Hey everyone! Back again with another chapter I am. Hopefully this chapter will be rather... comedic. I hope. -winces-
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Chapter 7: Stretch until you… snap Zoro.
"Ok Luffy, you're gonna have to learn to walk first." Zoro said as he stood from the table. Luffy blinked at him.
"Why?" he asked, "I already know how." and he made to get up but, suddenly, his legs had turned into large, wobbly snakes. He fell to the side, his arms windmilling until Zoro grabbed him around the waist and held him there.
"See?" the swordsman asked, his breath blowing on the back of Luffy's neck. The boy felt his body shiver slightly until he was set back on his feet. Zoro's arms stayed where they were.
"But, I don't know how to control it!" Luffy cried.
"Relax, and remember how it felt to walk without your powers." Robin instructed as she got up as well. Luffy panicked for a moment, his arms jerking as he tried to steady himself and then his legs became solid. Luffy sighed and wiped a hand across his forehead.
"That was hard," and then he grinned triumphantly, "But I did it!" Zoro cleared his throat and Luffy looked around. He hadn't even felt the swordsman step away from him.
"You have a long way to go yet." Zoro commented and pointed at Luffy's arms. They were drooping towards the floor, almost like the boy was melting.
"AH!" Luffy cried and swung around but instead of snapping back into place, like you would think rubber would do, it just kept on stretching, until Luffy could have passed himself off at a sideshow as the 'whirling rubber boy of death'.
"LUFFY!" Sanji yelled as the boy's arm came dangerously close to Nami. For a while, it had been funny for the chef to see Zoro and Usopp trying to dodge the whirling arms, but when it started to endanger Nami's life, then, he had to draw the line.
And so he did.
Grabbing a hold of one of the arms, he brought his leg up, wrapped his ankle in the rubbery flesh, and yanked it towards the floor, pulling Luffy out of his spin. The boy looked rather dizzy and he blinked and shook his head.
"Hold still a second." Chopper squeaked as he hurried over.
"I don't think rookie has much of a choice." Robin commented quietly to Nami, who giggled. Chopper looked Luffy over and then sighed.
"He's alright. Just dizzy." Chopper affirmed. Luffy grinned and looked over at Sanji.
"Let's do that again!" the boy cried.
"I think his brain sloshed over to one side." Usopp commented. Luffy frowned and pouted.
"Did not…" he muttered before yanking on his arm. Sanji lifted his foot, and to everyone's amazement, even Luffy's, the arm snapped back into place again. Luffy peered at it, rotating his shoulder and then jumping to his feet and looking over at Robin, an ecstatic smile on his face.
"So, all I have to do is think of how it feels to be normal, and I will be?" he asked excitedly. Robin blinked and then smiled and nodded softly.
"How did he pick that up so quick?" Zoro asked Usopp quietly. The marksman shrugged and then looked down at his watch and blinked.
"I'm gonna have to go." he stated. Zoro frowned in confusion.
"Why?"
"Kaya." and Usopp hurried past the now happily stretching Luffy. Zoro watched as Usopp hurried towards the door and then shook his head. He was glad he didn't have any attachments to anyone.
Just as that thought occurred to him, Luffy's fist landed squarely in his stomach and he gasped, doubling over slightly. That had been one hell of a punch! Zoro looked up to see Luffy blinking at him.
"Sorry Zoro!" he cried finally, a smile spreading across his face. Zoro frowned.
"Have you figured out how to use your powers yet?" he muttered angrily. Luffy frowned as well.
"I only just found out I had them!" he responded, a little offended. Zoro stood straight again and glared straight at Luffy with his eagle sharp eyes.
But, unlike everyone else in Pearl, Luffy glared straight back with his dark and innocent ones.
To tell the truth, it unnerved Zoro slightly to have Luffy glare back at him like this, and he seriously considered throwing the boy back onto the streets and letting the other organisations handle him, but, spirit was hard to find. And for Pearl to keep up it's good reputation, he needed spirit. Even if it came in the form of a rather dimwitted, rubber boy. He sighed.
"Fine. Whatever. Don't care. Just as long as you don't endanger anyone's lives in here, you can try out your new powers, but, I warn you, if you break anything, you'll be getting locked into your room." Zoro threatened, "for a week." he finished. Luffy's jaw dropped… literally. It stretched so far that it nearly hit the floor. Nami raised an eyebrow and shook her head.
"That's mean Zoro!!" Luffy yelled, his mouth snapping back into place again as he realized what had happened. Zoro shrugged.
"Punishment. Now, lets give him a crash course in defence guys." and Zoro moved out of the room. Sanji undid the buttons on his jacket and threw it over the back of the dinning room chair before following his boss. Nami was next to follow, and then Chopper. Luffy watched them go.
"You should move after them rookie. Swordsman does not like to be kept waiting." Robin said beside him and then chuckled before moving out after Chopper. Luffy followed after her. He was rather surprised to see that the table in the lounge room, had been moved.
The one where they had had their first meeting, and the lounge chairs were gone. Just as Luffy looked around, the tv that had been sitting at the far wall, suddenly was pulled back into the wall. Zoro clicked his fingers and the lights went out. Luffy blinked in the darkness, the hand he held in front of his eyes invisible.
"Guys…?" he asked quietly. No response. "Come on, this isn't funny! I don't wanna play hide and seek!"
"We're…" Zoro's voice echoed through the room.
"Not…" Sanji's voice.
"Playing…" Nami's voice. Luffy shivered. They sounded… scary. Spooky. Hands suddenly pushed him from behind and he spun around. What the hell was this? Some kind of joke? Luffy didn't think it was very funny.
"Defend…" Robin's voice echoed and Luffy immediately crossed his arms over his face. He was suddenly hit by something long, and hard and his arms bent towards his face.
"What the hell are you guys doing!" Luffy yelled as he batted the long thing away.
"Training…" Chopper's voice. Luffy gulped. He didn't like this.
"I don't want to train!" he cried, feeling his eyes prickle. Luffy gulped again. He didn't like this darkness, he didn't like the fact that these people were picking on him like this. Even if they called it training, he hadn't had any warning.
"Defend!" Sanji's voice yelled and Luffy brought his arms up again, but instead, he got a kick in the gut which caused him to stagger backwards. Luffy wrapped his arms around himself and looked up. He still could see nothing.
"I don't like this!" he hissed, feeling anger rising inside of him.
"You don't have a choice!" Zoro yelled and then it was as if the darkness didn't exist anymore. Luffy's eyes suddenly cleared and he was facing Zoro, a long wooden training sword was in line directly with his face.
The boy wasn't going to let that hit him. He let Zoro move closer towards him and then swung out, letting the momentum of his swing, stretch his arm outwards and towards the wooden sword. Zoro's eyes flicked and then he was gone, the sword clattering to the floor. Luffy sighed and then felt something hard pushed against his back.
"Dead." Zoro hissed in his ear and then the lights came back on. Luffy twisted around as fast as he could and saw Zoro standing there, a wooden sword in his hand. The boy blinked and looked towards the floor.
"But, you," and he pointed towards the sword on the floor. Zoro smiled grimly.
"Expect the unexpected, and learn to know what's going to happen, before what happens, happens." and he frowned at the look of confusion that passed across Luffy's face.
"Swordsman is trying to say, that you need know your enemy. Learn to tell the signs of a strong opponent without relying on physical attributes, such as body muscle, and things like that." and here Robin pointed at Sanji, who looked mightily pleased that the woman had chosen him to point at.
"Sanji is skinny as a rake." Nami added, "But he is incredibly strong. How's your stomach?"
"Uh… sore?" Luffy ventured. Nami nodded.
"That was Sanji's kick." she replied. Luffy looked at the chef and studied the thin frame for a moment. Sanji blinked and then pulled a packet of cigarettes from his pocket before pulling one out and placing it in his mouth.
"And the first hit you received, was Nami's clima tact." Sanji said as he lit the cigarette, "She is as strong and virile as she is beautiful." Nami smiled and there was a noticeably warmer tone of pink to her face after that comment.
"But, at the last, I saw Zoro coming for me and I defended." Luffy said, "and I saw through the darkness."
"You trusted yourself." Robin commented from where she was leaning against the wall.
"Huh? I got angry, that's about it." Luffy replied. Robin sighed.
"Anger is instinct, and when that instinct kicks in, it instantly triggers a reaction in the body, which causes the mind and body to work together." Chopper reeled off. Luffy looked at him and Chopper let out an aggravated sigh, "Anger equals you trusting yourself."
"Ohhhh! So that's what happened eh?" and Luffy nodded before looking at Zoro, who had his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed, "Zoro?" and the swordsman grunted as a response, "How did you disappear like that!?"
"What?" Zoro asked, a little disbelieving. This kid had just lost a short training session, and here he was asking how Zoro had done it. Okay, maybe it wasn't that strange, but, the tone of voice Luffy had was like the boy was in awe of him. How weird.
"Disappear! You just… were gone! How did you do that?" Luffy asked, a wide smile on his face. Zoro blinked and then frowned.
"Training… I guess." he replied before looking over at Sanji, who shrugged and smiled a little slyly.
"He has nothing better to do with his time." Sanji muttered to Nami, who nodded in return.
"Where did Usopp go?" Chopper suddenly asked. Zoro looked around at him.
"Kaya." he replied. Chopper smiled.
"She's nice!" Luffy called and then remembered what had happened the previous day, and his brows furrowed. The bracelet. Where had that gone? Luffy bit his lip as he thought and the others talked in the background.
He had placed it… next to the computer which he hadn't even attempted looking at yet. Maybe he should have a look at that tonight. Anyway, he was sure that's where the bracelet was.
"Luffy?" Nami asked and the boy jumped and looked up, a large smile appearing on his face.
"Yeah?"
"You okay? You look a little worried."
"Huh? Me? Worried? Nah, I'm just thinkin'." Luffy replied and waved a hand.
"Hmm, rookie? I wonder, would you mind talking to us about it?" Robin asked. Luffy tilted his head and his smile brightened even more, if that was possible.
"Nah. Just thinkin' bout' a dream I had."
"What sort of dream?" Chopper asked. Luffy blinked.
Aw man. What do I say now? Luffy thought before shrugging.
"Just a dream."
"When you lot are finished about dreams. Luffy? I want to have a talk with you." Zoro said as the lounge chairs returned to their original state. The others were quiet as they waited and then Zoro sighed, "I meant I wanted to talk to him alone."
"Oh, well, don't get too carried away." Sanji replied in a quirky tone before walking back to the kitchen.
"Be nice Zoro." Chopper commented as he trotted in the opposite direction towards his room. Nami quirked an eyebrow at Zoro and the swordsman frowned.
"Don't be too hard on him Zoro." Robin said in her mysterious voice as the two women exited. Zoro turned and looked at Luffy, who watched him with wide eyes.
"Okay, now, I wanted to talk to you about… what happened the other day." the swordsman replied to the curious glance.
"The bomb thing?"
"No, the mission." and Zoro sighed before a small smile quirked around his lips, "I was a little rough on you. It was your first mission, and you… didn't really mess up. But, you're going to have to be a little more careful now. With whoever it is after you, you're going to have to make sure you take care of yourself."
"Of course! I don't wanna die." Luffy replied and grinned. Zoro shook his head.
"Right. So, no more irrelevant risks."
"Irrele-what?"
"Stupid. Don't be stupid on our next mission, and follow my orders."
"Eh." and then Luffy thought of the bracelet again, "I'm gonna go back to my room." and he made to walk away. Zoro's hand came down hard on his shoulder and Luffy clenched slightly under the touch before he turned around.
"Not so fast. I think it's time you showed me your fighting skills." he said. Luffy pouted.
"If you chose me for this group, then shouldn't you have already seen me fight?"
"Well… uh, I guess. But, you have to show me again. I only saw a sample."
"A sample's enough. See ya!" and the boy bounced from the room. Zoro sighed and walked over to the lounge chairs.
"He's got a lot of spirit…" and then a slow smile spread across his face, "I like that."
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Luffy lay on his bed, his finger idly tracing the side of the bracelet as he turned it between his hands. It was smooth and cold, but when Luffy touched it, it gained an odd sort of warmth. Like a life about it, and Luffy tilted his head to the side as he looked at it.
"Cursed…" he muttered as he turned it again. He sighed and turned onto his side, "That girl." and he buried his face into his pillow. He really felt as if he had failed her, failed someone. Luffy clenched the bracelet between his fingers and blew a breath into the pillow again. He looked up and across the room at the still closed laptop sitting on his desk.
"Hmm," he muttered before throwing his legs off the edge of the bed and then hurrying over to it and sitting in the soft and comfortable computer chair in front of it. He pressed the button that released the lid and pulled it open.
"Oooo." he muttered before looking around on the keyboard and then finding a little button that was labelled 'power' and he pushed a finger against it. There was a beep and Luffy grinned. This was exciting. He slipped the bracelet into his pocket and watched as the screen lit up. A large word came up, coloured in red and Luffy giggled.
"Hello!" he read and then laughed, "Hello!" he replied to it. The screen changed to that of a symbol. The background was dark blue, with four lines crisscrossing, making a star and leaving eight perfectly sized triangles.
In each triangle was letter, supported by a name. Nami, Robin, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper was spelled out counter clockwise. Luffy knew all those names, but there was one there that he didn't know.
"Kuina…" Luffy muttered and leaned closer to the screen. The name was followed by Zoro's, and then a large and bold lettered Pearl in the last triangle. The logo then disappeared and was replaced with a normal, computer homepage. There was a blank black background and only one icon on the desktop. Luffy frowned and began pressing keys at random.
"How do you work this thing?" he squeaked before warning messages began appearing and then two hands grabbed his and pulled them away.
"Not like that." Robin's mysterious voice floated in through the doorway. Luffy looked down and saw that the arms were coming from the desktop. Robin chuckled as she walked in and leaned down beside him, the hands gently releasing him and Luffy put his hands down again.
"How then?" he asked. Robin shook her head.
"I'll show you." and she began pointing out things on the computer.
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Zoro lay on the couch in the lounge room. He had his arms locked behind his head and one knee casually bent, his arms pillowing his head on the armrest of the chair. He looked up at the ceiling, for once in his life not really able to sleep. Something was stirring strangely inside him.
"What's the matter Zoro? Annoyed that I beat you?" Her voice kept repeating through his head. But, it wasn't just her voice. It was his as well. Zoro's eyes flicked towards the kitchen, and then he turned onto his side.
"Why the hell do I have such a problem with rookie's?" he muttered.
"Because you're a softie." Nami's voice came to him. Zoro closed his eyes in annoyance.
"What are you doing there? I told you to leave." he replied.
"And since when do I listen to you? Need I not remind you, you still owe me three hundred bucks. But, that's not what I'm here for." Nami said and then walked around to the front of the couch and looked down her nose at him.
"I paid you back." Zoro groaned, his usual reaction delayed by his need for sleep.
"Yeah, three months later. You owe me interest." Nami replied.
"WHAT!?" and Zoro jumped up. Nami grinned at him a little evilly.
"As I said though, I'm not looking for it right now. I want to ask something." Nami said. Zoro sighed and let himself fall back into the couch.
"What?" he asked tiredly, rubbing at his eyes.
"Luffy."
"What about him?"
"He seems… distracted."
"So? What do you want me to do about it?"
"Zoro! Stop being so rude." Nami scolded. Zoro sighed.
"Well what do you expect? The damn kid was nearly killed. Twice in one week. How would you react?" Zoro asked in a snappy voice. Nami blinked and then sighed.
"Sorry. Didn't think of that." she replied and they lapsed into silence.
"I'm going to work! Goodbye Nami, Robin and all you other shitheads!" Sanji yelled.
"Cya Sanji!" Nami called and when she turned back, she was met by a sly smile from Zoro. She frowned.
"What?" Nami snapped. Zoro shrugged.
"Nothing." and then he frowned as well, "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to get some sleep." and he closed his eyes and leant back. Nami sighed and turned around, looking towards the window. She paused at what was written there.
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Well, it wasn't exactly as comedic as i thought it would be. What was written on the window? Mwahahahahaa! I am so ebil. This chapter was a little shorter than my usual length, but, I hope you will forgive me. Please? -nervous smile-
