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After what felt like forever, we somehow made it to the main plaza in front of the palace. We saw everyone else there, only to be informed that Crocodile had a bomber stationed nearby, planning to blow up everyone in the castle square.
And so, we split up once again to search for and neutralize the bomb threat. Zoro and I decided to stay together, both because I was worried about his injuries and he knew I couldn't take them out alone. My biggest mistake was letting Zoro lead us. I guess that, not having experienced it myself, I underestimated his cluelessness with direction.
Somehow, on an island almost COMPLETELY desert, Zoro happened to get lost in the jungle. How did he even find a jungle here?
"How the hell did we end up here!" I shouted, though it wasn't a question. Zoro rubbed the back of his head.
"Don't know.." Was all he said. Before I could really get upset with him, however, Usopp's signal lit up the sky with a red streak.
"That way!" I ordered, pulling Zoro along.
On our way, we ran into a group of marines.
"Roronoa Zoro! We heard you were directionally challenged, but this is just ridiculous! And you dragged this poor girl along with you? How heartless!" One of them said in a chiding tone. We were still on our guard. Weren't they going to attack us?
Apparently not, because they opened up their formation and even gave us directions!
"I don't really understand or trust you, but thank you for your help!" I told them as we left.
When we got there, Usopp was gone and all that was left was a note written in the dirt. It only said "clock tower" so we headed that way.
Since Zoro was absolutely hopeless, I led the way to the clock tower. We were the first ones to arrive.
"What should we do now?" I wondered aloud.
"Climb."
And climb we did, but we founding of our nakama. When we were at about the middle of the tower, we heard voices from below. I looked out the nearest window, Zoro following close behind.
"Ah, Vivi-chan, Usopp-chan, Chopper-chan, and Nami-chan are all here! Hello again, everyone!" I called, waving an arm above my head.
"Oh~! Marie-chan! What are you doing all the way up there, Mellorine~?" Sanji yelled from the window below us.
I didn't have time to answer, though. Vivi notified us that the only way to get to the top floor is from a direct staircase on the first level. Luckily, our navigator devised a brilliant plan!
Vivi, Chopper, and Usopp stood on top of each other at the base of the building and Nami used her "ClimaTact" to send them into the air. I thought it must have been magic at the time, but she later explained to me the science behind it.
When they got to Sanji's level, he kicked them even higher. When they began to decelerate, Chopper jumped off of Usopp. When they reached our level, Zoro hopped out the window and sent them flying with the backs of his swords.
Everything was going swell, or so I had thought. After Zoro catapulted them, the two Baroque Works agents in the clock tower fired their pistols at Zoro. They said that once the two bullets meet, they explode. I had no idea what to do. What COULD I do? I guess I wasn't thinking much.
I was scared, but I was also worried about Zoro. How extensive his wounds were, I'm not sure, but he was already injured. I'd rather not take the chance that this wound would be fatal.
Like I said, I wasn't really thinking. It had seemed like a good idea, at the time anyway, to jump out the window. It had seemed like a good idea to wrap my arms around Zoro's neck. It had seemed like a good idea to take the hit for him. My only explanation was that I didn't want to see him get hurt anymore.
I felt like, out of the entire crew, I was the most useless. I wanted to help. If I can't do anything to help at all, am I good enough to be their nakama?
I held tight onto Zoro's neck and clenched my teeth. I groaned I'm pain as gravity brought the two do us back to the Earth.
Sanji half caught me and Zoro, mostly just cushioning our fall. He took the brunt of it, saying that it was "for Marie-chan's sake!"
I laid on Zoro, who was laying halfway on top of Sanji. While everyone else was watching the events at the clock tower's top floor, I was too consumed by pain to turn and witness it.
By the time I mustered up my strength to watch, a giant bird was flapping its way up with the bomb in its claws. Vivi was crying, watching him sacrifice himself. Feeling it was close to the end, I turned my eyes away. I didn't have the heart to watch the end of that life. Tears spilled down my cheeks in a mixture of sorrow and pain. I buried my face in Zoro's shoulder, feeling his hand cup the back of my head.
Zoro sat up, allowing Sanji to rise as well. His movement had me straddling his leg to adjust.
"Shit... It hurts...!" I grit out, looking up. He sighed.
"What a troublesome woman... Why did you do that?" He said exasperatedly.
"You're already injured, Zoro-chan. And you saved me lots of times... I don't want to see you get hurt anymore, especially if I can help it!" I smiled through the tears, but he just put my face back against him.
"Don't look at me with that face. I don't... I don't want you to get hurt either. And you're way too fragile to go jumping out tenth story windows!" He a scolded.
My tears dried quickly. So... Zoro is worried about me? I looked up at him again, giggling. I was happy to hear those words from him. Most of the time, in romance novels and whatnot, it's always "love at first sight." I don't know if it's true or not for other people, but for me, it was totally different. When we first met, I was scared out of my mind! I thought they were seriously going to kill me! People tell me I trust too easily, but in this case, I was lucky to trust the Straw Hats.
When I first joined, of course there was a degree of physical attraction to Zoro, but somewhere along the way, I became uninterested in other men. Not many people know, but I'm pretty easily affected by nude males, if you catch my drift. Now though, I'm only attracted to Zoro. Oddly enough, I don't even bat an eyelash when I see Sanji or Luffy shirtless. I know Zoro much better now, and that attraction turned into some form of love during our journey. I don't want Zoro to get hurt. I don't want anything bad to happen to him. I jumped out the window and took a hot for him! Looking back on it, Zoro probably would have been fine, but in the heat of the moment, and with no medical analysis, I didn't want to risk it.
The weirdest thing is that I wasn't really surprised or even bothered by the realization that I like him, or maybe was even in love with him. Actually, being in love is a nice feeling. Like floating, or walking on air. It's probably even better when the person you like feels the same! Zoro pulled me up while he stood. I hissed in pain.
"Sorry, sorry. My bad," he apologized. He put his hands on my hips to steady me.
"Mellorine~! Are you hurt, my sweet? CHOPPER! Get over here! Marie-chan needs treatment!" Sanji called, darting over and grabbing Chopper where he stood.
"Hey, Marie... Are you alright?" Nami asked. I hugged Zoro a little closer.
"I'm okay!" I ground out. "But it hurts like hell!"
"Don't worry, guys," Chopper assured. "Zoro, I'll take it from here." Chopper transformed into his heavy point to take me from him.
I could've sworn I felt Zoro's hands squeeze my hips, but then he let go.
"Okay," he replied.
"Alright. Now the rest of you, get out there and stop that war!" Nami commanded. Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro obeyed.
"Marie, I'm going to cut off your top, okay? So that I can better see your wound," Chopper alerted me. I hummed in assent and Chopper snipped away at my shirt.
"You didn't have to do that, you know. That brute can take whatever you throw at him!" Nami chided, holding my hair up out of Chopper's way.
"Haha, I know," I responded with a smile. Nami smiled back.
"Why don't you just tell him how you feel? I mean, he likes you! And it's pretty obvious that you like him, too. What's the harm in letting him know?"
"I still don't know if he feels the same, Nami-chan," I sighed.
"That's bullshit. He obviously likes you. Are you blind or something?" she insisted.
"Actually, Marie, I'd have to agree with Nami," Chopper said.
"Ah! Chopper-chan, I forgot you were there... Are you going to bandage it now?" I asked shyly.
"Yes, so I need you to put your hands down. I won't look, though," he promised. I removed my hands which had been covering my breasts.
Chopper had already put salve on my wound and had at some point gone back to brain point. As he got ready to wrap my torso, I felt a drop on my nose. Like... Rain? It's raining! I smiled.
The three boys ran back up the steps.
"Hey, Crocodile has been...!" Usopp started with a big smile, but he faltered when he saw me.
With my chest unclothed and my arms raised for bandaging, the three of them got a good, long look at my chest. How embarrassing!
"HOHOOOOOOOOOO!" Usopp and Sanji cried, one of their noses bleeding profusely.
Zoro stood completely still, face as red as can be and a dribble of blood sneaking out of his nose.
"NO! DON'T LOOK!" I shrieked, slapping my arms over my breasts quickly. I can't believe it! What a mess...
Zoro closed his eyes, looking ashamed then grabbed Sanji and Usopp, turning them around forcefully.
"Sorry. Crocodile's been defeated." He headed back toward the plaza, pulling the other two with him.
Wow... That was really sweet of him, but I wasn't expecting it. It brought a smile to my face.
"Sorry about that... I'll keep wrapping you," Chopper said. Nami turned to me.
"Now how can you say he doesn't feel the same? I've never seen Zoro so considerate. Or maybe he just didn't want the others to see his crush like that?"
"Nami-chan!" I looked down, blushing. "I don't know, maybe you're right, but what if it's too early? What if I'm going too fast? So many things could go wrong. I'm just... scared!"
"I'm not surprised, but you shouldn't be scared, Marie. I'm sure he likes you too!" Chopper assured as he finished wrapping my torso and tied it tightly.
"You can tell him whenever you're ready, okay? Here. You can borrow this." Nami handed me the pink shirt she wore over her blue one. I thanked her and put it on.
The three of us met with the others at the base of the stairs. The rain was falling freely, but then it started to clear up a bit. I sat at the bottom of the stairs. Zoro was sitting next to me.
"Zoro-chan." He looked up. "You didn't get hurt, right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for doing what you did and all, but.. Don't do it again! I swear.." Zoro chided, resting his chin on his hand.
After about ten minutes, a figure appeared on the road. It was an older looking man with long, dark hair and he was carrying Luffy! Vivi got up from her spot, running toward him.
"Daddy!" she shouted.
Oh! So this must be the King. He set Luffy's body against the wall and embraced his daughter.
"So you must be the pirates I've heard so much about," Cobra observed.
"Yes. Daddy, we're going to have a feast for them, aren't we?" She turned to us. "You can come to the castle!"
Nami refused for all of us. To be honest, I agreed with what she said. I could seriously use a nap...
I allowed myself to fall asleep on Zoro's chest. He had laid back against the stairs. Maybe I was already asleep, but I thought I felt his arms curl around me as I drifted off.
A/N: So... It's been a while, huh? I caught all the way up to One Piece during the hiatus! Go me! Also, as I stated up top, I put a poll on my profile! It's just asking like what you guys would like to see more of and stuff like that, so come on in and drop a vote if you have the time. Reviews are always appreciated! I always reply! Love you guys~