Author's note: Wow, guys. Guuuuuuuys. Thank youuuu. Thank youuu. I love you. I'm so happy. x
CrystalBalle: I'm so glad you like her! I agree that she'll just blurt whatever! I'm excited to see how that turn out. x
Guest: All I can say is that having a devil fruit that actually can control time itself does not come without a price :)
non of ur business sorry: We'll see, dear. c:
Savage Kill: I know this chapter does not explain anything regarding her vision failure, but I promise I have it figure out! :P
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece ( I am a penguin with imagination the size of a peanut and have no talent whatsoever to create something as golden as One Piece.) I do own my OCs
I hope you feel free to fave, review, comment or follow. It's deeply appreciated. x
Chapter 3: Green
"I'm scared she'll remain a shorty forever, Zen."
"I'm only five, you dump grass."
"What did she call me?"
"A dump grass."
"Nora, when did you ever hear that word?"
"Zen used it when he was mad at you for wearing his underwear. He said you were a dump grass who can't tell apart his own underwear."
"She probably means dumb-ass cause that's the only thing you are."
"OI! Freak eyes! Who are you calling a dumb-ass?"
"Who are you calling freak eyes?!"
"Fight!"
"SHUT UP, DUMBO."
Previously…
"Marimo, you have four seconds to think!" Yelled Nora after she looked at her old hand-watch.
"What..?" Before he could even turn to ask, the girl held her hand out with her palm upwards. Eight seconds still haven't passed. She brought her fingers into a fist.
"Reverse"
And it turned back to the moment where the swordsman just cut up Buggy in pieces. While Zoro's eyes widened in surprise and shock, he used the given opportunity to avoid the knife from the clown's hand by a single inch. Even the clown himself looked in awe and astonishment. While Nora's sight got worse to the point of needing glasses, she managed to let out a snarky grin with Luffy's entertained ass laughing in the background.
"I guess I can kinda manipulate time."
"EEEEEEEHHHHHH?!"
The short girl didn't bother explaining herself, as she didn't feel like doing so. Luffy and Nami were already informed of the fact that she too, was a devil fruit user and Nora told herself she would tell Zoro later after he'd thank her. A slight frown became visible on her face when she thought of the possibility that he wouldn't even bother muttering thank you's. He was cool guy. Cool guys didn't say thank you.
"You're full of surprises, little brat. Interrupting a fight like that…." Chuckled Buggy. Didn't he already see her powers beforehand? Why were they so surprised at her statement? And wait, did he just call her a little brat?
"And you're full of shit, but you don't see me talking about it." Curtly replied Nora while the whole crew including Nami kept praying for this girl to stop her early death wish. Even Zoro seemed taken-aback while the straw hat captain just chuckled. The swordsman took a moment to understand the situation. He didn't feel pain on his side anymore, yet he remembered it clearly. However, he gripped his swords in his hands and mouth and along with a dangerous glint, he taunted his enemy.
"I'm glad you aren't as weak as you look." If his goal was to irritate the clown, he certainly succeeded in doing so as he found himself clashing his swords with the clown's knives. The fight had presumed.
But the swordsman just couldn't figure out a weak spot. While trying to find it, he made the same mistake. He sliced him in parts. It was when he heard a dark laugh that he realized he screwed up. The parts that he had sliced were now free to attack him from every angle, behind or not. The marimo-haired boy gritted his teeth as he blocked the knives the clown kept throwing. At that moment, his eyes widened at the flying hand that kept inching towards a certain girl's back, clenching a morbidly sharp knife. But before he could yell out in warning, he saw the girl disappear in a blink as soon as the knife came mere inches from striking her.
"Watch out, Nora!" Yelled a certain captain.
Nora should have been quicker about the whole situation. The second she felt it coming from behind, she should have reacted faster. She needed milliseconds, yet she indulged in one second time movement. Due to her carelessness, she felt the surface cut of her skin on her bare shoulder. Even though she was now meters away, he had managed to graze her quite painfully with his knife. It was when the bastard attacked her once more, while still fighting Zoro with other parts of his body, that Nora jumped to dodge it. One the good side, she managed to avoid the hit, but on the other hand she tripped and embraced her face with the ground for the hundredth time. The whole crew kept cheering and laughing at the fallen girl while that only seemed to increase Buggy's ego further. Reattaching his body parts, the clown left Zoro and reappeared before the fallen girl, who kept mumbling about the earth being clingy. He wanted to do nothing more than to kill her right then and there, so he brought his hand up to strike.
If the swordsman reacted quickly enough, there was no doubt he could stop the clown with his own swords.
"Attacking from behind is cowardly, big red nose!" Yelled the man inside the cage for the whole world to hear, voice as furious as it could get.
Nora swore than even she thought time suddenly stopped, no matter how hard she tried to push in her laughter. Her shoulder stung like hell. The ground wasn't helping much either.
"Who…has…a…big….red…NOSE?!" Fumed Buggy in an outburst so dramatic, the earth started shaking. He threw his knife at the boy with a central aim of his face, but the rubber boy only caught it between his teeth, smiling creepily.
"I will beat the crap out of you, Buggy." He promised. And then broke the knife with his teeth.
'I hope you make sure of that. I think my nose is broken.'
The whole started laughing though. The clown, despite his growing rage, laughed along with them, masking the boy's promise as a joke.
"Zoro, run!"
"Don't be pathetic, boy." He said and finally pushed his knife to the ground to kill the fallen girl. When he looked at the ground, surprise, surprise, he found the ground. And the girl?
She was quietly striking a match to ignite the cannon which the swordsman had wordlessly turned over with his strength. She then looked at the crew and Buggy right in front of them and a content smile spread across her lips. Her fingers brought the match to the lit and with a small spark, it ignited.
"Burn."
Boom!
Her nose was broken.
…
"What's you're name, marimo-chan?
"IT'S ZORO, YOU DUMB ELEPHANT."
"You're scary."
"You're annoying."
Silence.
"Oi."
"What?"
He just looked at her.
"What?" She repeated. He irked in slight irritation.
"…What's yours?"
"It's Nora. It's probably nice to meet you."
"Probably?"
"You are quite scary." He sighed.
"You have some pretty weird time powers."
"You have some pretty weird sword techniques."
"Brat…" He murmured quietly.
"Plant." She exclaimed loudly.
That earned her a light smack on the back of her head. Nora just glared at the taller man who was carrying the heavy cage of their trapped captain on his back. Nami, as Nora noted when they ran off after the cannon explosion, had foxily sneaked off somewhere again.
The green-haired man did not display any injuries, but it was evident that he was somewhat tired.
The rubber boy did not carry even a scratch while the short haired girl had both a bleeding shoulder and a damaged nose. On the bright side, it was not broken anymore, courtesy of Zoro who had oh so politely volunteered to help her fix it. Nora remembered the smug look on his face when he caused her to scream out in pain. That sadistic bastard.
But the moss head came to a sudden halt and placed the heavy cage on the ground the moment when they came in the view of an old house with a strange white creature sitting in front of its porch.
Nora felt the need to get closer to it so she could see it more clearly.
"What is it?" She asked quite dumbly.
"Looks like it's a dog, Nora." Answered her overly-cheerful captain and he tumbled his metal cage towards the dog until he was mere inches from it, while the swordsman casually sat on the porch.
"What's the matter with this mutt?" Roronoa Sherlock inspected.
"Hey look Nora. It's not moving at all." Luffy exclaimed when he failed to create a reaction from the dog by showing it funny and stupid faces.
"He's probably a guard dog. Don't provoke him, cap."
"How dangerous could he be…?" Alas, the straw hat never listened. The moment he took out his finger to poke the poor dog, it opened its large mouth and took a large bite on Luffy's face. While the sited swordsman looked surprised at the sudden attack, Nora only slightly laughed.
"I told you not to provoke it."
"STOP LAUGHING. OI STUPID DOG, STOP THAT. LET GO." It was then that Zoro finally broke.
"YOU DAMN IDIOT. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION WE'RE IN?" He yelled but Nora only laughed some more. He then turned to yell at her some more.
"AND YOU. WHY THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING? YOUR SHOULDER HASN'T EVEN STOPPED BLEEDING."
"I just need a few stitches, it's fine. Would you relax?" Retorted Nora with a childish glare. She moved to help the struggling boy with the vicious dog. When she came close enough, she put her hands on the white dog softy and gently tugged him away from the boys face. Her fingers reached a familiar spot behind his ear and she instantly released the boy. While he did glare at the female human, he did not attack her or growl, but simply regained his same spot in front of the porch.
"Damn dog." Cursed the captain and the swordsman just sighed, indicating that he had given up trying. Feeling bold, Nora went to softly pet the dog and smiled gladly when the creature did not show the intention of hurting her or attacking her. She nearly missed the little creature's head by an inch due to her unclear vision. It would take her a few more minutes to regain normal sight.
A pair of footsteps brought the sudden attention of the trio as they turned to see a familiar orange head thief. She was wearing a calm smile which didn't resemble any of her previous sly and fake ones. Nami actually looked relieved.
"I suppose I can give you this. It's for helping me back there." She said as she tossed a key towards the ground near Luffy's cage.
"It's the key to the cage! You brought it for me!" Exclaimed Luffy.
"Don't misunderstand, I just don't like being in-debt to someone." She defended herself as both Nora and Zoro smiled in relief.
"I'm saved!" And just as Luffy outstretched his hand to grab the key, the dog's smart brain decided to eat and swallow the key.
Zoro widened his eyes.
Nami looked dumbfounded.
Luffy looked absolutely furious.
Nora tried to stifle her laugh.
"You could have hand it over like a normal person, Na-baba*. (*grandma)" That statement earned her another smack behind her head.
"I DIDN'T KNOW THE DOG WAS GOING TO EAT IT. DON'T CALL ME A BABA." Nami let out her vicious shark teeth that made even Zoro slightly shiver.
Meanwhile, Luffy started strangling the poor dog.
"Damn you! Spit it out! Spit it out, you damn dog!" And he repeated those sentences over ten times.
"Leave poor Chouchou alone, you brats!" Yelled an ancient voice that belonged to a small figure which, according to Nora, seemed thousands of miles away. Yet, he was only a few meters away. It was only when the old man approached them, that Luffy let go of the dog.
"Chouchou?"
"Who are you, old man?" Asked Zoro.
"I am this town's mayor. Who are you? - But then he briefly glanced towards Nora's open shoulder. – My, my, that's a nasty cut. You must have been fighting with those Buggy clowns. Wait a moment, I can bring you a medical kit."
…
"This is very kind of you, old man." Said the dark haired girl as bowed her head in politeness towards the man's gentle assistance in patching up her shoulder. The old man just nodded his head as his reply.
Nora slowly petted the white furred dog which was sitting next to her, still guarding in front of the porch. The swordsman quietly let himself doze off into a nap near it.
"What's it doing here, sitting like that?" Asked Luffy curiously.
"Guarding the store." The mayor answered pointing out to the obvious pet store in front of them. Nora felt a shiver. How the hell had they missed the big ass "Pet Food Store" signs and obvious décor.
"So it must mean a lot to him then…" Murmured Nora as she continued petting Chouchou's head gently.
"That's right. The owner was a good friend of mine. – and he brought a bowl of food snacks before the dog, which contently started munching away his food. – I've been feeding him in his place."
"In his place?" Inquired Nami.
"He passed away three months ago because of an illness." The mayor then sat on the porch.
"So, he's waiting for him to return?"
"That's what the town folk keep saying but, I think that Chouchou's smart enough to have figured out that his master is dead."
"Then, why is he guarding the shop?"
"It's because it's his treasure, right?" Suddenly interrupted Nora, looking sadly at the dog. The old man nodded his head.
"It's the only thing his master left him, so of course he would protect it. I've tried to move him, but he's been stubborn every single time."
"So, it's your treasure…" Said Nora with a small, understanding smile and unconsciously touched her old hand watch. She knew what it meant and she knew that the caged boy understood it perfectly as well.
However, there was sudden uproar which surprised all of them.
"Who's that?" Asked Nora.
"It's him! The beast tamer, Mohji!" Shrieked the mayor as he went away cowardly, Nami shrieking and while asking him questions, followed him shortly after. Luffy sighed.
"Something's coming." He said rather stupidly when the large, growling tiger and man on top of him were right in front of them. Mohjis smiled as he'd just won a prize when he saw the caged Luffy.
"You've been abandoned by your nakama and yet you just got away?" He mocked.
"Genius, I'm here, Nami's a little to the side and that marimo haired guy is on the side of the porch napping. Do you need glasses or something?"
His eyes finally landed on the familiar girl who had left him soaked in colour paint before and had ridden his own beast. His eyes twitched and anger boiled up in him, sensing the urge to kill her immediately.
"It seems you have a death wish, brat."
"She does…" Whispered Nami while the short girl threw an angry "Traitor" towards her remark. Suddenly, Mohji came down his angry lion and started walking towards the dog.
"I am the beast tamer Mohji! There is no beast that I haven't tamed. Shake!" He barked the order and while Chouchou looked bored, he found the motivation to bite the pathetic man's arm. Alarmed and shocked, the man flailed and screamed, trying to pry off the dog off of his arm. Nora allowed herself to laugh.
"Good job, Chouchou!" But then, Mohji turned to face Luffy, his face covering the embarrassment he had just put on his title.
"Tell me where Roronoa Zoro is."
"No."
"RICHIE! KILL HIM!" The lion obediently growled and lunged towards the straw hat, breaking him out of his cage and freeing him at the same time. Just as the snarky captain was about to proclaim his freedom, the large lion knocked him with his paw, sending crashing to the opposite building.
"OI! SHEEP-FACED MORON. DO YOU ALSO NEED EAR SURGERY? ZORO'S RIGHT THERE." Yelled Nora as she pin pointed towards the peacefully asleep man on the far side, unaffected by his surrounding and the things happening around him.
Mohji blinked.
And again before his eye twitched at his stupidity and the nerve of the girl in front of him.
"RICHIE, KILL HER." And the lion lunged forward at the surprised girl. She failed. The sharp clawed paw of the giant lion came in tact with her face and send her crashing to the side. The man on top of the lion just smiled at his easy victory.
"Pathetic." He said and he turned to face the dog.
"It's protecting the shop, huh? Richie, I hope you're hungry." As on cue, the lion growled.
Yet the little white dog remained fearless. His little black eyes showed determination far greater than even a human's. And so, he fought.
The lion lunged forward, but so did he.
The lion attacked, he defended.
The lion bit, so did he.
Blood and wounds became visible on his small body. But, that motivated him to show his canines, to bark louder and to bite harder. It motivated him further to protect the thing he had been guarding! It wasn't just an ordinary pet food shop! It was his master's farewell request! It was his treasure, for pete's sake!
The lion dashed forward again, prepared for the last blow. But the lion didn't collide with the dog this time. He collided with something much more solid and hurtful.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Said a calm, yet eerily angry voice in front of the lion. Mohji looked shocked to see the girl up and about, only a few claw scratches adoring her face. The lion's furious eyes collided with a wooden bat which was tightly secured around the short girl's hands. She pushed her bat forward and threw the lion away a couple of meters away, unbalancing him on his feet just slightly. The girl narrowed her eyes to look at the blooded dog and showed him a small smile.
"Let me help a bit." She said and when Chouchou gave her a broken woof, she looked at the beast tamer once again, eyes cold and furious as they could get.
"I dare you to do it again, kitty." Before Mohji could voice out a command, the lion raged forward towards the girl, eyes red and teeth showing.
'And just when my sight started clearing…' Nora clenched her bat in one hand and pushed her other one forward, preparing herself for the furious beast. She briefly looked at her watch which always showed her the correct seconds. Her eyes closed to focus. Three seconds.
"NORA!" Yelled both famine and boyish voices.
"Wha..?" Came the sleepy mutter of a certain swordsman.
"Woof." Came a bark.
A roar. Ticking. Treasure. And then her hand brushed against some warm fur gently.
"Time Check: Body Removal" She voiced out.