The skies swirled crazily before Luffy's eyes; it was happening way too fast for him to comprehend the situation. The dull pearl and mauve streaked sky plunged suddenly into the glistening ocean surface. Suddenly, what was happening clicked in Luffy's mind; he screwed his eyes shut and prepared for the icy cold of the water to envelope him.
Inches above the dark waves, however, Luffy stopped.
He opened his eyes in surprise, and in a split second discovered his hands were still clinging tightly to Cabodi's wrist. The next split second he was jerked back and zooming straight towards a very surprised looking Demon. Not that Luffy wasn't surprised, either.
"AAAAAHHHH!!"
"SKREEEEE!!!"
It was with a painful smack into Cabodi's jaw that Luffy sprung back; stunned, the Demon staggered and tried to regain its grip on the mortal body. Although Luffy hadn't recovered, however, Kale switched conciousness in a flash; picking himself off the ground quickly, he rushed towards Cabodi and slammed his hand down onto Cabodi's chest.
It wheezed loudly, but lacked the strength to stop Kale commanding in Divine Language, "OUT!"
The Demon hissed and shrieked, but in a burst of gold light the Demon left Cabodi's body in a crumpled heap beside the railings. Before it cast itself away to another dimension, however, the Demon's claws tore from the ocean a small black marble that had fallen from Luffy's pocket; then, screeching with anguish, it left.
Why didn't you do that earlier? Came Luffy's astounded voice. Kale groaned.
"I don't have the strength to answer your stupid questions," Kale retorted, standing up. He dusted himself off, then slid into deep slumber at the back of Luffy's mind.
"Geez, if Kale could do that, he could have done that ages ago!" Luffy muttered.
"I'm s-sure it's no-not that s-si-simple." Luffy turned to see Nami, soaked to the skin and looking extremely weary. She stared at the skies and gave a small shiver.
"Are you cold?"
"F-Freezing," Nami admitted, wringing salty water out of her hair, "We b-better g-go help S-Sanji-k-kun out and g-go ba-back quick b-be-before I die out h-here. B-Besides, it loo-looks like r-rain."
Luffy looked at Nami curiously. "You seem more Nami now than you were yesterday," he declared. Nami blinked, her teeth chattering uncontrollably from the cold.
"I... realised a c-couple of th-things." She said, and started walking, dripping water as she did. Luffy walked with her towards the direction of the building they had been on the roof of.
"I knew you just needed a little help," He said with a hearty laugh and a wide grin. She arched an eyebrow.
"R-Really? Why d-didn't you help m-m-me yourself b-back th-then?"
A drop of rain fell on Nami's head; she looked up, grimacing slightly at her own accuracy, when Luffy said cheerfully,
"Hey, you said it yourself! I couldn't help you then. You needed someone else's help."
Nami stared at the small boy, then let out a snort. "B-Back in our other l-life, you a-a-acted like a k-kid in an o-older b-body. This life, you act l-like an o-older per-person in a k-kid's body. Make up your m-mind, y-you we-weirdo."
Luffy blinked innocently at her as a light drizzle began to fall, smiling childishly before saying airily, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Like you e-ever did." Nami said, but she wasn't scowling; on the contrary, she was giving Luffy a warm look she remembered having when he'd liberated her village from Arlong Park.
"It doesn't really matter, does it?" He asked, and Nami laughed shakily.
"No, it d-doesn't." She let out a sharp sneeze and gave a violent shiver. Luffy looked at Nami, but before any concern could settle on his features, something suddenly occurred to him.
"Aa!" He said in realisation.
When Usopp regained some feeling back into his limbs, he pulled his face out from being mashed into the grass and dirt. His forehead was bleeding somewhere profusely, and his legs were trembling so violently it took great effort to stand.
Come on, Usopp... you can do this... He gripped the wall, trying to get some air back into his lungs, when he heard Kaya scream. Momentarily forgetting his pain, Usopp hurried away from the wall, looking around wildly to try and figure where the noise was from. A heavy creaking noise from above caught his attention, and he snapped his head up to see Kaya dangling from the edge of the roof on her fingertips, Krow's menacing figure towering above her.
Usopp thrust his hand into his pocket to pull out a large marble, fumbling at his pocket in his panic before managing to pull out his blood-stained 'kerchief. The cat-claws on Krow's fingers flashed beneath the pearly sky.
"Die." Krow hissed, his blades hovering above Kaya's stricken face.
"DIE!!" Usopp yelled out of the top of his lungs. He threw his arm forward with all the strength he could muster. The large marble shot through the air and caught Krow squarely between the eyes. Stumbling atop the roof, Krow let out a growl that fell quiet before falling backwards onto the roof. Next second, he'd fallen clean through the hole he'd created, landing painfully onto the attic floor.
Before Kaya could say anything, her fingers lost their strength and slipped. Usopp's eyes widened.
"Kaya!!" Burst out of his mouth, and he lunged himself forward. She fell into his outstretched arms, and his shoes dug into the soil before he crashed onto the grass. For a moment, they did not say anything, and simply tried to get their breath back.
A soft rain had started to fall upon the grass before Kaya finally looked into Usopp's eyes and spoke.
"Are you okay?" She whispered. She felt stupid for asking such an obvious question; his legs were bleeding, a cut on his forehead was bleeding, his nose and his lip were bleeding, his arms were bleeding and he looked as though he were about to pass out. But she simply did not know how else to start.
"I'm fine." He said quietly. He looked at her, and said in surprise, "You're bleeding."
Kaya felt his eyes on the wound on her collar-bone, where glass had torn into her skin earlier on, and felt a twinge in her chest at the look of deep, genuine concern in his eyes. Her hands, which had been clasped and resting on her stomach, now loosened themselves to grip his clothes tightly.
Is that all you're going to acknowledge? Me? She heard his demanding voice in her head once more...
"Why did you come?! Didn't I tell you run away?! They're after your life!"
After what the village had done to him... after what she had done to him... all he was worried about was her. And just like now, he'd been bleeding...
"But Usopp-san is fighting...We did all those horrible things to you... but you're still fighting to a point you can't even stand...!"
"That's... because I'm a brave sea...!"
And to the end, he'd still tried to make her believe what he was going through was nothing to be worried about...
You've always just acknowledged me, haven't you...
Usopp looked down in surprise at violet eyes filling with tears and concern, and another emotion Usopp found familiar... confusion. For a split second, the emotions evaded Usopp as her eyes locked with his. She's so pretty... GAHH! What am I thinking?! The emotions registered on Usopp, and he frowned slightly.
"Is something wrong?" He asked. He was startled when she pressed a hand against his cheek; the cool raindrops now sliding down his face contrasted against the warmth in her fingers. The rain was gently cleansing the blood from him; her thumb wiped a trickle of blood down the side of his face with ease.
"Usopp-san... what about yourself?" She said, her voice trembling slightly. He blinked.
"Me? What about me?"
Kaya closed her eyes and shook her head; she didn't know how to express herself. What about Usopp? As she thought about how to phrase her answer, she felt his hand on her cheek. She opened her eyes in surprise, and felt his thumb rub at the hot tears sliding down.
"Why are you crying?" He asked worriedly. Then he added reassuringly, "I'm sure Merii is okay."
"It's not that." Kaya said quietly. He raised his eyebrows.
"Then why are you crying?"
"Because..." Kaya swallowed before she continued softly, "... someone doesn't realise how great he is."
Usopp blinked again. Shutting her eyes once more, Kaya leant forward; Usopp felt his fingers slide off her cheek into her hair before he was shocked out of his wits. Her lips brushed against his for a second.
It was as though several bolts of lightning had crashed onto Usopp all at once; for a moment, he couldn't even breathe.
She nestled her head against his shoulder, her arms wrapping around him.
"Thank you." She whispered. She could feel her heart beating madly at her own daring, and felt a jolt of surprise when she felt his chest thumping hard and fast against hers. A rosy blush spread across her features, and she hugged him more tightly.
Usopp couldn't respond; the amount of blood rushing to his face was abnormal. He could feel her skin against his throat, and her hair tickled his chin; he was suddenly aware of how warm her body was in his arms...
The rain rapidly prickled his warmed skin with cool drops, and though it took a considerable while, he regained normal enough temperature to speak properly.
"We should call the ambulance for your manager." He squeaked. Well, somewhat properly.
Zoro stared at her, his eyes wide and his mouth open. He was at a complete loss for words.
"You've grown a lot," She said conversationally. Zoro still didn't say anything, and she rolled her eyes. "Well, I wasn't expecting a speech or anything, but honestly... is this all you can do? Stare at me?"
She imitated a gormless expression before shaking her head and smiling at him. The smile was tinged with sadness.
"Kuina." Zoro finally managed. She averted her eyes from him as she sighed,
"Zoro."
"Kuina... did I... I mean... are you okay?"
"Do you think I'm okay?!" She burst out suddenly, looking at him furiously and startling him, "When you died, I was trying to go Up since our world was a little frozen, but you kept calling my name! When I went to see what you were doing, you pulled me in with you-- and now look!"
Rolling her eyes, she gestured at herself as said disgustedly, "And now, after spending ages in your body, you kick me out into this one. What the hell?!"
"I-- I didn't mean to kick you out!" Zoro exclaimed. She shrugged, sighing again. It started to rain.
"I know. You did it to save this girl's butt. At least I get to talk to you properly, huh?"
There was a short pause. So many things were rushing through Zoro's mind all at once... their last fight, her early death, Mihawk, his progression, their promise, his own promise... He opened his mouth and started to say, "I'm--"
"Don't be."
He looked at her in surprise, and she shrugged. "You were gonna say you were sorry, weren't you? Whatever for?"
...Because I'm alive, and you're not...
"...Just."
The rain had thickened; raindrops were now dripping off their bangs and soaking their clothes. Neither of them took much notice. Kuina looked at him for a moment, an eyebrow arched. Then she said suddenly, as though this had just occurred to her, "Do you think I'm mad at you?"
Zoro frowned slightly. "I don't know. Are you?"
How could I be mad at fate?
"I'm going to be really annoyed at you if you're sorry, for sure. Sorry for what? Making our promise? Losing against Mihawk?"
"It's none of that!" He interrupted, his face flushing unnaturally, "And how do you know about that?" She snorted.
"Did you think you could hide it from me? It was a pathetic fight. You were far from your goal... you really over-estimated yourself." He glared at her, and she shrugged. "Just being honest. Rather me tell you that you were fantastic?"
"Shut up." He muttered, and she smiled again.
"...You were, Zoro. Fantastic, I mean." He blinked, surprised at her smile now. It looked a lot more happier. "You'll become even more so in the future."
He didn't say anything. Kuina's eyes softened as she said quietly, "I don't blame you for anything, Zoro. It's..." She looked at him directly in the eyes as she said firmly, "It's not your fault I died. You know that, right?"
He felt a jolt in him at the words, and suddenly realised her eyes were always sad, not because Zoro could do what she couldn't, but because she couldn't do what Zoro could. He saw the difference.
His eyes lightened, and she smiled a very different smile.
"Good."
"Kuina," Zoro said suddenly, his tone quiet but thoughtfully, "I swear I'll--"
The Demon let out a sudden screech as it tried to break free of Zoro's grasp; letting out a surprised yelp, Zoro rammed his elbow into the Demon's face. The human the Demon had been in lost conciousness and slumped over, and the hand that was holding Tashigi's soul suddenly relaxed and opened. The Demon flitted away.
Zoro's eyes widened. He grabbed at the soul at reflex, and felt a strong warmth pulsating through his rain-soaked fingers. He turned to Tashigi's body, panic and anguish written on his face as he tried to say what he wanted quickly. "I swear--"
I'll do my best to do everything you wanted to do. I'll try and be everything you wanted to be. I'll fulfill my promise and be the strength of not just the best swordsman in the world, but two of them. I'll...
...you can't hold a soul for longer than three seconds...
Zoro tried to cram everything into his mouth all at once but failed to say a word. Tashigi's soul was cradled tightly in his hands, and seeing Zoro was not thinking of the soul at the particular moment, Kuina grabbed at Zoro's hands and pulled Tashigi's soul towards her. Panicking as he realised there was no time left, he blurted out, "I'll never lose again!!"
"Good." She repeated with a smirk, and as Tashigi's soul rolled off Zoro's fingertips and into Tashigi's body, Kuina leant forward. She whispered in his ear, "Don't you dare forget me."
A sudden blaze of warmth re-entered his palms, and he realised this was Kuina's soul. Tashigi jerked back suddenly as Zoro slid Kuina carefully back into himself before he turned his attention to the girl before him once more. Tashigi pressed her hands to her head, letting out a groan. As she opened her eyes and looked ahead of her, she let out a gasp of surprise at the sight of Zoro staring at her.
"Wha-- Zoro?!"
"Are you okay?" He asked, and she blinked rainwater out of her eyes several times before squinting. Seeing this, Zoro reached into his pocket and pulled out her glasses, and handed it to her. She frowned as she took them, not just from trying to recall how she'd gotten there but from the fact the glasses were pretty much ruined. She stuck them in her own pocket before asking,
"Where are we?" Suddenly, she remembered the possessed mob. "Oh! Where are those-- those strange people?!" She looked around hurriedly, as though she expected to see them pop out from behind Zoro.
"Long story." Zoro said, and he stood up. She followed, albeit a little shakily, but she let out a sudden cry. Turning scarlet, she wrapped her arms protectively around herself as she demanded hotly,
"What happened to my clothes?!"
"Er... long story?" He tried to say lightly. It didn't work.
"You think that answer suffices?! And-- and you just let me be this way the entire time I was unconcious?!!"
"Well, yeah, but--"
SLAP.
"IT WASN'T INTENTIONAL!! I was given a bloody time limit, geez!!"
"Time limit?!"
"Long story." She was looking murderous, so he said hastily lest she slap him yet again, "Look, I'll explain to you as we walk or something, okay? I don't find sitting in a little alleyway chatting in the rain that appealing."
"Fine." She muttered. He gave a resigned sigh before suddenly starting to peel off his soaked shirt.
"Zoro, what are you doing?! I know it's wet, but do that when you're indoors!! Wha--" Tashigi spluttered, going redder, when he threw the shirt at her. It hit her face with a wet smack during mid-splutter.
"Put it on, you moron," He snapped, "I'll live without a shirt to GLU."
She seemed about to retort, but restrained herself. She pulled the shirt on with a little difficulty, but managed; the collar looked dishevelled and she buttoned up the shirt along the wrong holes without noticing, but nevertheless it looked much better than her ruined top.
"Thank you." She said sincerely, her face still scarlet. He shrugged, and she tried to avoid looking at his bare torso as they splashed their way out of the alleyway before starting their way back towards GLU. Not that it stopped any other people staring; a couple of girls let out several appreciative giggles.
"Er, let's get back quickly," Tashigi said pointedly, and Zoro responded by walking faster.
"NAMI-SAAAAAAAN!!!"
Nami and Luffy both blinked as Sanji came splashing through the heavy rain towards them. When he reached them, his eyes were completely trained on Nami.
"Hey, so you took care of everything! I knew you would." Luffy chirped, and he walked on ahead, not really caring at the fact Sanji hadn't really listened to a word he'd said.
Looking at Nami, he impulsively held her shoulders and took a good look at her. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking so sincere and worried Nami couldn't suppress a smile.
"I'm f-fine! I was w-with Luffy, re-remember?" For a moment, Sanji didn't do anything but simply gaze at her. Nami blinked rapidly to get the rainwater out of her eyes, but Sanji's face wasn't moving a muscle as he just looked at her intently. Feeling a little uncomfortable on the serious intensity Sanji was heaping on her, Nami started to say, "Sanji-ku--"
Her voice was smothered as Sanji pulled her into a hug. Nami blinked, stunned. His fingers thread through her long hair as his head nestled closely to her own; though her arms were rather mashed up between his body and her chest, she didn't really mind. She surprised herself by feeling pleasantly warmed by his body, though it occurred to her it was because she was freezing.
For a moment, she let him just hold her. She felt somehow that maybe he really needed it; then she felt something hot and wet fall on her neck that was not rain, and he let out a choked noise. Pulling herself out of his grip, she stared at him incredulously.
"Why are you c-crying?! I'm fine, a-aren't I??"
"It's j-just that I was s-s-so wo-worried!!" Sanji blubbered, streaming tears, "And now y-you're here in front of m-me so I'm just so-- so glad!!"
"Y-You're a grown man! Stop that!" Nami commanded, thwacking him, and he tried to stop crying. Sighing, Nami pulled one of his arms over her shoulders and started walking after Luffy towards GrandLine University.
"You're so cold..." Sanji said in surprise, finally feeling her cold skin, and she shook her head to dismiss it.
"It's nothing," She began, when Sanji interrupted,
"No! It's not nothing! You shouldn't dismiss anything about yourself, ever!! You're too important for that. Remember that!"
Nami stared at his stubborn face in surprise, then let out a sigh. "F-Fine. Have it y-your way, Sanji-k-kun."
"It's not just my way! We all care about you, Nami-san..." His grip on her shoulder tightened as he said firmly, "If you're cold, we must do something about it!"
"Like g-get b-back to GLU, right? We're d-doing that now! Stop f-fussing like a g-grandmother or so-something." Nami looked away from his unconvinced expression. They walked in silence for a few seconds, before Nami suddenly said, "S-Sanji-kun?"
"Nn?"
"Thanks for w-worrying about m-me." He looked at her in surprise, and though she was looking ahead of her and rather pointedly not at him, there was no mistaking the blush that had spread across her cheeks.
She's... embarrassed to say thank you? She... She...! A hot blush filled Sanji's own face as he thought, and not for the first time either, She's so cute!!!
"It's no problem!!" Sanji burst out happily, his heart singing from the simple joy of seeing Nami blush. She smiled at him.
As the rain fell hard, none of them seemed to realise their pains were gently ebbing away. Rainte, high above them all, chuckled as he saw that none of them noticed. Angels were returning back to Heaven from Dimension 900Z, and Archangels Luce and Solare popped up through the clouds beside Rainte.
"God doesn't do send Healing Rain for every Dimension. Guess those guys are special, huh?"
"They are," Luce said tiredly beside him, smiling, and Solare beside her laughed.
"Yeah, well, they're not the most intelligent lifeforms ever," Solare said, "but they are very special."
A/N: Relatively short chapter, I know. Formatting has become a pain up the bum. Anyway... resolution chapters! Finally, huh? ; I know it took a while... I was procrastinating. :P I'll try my best to get the following chapters up soon. Yay!! Yay!! Yay!! :D
Inches above the dark waves, however, Luffy stopped.
He opened his eyes in surprise, and in a split second discovered his hands were still clinging tightly to Cabodi's wrist. The next split second he was jerked back and zooming straight towards a very surprised looking Demon. Not that Luffy wasn't surprised, either.
"AAAAAHHHH!!"
"SKREEEEE!!!"
It was with a painful smack into Cabodi's jaw that Luffy sprung back; stunned, the Demon staggered and tried to regain its grip on the mortal body. Although Luffy hadn't recovered, however, Kale switched conciousness in a flash; picking himself off the ground quickly, he rushed towards Cabodi and slammed his hand down onto Cabodi's chest.
It wheezed loudly, but lacked the strength to stop Kale commanding in Divine Language, "OUT!"
The Demon hissed and shrieked, but in a burst of gold light the Demon left Cabodi's body in a crumpled heap beside the railings. Before it cast itself away to another dimension, however, the Demon's claws tore from the ocean a small black marble that had fallen from Luffy's pocket; then, screeching with anguish, it left.
Why didn't you do that earlier? Came Luffy's astounded voice. Kale groaned.
"I don't have the strength to answer your stupid questions," Kale retorted, standing up. He dusted himself off, then slid into deep slumber at the back of Luffy's mind.
"Geez, if Kale could do that, he could have done that ages ago!" Luffy muttered.
"I'm s-sure it's no-not that s-si-simple." Luffy turned to see Nami, soaked to the skin and looking extremely weary. She stared at the skies and gave a small shiver.
"Are you cold?"
"F-Freezing," Nami admitted, wringing salty water out of her hair, "We b-better g-go help S-Sanji-k-kun out and g-go ba-back quick b-be-before I die out h-here. B-Besides, it loo-looks like r-rain."
Luffy looked at Nami curiously. "You seem more Nami now than you were yesterday," he declared. Nami blinked, her teeth chattering uncontrollably from the cold.
"I... realised a c-couple of th-things." She said, and started walking, dripping water as she did. Luffy walked with her towards the direction of the building they had been on the roof of.
"I knew you just needed a little help," He said with a hearty laugh and a wide grin. She arched an eyebrow.
"R-Really? Why d-didn't you help m-m-me yourself b-back th-then?"
A drop of rain fell on Nami's head; she looked up, grimacing slightly at her own accuracy, when Luffy said cheerfully,
"Hey, you said it yourself! I couldn't help you then. You needed someone else's help."
Nami stared at the small boy, then let out a snort. "B-Back in our other l-life, you a-a-acted like a k-kid in an o-older b-body. This life, you act l-like an o-older per-person in a k-kid's body. Make up your m-mind, y-you we-weirdo."
Luffy blinked innocently at her as a light drizzle began to fall, smiling childishly before saying airily, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Like you e-ever did." Nami said, but she wasn't scowling; on the contrary, she was giving Luffy a warm look she remembered having when he'd liberated her village from Arlong Park.
"It doesn't really matter, does it?" He asked, and Nami laughed shakily.
"No, it d-doesn't." She let out a sharp sneeze and gave a violent shiver. Luffy looked at Nami, but before any concern could settle on his features, something suddenly occurred to him.
"Aa!" He said in realisation.
When Usopp regained some feeling back into his limbs, he pulled his face out from being mashed into the grass and dirt. His forehead was bleeding somewhere profusely, and his legs were trembling so violently it took great effort to stand.
Come on, Usopp... you can do this... He gripped the wall, trying to get some air back into his lungs, when he heard Kaya scream. Momentarily forgetting his pain, Usopp hurried away from the wall, looking around wildly to try and figure where the noise was from. A heavy creaking noise from above caught his attention, and he snapped his head up to see Kaya dangling from the edge of the roof on her fingertips, Krow's menacing figure towering above her.
Usopp thrust his hand into his pocket to pull out a large marble, fumbling at his pocket in his panic before managing to pull out his blood-stained 'kerchief. The cat-claws on Krow's fingers flashed beneath the pearly sky.
"Die." Krow hissed, his blades hovering above Kaya's stricken face.
"DIE!!" Usopp yelled out of the top of his lungs. He threw his arm forward with all the strength he could muster. The large marble shot through the air and caught Krow squarely between the eyes. Stumbling atop the roof, Krow let out a growl that fell quiet before falling backwards onto the roof. Next second, he'd fallen clean through the hole he'd created, landing painfully onto the attic floor.
Before Kaya could say anything, her fingers lost their strength and slipped. Usopp's eyes widened.
"Kaya!!" Burst out of his mouth, and he lunged himself forward. She fell into his outstretched arms, and his shoes dug into the soil before he crashed onto the grass. For a moment, they did not say anything, and simply tried to get their breath back.
A soft rain had started to fall upon the grass before Kaya finally looked into Usopp's eyes and spoke.
"Are you okay?" She whispered. She felt stupid for asking such an obvious question; his legs were bleeding, a cut on his forehead was bleeding, his nose and his lip were bleeding, his arms were bleeding and he looked as though he were about to pass out. But she simply did not know how else to start.
"I'm fine." He said quietly. He looked at her, and said in surprise, "You're bleeding."
Kaya felt his eyes on the wound on her collar-bone, where glass had torn into her skin earlier on, and felt a twinge in her chest at the look of deep, genuine concern in his eyes. Her hands, which had been clasped and resting on her stomach, now loosened themselves to grip his clothes tightly.
Is that all you're going to acknowledge? Me? She heard his demanding voice in her head once more...
"Why did you come?! Didn't I tell you run away?! They're after your life!"
After what the village had done to him... after what she had done to him... all he was worried about was her. And just like now, he'd been bleeding...
"But Usopp-san is fighting...We did all those horrible things to you... but you're still fighting to a point you can't even stand...!"
"That's... because I'm a brave sea...!"
And to the end, he'd still tried to make her believe what he was going through was nothing to be worried about...
You've always just acknowledged me, haven't you...
Usopp looked down in surprise at violet eyes filling with tears and concern, and another emotion Usopp found familiar... confusion. For a split second, the emotions evaded Usopp as her eyes locked with his. She's so pretty... GAHH! What am I thinking?! The emotions registered on Usopp, and he frowned slightly.
"Is something wrong?" He asked. He was startled when she pressed a hand against his cheek; the cool raindrops now sliding down his face contrasted against the warmth in her fingers. The rain was gently cleansing the blood from him; her thumb wiped a trickle of blood down the side of his face with ease.
"Usopp-san... what about yourself?" She said, her voice trembling slightly. He blinked.
"Me? What about me?"
Kaya closed her eyes and shook her head; she didn't know how to express herself. What about Usopp? As she thought about how to phrase her answer, she felt his hand on her cheek. She opened her eyes in surprise, and felt his thumb rub at the hot tears sliding down.
"Why are you crying?" He asked worriedly. Then he added reassuringly, "I'm sure Merii is okay."
"It's not that." Kaya said quietly. He raised his eyebrows.
"Then why are you crying?"
"Because..." Kaya swallowed before she continued softly, "... someone doesn't realise how great he is."
Usopp blinked again. Shutting her eyes once more, Kaya leant forward; Usopp felt his fingers slide off her cheek into her hair before he was shocked out of his wits. Her lips brushed against his for a second.
It was as though several bolts of lightning had crashed onto Usopp all at once; for a moment, he couldn't even breathe.
She nestled her head against his shoulder, her arms wrapping around him.
"Thank you." She whispered. She could feel her heart beating madly at her own daring, and felt a jolt of surprise when she felt his chest thumping hard and fast against hers. A rosy blush spread across her features, and she hugged him more tightly.
Usopp couldn't respond; the amount of blood rushing to his face was abnormal. He could feel her skin against his throat, and her hair tickled his chin; he was suddenly aware of how warm her body was in his arms...
The rain rapidly prickled his warmed skin with cool drops, and though it took a considerable while, he regained normal enough temperature to speak properly.
"We should call the ambulance for your manager." He squeaked. Well, somewhat properly.
Zoro stared at her, his eyes wide and his mouth open. He was at a complete loss for words.
"You've grown a lot," She said conversationally. Zoro still didn't say anything, and she rolled her eyes. "Well, I wasn't expecting a speech or anything, but honestly... is this all you can do? Stare at me?"
She imitated a gormless expression before shaking her head and smiling at him. The smile was tinged with sadness.
"Kuina." Zoro finally managed. She averted her eyes from him as she sighed,
"Zoro."
"Kuina... did I... I mean... are you okay?"
"Do you think I'm okay?!" She burst out suddenly, looking at him furiously and startling him, "When you died, I was trying to go Up since our world was a little frozen, but you kept calling my name! When I went to see what you were doing, you pulled me in with you-- and now look!"
Rolling her eyes, she gestured at herself as said disgustedly, "And now, after spending ages in your body, you kick me out into this one. What the hell?!"
"I-- I didn't mean to kick you out!" Zoro exclaimed. She shrugged, sighing again. It started to rain.
"I know. You did it to save this girl's butt. At least I get to talk to you properly, huh?"
There was a short pause. So many things were rushing through Zoro's mind all at once... their last fight, her early death, Mihawk, his progression, their promise, his own promise... He opened his mouth and started to say, "I'm--"
"Don't be."
He looked at her in surprise, and she shrugged. "You were gonna say you were sorry, weren't you? Whatever for?"
...Because I'm alive, and you're not...
"...Just."
The rain had thickened; raindrops were now dripping off their bangs and soaking their clothes. Neither of them took much notice. Kuina looked at him for a moment, an eyebrow arched. Then she said suddenly, as though this had just occurred to her, "Do you think I'm mad at you?"
Zoro frowned slightly. "I don't know. Are you?"
How could I be mad at fate?
"I'm going to be really annoyed at you if you're sorry, for sure. Sorry for what? Making our promise? Losing against Mihawk?"
"It's none of that!" He interrupted, his face flushing unnaturally, "And how do you know about that?" She snorted.
"Did you think you could hide it from me? It was a pathetic fight. You were far from your goal... you really over-estimated yourself." He glared at her, and she shrugged. "Just being honest. Rather me tell you that you were fantastic?"
"Shut up." He muttered, and she smiled again.
"...You were, Zoro. Fantastic, I mean." He blinked, surprised at her smile now. It looked a lot more happier. "You'll become even more so in the future."
He didn't say anything. Kuina's eyes softened as she said quietly, "I don't blame you for anything, Zoro. It's..." She looked at him directly in the eyes as she said firmly, "It's not your fault I died. You know that, right?"
He felt a jolt in him at the words, and suddenly realised her eyes were always sad, not because Zoro could do what she couldn't, but because she couldn't do what Zoro could. He saw the difference.
His eyes lightened, and she smiled a very different smile.
"Good."
"Kuina," Zoro said suddenly, his tone quiet but thoughtfully, "I swear I'll--"
The Demon let out a sudden screech as it tried to break free of Zoro's grasp; letting out a surprised yelp, Zoro rammed his elbow into the Demon's face. The human the Demon had been in lost conciousness and slumped over, and the hand that was holding Tashigi's soul suddenly relaxed and opened. The Demon flitted away.
Zoro's eyes widened. He grabbed at the soul at reflex, and felt a strong warmth pulsating through his rain-soaked fingers. He turned to Tashigi's body, panic and anguish written on his face as he tried to say what he wanted quickly. "I swear--"
I'll do my best to do everything you wanted to do. I'll try and be everything you wanted to be. I'll fulfill my promise and be the strength of not just the best swordsman in the world, but two of them. I'll...
...you can't hold a soul for longer than three seconds...
Zoro tried to cram everything into his mouth all at once but failed to say a word. Tashigi's soul was cradled tightly in his hands, and seeing Zoro was not thinking of the soul at the particular moment, Kuina grabbed at Zoro's hands and pulled Tashigi's soul towards her. Panicking as he realised there was no time left, he blurted out, "I'll never lose again!!"
"Good." She repeated with a smirk, and as Tashigi's soul rolled off Zoro's fingertips and into Tashigi's body, Kuina leant forward. She whispered in his ear, "Don't you dare forget me."
A sudden blaze of warmth re-entered his palms, and he realised this was Kuina's soul. Tashigi jerked back suddenly as Zoro slid Kuina carefully back into himself before he turned his attention to the girl before him once more. Tashigi pressed her hands to her head, letting out a groan. As she opened her eyes and looked ahead of her, she let out a gasp of surprise at the sight of Zoro staring at her.
"Wha-- Zoro?!"
"Are you okay?" He asked, and she blinked rainwater out of her eyes several times before squinting. Seeing this, Zoro reached into his pocket and pulled out her glasses, and handed it to her. She frowned as she took them, not just from trying to recall how she'd gotten there but from the fact the glasses were pretty much ruined. She stuck them in her own pocket before asking,
"Where are we?" Suddenly, she remembered the possessed mob. "Oh! Where are those-- those strange people?!" She looked around hurriedly, as though she expected to see them pop out from behind Zoro.
"Long story." Zoro said, and he stood up. She followed, albeit a little shakily, but she let out a sudden cry. Turning scarlet, she wrapped her arms protectively around herself as she demanded hotly,
"What happened to my clothes?!"
"Er... long story?" He tried to say lightly. It didn't work.
"You think that answer suffices?! And-- and you just let me be this way the entire time I was unconcious?!!"
"Well, yeah, but--"
SLAP.
"IT WASN'T INTENTIONAL!! I was given a bloody time limit, geez!!"
"Time limit?!"
"Long story." She was looking murderous, so he said hastily lest she slap him yet again, "Look, I'll explain to you as we walk or something, okay? I don't find sitting in a little alleyway chatting in the rain that appealing."
"Fine." She muttered. He gave a resigned sigh before suddenly starting to peel off his soaked shirt.
"Zoro, what are you doing?! I know it's wet, but do that when you're indoors!! Wha--" Tashigi spluttered, going redder, when he threw the shirt at her. It hit her face with a wet smack during mid-splutter.
"Put it on, you moron," He snapped, "I'll live without a shirt to GLU."
She seemed about to retort, but restrained herself. She pulled the shirt on with a little difficulty, but managed; the collar looked dishevelled and she buttoned up the shirt along the wrong holes without noticing, but nevertheless it looked much better than her ruined top.
"Thank you." She said sincerely, her face still scarlet. He shrugged, and she tried to avoid looking at his bare torso as they splashed their way out of the alleyway before starting their way back towards GLU. Not that it stopped any other people staring; a couple of girls let out several appreciative giggles.
"Er, let's get back quickly," Tashigi said pointedly, and Zoro responded by walking faster.
"NAMI-SAAAAAAAN!!!"
Nami and Luffy both blinked as Sanji came splashing through the heavy rain towards them. When he reached them, his eyes were completely trained on Nami.
"Hey, so you took care of everything! I knew you would." Luffy chirped, and he walked on ahead, not really caring at the fact Sanji hadn't really listened to a word he'd said.
Looking at Nami, he impulsively held her shoulders and took a good look at her. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking so sincere and worried Nami couldn't suppress a smile.
"I'm f-fine! I was w-with Luffy, re-remember?" For a moment, Sanji didn't do anything but simply gaze at her. Nami blinked rapidly to get the rainwater out of her eyes, but Sanji's face wasn't moving a muscle as he just looked at her intently. Feeling a little uncomfortable on the serious intensity Sanji was heaping on her, Nami started to say, "Sanji-ku--"
Her voice was smothered as Sanji pulled her into a hug. Nami blinked, stunned. His fingers thread through her long hair as his head nestled closely to her own; though her arms were rather mashed up between his body and her chest, she didn't really mind. She surprised herself by feeling pleasantly warmed by his body, though it occurred to her it was because she was freezing.
For a moment, she let him just hold her. She felt somehow that maybe he really needed it; then she felt something hot and wet fall on her neck that was not rain, and he let out a choked noise. Pulling herself out of his grip, she stared at him incredulously.
"Why are you c-crying?! I'm fine, a-aren't I??"
"It's j-just that I was s-s-so wo-worried!!" Sanji blubbered, streaming tears, "And now y-you're here in front of m-me so I'm just so-- so glad!!"
"Y-You're a grown man! Stop that!" Nami commanded, thwacking him, and he tried to stop crying. Sighing, Nami pulled one of his arms over her shoulders and started walking after Luffy towards GrandLine University.
"You're so cold..." Sanji said in surprise, finally feeling her cold skin, and she shook her head to dismiss it.
"It's nothing," She began, when Sanji interrupted,
"No! It's not nothing! You shouldn't dismiss anything about yourself, ever!! You're too important for that. Remember that!"
Nami stared at his stubborn face in surprise, then let out a sigh. "F-Fine. Have it y-your way, Sanji-k-kun."
"It's not just my way! We all care about you, Nami-san..." His grip on her shoulder tightened as he said firmly, "If you're cold, we must do something about it!"
"Like g-get b-back to GLU, right? We're d-doing that now! Stop f-fussing like a g-grandmother or so-something." Nami looked away from his unconvinced expression. They walked in silence for a few seconds, before Nami suddenly said, "S-Sanji-kun?"
"Nn?"
"Thanks for w-worrying about m-me." He looked at her in surprise, and though she was looking ahead of her and rather pointedly not at him, there was no mistaking the blush that had spread across her cheeks.
She's... embarrassed to say thank you? She... She...! A hot blush filled Sanji's own face as he thought, and not for the first time either, She's so cute!!!
"It's no problem!!" Sanji burst out happily, his heart singing from the simple joy of seeing Nami blush. She smiled at him.
As the rain fell hard, none of them seemed to realise their pains were gently ebbing away. Rainte, high above them all, chuckled as he saw that none of them noticed. Angels were returning back to Heaven from Dimension 900Z, and Archangels Luce and Solare popped up through the clouds beside Rainte.
"God doesn't do send Healing Rain for every Dimension. Guess those guys are special, huh?"
"They are," Luce said tiredly beside him, smiling, and Solare beside her laughed.
"Yeah, well, they're not the most intelligent lifeforms ever," Solare said, "but they are very special."
A/N: Relatively short chapter, I know. Formatting has become a pain up the bum. Anyway... resolution chapters! Finally, huh? ; I know it took a while... I was procrastinating. :P I'll try my best to get the following chapters up soon. Yay!! Yay!! Yay!! :D