Fanworks - fanfics - The Island of Angels
The Island of Angels: Chapter Three
|
Nami was seriously not amused when several marine-uniform clad goons appeared on the shores, heading in their direction. "Guys? Look behind us?" Everyone turned and saw the white starch and blue ties and a faint smoke rising behind them. "What do we do? What do we do??" Usopp yelped as he ran around in aimless circles. "Stop running you moron and we'll think about it," Sanji muttered, grabbing the back of his cloak. "Where's Luffy?" Zoro asked, looking around. Everyone realised the absence of their captain, and stared at the hole Luffy had made while entering the forest. "That's just swell," Nami muttered, "And now we're being gained on. What do we do?" "That's easy," Zoro replied. "I'll protect you Nami-san, no matter what~!" Sanji chattered, and Usopp pulled out from his purse a smoke pellet. Zoro finished, "We run." "Get ready," Usopp said as the marines finally formed a semi-circle around them; them being between the shore and the forest. "You're under arrest!" Yelled one marine. The crew tucked their hoods well over their heads, and Usopp yelled, "NOW!!" Before he shot the pellet into the ground. It exploded to unfurl a mass of thick, white smoke, and the crew stampeded quickly into forest. The marines began to cough, but Smoker yelled, "You idiots, the forest is right in front of you!!" The marines took heed and crashed through the smoke and into various trees. "The morons...!!" Smoker groaned in annoyance. He grabbed a couple of marines and tossed them in the general direction of the entrance he'd seen to the forest. "Tashigi, take care of the rest of these marines. I'm going to go look for Monkey D. Luffy." He ran through the smoke and into the forest easily. He didn't think about the fact that Tashigi hadn't replied because she simply wasn't there. Flash of gold by the ear, glimpse of green at the fringe, something that looked like three swords sticking through the cloak. "Roronoah Zoro, stop where you are this instant!!" He spun to see Tashigi running after him. "Yarrrgghhh!! Get off my case!!" He yelled, and turned off course and into a new path of purple undergrowth. "Stop running!!" Tashigi yelled back, and she ran into the undergrowth after him. "Zoro!!" Nami shouted, but sudden sight of white behind made her run again. Sanji and Usopp took step next to her just as a whole load of marines appeared behind them. "Not good not good not good....!!" Nami chanted unhappily as they continued to run over what wasn't even a path. She heard guns load behind and she ran even faster. "Not good not good not good....!!" Then a crack of a gun sounded, and a bullet embedded itself just by Usopp's shoe. "Look, we have to split!" Usopp yelled. "I'm not leaving Nami-san alone!!" Sanji said defiantly. "No one asked you to," Usopp retorted, and they reached a thick hedge of leaves, vines and trees tangled into a dead-end. "Not good!!!" Nami cried, and the gun shots sounded even closer. "Surrender now!!" The voices of the marines mingled with Usopp's hurried thoughts. He quickly made a decision, and grabbed both Sanji and Nami by the shoulders. "Naa?" "Ne?" "We'll meet again later!!" Usopp shouted, and he pulled them towards him in face of the marines. "Argh, you twerp -- are you making us take the bullets?!!" Sanji cried as the marines started to close in on them. "Nope," Usopp replied, and quite suddenly, he threw them both with surprising strength into one side of the undergrowth. A bullet skimmed his arm as he did so, and amidst the surprised cries Sanji and Nami made, he turned to the marines, and ran at break-neck speed towards them. Startled, they let him break through before realising what had just happened. "S-stop!!" Four of them ran after Usopp and the other six gingerly stepped through the hole Sanji and Nami had made while falling through. Having had recovered faster, Sanji had picked Nami up and was now running as fast as he could through the forest. It didn't occur to Nami that the reason Sanji wasn't fighting back was because his right foot was starting to bleed profusely. "Roronoah Zoro!!!" Tashigi screamed in frustration as Zoro waded through a murky, green lake, holding his swords well above it, "If you continue to run, I will be forced to take desperate measures!!" "Like?" Zoro asked as he avoided a passing bough of rotting wood. "Don't ask!!!" Tashigi held her sword into a fighting stance, swerving it around and splitting the same bough of wood cleanly in half, the force of her cut speeding towards Zoro. Muttering, he cut the water quickly with the Yubashiri and the ripples disappated her attack. "Give up! I don't want to fight you now," He said firmly, walking as quickly as he could through the waters. "Why? In a hurry to go somewhere?" She asked, managing to arrive at the bank just as Zoro hurried into a tangle of vegetation. "Huh?" Tug, tug. "Eh?" Tashigi blinked as Zoro realised he was stuck in the green bunch of leaves, twigs and vines. "Hmmm," Zoro mused out loud, "That was stupid." "No kidding," Tashigi said with a sweatdrop as Zoro's arm got caught while reaching for his swords. "I did think I could break through." He admitted as he strained to reach the Wadokiyamachi. "Any fool could see you couldn't," Tashigi said, laughing to see Zoro in such a state. "Oh, shut up." He muttered, struggling around but only proceeding to get more tangled. Finally, he sighed. "I suppose you want me to duel with you now." "Not while you're in those vines," Tashigi said, and held her Red Petal upwards. Tensing, she closed her eyes, and gripped the handle slightly more tightly. Zoro waited for her to slice the vines away. Then she suddenly relaxed and let the sword down. She tapped a finger to her chin in mock-thought. "But if I break the vines you might run away..., again." "I promise I won't," He sighed resignedly. "Oh, I don't know," Tashigi said, turning around off-handedly, "Don't know if I can trust a guy who won't treat me as an equal." A vein popped up on Zoro's temple. "Are you implying that one who doesn't wish to cut someone who looks just like his friend is evil?" Tashigi turned around with a glare. "No, I'm implying that one who doesn't wish to cut me just because I'm a girl is evil!" "Hey, hey! I'm not not cutting you because you're a girl!" Zoro protested, the vines shaking. "You're being unreasonable here, Roronoah Zoro," Tashigi said annoyedly, "I can't help the way I look." "You could help the way you act!! Cheap imitator!!" Zoro snapped back. "Wh-what?!! You're being unbearably immature, Roronoah Zoro!!" Tashigi cried indignantly as she shoved her sword to him. Surprised, he swung back in his position, and the blade cut through a load of twigs and vines entwined around his left knee. "Hey, thanks," Zoro said, and flipped the Wadokiyamachi up to his head with the knee and caught the handle with his teeth. Grinning, he unsheathed it with a jerk of his head and with a single swipe, he managed to slice through a single vine and nearly cut off his arm. "Be careful!!" Tashigi cried as he attempted to cut another vine dangerously. "Shut up, I'm in a bloody stupid position, okay?!" A few more jaw-locked attempts and he managed to free one arm, and thus was free of twigs and such within seconds. Before he could move, however, the point of the Red Petal was at his nose. His eyes travelled up the blade to her arm to her eyes. Her glasses were up onto her forehead. "No running, we duel, right now, just here." Tashigi looked at him, determined and mind-set. Zoro sighed. "Okay, okay. On one condition." He slowly got up, the sword pointed at his throat as he did so. He took his time, unsheathing the Kitetsu and Yubashiri with each hand and adjusting a good grip on each, his teeth re-adjusting its grip on the handle of the Wadokiyamachi. He didn't put on his bandanna, and looked squarely at the swords-woman, who asked, "What's the condition?" Zoro pulled his swords back into a fighting stance as he replied, "Put on your glasses." Monkey D. Luffy was lost. He had charged into the forest enthusiastically on the fantastic hope of meat, but had gotten lost mid-way; and not only had he lost his crew along the way, but he had heard gun-shots a while back. He had attempted to run towards the direction of the gun-shots but had only succeeded in getting from lost to hopelessly lost. "Ne, I know they'll be fine, but I'm still worried..." Luffy sighed as he trudged through a curtain of purple creepers. Almost immediately after he'd spoken, he heard a feminine scream sound just a short distance away. "It doesn't sound like Nami, but maybe I'll be less lost," Luffy mused as he ran as fast as he could through the leafy mass of green and purple undergrowth. He arrived at a scene where he could see a young girl crouching at the base of a tree, her arms held above her and her eyes squeezed shut. A huge creature adorned with thick, midnight-blue fur towered above her, and was seconds away from tearing at her raised arms with its fearsome-looking claws. The bark above her head had chunks torn out of it already. The creature let out a roar, and the girl covered her eyes. "Gomu gomu no Spear!!" THWAP Luffy retracted his foot as the bear landed in several thorn-bushes a few meters back. The girl opened her eyes just a fraction, and then widened them in surprise to see her attacker no where to be seen, but in place, a young man wearing a straw-hat. "What the..." Luffy grinned at the girl, offering out a hand to help her up. She took it, and as she stumbled a bit to steady herself, Luffy realised that she wasn't such a small girl after all. She was only a little shorter than him, and her hair fell in light-lilac layers around her face. Her clothes were very mismatched; a beige top that only reached a few inches above her navel with only one strap over a shoulder, an arm band around the arm opposite the strap and a skirt. "Wow! That was weird. Where did the Shiller go?" She looked around curiously, her deep-violet eyes bright. Luffy pointed to the unconcious creature in the bushes as he asked, "Is that a Shiller?" "What happened to it?" The girl cried in surprise. "I kicked it," Luffy said with a grin. The girl scratched her head confusedly before shrugging and holding out a hand with an equally wide grin. "You're very strong! I'm Violet. Thanks for saving me." He shook her hand firmly, and she let go, bouncing off towards the fallen Shiller. "I'm so amazed! You actually kicked this Shiller down. Are you hungry?" Luffy looked at the girl with a blink before suddenly laughing happily. "Yes, I'm very very hungry!!" He said eagerly, hopping over to where the girl was poking at the fallen creature. It looked like a bear with a beak and feathers. "Well, I'm hungry too!" Violet started laughing, and Luffy looked at her blankly before asking, "Have you got anything to eat?" She stopped laughing to smack herself in the forehead. "Oh yes, of course! That's right. Let's eat this Shiller," The Shiller suddenly jumped up with a roar, bowling both Luffy and Violet over. "Naaa!! Shocking!!" Violet cried as she flung her arms out to shield herself. "DIE!!!" Luffy screamed, and knocked the Shiller's beak off with a powerful punch. Violet peeked through her fingers, then put her hands down with surprise. "Wow!" Violet exclaimed, crawling over to the Shiller, "If a Shiller loses its beak, it's dead! You killed it!!" "I thought we were going to eat it," Luffy said, and Violet nodded. "I just didn't know you were going to kill it so quickly. Are you a hunter?" She asked, looking at Luffy with respect. "Nope. I'm a pirate." Violet's eyes rounded in surprise. "A pirate? I've never met a pirate before," She said interestedly, pulling out a knife from her arm-band. "What's your name?" "Monkey D. Luffy. Is there a village here?" Luffy asked. "Yeah. I come from it. I came out here to get fire-wood, but oh well, I'll get it later." She cut out tufts of long-grass, and Luffy idly piled twigs in front of him. "Where am I?" Luffy asked. "In Yolandi forest of the Island of Angels," Violet replied, placing the grass over the twigs. Luffy noticed that she had not stopped smiling since he had met her. "They say it used to rain angel feathers here, but I don't believe it." "Maybe it's true," Luffy said, watching Violet pull out a box of matches from her arm-band, "otherwise they wouldn't call it such. You have so many things in your arm-band. What else is in it?" Violet laughed, shaking her head as she lit the dry blades of grass with a flame from a match, "Nothing much." Luffy blew lightly on the tiny, red glow and it burst into bright flames, the grass curling and the wood blackening under the orange-yellow fire. "Goody," Violet said with a grin, "now let's go get the meat."
| |||||||