Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, Fairy Tail, or the front cover.
Magnolia,
- Zoro -
Man dragging all these bodies was a real pain in the ass, I even got weird looks from the people at the train station. I guess in their defense, it wasn't every day that you see a teenage boy going about and carrying bodies twice his size. Erza was a lot more quiet than usual, and I wondered why. Chopper was able to move after a while but he remained perched upon my head, only adding on to the effect of making people glance at us. A few whispers were made but I didn't care, I only do what I want to do regardless of what other people think.
I saw the train station in sight but suddenly thought of a shortcut in a nearby alley. Without telling them, I began to turn a corner until I felt myself getting grabbed from the back of my collar.
"I'll just drag you the rest of the way there," Erza said without sparing a glance.
"Oi oi, let me go right now Erza! I can walk on my own just fine," I said as more pointed in our direction.
"I would believe you if you never got lost every time you thought of a shortcut," she replied simply. It was then that it occurred to Zoro that not only was she dragging him, but also 4 more bodies, with one hand.
...scary...
"Tch," I said as I let myself be dragged around. I glared darkly at the people who occasionally laughed at my expense. Chopper was grumbling at the now uncomfortable position he was in so I gently picked him up and placed him on my lap. Damn all those people who had the nerve to 'aww' at my action. Hell, even Erza found my gesture to be sweet. I ducked my head down, damn those idiots...
- Erza -
We arrived at the train station after we dropped off the bodies at a nearby station. Zoro had somehow managed to fall asleep while I dragged him around. A few girls giggled at us and I found myself as well when I turned to look at why they were giggling. The sight in front of me was Zoro's head was now resting on top of Chopper's hat. He had both his arms wrapped protectively around Chopper and Chopper looked extremely comfortable in that position.
Erza must've been too focused on the sight that she failed to notice the voice in front of her calling out to her.
"Hey, miss! Helloooo?" A young boy said. Erza removed her gaze from the cute sight and now paid attention to the little boy in front of her.
"Yes, what is it?" Erza replied sternly. The boy looked a little confused and then pointed in Zoro's direction.
"Why is your boyfriend sleeping with a stuffed animal?" The boy asked. Erza's face immediately turned as red as her last name and she was only able to hear one-word replay over and over in her head.
'Boyfriend' 'boyfriend' boyfriend?'
"Wha-where the hell did you get that idea?!" Erza stammered. The boy merely tilted his head as if she was the one who was speaking nonsense.
"I mean...that is a stuffed animal ri-"
"ABOUT HIM BEING MY BOYFRIEND YOU IDIOT!!!" Erza yelled harshly. So harshly in fact, that it caused Zoro to wake up at that moment.
"Mmm hah? What's with all the ruckus did we make it to the train station?" Zoro asked after yawning.
'Crap he's awake! As long as this little boy doesn't mention about me being his girlfriend then we should be-'
"Oi, green guy. Did your girlfriend buy that stuffed animal for you or something? Why are you sleeping with it?" The boy asked, completely oblivious to Erza's dilemma. Zoro only looked up tiredly and seemed to not register anything the boy said. Except he did.
- Zoro -
"Hah? Oh, umm, this isn't a stuffed animal. He's a real reindeer actually," Zoro replied, ignoring the comment about Erza being his girlfriend. It only made Erza's face turn even redder than her hair.
"Reindeer? You sure that's not a raccoon-dog?" The boy asked. Chopper's ear twitched at that moment.
"I'm sure," Zoro replied. Erza didn't like the fact that they were dragging out their conversation and roughly pulled Zoro to throw him in the train.
"Oof, oi watch-" he didn't get time to finish when Erza threw a now awake and scared Chopper at him. Zoro caught him easily and then grew panicked when Erza stood in front of him with her hands on her hips and radiating a dangerous aura.
"Not another word out of you, got it?" Erza said dangerously. Zoro and Chopper gulped and only nodded in reply.
"Good, now let's go take our seats," Erza said completely relaxed now. Zoro and Chopper sweatdropped as they slowly got up and followed Erza.
'Scary, just like Nami' they both thought.
In the New World,
- Nami -
"Achoo!"
"Bless you Nami-swan!" '...so cute' Sanji thought.
'Sniff' "Thank you Sanji," Nami said sheepishly. Working hard and late must've been taking a toll on her body and making her sick. She wouldn't let a small sickness like this get to her though, she had to focus on getting Zoro and Chopper back. Thanks to Robin and her analysis, she was able to contribute to the conversations with her. They also had Brook and Franky join them since Franky had stories from his father and Brook was old, meaning he had a lot of knowledge about what the pirate world was like back then.
Speaking of which, they were all sat at the dinner table focusing on the task at hand. Sanji was there, silently listening to the conversation while making sure to keep them well-fed and hydrated to focus on their task. Nami was slurping on her smoothie as she recalled all the hints and clues she got.
1, the man is most likely the same man from Brook's time of piracy and had a devil fruit.
2, doing the challenge sounds like a risk and is more likely to be a trap.
3, The 'Tablets' the man referred to at the upcoming island are likely a source of power.
Nami was suddenly very thankful for her friends. Here Franky, Robin, and Brook were trying their hardest to contribute to getting Zoro and Chopper back. Without them, Nami didn't know if they would be able to get Zoro and Chopper back.
Brook was currently talking about his time. He said that Black Robe was actually notorious before his time. But Brook did hear about him here and there at some points. He was able to hear a whole story of how Black Robe came to be. His real name was Dyre D Lakone and he used to be a member of the Cipher Pol organization. He turned against the world government when they betrayed him and ended up killing his family. Dyre's parents were some of the hostages that Rob Lucci killed. Nobody defended Dyre and said that he needed to man up and that it was for the cause of the World Government.
Hearing Dyre's backstory made them all sympathize with him a bit, but he should've never messed with them. It gave them some context and a possible weak point about the man so Nami decided she would have to use this new source of information against him when the time came.
"Well, in any case, Robin, have you found out Dyre's devil fruit and how it works?" Nami asked.
"Although he has stated that he has the powers of a Dime-Dime Fruit, I haven't found any recordings of that fruit in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. It's one of the recent ones from 30 years ago, it's also very strange that it's not recorded when they supposedly captured this man," Robin said.
"Hmm, you think he perhaps had any allies in the Navy?" Brook suggested.
"What would that do?" I asked.
"Well if he had a popular execution but is still alive today, do you think his executioners may have thought out a plan to keep him alive?" Brook explained. I thought about it for a moment. Although it was a possibility, the chances of that were even lower than him somehow surviving and living for to today.
"It is possible Brook, but the chances are too slim, even more so than our current thesis," I said.
"Hmm, I suppose you are right Nami-san, now how about showing me your pant-ACK!!" He yelped when his head began to spin around.
"Knock it off," Nami said unenthusiastically. Not even Brook's panty jokes were enough to lighten the mood, that's how serious it was. They were all deep in thought as to figuring out how they would go at this. There were too many questions left unanswered still but they were determined on rescuing Zoro and Chopper at any cost.
'Zoro, Chopper...please be safe' Nami thought.
Meanwhile, on a train.
- Chopper -
There was something in the air but I couldn't describe it.
For some reason, there has been some kind of tension ever since we got onboard the train. It was coming from Zoro and Erza but I felt it more from Erza. I wondered if Zoro could feel it too? It felt like when Nami tells Zoro to do something but he doesn't do it. Then Nami just sighs and walks away, stunning everyone on board and giving the impression that something would happen to Zoro.
This felt exactly like that, except something was missing. Or more like being kept stashed away, I should say. I glanced at both of them, they were both keeping their eyes away from each other on purpose and it sort of gave me the impression of a little boy and girl in my village. The boy got sick but tried to play it off like nothing while the girl wouldn't let him live down the fact that the situation could've been avoided. They pouted and crossed their arms while firmly looking away from each other.
I sighed out my thoughts, no reason to get worked up over it, I'm sure everything will be fine in the end. For now, I would just fall asleep on Erza's lap this time since she insisted.
- Zoro -
It was an awkward type of silence, though I didn't know why it was awkward, to begin with. Zoro would look at Erza sometimes to catch her staring at him and she would immediately look away. Maybe trains were bad luck in this world or something. I tried to fall back asleep but I got the feeling like someone was watching me. I tried to ignore it but it never went away. I was beginning to grow irritated and that's when I felt them move. They were drawing themself near and that's when I had enough. I opened my eye to see who dared to disturb me but found Erza's face, close up...
Our noses were touching.
...
...HUHHH?!!?
"Oi Erza, what the hell are you doing?" I said loudly, a bit flustered too against my wishes. Erza didn't even look fazed at my outburst and instead placed a hand on my cheek. She looked at the lower part of my face with a bit of affection and something else I...couldn't describe.
My face felt hot and I had a good idea of what she was probably trying to achieve. Her lips parted a bit and for some reason, I felt the urge to connect my own with hers. She looked so inviting and made me feel a way I never thought I would have felt.
"...Erza," I said as I began to close my eye.
"You should get this part bandaged up again, it's loose and it looks like your wound reopened," Erza said suddenly.
"Yeah...me too, ...wait huh?" I said as her words registered. I also felt a bit of pain when she yanked the bandage on my cheek.
"AHH! What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled at her. She held up the bloody bandage for me to see and then I felt a slight trickle down my cheek.
"Your wound has reopened, also this bandage seems to have reached its limit. I suggest we put a new one on you immediately," Erza ordered. I reluctantly agreed since not only did it make sense, I also wanted to get away from this subject as soon as possible since I thought something else was going to happen.
"Yeah...sure," I said opening Chopper's backpack carefully, and then Erza dug her hand in. She grabbed a bandage and upon pulling her hand out, she brushed mine along with it and something like that should not have made me feel some type of way.
'What the hell is this woman doing to me?' I said in my head. My thoughts snapped when I felt her soft hand place itself on my cheek again and carefully place a new bandage on my wound. I must've been deep in my thoughts because that's when I noticed her hand holding a towel with a red stain on it.
'I guess she must've cleaned my cheek at some point' I thought, daydreaming of her doing exactly that.
Once she finished putting on the new band-aid on my cheek, she then grew tired. She yawned and I got the impression of a sleepy kitten coming from her. She surely would've killed me if I said that out loud. She was sat across from me and had the window seat along with Chopper on her lap. I felt my own eyes grow heavy as well and promptly fell asleep.
Shortly after Zoro fell asleep, Erza did as well. The two remained asleep until they arrived back at Magnolia.
Meanwhile, in the New World.
- Luffy -
I was staring at it.
I have seen it before, and it always excited me whenever I figured it out. It was far ahead and had a weird shape. We've been expecting this for days now (I think?) and it seemed to get closer every day? What was it called...?
"Hey, Luffy, what's up?" Sanji asked coming up behind me.
"Ah, Sanji. I need your help, Captain's Orders!" I started seriously. He took a long drag of smoke before replying.
"What is it?" He asked.
"What is that?" I pointed behind me without looking.
"...uhhh Sunny's head?" Sanji asked confused. I looked behind me and moved my finger until it was to the side of Sunny's head.
"Luffy what are you doing? What are you trying to...!" Sanji stopped midway.
"No the thing behind it far away, what was it called again?" I asked.
"An Island!!" Sanji hollered before running back to the kitchen to retrieve Nami.
"Ah right! Thanks, Sanji," I said grinning in victory. Soon all the members on board got out of the kitchen and Sanji excitedly pointed at the island I pointed at. They all stared at the upcoming island like it was an incoming navy ship. This was it, we were just one step away from rescuing Zoro and Chopper and we could continue our adventure for the One Piece.
"YOSH! Zoro! Chopper! -inhales- WE'RE COMING TO RESCUE YOUUUUU!!!" Luffy yelled. When he was done screaming, his fellow companions immediately hushed him since they didn't know if the island was a trap or not. Nami whacked him on the head a couple of times and called him an idiot for probably blowing their cover.
"Relax Nami, we're too far for them to hear us!" Luffy said optimistically. Nami hung her head low and gave up, hopefully, he was right.
He wasn't.
--
"So they're approaching at the estimated time...good, now hopefully they can pass the challenge I've set up for them. Old age really sucks and I can't move as good as I used to," Black Robe said. Black Robe's suit is as good as it is in the current period. His boots were enhanced with technology to allow him to levitate and he had gloves that were suited for his Devil Fruit. He laughed maniacally and then looked back at the approaching ship of the Straw Hats.
"Just you wait Straw Hat, I'll show you the true definition of a notorious rookie pirate!" He spat. Behind him was a man about half his age.
"...But aren't you like 100 years old or something," he asked obliviously. That comment made Black Robe fall to the ground completely humiliated.
"...I'm only in my twenties..." he told himself. The man's sweatdropped and ignored his master and his weird antics.
-sniffle- "No matter! Once they arrive, everything should go according to plan, the problem is that Archeologist of theirs, she knows too much about the world," Black Robe said. He walked back over to his chair and looked over his paper again. All traps were set and hopefully, things would go his way, they had to. If push comes to shove, he will have to blackmail them with their First Mate, he would win in the end.
Back at Magnolia,
"Puah! Man, this stuff is great! Thanks, GildACK-!" Zoro's voice was cut off by Gildarts who slapped his mouth shut.
Erza, Chopper, and Zoro had all returned to the guild with no problems. Zoro as usual got lost but that was to be expected. For some reason, Gildarts snuck a drink for Zoro on a job well done. He was surprised that Zoro came back in one piece despite not being able to use magic. He thought about something but then Zoro opened his big mouth.
"Shhhhh! Quiet down, you idiot! The bartender can't know that I snuck a drink for you!" Gildarts whisper-yelled.
"Snuck out WHAT now?!" The bartender asked suddenly. Gildarts froze and tried to blame Zoro who had already disappeared.
"Ahhh, oh it's empty," Zoro said throwing the bottle away. Even at 15 years old, his body was built enough to handle whole bottles of liquor. This didn't go unnoticed by Makarov and he almost spat out his drink from shock.
Today was a day of relaxation for the 3 adventurers, they were spending it...at the guild. Chopper was once again being harassed by girls and being forced to try on onesies while Zoro slept at a nearby wall. Erza was finishing off the duel between Natsu and Gray only to engage in one herself against Mira. Gildarts had seen the young swordsman in action and had thoughts of training him to see if he could wield magic. Makarov must've somehow known because he went up to Gildarts himself and let the swordsman find out himself. Speaking of Zoro, he said he was going out for a bit to explore the town. Immediately Erza stopped fighting Mira and went to accompany Zoro.
Everybody was a little surprised Erza would personally go herself, but they didn't think too deep into it. That is until they noticed Erza grab his hand and lead him around town.
"Oi what are you...!" Zoro's voice trailed off as he got farther from the guild. The guild only had one thing to think about that whole ordeal. Chopper didn't notice but even if he did, he knew Zoro was safe with her.
--
With Erza and Zoro,
They were currently walking through town side by side with each other. They were both fairly aware that their hands were still linked together but neither wanted to separate them. Erza was showing Zoro around and pointing which places she liked the most. She didn't know why she bothered since she was sure that he would forget these places anyway. It wasn't all that bad though, he was contributing to the conversation as best he could. It was when she pointed to a particular flower shop that she liked and Zoro asked what was so special about it.
She happily told him, the more she got to know Zoro the more she realized that he was actually a great person to hang out with. Today was a peaceful day but for some reason amidst her explanation, Zoro had suddenly disappeared. She barely caught a glimpse of his hair disappearing into an alleyway so she followed suit and saw something that made her freeze.
In front of Zoro, stood 3 members of the Twilight Ogre guild.
Back in the New World...
"Yosh! Franky drop the anchor" Nami ordered.
"OWWWW!! You got it Nami-sis!" Franky said lowering the anchor.
The Straw Hats have made landfall at the island they were expecting. Nami had said that it should've taken at least another 3 days before they arrived. Of course, it only made Luffy think that Sunny wanted to rescue Zoro and Chopper just as badly which was backed up by Franky's tears and Usopp saying it carried Merry's spirit. Nami sighed out in defeat, but that didn't stop her from worrying about what the island would have in store for them.
Robin was also quite wary of the island approaching them soon. Robin's range of her Hana Hana fruit powers had improved during her time training for two years but not to the extent of reaching towards the island. Perhaps she could check the island beforehand to give her crew the heads-up. Since Nami estimated that they would arrive tomorrow in the morning, Robin would make sure to use her powers to scout the island when the crew was asleep.
The island wasn't registered at all and to Nami, it was both nerve-wracking and exciting. She didn't know what to expect so she would have to find out for herself. What could this island have in store for them...
In an alleyway at Magnolia,
- Zoro -
They were tough he'd give them that. Zoro had currently beaten all of the Twilight Ogre members who tried to attack him in the alley. For what reason you may ask?
Ever since Zoro and Erza had defeated the rogue wizards that were from nameless guilds, they, especially Zoro, had gotten a bit of a reputation that started in Oak Town and it had traveled to Magnolia. The rumors in Oak Town didn't spread nicely to Magnolia, however.
In Oak Town, he was a great warrior from Fairy Tail. In Magnolia, he was considered a demon is known for brutality. Twilight Ogre caught a whiff of this and their leader ordered them to find and capture this green demon to recruit him.
They failed, and Erza saw it all unfold in front of her eyes.
'Incredible' Erza thought to herself. Unbeknownst to her, however, Zoro was suffering great damage but not from those Twilight Ogre members. He buckled his knees before falling to the ground, barely catching himself. He began to glow and he looked at his hand, it was shifting between his teenage hand and his adult hand.
'What...is this?' Zoro thought. It was like he was fading out of existence and he didn't even hear Erza shout his name in a worried tone. A dark figure formed behind him and even without turning around, Zoro knew who it was.
"I hope you enjoyed your time in this world Zoro, now it's time to return," the sickly voice said. Zoro didn't like letting this man tell him what to do but Zoro knew what he had to do.
"Nnnhhh...no can do," Zoro said raspily. The robed man was a little surprised, didn't he want to go back to his world? Erza didn't know what was going on but she had a vague idea from what Zoro told her before in the forest. She grew angry at the man, angry for making Zoro go through this. She unsheathed her sword and charge at him.
"HAHHH!!" Erza said as she struck her blad at the man. The blade merely went through him and Erza's eyes widened in shock.
"Hmmm? And who's this pretty young lady?" He said grabbing her by her hair. She winced in pain and sliced back only for the blade to pass through him yet again.
'So I wasn't seeing things, my attacks are going through him. But how? Is it some kind of magic?' Erza thought before the man gut-punched her. It hurt even when she was wearing armor but she had an idea. When the man retracted his fist before swinging back, she changed her armor.
"Purgatory Armor!" Erza said as her armor changed to her most durable one. Upon impact, the man's fist felt pain and couldn't hurt Erza. Erza using all her strength swung her blade at the man. He barely had time to dodge it and blood trickled from where she hit his head.
"Hmph, so I was right. Whenever you hit me, you have to materialize yourself first. That gives me a chance to damage you as well," Erza said as she placed her now much larger sword down.
"Tch, damn brat," the man said before disappearing through a hole.
"Space-time magic?!" Erza said shocked. If that was indeed the case then this man was a lot more dangerous than he seemed. Erza kept her guard up, did he disappear completely or is he hiding in plain sight?
She failed to notice the dark hands taking her and Zoro.
Meanwhile, outside the guild.
- Chopper -
"Ahh, Nom!" -munch- -munch- "Wow this stuff is great!" Chopper exclaimed happily as he munched on his Dango. He was a little worried about Zoro so he went to go look for him but a few of the girls gave him some Dangos for him to take. He gratefully accepted them and decided he would save some for Zoro and Erza. Suddenly, something formed in front of him and it took the shape of something very familiar...
Then a large hand came out and Chopper's vision darkened.
Midday on the Thousand Sunny,
Robin was patiently waiting for the crew to disappear one by one before she put her plan into action. The only ones on deck now were Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and Brook. Everybody wasn't necessarily asleep, just preoccupied. Sanji making something for Nami and her, and Franky working on something. Usopp and Franky had changed their sleeping schedules the most. Robin used her powers once to see them working on something. She didn't know what it was but it seemed important considering all the time and effort they were putting in.
Suddenly the sky darkened and shadows were cast above them. There was maniacal laughter and something was forming above the Straw Hats' heads.
"Oh crap! Nami what do we do?!" Luffy urgently asked. Nami was too stunned to speak. Nami practically mastered her way of sensing the weather but there was nothing that even gave her the slightest hints.
"Something's wrong..." Nami said to herself. The thing above them was growing in size and Black Robe himself made himself present to all the Straw Hats. Luffy and Usopp immediately went on the attack but Robin stopped them.
"Oi, Robin!! What is-" Luffy started before his eyes widened. Could it really be? In Black Robe's hands, were Chopper, Zoro, and some red-haired girl.
"Hello Straw Hats, I have a proposition for you."
A/N: So bad news, stories will be shorter since it's taking too long to just access them. On the bright side, you will most likely get more frequent updates. Sorry for taking long to update this and sorry if this story feels rushed. This is where Zoro and Erza's relationship will begin to develop. I apologize for taking a while but please tell me what you think. All grammar mistakes belong to me, unfortunately, and goodbye.