her arms "As for how I got on the ship, that's confidential" she looked at Zoro from the corner of her eyes.
"Oh really?" Zoro went for his sword, but Sanji gave him a jumping kick right in the face.
"Koji pfffftt.. HAHAHAH, Koji...it suits you right, because you are short and all, little one it's more like tiny one" Usopp said laughing, rolling on the floor holding his stomach.
"You said something about my height Pinocchio?!" Koji said stretching her fingers, making a cracking noise, and looking daggers at Usopp, making him stop laughing shack his head, and hid behind Franky again.
"Oh please, Koji-chan ignore him and tell us about you" Nami said with an excited face "you know boys are stupid they hurt girls feelings without realising" she sighed dramatically and took Koji's hand in hers.
"Oi, Nami why are you so friendly-friendly all of a sudden? This girl scared the living shit out of us down there" Usopp asked from below Franky's large arm looking at the girl.
"So miss intruder. How did you get on our ship?" Robin took a stance of fighting ready to attack if she got refusal as an answer.
The girl just backed away a bit taking her hands back from Nami's "Fine no need for aggression. I will tell you, but it will take a while and it's complicated" Koji explained siting down on the ground pointing for the others to sit down as well.
Everyone sat close by Koji, of course, Sanji was right beside her and luffy moved to sit right across from her, as for Zoro he didn't move from his place and Robin sat beside him crossing her legs in elegance.
"OK then, start telling us~ Koji-chan~" Sanji said getting a bit closer than necessary, which made Koji push away Sanji's face with her hand.
"So everything started this morning" she said looking at her hands.
Flash back
One hour before the Straw hats depart from Pladona.
Koji's pov:
And here I thought I could have a bit of peace around this island, but why no?, now I will have to leave this island too. It seems like they found me here those bastards, anyway I will Carry on with the usual plan. Hide run and find a way out.
"Keep looking everywhere! We can't leave empty handed this time, the boss will have our necks if we do. Search every spot, and nook, we will return with a catch this time, Lads" the leader of the search troop shouted out.
The men searched the place rabidly trying to find me, but there was no hope, I could say that having a short height can be convenient some times...Wait, Da hell did I just say!?
I hid my presence as much as I could and I made a run for an old grocery shop. The moment I went inside the little bell on the door rang "Welcome to our humble shop" an old lady said from behind a table.
"Keep looking, Men! The Boss has called, and he is angry! It will be the death of us, if we return with our hands jogging by our sides he will most defiantly have our heads on his wall. This is our last chance to get the catch" the Man shouted at his men one more time.
The moment I heard his voice, I crouched down behind one of the shelves. "My child, you came to hide didn't you?" the old Woman spoke rocking back and forth on her wooden chair, looking at a box near a picture, on a wooden shelf.
I walked up towards the Woman. "Why do you ask?" I said standing right beside her.
"Just answer me child" the old Woman said calmly.
"Yah, I am hiding" somehow I answered her even though I didn't want to. It was the pained look in her face, that caused my tongue to slip.
All of a sudden, she stood up grabbing my shoulders, and pulled me in a hug "Then, escape in place of my husband and daughter" I didn't understand and was surprised by her actions.
"That box beside the picture, get it" she ordered me.
I reached my arms to pull it, but of course I didn't get it with ease. The box was high up, it's not that I'm a shorty. It was kind of heavy, I wonder what's inside it?, I handed it to the old Woman, she opened it, and took out a light brown short dress and a dark red cape.
"These where once my daughter's. My husband and daughter were killed by those men of Adelfort, and I can't bare seeing someone else get killed by them. Put these on, my child. And run to the docks, today a few cargo and trading ships are leaving early to avoid the storm, ride one and escape" she said, with tears streaming down on her face.
She handed me the clothes, the only problem, is that she was looking 30 degree from where I was standing, and every time I reach out to grab the clothes from her hands, she would move her hand to the other side, thinking that she was handing them to me. Her eyesight is so terribly terrible.
I got into the clothes as fast as I could, so I would go to the docks as she said, but when I was trying to leave I was surprised with another embrace with an extra kisses attack "I hope that you will survive my child" she was so strong for an old Woman with a bad eyesight, I felt like being hugged by a bear.
"I will try ma'am, only if you didn't kill me right now" she let go off me after landing a last kiss, it was supposed to be on my forehead I guess, but it landed a bit lower ... Much lower than expected.
I got out of the shop, running towards the docks, while rubbing my poor mouth for dear life. And in no time I was at the docks, looking for any ship that will depart any time soon.
"Let's have a look at the ships that are leaving the docks, Boss" one of the men said to a tall person wearing a very dark red coat, and has dark black hair, and golden yellow eyes, with a scar across his face. The moment I saw that person, my blood froze.
Hades, hell's warden, that's what they call him, he is the person who fights along side the top fighter of Adelfort. And if the dog is here, then his master is close by, moving the strings from behind the curtains.
If they are searching the docks, then I better look somewhere else for an escape route. I ran towards the mountain then noticed a ship already departing, without being searched, if only I could get a closer look at it I will be saved. I need a high place to have a better look.
"Going somewhere little Koji?" the voice I didn't want to here ever again for the rest of my life, called my for me.
I don't want to see his face, so I ran forward as fast as I could, and found a cliff that will allow me to have a view of the ship.
I ran toward the cliffs of the mountain not realizing that there were men waiting there to catch me. I dodged them reaching the end of the cliff and jumped after having a good view of the ship.
End of flash back
Koji looked up from her hands, to look at the straw hats not knowing how to explain all of what she went through, so she spook what she could.
"I was followed by bad people. I tried to hide, but they kept finding me, so I sneaked into your ship, while everyone was busy. I hid under the mandarin tree then, I sneaked below the deck to find a place I could hide my presence, until the next island, but I was found out by two of your crew members, so I ran out here again and climbed up the mast, then the green dude found me, and that's all" Koji said, looking at all of them with honest eyes, it was part of the truth, that's how she could put on that honest face.
Most of the crew seems to have swallowed the story they have been told, but then, questions fell like rain.
"But then when I was down there. How come, I didn't notice you? It's as if you can walk through walls or even disappear" Sanji asked more to himself. but the result of that question triggered Zoro.
"Yah. answer him how can you go past us without being noticed? You even went below deck, climbed up the mast, until I found you" Zoro narrowed his eyes.
Everyone turned their heads towards the annoyed Koji.
"Why don't you just chill and let me be" Suddenly, she got up, and went straight to Zoro, but Robin stepped in front of her.
Robin moved quickly reaching her hand out, but Koji dodged by jumping to the side and rolling on the ground, until she got on her knees to charge forward, but then she froze seeing her bag in Nami's hands.
"It's not because we are acting friendly, it means that we trust what you say" Nami said sticking her tongue out.
Wide eyed in the heat of the surprise and unbelief, koji looked at her self and unconsciously she batted on her side and reached he shoulder for the bag's strap "Hey! Give back my bag, right now!" Koji roared out with anger ready to charge forward towards Nami.
"Doce Fleu" and she was piled on the ground tied up, with hands Robin sprouted around her waist, wrists and ankles causing her to pile on the floor squirming.
"Come on, do we have to be that violent?" Sanji whined looking at Koji sadly.
"Sanji-kun, don't you care more about your nakama? She might even hurt me and Robin" Nami shouted at him.
He looked at the tied up Koji on the floor "But she is cute" he pouted looking at Nami and pointing towards Koji.
"Get a hold of yourself! You are hopeless" Nami whacked Sanji on the head.
"Give it back! Give back my bag!" Koji shouted again.
Zoro got up, and snatched the bag out of Nami's hands, opened it, and emptied it on the ground.
Things feel out from the bag causing different noises and clacking on the ship's ground a couple of Tangerine's from Nami's tree, a golden hair comp and a spare of clothes and boots, a small dagger and some money in a small sack.
"What are you doing you shitty Marimo?! You can't just mess around with a Lady's stuff" Sanji kneeled down to collect the things back, when a huge and heavy book fell right on his hands "Hey! You asshole! Want me to beat the living shit out of you?!" Sanji roared at Zoro who give the bag a few more shakes to make sure that everything is out then threw the empty bag away.
-Suddenly the hands clutching Koji to the ground disappeared into floting pink petals, Robin kneeled down lifting the book and looked at it with shock.
"That book! Where did you get it from?" she asked looking at the girl who got back to her feet.
TBC...
What is that book?
What is Koji going to say?
What will happen next?
all of that and more in the next chapter.
AN:
Hope you like it so far and leave comments your thoughts and stuff :)