A/N: This is purely a work of fanfiction. One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda. Only Zelda/Piggy and all other OCs are mine.
This Chapter is base of a mix of the One Piece Manga and Anime.
Acknowledgments are at the end of the chapter.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Flashback
Chapter 3
"Food Foo? This looks to be the right place."
Two hours had passed since the time the blonde woman had woken up on the beach and in that time she had managed to gather information including where she was and where she could stay the night.
An older woman had informed Piggy that she was in Shell Town, the location of a small marine base.
"Thank you Ma'am. You wouldn't happen to know of any nearby lodgings? A hotel? Inn? Bed and Breakfast? Youth Hostel?"
"There aren't any inns but a couple people in town could probably rent you a room for the night. Here a friend of mine might have room," she informed Piggy before taking a small slip of paper and writing down the location.
Thus Piggy found herself standing in front of what appeared to be a small pub.
"Hello? Anybody here?" Piggy called out as she entered the empty bar.
Having heard the girl, a woman appeared from the kitchen in the back of the location. "Sorry Miss, but we're not opening for another thirty minutes."
Holding out the note that had the establishment's name Piggy handed the piece of paper to the woman.
"Actually I'm looking for a place to stay and was told you might have a room to rent," she explained to the woman.
Looking at Piggy, the bar owner couldn't help but notice that the girl didn't have much with her aside from the clothes she was wearing and an axe that she was carrying.
"I take it this would be a short stay," she guessed.
Feeling slightly embarrassed Piggy gave a nervous laugh, "Well you see…the thing is….all my possessions were kind of lost at sea…"
"And let me guess that your wallet was among those things," the woman said hitting the nail on the head.
"I don't suppose there is any way you could let me stay here?" Piggy asked not sure where else she could go and hoping she wouldn't have to spend the night out on the street.
Giving it a bit of thought the woman decided to take pity on the younger woman and proposed a solution. "I suppose we could work out a deal. Tell you what, we are in need of someone to fill in as waitress since my previous girl left shell town a couple weeks ago and we haven't found a replacement yet. In exchange I can give you room and board in lieu of payment."
"It's a deal boss lady!" Piggy said shaking the woman's hand vigorously, knowing that she wouldn't get a better deal than the one the woman offered.
Despite not getting paid, the blonde would at least have a roof over her head and food to eat. In time she would find a way to solve her money woes and resume her journey to the Grand Line.
"You can call me Ririka," the woman said preferring that the girl refer to her by her name.
"Okay Rika and you can call me Piggy," she said introducing herself to her new employer and landlady.
"Oh I couldn't do such a thing," Ririka replied not wanting to hurt the girl's feeling.
"Why not? It's my name," Piggy said not finding anything weird about her name.
"If you're sure…Why don't I show you the room where you'll be staying in?" Ririka suggested changing the subject.
Taking her new waitress through the back of the bar, Rika led her up the stairs to the living quarters above the restaurant and to the room that was for rent.
"Awe what a cute room, I love it!"
"I'll let you get settled in and you can come down in ten minutes and we can go over your duties," the older woman said as she let Piggy explore her new room.
Piggy sat down on the small bed. Looking around the room didn't have much aside from the bed and a small dresser.
'I should send a letter home and let them know I'm okay. The sooner I write to Ma and Pa, the sooner I can warn them about old man Fisher.' she thought as she laid back testing out her bed.
In truth Piggy did not have to worry about the man who had attempted to take her for ransom as she would find out months later when she met with Harold and Momo once more. Old man Fisher had attempted to rob the ship that had picked him and his crewman from the storm only to end up with a fifteen year sentence in a nearby prison.
'Maybe I should ask for-'
Hearing footsteps, Piggy sat up having found her thought interrupted when she spotted someone peaking into the room from the doorway.
She gave a large smile and ran to the door opening the room to the young girl looking in, "Hi! I'm Piggy! I'll be living here for a while so let's be friends! What's your name?"
The young girl was surprised to see the upbeat woman. Most of the people who rented the spare room were travelers who didn't want to be bothered.
Returning the smile, the young girl introduced herself. "I'm Rika and I'm ten years old, how old are you?"
"I'm sixteen…I think," Piggy answered.
"You think?" she asked never having met someone who didn't know their own age.
"Well to be honest I don't know my exact birthday, one of those issues that come with memory loss. I'm probably sixteen or seventeen years old. At least that's what mama and papa estimate."
Unbeknownst to the tall girl at the time, Piggy or rather Zelda as she was actually named, was actually a twenty-four year-old adult. Due to losing her memories and her younger appearance she was none the wiser and continued to believe she was in her mid teens.
"I like your shirt," the young girl said pointing to the top half of Piggy's ensemble that consisted of a t-shirt, cropped pants and ankle boots.
On the pink top was a logo with a star the word 'Crimin' written underneath the star. Piggy had been fortunate to be wearing her Crimin t-shirt as so far it was the only thing she had that had jogged a memory of her past while the rest of her clothing had been lost to the sea.
"Piggy! Rika! Hurry up, we're opening soon!" Ririka called from downstairs.
"We should go downstairs, I still need to learn where everything is if I'm going to be working here," Piggy said.
Grabbing the older girl's hand Rika led her down to the bar, "I can help you, I sometimes help out my mom."
"Really, thanks!" Piggy said happily.
The lighthearted feeling would be gone quicker than either of them expected a few hours later.
++++++ Another Mouth to Feed++++++
A skinny and lanky-looking young man with light blonde hair shaped like a sideways oval on top of his head, a cleft chin wearing dark purple uniforms with white shoes walked in followed by a couple of uniformed men.
Sitting at one of the tables as the men stood behind him, he slammed his fist on the wooden surface.
"What does a guy have to do to get some service around here?!" he demanded.
"Welcome to Food Foo, can I start you with something to drink?" the cheerful voice of Piggy said from beside him.
Despite the man's rude behavior, the young woman made sure to retain a pleasant demeanor, even if she had to fake it with the man in the purple suit.
"It's about damn time! Listen you I- Well hello there," he said getting a look at the waitress.
He hadn't expected to see a new face and a pretty one at that. The young woman had blonde hair tied in two pigtails, that reached her lower back and bangs that frame her face, fair-skinned, and a slender, curvaceous and very well endowed figure.
Turning to one of the marines that had accompanied him he asked "Who is that? She's got some knockers on her…Do you think they're real?"
Not getting an answer he turned to them with an angry expression. "Well?! I just asked you a question!"
'Is he not aware that I can hear him?' she thought slightly offended at his comment.
"Why don't I give you some time to decide," Piggy said before turning to leave only to have the man grab her wrist.
"Not so fast cutie," he said smugly. "How about you show me a good time," he said making a kissy face at her and pulling her closer.
Piggy gave him a confused look.
"No thank you, I'm not interested" she said pulling her hand out of the strange fellow's grip.
The man's jaw dropped at the quick rejection, "I don't think I heard you correctly."
"I said No thanks, I'm not interested," Piggy repeated.
Unable to comprehend the man sat up with loud noise causing the other customers to look at the commotion. "Do you know who I am? You're new in town so I'll be nice enough to tell you. I am Helmeppo; My father is Captain Morgan of the Marines"
"And?"
"So that means when I don't get my way, I tell my daddy. And that means heads will start rolling," Helmeppo threatened.
Seeing the trouble brewing Ririka stepped in, "Please have a seat we'll get you a dinner special on the house of course."
Sitting back down the man huffed, "Well that is a given, and make it snappy!"
Pulling Piggy to the kitchen, Ririka warned the girl. "I should have told you earlier. You'll want to be careful around Helmeppo. That boy is a menace to this town."
"Why does he get away with that behavior?" Piggy asked as she began to prepare the food for the order.
"His father is Captain Morgan, the man in charge of the local Marine Base. He is not someone whose ire you want to have. Please be careful," she cautioned the newcomer.
Giving the woman an appreciative smile, Piggy said "Don't worry Ririka; I'm one tough cookie there's no way I'm going to get in trouble anytime soon."
++++++ Another Mouth to Feed++++++
Trouble came quickly to the small pub two day later
Business continued as usual during the lunch hour.
"Welcome to Food Foo, What can I get you?" Piggy asked taking out her notepad. To take down the patron's order.
The man had green hair and appeared to be a muscular young man of average height with lightly tanned skin. Wearing black trousers tucked inside black boots, a plain white shirt with three undone buttons at the collar and his green haramaki.
The young man with green hair sitting at the counter glanced at the menu. "A pint of grog and the house special."
"Sure thing, be right back," she said giving the man a smile.
'Three swords? Maybe he loses them easily' she mused as she headed to the kitchen.
A few minutes later the girl returned with the man's order.
"Enjoy," she said placing the food and drink in front. "Here are a couple of extra forks, though cutlery doesn't seem to be an issue for you, ha-ha."
The atmosphere was interrupted.
A wolf broke in and began menacing the people inside the small eatery,
Rika who had been sweeping tried to shoo away the wild animal with her broom
"Stop it you mean old thing!" she yelled at the canine while swatting at it with her broom
Helmeppo walked in brandishing a sword, "Little girl is there some problem with how my beloved dog is behaving?" he asked with a smirk.
Ririka watch with fear from the other side of the bar. "Rika step away, you don't want to het us in trouble," she said.
Hearing the fear in her voice, Helmeppo laughed.
Piggy ran to the front of the bar, to try and help out. "Stand back Rika," she said noticing how aggressive the wolf was becoming.
The girl moved behind Piggy and the blonde stood protectively in front of her young firend.
Piggy smacked the animal on its snout hoping it would be enough to deter the creature.
The wolf bared its teeth growling before lunging towards the girls. Piggy had the serving tray placed in front of her as a shield.
Before the wolf landed he had been struck down A bar stool was thrown knocking out the wolf.
Everyone looked over to see who had thrown the chair. It was the man with cropped green hair in the black bandana.
Everyone whispered as no one would dare stand up to the marne captain's son.
"Who the hell are you?! How dare you touch my pet!" Helmeppo shouted before getting a good look at the stranger. "Wait! You're him, it's you!"
He approached the man seated at the bar. "You're the pirate hunter Zoro!"
"And if I am?" Zoro responded.
Rika was gathered by her mother as Piggy watched the exchange.
"What is a pirate hunter doing defying the marines?!" he exclaimed
"Shut up and let me finish my meal in peace," Zoro said taking a bite.
Not liking how the bounty hunter talked to him, Helmeppo slashed his sword at Zoro, hitting the bar counter when Zoro got out the way and instead lost his sword when the green-haired man kicked the bladed weapon out of the blonde man's hold, finishing things by punching the marine captain's son.
Zoro unsheathed one of his three swords and pointed the tip at Helmeppo's nose. "You're getting on my nerves. You and that mutt of yours"
Despite how scared Zoro made him, Helmeppo came up with a counter to the swordsman's threatening tone. "Hiehiehiehie, you do realize that if my father find out about this he'll execute those three."
Zoro looked over at three women who had worried looks on their faces.
Getting up from the floor he continued, "What do you say to a deal between men? Instead of the girls we tie you up instead? If you survive for one month, I'll let you live as too. Sound fair?"
Putting down his sword, Zoro agreed "One month it is."
"Wait! That's not fai-" Piggy had been about to protest when Roronoa Zoro gave her a warning look to stop.
"Let's get this done with," Zoro said as the two marines grabbed the bounty hunter by his arms with a Helmeppo smirking as he led the way.
That same evening as Piggy laid in her bed she found herself unable to sleep. Her thoughts kept going back to Roronoa Zoro and how he had accepted Helmeppo's deal in order to save the three women.
'What is this feeling? It's like I'm angry but for someone else…is that a thing? Am I going crazy?'
No longer able to stand it, the blonde woman had to go see for herself what had happened to the man with three swords.
"If only there was way to sneak in undetected," she said frustrated as she closed her eyes.
Almost as if something clicked in her mind, a sensation overcame Piggy. Her body felt lighter and warmer. Opening her eyes suddenly everything in the room appeared larger.
"What's going on?" she whispered to herself. Looking at her hands she saw paws. Leaping down from the bed she passed by the large mirror in her room, Piggy doubled back. .Staring back at her rather than her normal refection was a cat. Not herself woth cat-like features but an actual cat.
Harold and Momo had told her that when they had found her she had been found in the form of a housecat and without forcing herself she had transformed herself into the form of an animal.
'I think this might work after all…I should hurry who knows how long I can keep this up' she thought sneaking out of her room through the window.
Finding the marine base was easy enough as it was the location of the tallest building in Shell Town.
'They propably have Zoro locked up in there.'
Seeing the guarded entrance, Piggy headed to the side to fins another way in over the large stoen wall that surrounded the base.
As a cat climbing up the surrounding wall was an easy feat. Piggy utilized her enhanced eyesight to look around in the dark for any marines that could be patrolling the grounds. To her surprise what she ended up spotting was Roronoa Zoro and made her way to him.
As a way to make his punishment more difficult, rather than simply locking the bounty hunter in a cell, Helmeppo had ordered that the man be tied up to a post in the middle of the training ground to suffer under the sun's heat during the day.
"Roronoa Zoro, Are you okay?" Piggy loudly whispered surprising herself when she saw that she could still talk instead of only meowing in her animal form.
Unable to see due to the darkness of the night sky Zoro called out "Who's there?"
"Shush, do you want the guards to hear you," Piggy said in a loud whisper. "It's Piggy the girl from the bar, I came to see how you were holding up. It's not fair that that jerk is doing this to you."
With a serious tone he answered, "This is nothing; I'll make it to the thirty days easily."
"But what about-"
"I won't die," he said interrupting her. "Now beat it, I don't need a kid bothering me."
Piggy couldn't help but huff, "Fine I'll go but not because you told me to. I'm leaving cause I felt like it."
Hearing the sound of approaching guards the girl ran and climbed over the surrounding wall, landing just as voices could be heard on the other side.
'I'll be back tomorrow just to show him.'
+++++Another Mouth to Feed+++++
"Piggy look at what I made," Rika said holding up the rice balls for the older girl to see.
It had been nine days since Zoro had been tied up and each night Piggy had gone out to see him. Having practiced her transformation every night Piggy found it easier to transition between her three forms, sometimes appearing as a cat watching from the wall at night and other times as her human self in the daytime when she brought food and water to Zoro.
Each time she did bring him food or water he would reject her offer, claiming he didn't need the help. Despite his protest he had come close to accepting a couple of times.
Having told the young child about her visits to the green-haired man, Rika had wanted to also help the man out of gratitude.
"I'm sure he'll like them." Piggy replied.
"Here I made one for you to try," the young girl said pointing to a third rice ball on a plate.
"I'll have to try it later, it looks like we got a couple of customers," she said walking out of the kitchen.
Piggy approached one of the middle table occupied by two young men. One was a slim, tan boy with black hair under a straw hat wearing blue shorts and a red vest. The other was shorter with pink hair and glasses.
"Hi I'm Piggy but you can call me the girl of your dreams," she said teasingly greeting the two with a smile.
The pink-haired boy couldn't help but blush at the sight of the cute waitress only to receive a strong pat on the back that almost sent the pink haired boy toppling forward had he not been sitting.
"Just kidding," she said giggling. "What can I get you boys?"
"Give me all the meat you have!" the boy in the straw-hat ordered.
Piggy couldn't help but look at the black-haired boy. "I don't think that's possible…."
"Please bring us the lunch special," the pink-haired boy ordered.
"Now that I can do," Piggy said leaving the two to bring them their order.
Walking into the kitchen she saw Rika wrapping up a couple of rice balls. As she got to work on serving the food onto a couple of plates the brown haired child approached her.
"Piggy do you think that we can take these rice balls to Mister Zoro today?" she asked.
Giving it a bit of thought, Piggy tried to recall the guard routine she observed. "I suppose we can go in half an hour."
Thirty minutes later, Piggy had been about to take of her apron to accompany her young friend when the sound of items breaking called her to the dining area of the bar.
Walking back to the kitchen she had a resigned look on her face, "Sorry Rika I;m afraid we'll have to postpone the visit to the marine base."
"Why!?" the girl asked.
Piggy had grabbed a mop and bucket. "I don't know what happen one minute everyone was eating their meal like normal and now there are a bunch of overturned tables, broken plates and spilled food."
Rika watched as the tall woman went through the kitchen door. 'I can't wait until tomorrow, maybe I can go by myself,' the girl reasoned as she headed to the storage in the back to grab a ladder.
++++++ Another Mouth to Feed++++++
"Sorry about postponing our plan Rika," Piggy said as she backed into the kitchen having finished cleaning up the mess in the dining area.
Not hearing the girl respond, Piggy turned around to find no one in the kitchen. "Rika? Rika, are you hiding?"
Looking around the older woman notices that the rice balls that the child had made were missing. 'Uh oh, don't tell me Rika went on her own. Ririka is going to kill me,' she thought not wanting to have the older woman angry for not keeping an eye on the impulsive girl.
Going out the back door, Piggy ran all the way to the marine base. Along one of the wall she spotted the familiar ladder but saw no sign of the young girl.
"Rika? Rika are you here?" she called in a hushed tone lest she be heard by patrolling marines. Climbing up the ladder, Piggy glanced over the wall.
Rather than Rika, the person she saw talking to the tied-up man was the boy in the strawhat who had been at Food Foo.
Having exchanged words, the boy in the hat picked up a mashed white lump covered in dirt. 'Those must be Rika's rice balls, I wonder what happened?'
Seeing no sign of the little girl, Piggy took it as her cue to leave and went back to the restaurant.
Outside the back door in the small alley way, Piggy spotted Rika talking to the small, pink-haired boy who had accompanied the straw-hat wearing teen.
"There you are!" she called running up to Rika and checking to see if she was okay. "What were you thinking going by yourself?"
"Sorry Piggy but I was worried about Mister Zoro and I didn't want him to go hungry," she explained.
"I can't believe marines would act like that. They're supposed to help and protect people not bully and hurt them," the pink-haired boy said voicing his disappointment at the display he had witnessed.
"Who are you?" she asked not knowing the boy's name.
"Sorry Miss, my name is Coby and that over there is Luffy," he said pointing to the boy in the straw-hat who was walking towards the small group.
"Guess what, Zoro ate the rice ball." He told them happily.
Rika couldn't help but smile at the news. "Really?"
"Yeah! He ate it all up!" He told tem sporting a huge grin as he told Rika what had happened after she and Coby left.
"I'm so glad!" Rika seems to be at ease knowing her efforts had not been for naught.
"What exactly happened?" Piggy asked wanting to know what had transpired before she arrived on the scene.
"That big old meaning Helmeppo took the rice ball and spit them out before stomping them on the ground. Then he had one of the marines throw me over the wall but Luffy caught me," Rika explained.
"He did what?!" Piggy exclaimed.
"Isn't that sort of behavior more suited to someone like Roronoa than a marine?" Coby asked.
"He's not bad!" Rika practically yelled at the pink haired boy. Seeing the shocked look on his face Rika explained.
"Everybody in town is afraid of Zoro, but he hasn't done anything wrong. We're the reason he's tied up ," Rika started to say.
"It's true," Piggy added.
"What do you mean?" asked Coby.
Continuing her story Rika clarified. "Captain Morgan's son had a bunch of mean dogs! One of the dogs came into the restaurant and was going to attack me when Roronoa Zoro stepped in! Besides, those dogs were running loose and scaring everybody in town!"
"That's why Zoro's in prison? Because he hurt that guy's dog to save you," Luffy said, showing he understood the situation.
Hearing Luffy put it so bluntly Piggy couldn't help but feel guilty for putting the man in that position and wish she could do more to help than just keeping an eye on Zoro.
"That makes sense, Zoro's really scary but he only goes after people with a price on their heads, and they wouldn't arrest someone for that" Coby seconded.
"Captain Morgan and his son are the bad one!" Rika "They put people to death for no reason at all. Everyone's afraid of them."
Their discussion was interrupted when the sound of Helmeppo's voice broke through. "You're not bowing your heads low enough, scum! I'll tell my father on all of you!"
It was bad enough having him parading through town like he did, but what he said next would draw the groups ire. "Do you want to be jailed like Roronoa Zoro!? We're going to hold a public execution for him in three days! "
"What!" Piggy exclaimed at the news just as Luffy walked out of the alley and approached the marine captain's son.
"But didn't you make a promise to him?" he said having heard about the thirty-day deal from Zoro himself.
Turning to face Luffy, Helmeppo answered his question. "What? Where did you hear that? He's just a stupid beast for believing it! Hiehiehiehie," he laughed not showing any shame for what he was saying.
"How dare you!" Piggy found herself yelling as she walked out of the alley and stood next to Luffy. "You can't do that!"
Her knuckles were turning white as she balled her hands into fist ready to take her anger out on Helmeppo finding it unfair how Helmeppo was acting, having no qualms about betraying his deal.
Sporting a smug look he looked at the woman giving her a lecherous glance. "I might reconsider and let him live an extra day if you spend the night with me."
Before Piggy could hit him, Luffy was punching Helmeppo in the face to the shock of everyone around.
"Luffy! Stop! Calm Down!" Coby cried out holding Luffy back.
"Coby, I've made my decision! I'm going to ask Zoro to join my crew!" He announced.
Luffy's actions caused quite the stir among the towns people who couldn't believe that someone had actually stood up to Captain Morgan's son.
"Luffy stop! Are you trying to pick a fight with the whole Navy!?" Coby cried out to no avail.
Not one to be deterred Luffy declared, "Scum is scum no matter who its father is!"
The marine officers ran to Helmeppo's side to help him up. "Y-You hit me! You actually hit me! "I'm Captain Morgan's beloved son! I'm telling Daddy on you!" he screamed.
"You'll die begging for mercy! You're a walking corpse!" Helmeppo added before running off toward the base with his guards.
Noticing his hat had fallen to the ground in the commotion; Piggy picked it up and dusted it off before handing Luffy his straw-hat.
"It's about time that booger nugget got what he deserved," Piggy commented.
"He wasn't worth hitting," Luffy said fixing his hat on his head.
Rika approached the two cheering, "You were great big bro! I feel a lot better now!"
"Then I wish I'd given him a few more whacks for you," he replied.
Just then Rika's mother came out of the restaurant having heard all the commotion. "Rika! Get Over here!"
Seeing her daughter stay still she came and grabbed her daughter, pushing the girl towards the restaurant. "You shouldn't be talking to that person! If they think you're his friend, they'll kill you too!"
Rika tried to protest. "But Mommy, he's a good man, and Zoro, He's a good-"
Her mother interrupted her before she could finish her thought, "What are you saying!? You didn't go to the parade ground, did you!?"
Trying not to look her mother in the face Rika hesitated, "Um….Well….No-o-o…"
"Hurry up, and get inside. I suggest you do the same Piggy" Ririka cautioned as she looked towards the teen with a worried look before going inside.
"I need to talk to Zoro," Luffy declared as he began walking towards the marine base.
Coby began to shake in worry over what had happened before yelling at Luffy, "They won't let you get away with this! And Captain Morgan has the Marines behind him!"
Piggy and Coby stood in silence as they watched Luffy walk away ignoring Coby's warning, when the pink hair boy finally said "I'm going to help Luffy!"
Leaving her standing in front of the pub, he marched towards the base following the path the other boy had taken.
'That's all I can stands. I can't stands no more.'
"Coby wait a minute! I'm going too!" the girl called to the shorter boy having finally made up her mind to go as well. Running to her room, Piggy right away went to look under the bed reaching and pulling out her adoptive father's lucky axe that she had managed to not lose.
"Let's go!" she said as the two ran towards the marine base.
Once the two arrived at the marine base, it wasn't difficult to enter the parade grounds where Zoro was tied up. Piggy was able to easily get to the top of the wall and help the pink-haired boy up as well. The two approached the tied swordsman who gave them a look as if too ask why they were there.
"You shouldn't be here," he warned only to have his words ignored.
Seeing no sign of Luffy, Piggy inquired to his whereabouts. "Where's Luffy? Didn't he get here first?"
"If you're talking about that guy in the straw-hat, he went up there, said he was going to get my swords back for me," Zoro informed them as he looked in the direction of the biggest building on the base.
Coby immediately began to panic. "What!?Luffy went into the fortress!? Why is he so reckless!?"
"We can't worry about that now, first thing we got to do is get cut these ropes," Piggy said to Coby as she held out her axe ready to swing.
"You two are being reckless! What are you two doing here? If they catch you freeing me, they'll kill you!" Zoro said trying to get them to go before they got caught.
Coby didn't hold back his disappointment " They imprisoned you unfairly! I can't stand to see the marines act improperly. I'm going to be a proper Sailor! Just like Luffy's going to be king of the pirates!"
Hearing Coby's declaration, Piggy momentarily stopped. "King of the pirates?"
Normally such a sentence wouldn't have distracted the girl but she had a nagging feeling that the title held some significance to her. The girl was brought out of stupor by Zoro's loud exclamation.
Zoro couldn't help but be stunned unsure if the pink haired boy knew what he was saying, "King of the Pirates? Does he know what that means!?"
Coby laughed, "I was shocked when he first told me, too. But He'll succeed or die trying! That's how he is!"
Before he could say more, a couple of loud bangs were heard as multiple shots were fired. Letting go of the bladed tool, and dropping to the ground Piggy checked herself for any bullet holes, considering herself lucky that she managed to remain unscathed.
The pink haired boy hadn't been so lucky, "AAAAH! I've been shot! AAAH! Blood! I'm bleeding! I'm gonna die!" Coby cried out.
Trying to avoid the line of fire, the girl crawled over to Coby. Looking him over , he didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. While the bullet grazed him enough to cause him to bleed, it hadn't penetrated and organs or bones.
"It doesn't look like they hit anything major," she assured the boy helping him sit up.
Zoro sighed in relief that the young boy was still alive "…God! You're alive! Now get outta here! They're on their way down."
"But…we haven't untied you…." Coby uttered.
Zoro remained stern, "Don't worry about me. I just have to survive the month and they'll let me go. So just beat it—"
"They're not going to let you go! You're going to be executed three days from now!" Coby informed.
Zoro was in shock, "What are you saying!? That idiot promised me! If I survive for a month, I'll be set free!"
Piggy looked up at Zoro, "It's true, we all heard Helmeppo say it. He never intended to keep that promise. That's why Luffy punched Helmeppo, because he found Helmeppo lied to you!"
Zoro couldn't believe it "…! What!?"
"The marines are your enemy now! Please! If I untie you, will you help Luffy!?"Coby begged. "I won't ask you to become a pirate but…Luffy's really strong and so are you! If you team up, you can escape from here! Please Help him!"
Before Zoro could answer Coby's pleas, several marine sailors had made it down to the grounds. "Stay where you are! Captain Morgan has ordered your immediate execution!" one in the front yelled.
Picking up the axe she had dropped, Piggy swung at one of the thick ropes. Now more determine to get him free, Piggy hacked at the remaining bit of rope until she was about to break the wood from the post around his left arm.
"Surround the Fortress! If that rascal in the straw hat escapes, you'll all be sorry!" a voice shouted as a very tall man with blonde hair, a steel jaw and a huge axe instead of a hand.
"Who-who's that?" Coby asked following an audible gulp.
"That's Captain Morgan," Piggy answered having seen the man once in town.
The man pointed his axe hand at the small group. "You brats simple outlaws, are you!?" Captain Morgan accused as he joined the marines that had their guns pointed at Piggy, Zoro and Coby. "You're all trying to overthrow me!"
Captain Morgan stared down the swordsman, "Roronoa Zoro! Peasants and pirates may tremble at your name….but you're no match for me! You may be a barracuda…but I'm a great white shark!"
He then turned to look at the other two near Zoro, "As for your accomplices they'll regret the day they ever agreed to go against me if it's the last thing I do!"
He ordered the men to take aim. "Anyone who misses will answer to me personally!"
Having managed to cut through the rope tying Zoro's left arm, Piggy swung her axe at the rope tying his other arm trying to free him before the marines fired at them.
Watching the blonde try to release his binds Zoro couldn't help thinking to himself, I can't die yet! There's something I have to do…I promised her! I can't die yet!
"Fire!" Captain Morgan called out ordering the marines to shoot the trio. Everyone closed their eyes in anticipation for the barrage of bullets.
Suddenly a yell was heard throughout the base "Gum-Gum…Rocket!"
Luffy leapt from the rooftop and landed in front of the group covering them from the bullets that bounced of his rubber body. "Bullets can't hurt me! Shishishishi"
"You!?" Zoro cried.
"Luffy!" Coby cried.
"He's been shot!" Piggy cried.
Piggy couldn't believe what she was seeing. While she wasn't the picture of normalcy what with being able to turn into a feline, seeing a person made of rubber was still quite the sight to her.
"What are you!?" Zoro questioned.
Luffy gave him a smirk, "I'm the guy who's gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Holding out the three swords he had found up to Zoro he asked, "So which swords are yours? I didn't know , so I brought all three…"
Zoro answered "They're all mine. I practice Santoryu—in other words three-sword style."
"If you fight the marines with me here and now, in the eyes of the government, you'll be one of the bad guys!" Luffy told him. "Of course you could obey the law and let them kill you!
Hearing Luffy's words caused Zoro to give a grin, "You must be demon spawn…but I'm not ready to die without a fight! All right! You've got yourself a pirate!"
Happy to hear Zoro would be joining him, Luffy yelled in excitement. "Really!? You'll join my crew!?"
"I don't have much of a choice." Zoro explained.
The marines were standing around dumbfounded that the group was unharmed by the barrage of bullets.
"He's no ordinary human! He's eaten one of the devil fruit…" Captain Morgan explained.
"Done!" Piggy cried excitedly as she finished hacking through the rope on Zoro's other arm, leaving only the rope around his torso.
Noticing what the young woman was up to one of the marine's alerted his commander. "Captain that girl is untying Zoro!"
"Well stop her, you idiots," Morgan ordered. "If bullets can't hurt them, then use your swords!"
"Luffy, help me untie this last part," Piggy asked in hopes that it would free Zoro faster.
"These knots are too tight…" Luffy complained as he complied.
While the two were focused on Zoro, Coby noticed the group of marines running towards the three. "Luffy! Piggy! Watch out!"
Hearing Coby's warning, Zoro yelled to them "Forget the ropes! Give me my swords!"
With his swords in his possession Zoro cut himself lose, just in time to hold off the marines that were piling upon them. Everyone was amazed at the sight of Zoro taking on the group on his own.
"Wow! He's cool!" Luffy was impressed by the display .
Even with the sword in his mouth Zoro's words were clear. "The first one who moves dies."
The marines were appropriately scared by his aura.
While holding back the men Zoro made things clear to Luffy what his condition for joining his crew was. "All right, so I'm a pirate. I gave you my word. I fought the marines; therefore I'm officially an outlaw. But hear this! I have a mission to fulfill. I'm going to be the world's greatest swordsman! All I have left is my destiny! My name may be infamous, but it's gonna shake the world! But you are making me become a pirate! So if I have to abandon my dream for any reason then I'm going to make you commit hara kiri!"
Luffy was more than happy to accept Zoro's conditions. "The world's greatest swordsman, that's great! And it's fitting since your new boss is going to be the king of the pirates! Anything else would make me look bad!"
"Is no one else wondering how he was able to say all that while wielding a sword with his jaw?" Piggy asked only to get a shrug from Coby.
Watching the action unfold Captain Morgan wasn't pleased that it was taking so long to kill the group of teens . "Why haven't you gotten rid of these four!? Hack those brigands into mince-meat! Now!"
Joining the fight once more Luffy instructed Zoro, "Zoro, Duck!" Swinging his leg he called out his attack. "Gum-Gum Whip!" sending several of the marines flying.
"Wow! He's incredible!" Coby said in awe.
"What the devil are you?" Zoro asked.
With a laugh Luffy answered "I'm a rubber man!"
Sneaking up from behind a group of three marines raised their swords toward the rubber man.
"Oh no you don't! Kitty kick!" In a blink of eye Piggy had shifted to her hybrid form of a human woman with cat-like features and with her cat agility had leap and kicked one of the marine into the other two before they could land a hit on Luffy.
Turning around Luffy, Coby, Zoro and the other marines were shocked to see the cat-like woman in their midst.
"Awesome!" Luffy shouted never having seen someone who had eaten a zoan-type fruit before.
"Hey you! I saw that, put that back!" she shouted to one of the marines who tried to take her axe. Leaping over she knocked out a couple more men who tried to shoot her down.
"Captain, they're too much for us!" One of the marines cried. "It's hopeless! We can't fight a rubber man, a cat woman and that demon Roronoa Zoro at the same time!"
Angry at the thought of losing , the marine captain yelled at his men. "Hear me! All you cowards who were whining just now will shoot yourselves in the head."
Everyone was shocked at the marine captain's order. "I won't tolerate defeatist in my outfit! On my order…fire!"
The men reluctantly grabbed their rifles and placed them against their temples choosing death rather than the wrath of Morgan.
"Hey! I'm your enemy, try putting me to death!" Luffy yelled as he ran to punch Captain Morgan in an effort to stop the man.
"You have neither rank nor status! I'll teach you to defy your betters!" Morgan came running towards Luffy. "I'm Captain Axe-Hand Morgan!"
Unfazed by the marine Captain Luffy Jump up and avoided the giant axe, kicking Captain Morgan in the face.
Not taking the hit well, Morgan growled out, "Boy …I sentence you to death!" He brought the axe crashing down only to miss again.
"I'm not going to die." Luffy told him kicking him again in the face knocking the man to the ground. Grabbing the marine captains shirt, he declared "You and your marines are ruining Coby's dream!"
"Stop! I said stop you idiot!" a man's voice yelled.
Helmeppo had appeared at the scene holding a gun to Coby's head. "One false move and four eyes gets it! If you even blink I'll shoot!"
Not willing to be a victim Coby yelled out, "Luffy! Don't let them win because of me! Let him kill me!"
With a smile Luffy responded "You're a good guy Coby! Hey Idiot-son-of-the-captain! Coby means it!"
Helmeppo was angry that Luffy wasn't bowing down to his words. "Hey! I told you not to move or I'll shoot! Fine I'll just shoot him then."
Before he could pull the trigger, the gun had been stolen from his grip. "What?! Where'd it go?!"
A Few feet away stood the cat-girl with the gun in her hands as she took out the bullet. "Now's your chance Luffy!"
Luffy smirked not needing to be told twice. Luffy wound his arm to hit Helmeppo. "Gum-Gum Pistol!" Luffy hit Helmeppo square in the face separating him and Coby.
From behind Captain Morgan raised his axe above Luffy. "You've assaulted a marine officer!"
Thinking he had Luffy caught off guard, Morgan aimed for the rubber-man's head. Zoro had been quick making it in time to cut the marine captain down saving his new leader's life. "No Sweat Captain."
The father and son pair were both unconscious in the ground near the group of Luffy, Zoro, Piggy and Coby.
In all the excitement Coby nearly fainted, but was caught by Piggy who held him against her chest. "Are you okay Coby?"
"….so soft," he said in a haze, only to quickly realize what was happening and push himself away from Piggy so the girl wouldn't see his blushing face. "I'm fine thank you."
Zoro turned to the remaining marines. "Any of you still want to capture us?"
To their surprise, the marines cheered at the defeat of their captain. "Hmph, They're happy we defeated their captain ," Luffy observed.
Coby cheered, "That means Captain Morgan was ruling by fear!:
Their excitement was cut short when Zoro fell unconscious to the ground.
"We bring him to the bar," Piggy suggested as she turned him over to check that he was breathing. Upon picking him up she nearly gagged at the smell of his body odor, "While we're at it we should get him a bath."
++++++Another Mouth to Feed++++++
Upon their return to Food Foo Piggy had return to her human form much to the starwhat wearing boy's disappointment.
Having explained the situation to Ririka and Rika, the bar owner was more than willng to let the boys rest and recover at the establishment.
"Wow Big bro that was incredible!" Rika exclaimed having heard the story of what had happened from Luffy. "Where's big brother Zoro?"
Fielding the question Piggy replied, "He still upstairs getting cleaned up, actually I should go check up if any of his busies need tending to."
Ririka handed a small first-aid kit to the hourglass shaped girl telling her, "When you're done you can have something to eat since the foods almost done."
Opening the door to the upstairs bathroom Piggy found the swordsman with his shirt off as he splashed water on his face. Almost immediately Piggy Covered her eyes and turned around, hitting the doorframe "Ow! My face!"
Quickly apologizing she shouted, "Sorry! I didn't know you weren't dressed!"
Unable to stop herself, the girl peaked through her finger, letting her eyes rove over the swordsman's body. Despite having gone several days without water or food his body and muscles seemed in pretty good condition. It took all her self-control to keep from drooling.
While her previous identity as Zelda was no stranger to the opposite sex, as far as Piggy knew she had never seen a grown man without clothing. Even though Zoro had only removed his shirt, her heart was beating like crazy.
"Would you say you're an average example of your gender?" she asked.
Giving the question some thought he answered her. "I'd say above average."
Zoro looked at her, "Did you need something?"
Snapping back to reality, Piggy held up the first-aid kit "I thought you might need a bit of patching up."
Zoro let Piggy clean the cuts and apply medicine to the bruises before bandaging the rest of his torso. Once done Zoro put on his washed shirt, ready to join the others down in the restaurant for some much needed nourishment.
Piggy was cleaning up when she said out loud "Can I just be upfront and say that I visually enjoy you."
Zoro wasn't quite sure how to react and simply said "Thanks?" Finding the girl slightly weird he chose to leave her alone and went down to satisfy his rumbling stomach.
"I'm stuffed!" Zoro announced happily. "Not eating for nine days was worse than I thought, "
"See, you'd never have survived the whole month," Luffy said with his mouth full of food.
"Funny from the looks of things, you would think it was you who had been tied up," Piggy quipped as she picked up the empty plates to wash.
"It's kind of you to feed me along with the heroes' ma'am," Coby thanked Ririka.
She replied, "It's the least I can do, you guys saved the whole town!"
Zoro put down his drink, "So what's next?"
"We're headed for the grand line!" Luffy answered excitedly.
Hearing their travel plans Piggy almost dropped one of the plates she had been cleaning. 'If they going to the Grand Line maybe I can ask for them to take me to Sabaody Park on their ship…'
Coby spit out his water, "That's suicide! There are only two of you! If you go there, you'll just be sailing to your deaths! The most bloodthirsty pirates in the world are there!"
"Three, there's three of us," Luffy clarified much to everyone's confusion at who was the third person.
"Piggy will be part of my crew," Luffy said in between bites.
"Wait….what just happened? Did I just become a pirate?" Piggy asked.
After having seen the girl's ability there was no way Luffy wasn't going to have her join his crew. Even if he hadn't discussed the matter he assumed the Piggy would come along.
"I thought something like this might happen, Rika get the bag," Ririka asked her daughter. The young girl returned with a small satchel and Piggy's axe.
"There's a couple of extra clothing and some snacks," Rika explained.
Despite having only known the mother and daughter for less than a fortnight, Piggy couldn't help but tear up touched that they would look out for her. To their surprise Piggy gave the duo a big bear hug even lifting them of the ground.
"Well I guess if we're after the 'One Piece' the Grand Line is where we have to go." Zoro reiterated already accepting the blonde as his new crewmate.
"Zoro, You're agreeing with him!? Piggy say something to them," he begged the girl hoping she would knock some sense into the other two.
"What do you care, you're not coming with us." Zoro reasoned.
"No, but I'm worried about you guys, is that so wrong!? Can't I worry about my friends?" Coby explained. Piggy couldn't help but be touched that the boy would show such concern to those he barely knew.
"Luffy, we haven't known each other very long, but we're friends aren't we?" He asked with a hopeful look.
Luffy laughed, "We're going our separate ways but we'll always be friends."
"You're the first real friend I've ever had…no one else ever stuck up for me, even I wouldn't stick up for me," he said with a tear in his eye. "But you taught me to fight for what I believe in."
"What about your plans?" Zoro asked. "You were the cabin boy on Alvida's Pirate ship." He reiterated from the story Coby had told them regarding how he and Luffy met. "Watch out for the marine's background check. If they find out about your time on a pirate ship, they won't enlist you," he explained.
Before Coby could say anything, a group of marines entered Food Foo. "Excuse us, you lot are pirates, Correct?"
"That's right; I even have a couple of crewmembers now! Which makes me a genuine pirate captain!" Luffy answered.
One of the marines stepped up, "Um…you saved our base and this town and we are truly grateful to you. However we're still Marines and we can't shelter pirates. I'm sorry but we have to ask you to leave." Sensing their hesitation, he added "To show our gratitude we won't report you to the Marine headquarters,"
Understanding Luffy got up, "I guess we'll be going then. Ma'am thanks for the meal…" Piggy grabbed her things giving Rika and her mother a small smile as she and Zoro got up as well.
"Luffy…You're leaving already?" Coby asked. Rather than answer the trio walked passed him.
"Aren't you going with them?" The marine asked Coby.
With a frown he answered "I…I'm not one of them!"
"Is this true?" the marine asked
Luffy knew he had to make it look like they weren't friends, if Coby was going to have chance at his dream. " I know all about his past, See there was this secret island and a big pirate woman, her name was Alvida..."
Coby was starting to panic, he couldn't believe that Luffy would do such a thing as ruin his chance with the marines. "Shut Up!" He yelled punching Luffy in the jaw.
Luffy smirked knowing his idea worked. Keeping up appearances he punched Coby back and added a few extra hits for good measure.
The marines weren't convinced but were willing to look the other way. "Enough! Stop disturbing the peace! It's clear that you're not friends!Please leave Town! Now!"
With a smile the trio walked out of the restaurant. "That must have been tough for you Luffy," Piggy commented.
"That was some pretty bad acting though. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw through it" Zoro commented.
"I know Coby will get in." Luffy said.
"Well it's a good time to be leaving, everybody hates us, that's the way pirates should leave a town." Zoro said as the group walked down to the docks.
"So where's your boat?" Piggy inquired.
Pointing to a small dingy Luffy said, "Right there."
"This is your ship?" Zoro asked. "It's puny-looking can it even hold three people?"
Piggy was starting to rethink whether or not to go with the two boys. She thought about finding another ship heading for the grand line, 'But who knows how long that will take...'
"L-Lu—Luffy!" Thank you very much, captain Luffy! I'll never forget all you did for me!" Coby yelled having appear to say farewell to the pirate with a salute.
With a large grin Luffy got into the dingy followed by Zoro and Piggy who began to unfurl the small sail. "We'll meet again Coby!"
To the group's surprise the marine officers came out and stood behind Coby saluting as well.
"We're on our way to the grand line!"
"Piggy, steer us to the next Island!"
"Aye, aye captain!" Piggy answered.
Thanks to everyone for reading
Thank you to Trafalgar Neo for reviewing and for the advise, you were right about changing the font/paragraphs to make the story flow better, if you have any more tips I would appreciate the help ^_^.
Thank you to Puddykatz, Wizard Alchemist, FROSTDRAGON4875, Laughing White, Bape, elladu64 and BubblesTheMonster for favoriting.
Thank you to Puddykatz, Wizard Alchemist, Cervuss, koreanlover21873, Godzno, , camillevedelsby, animegal1998, Fuzzyfest14, Laughng White, Heitor, chi4ngo, Emerald180, elladu64, kerveillantremi, Gameprince33, Loveisforever12, CupcakeLoopy, BubblesThe Monster and Fish57 for following.
Edited 10/4/2017