A note from ME! Yo! I actually updated at a reasonable time this time! Shock! Horror! Is it raining? XD
Reviews reviews! XD Gimme gimme gimme!
*Zoro-devil* I think I preferred you when you were depressed…
*Me* REVIEWS!
*Z-D* Hai, hai… First is from Yoruichikittycat16…
*Me* I think I'll call you Yoru-chan… I know, I wanna have a Wado! He's cute, and cuddly, and uber strong! XD
*Luffy-Angel* Next is from Mcgooen-chan!
*Me* HYes, Ace happens to be the expert on all things flirtatious. *Nods* I'll get round to writing about the other formations in a little one shot… XD I might make it SmoAce, since I've had so much fun writing their parts… XD
*Z-D* Next review is from Ninjapirate101…
*Me* THANKIES! And I'm sorry… :'( BUT Starting in a few chapters time, they'll be a NEW super special awesome pairing… XD Sleep is good… you shouldn't deprive yourself of it… you're making me feel guilty! XD
Anyway, here you go! Here's the next chapter!
Chapter 10
Pirate Truths
The storm lasted all of an hour, which normally wasn't too long or even bad for storms on Swirl Island. However, trying to keep Luffy in one place for an hour was proving to be an almost impossible job. While Helen was having a great time playing with Wado – the girl had been petting and rolling with the dog for half an hour, and showed no sign of getting bored – Luffy didn't have the same ability. Luffy had been amused with Helen's equally childish nature for about four seconds, before choosing to tour her house above her shop instead. Zoro, naturally, followed. To make sure Luffy didn't break anything, of course.
"Oi, don't look around someone's house without asking." Zoro told his captain, following after him up a narrow flight of stairs. Luffy waved his hand flippantly.
"Don't worry, she won't mind." He said in what was probably meant to be a reassuring way, but was anything but reassuring to the Swordsman. However, looking around, he found it hard to believe Helen would mind. Everything about the shop and apartment was personalised, it seemed, as if she wanted to show everyone everything about her life, who she was and why she was here. Pictures hung in the hall, presenting people of all ages smiling and cheering. Helen herself featured in one or two of them, but the majority were of other people. Various half-hearted doodles covered the originally white walls, and on one door a deep red and orange cherry blossom had been sprayed on, shining proudly among the plain walls and doodles. Luffy, predictably, walked straight to this door, opening it while lightly calling "I'm coming in!"
Behind him, Zoro snorted at the fake show of politeness.
"Wow, cool!" Luffy's voice floated back to the swordsman, awestruck. "Zoro, come look at this!" Rolling his eyes, Zoro obeyed his captain's commands.
"What the…" The first thing he saw was the books. They were stacked in precarious piles in the book case, resting on the desks, tipping off the chairs, scattered across the floor, there was even three or four open ones resting on an unmade bed. The second thing he noticed was the insane, gaudy clash of colours and cultures. The walls were red, the carpet was orange, the curtains were blue, the selves and wardrobe was plain and mature, the Grand Piano was rustic and dramatic, the mound of gadgets on the bedside cabinet were expensive looking and modern, and countless numbers of soft toys were scattered across the bed. Zoro blinked. The room was the epitome of chaos, proving that Helen had obviously no organizational skill.
Tearing his eyes from the nightmare surrounding him, Zoro made his way to Luffy, who was holding a red file, standing next to a paint-stained desk.
"Look!" He said, holding out the file. Zoro took it, flicking through it. He frowned.
"That's… creepy." He decided. In the file was every wanted poster and newspaper clip featuring Luffy. Zoro hadn't even read most of them; the majority seemed to come from an unofficial newspaper labelled "Pirate truths." Some of them weren't even proper news, but results in popularity polls and quizzes. The month before, apparently, Luffy had been voted as one of the "Top three most huggable pirates", and a few months before that, a quiz had been released about how much you knew about Luffy. Zoro scanned through the answers, and snorted at one of the questions; 'What would you offer to buy Luffy at a restaurant? A, Steak, B, seafood pasta, or C, a chocolate dessert?' Answer? You wouldn't offer to buy him anything in the first place…
"Wow, this is… something…" Zoro said at length. Luffy held up a green folder while gesturing to an assortment of other coloured folders balanced on top of each other.
"There's one for all of us." He said, grinning. "It's pretty cool!" Zoro raised an eyebrow at his younger lover. Cool wasn't really the word he'd use to describe this… bizarre, maybe, or surreal… He'd seen the sorts of magazines that released these articles in the past, with shiny covers and pages, and normally sporting a picture of some fake looking pirate captain on the cover with a smile that could put milk to shame in terms of cheesiness. Taking the green folder – which he presumed was his own – Zoro flicked through it.
"Wow, some of these articles are ancient…" He marvelled, pausing at a particular article which had to have been written at least nine years ago, when he'd first been noticed as a sword-fighting prodigy. He remembered, because after that he'd received a flood of requests and invitation to grander, arguably better dojos, which he turned down. After all, at the time, he was still trying to beat Kuina… How Helen, living in the Grand Line, managed to get such an old paper all the way from East Blue, Zoro would never know. In fact, he forgot all about it when he turned to the next page, and came to a stop at the next article, raising an eyebrow incredulously.
Top Story: Roronoa Zoro, Blood thirsty monster or sensitive nice guy?
One lucky Zoro fan must have been over the moon when they got the chance to take this exclusive, never-before –seen photo of the well-known Pirate Hunter (shown below). Patricia Clarke (aged 18) was out for a relaxing walk across the beautiful beaches of the Diego Island on the last day of her scenic holiday with her boyfriend Jamie Sanders (19) when she came across the infamous Straw-hat ship. Hoping to meet said pirates, Patricia hurriedly assured Jamie and dashed across the beach.
"I was so excited," Patricia told our reporter. "You see, ever since they appeared for the first time in 'Ahoy!' I've been rooting for the Straw-hats. I must have been too excited, though, since I was barely two metres away from the ship when a huge boar jumped out at me and knocked me over!"
Patricia had accidentally strayed too close to this mother boar's new-borns in her dash to the ship. Enraged, the boar attacked, aiming to kill. With Jamie already heading back to the hotel to pack their bags, Patricia thought for sure that she had no chance of escape.
"I panicked, obviously." Patricia adds. "I don't know what exactly happened, but one moment, this boar is trying to impale me, I'm just screaming my head off under it and the next, it's completely still, and was being pushed off me."
Lucky Patricia was spared from death by the courageous Pirate Hunter Zoro. With one swift movement, he slid one of his three swords cleanly through the boar's dense flesh and straight through its heart, before rolling it off Patricia and gallantly offering her a hand up, which she gratefully took.
"He didn't say much to me." Patricia seemed down heartened by this fact, but perks up as she relays her next piece of story. "But once he'd made sure I was alright, he turned and walked to the trees. I followed him, curious, and watched as he scooped up three tiny little piglets, each barely the size of his hand! He looked so surprisingly gentle and kind, I couldn't help whipping out my camera and taking a picture!"
Before Patricia had the chance to ask any questions, however, Zoro had bid her goodbye and walked casually back towards the ship, still holding the vulnerable piglets.
What does this tell us about the elusive Zoro? Is he really as stone-hearted as everyone originally assumed? Does he have a kinder, maybe even paternal side to him? Or has his journey with the outlandish Monkey D. Luffy softened his crusty exterior?
Zoro snorted at the article. The 'Ahoy!' was just another glam mag, blowing every little story to crazy proportions. He had never killed the boar, just knocked it out. Luffy, with his unique bonds with animals had found the nest earlier on in the day – had even been allowed close enough to pet the piglets – and Zoro knew that killing the mother would damn the piglets. Besides, Luffy had looked so blissful, holding a piglet on his knee while the mother gently but curiously prodded his face with her snout. Zoro would have never of forgiven himself for taking away that smile. In the end, he had taken the piglets and the mother to Chopper, who was more then happy to care for them. And what was this bullshit about "Gallantly offering her his hand"? He wasn't the Ero-cook, after all! And he did NOT look "Gentle and kind"!
"Zoro looks nice." Zoro glanced at Luffy, who was looking over his shoulder at the picture on the article with a mischievous grin. Scowling, Zoro poked the rubber-man irritable. Luffy started to withdraw, but paused.
"I forgot something…" He said. Zoro turned his head fully to face him, his brow creasing as he scrutinised his friend. Luffy didn't look like he'd forgotten anything. His beloved hat was perched on his head, the arm-band Nami had given him still secured firmly around his arm…
…Which was why it came as a shock when Luffy leant forward and lightly brushed his lips against Zoro's. Zoro blinked calmly at him, internally wondering what he was expected to do. Was he meant to ignore it? Just smile calmly? Kiss him back?
After a few minutes of thinking, Luffy started to pout. When he'd seen Robin peck Franky on the lips just before Luffy left the ship, Franky had instantly responded. It had given Luffy an idea; Zoro may have kissed him, but he didn't seem to do anything without Luffy's urging, which wasn't what the pirate wanted.
"Zoro, are you an idiot?" He asked eventually. This, surprisingly, got an immediate result as Zoro firmly grabbed Luffy's jaw and pulled him into a strong kiss.
Helen paused as she glanced into her room, before ducking out of site. Thankfully, neither boy's noticed her, too engrossed in the kiss. It wasn't deep or passionate, but it was full of love and understanding. Helen sighed, looking down at Wado, who was nestled in her arms.
"I don't really know what's going on…" She murmured to the red bundle. "But it seems they've gotten past quite an important part of their relationship…" Giggling, she knocked on the door as she walked into her room. Zoro and Luffy reluctantly parted, glancing at her with bored, impatient looks.
"The storms died down now." She told them, glancing at the folder dangling from Zoro's hand. There was the slightest sign of a blush, before she laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand.
"You saw the folders, huh…" She stated. Luffy grinned.
"Yeah! They're really cool!" He said, stepping back from Zoro – who clenched his fists to stop himself from holding on to the smaller man – to take the small dog off Helen.
"Well, you see, the main offices of 'Pirate truths' is located on Swirl Island," she explained as she led them back down to the shop. "And since I've done some freelance work for them in the past, they asked me to do a regular article on you guys for them. Because of this, I did a load of research on each member of the crew, to help me get a better understanding of you." Luffy chuckled as Wado nudged his cheek with his nose, before looking back at Helen.
"What's Pirate truths?" He asked as Helen started to unblock the front door. The shopkeeper looked over her shoulder at Luffy.
"You don't know?" She asked. When Luffy and Zoro just stared at her – why would Luffy had asked if he knew? – She turned to face them. "Pirate Truths is the only newspaper outside the world government's control, and so it's a lot less biased. It did an article about you guys a month or so back about you burning the world government flag, and it made a lot more sense then the official version." She told them as, with one hard pull, she managed to unblock the last of the door. Opening it, she smiled.
"Ah good, not too much damage this time." She commented, looking around at the street. One or two street lamps had been moved from their cemented position in the streets, and a bus shelter was bent and twisted into an almost unrecognisable state, but the buildings seemed almost untouched.
"We've really mastered the art of surviving a hurricane, huh?" She commented. Zoro frowned.
"If hurricanes are so frequent, why stay here?" He asked, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around the radiator that was Luffy as he realised how cold it was. Helen bit back a squeal as she pondered her answer.
"Well, I don't know everyone else, but for me, living here means living near the "Pirate truths" office. Even though I work as a shopkeeper, writing is my passion. But writing for the official newspapers is almost impossible… You have to swear loyalty to the government, and write about what the government want people to know… It makes it really harsh on writers like me, who want to tell people the truth… even books are being censored to suit the government's purpose…" Helen smiled at them. "The bottom line is that, in order to do the thing I love, I'll stick through any amount of hurricanes…"
Luffy stared at Helen, before grinning. "That's good." He told her, leaning into Zoro, who laughed.
"And at the same time you're undermining the government. Can't say I'm too disappointed…" Helen grinned at the two of them, before looking at her watch.
"It's getting late." She informed them. "I'm gonna hit the sack."
Luffy watched as she left, and grinned up at Zoro, who still had one arm wrapped around him for heat.
"Let's go back." He said, and Zoro nodded as he unwrapped his arm and the two walked away, Luffy talking happily, and Zoro occasionally nodding to show he was still listening. Neither noticed a shadow creep around the side of the shop, watching their departure.
A note from ME! GASP! A cliffie! Do you know what this means? There's an actual plot!
Hehe, I can't give you a preview, 'cause it would ruin the cliffie! See you next week! XD