A/N: Finally; got this down on paper! Sorry for the delay guys, but I guess that's just how fast I can allow myself to work on this. I have important exams to get ready for and loads to do at home, so sorry.
And I've revised and re-edited chapter one too. Man! How did I ever allow myself to upload it when it when it was so full of mistakes!
I hope you'll forgive me for it!
To all my lovely reviewers: THANK YOU! You've made my day!
To shadow wolf: (-)Well I'm still just practicing my evil laugh so I guess it's normal that I still choke before the end of it. Lol I hate cliffys too, except when in my own stories. Coz u know, it keeps you anxious to read the next chappie! Hehe! Hope this chapter's length will be satisfactory.
Dedicated to all my friends, loyal OP-fans… I LOVE YOU ALL! And now:takes out "the authoress" cap and speaker and yells: "ON WITH THE FIC!"
DISCLAIMER: I-DO-NOT-OWN-ONEPIECE. …yet! Working on it:Types furiously on keyboard, with a very serious facial expression made only scarier by reflection of a green matrix code on her black glasses.:
All the while through the disclaimer, one can see a terrified Asian man in the background, tied up to an uncomfortable looking metal chair wearing a brain squeezing helmet attached to a 10 000 Volts power source, looking very much like the recently mysteriously disappeared Eiichiro Oda…
It's not an electric chair! I think... I mean, don't worry I'm not really that much of a cliché!
I like it when it's slow and painful. :-D
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The Angels' Mansion by StarSparkle
Chapter two: The Violets' Pub.
He opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times to take in his surrounding and immediately thought, that if ever there was a time he ought to be surprised, now would be it.
Not that he'd expected to wake up in total luxury, of course; but the place he was now lying in on a futon (which really felt more like hard wood and oddly enough smelled of raspberry), was nothing short of a dungeon.
Well except for the wooden barrels and cases around him that was.
It had been quite sometime since he'd awaken, whether a few hours or minutes though he couldn't really tell.
He really didn't care, at all.
He was too busy trying to deal with the throbbing pain that had surged through his brain as soon as he had tried to move his head.
And as if that wasn't enough, all the memories of the confusing events previous to his blacking were rushing back into his agonizingly numb mind. Everything seemed to have occurred way to quickly; he wasn't even sure whether he was reminiscing real events or dreams...
It all felt so distant somehow now, like it all happened so long ago…
But he couldn't possibly have been asleep for too long... It might have been for more than a day
though; if his aching muscles were of any reliable indication.
"Hello there, sleeping prince of pirates!" sounded a genuinely pleasantly surprised voice out of the blur.
"Would you look at that, he has finally awakened!" she continued, approaching him.
Kneeling next to him she cheerfully asked him
"So, how's my new favorite lodger doing?"
'Lodger?'. 'Sleeping Prince of Pirates?' Zoro thought. "Don't call me that!" he found himself snapping, or was it more like—croaking? His voice felt painfully hoarse, but anything/anyone that compared or made him sound like that dumbass-cook easily got on his nerves.
'Okay, that's my first normal reaction today', he though a little mockingly.
She, however, looked only slightly surprised at his little outburst and her small smile got wider as she exclaimed
" And he speaks! Well then I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you've survived the coma. I was, however, pretty much losing hope after you've been completely unresponsive all this time."
Despite the now killing pain tearing in his skull, the meaning of her teasing words sunk in and he somehow managed to muster,
"How; how long—"
"You've been half-dead for almost a week now." she cut him in, "this is your sixth day lying here in my humble cellar Hon."
Well now, that was surprising. He was perfectly aware of his sleeping habits, (Nami had only done an excellent job of ceaselessly complaining about them) but he didn't remember ever sleeping in for this long, even when gravely injured.
"You were only totally unresponsive the first two days actually; you somehow reacted when I once brought you water deciding I'd try and feed you. You scared the shits out of me by grasping both my hands to hold the water vase to yourself to drink. All of a sudden, just like that!" She waved a hand violently through the air for emphasis.
"You weren't conscious enough to eat though," she continued "I couldn't feed you..."
"I don't think I was conscious enough to remember any of that in the first place." He mumbled, unnerved for feeling so helpless. It didn't help that his headache was only getting worse.
"Who are y--?" The pain was too much, he couldn't finish his sentence.
She was silent for a second or so, as if considering, then:
"...And so, I only made you drink a few nutritious beverages, mostly juices," she finished.
"Don't complain!" she said before he could utter a word.
"I can assure you none of my alcoholic drinks here would have done you any good. You'll feel worse if you do drink any now. Alcohol can get your mind off things, not vice versa."
He started 'How did she know/guess he was craving for a good drink?'
He looked up at her properly for the first time.
She was a truly beautiful young woman, Zoro wasn't that dumb-blond 'prince' ( And God knew how glad he was for that!) to swoon and fawn over every female-like being, but he could tell when he saw beauty in the opposite sex. ( No matter what annoying dumbass cook had to say about that!)
Long honey-blond hair, simple face features, big brown eyes and a handsomely curved body hugged by an elegant, yet practical, sleeveless violet dress.
'She reminds me of someone' he thought; but he couldn't really place of whom just then.
There was something else he needed to ask her, he felt slight empty, something was unusually missing. He couldn't forget...
As if reading the question in his look and before he could utter a word she sweetly asked him:
"Are you really the owner of these three swords?" She pointed somewhere right behind his head.
He shifted his gaze to look up above him, where indeed, the three katanas stood neatly against the wall. He shut his eyes and let out a small sigh in relief.
He had actually sensed them close to him when he first woke (heard them breathe), but the fact they weren't lying on either side of him had left him a little wary and uncomfortable, it couldn't be helped.
" This one is a real beauty," he continued touching lightly the Wadoichimony.
" She looks like she's in good hands, she sure does feel serene. I don't know about the other two..."
'She's obviously trying to make a conversation' Zoro thought. Well, he couldn't say he minded the company.
"You know, I know more then one someone, in this very building, who wouldn't hesitate to slay you in your sleep to get their hands on one these treasures."
She chuckled, then mischievously added " And it's not just men I'm talking about."
Okay, so how was he supposed to respond to that? If she was trying to amuse him then that a was lame attempt. Challenges thrilled him; yes, but this situation stirred thoughts in his head that did not need to be stirred.
This, he thought, was the longest conversation he'd had with a female stranger in a long time. He didn't like having to be reminded of the last time, but it didn't help that she was talking about his swords, about his Wado...
And about women, interested in sharp objects, trying to get his head.
(And he wasn't just thinking about an idiotic swordswoman at his trails : an angry red-headed navigator who could borrow anything from a dumbass cook fitted in the description just as well.)
Well, not that he could blame her for trying to make him feel better, she couldn't have known, right?
Oh, if only he'd know better.(1)
Meanwhile on a different floor of the same building...
"You can't hunt pirates here! You're not from this island's Marine H.Q!" sounded an angry kid's voice.
The Marine in question let out a huge puff of smoke before replying calmly, "And just how does that forbid me from doing my job kiddo?"
"Well, it just does..." he answered. He didn't sound so convinced anymore though.
"Look, I've followed these dirty pirates all the way from Loguetown to here. I have every right to want to get my hands on them, regardless of the fact I am a Marine.
"And what the hel--heck is that you're saying about the local Marine?"
The answer came not from the Kid sitting on the high bar chair however, the latter was too busy looking sulkily at his half-full milk glass. Instead, his blond baby sister who was standing by his feet timidly said:
"It's because they just don't."
The man looked down at her.
She shuddered, a little nervous. She knew he was just been curious but boy, why did he have to look so darn pissed and serious all the time?
"Come again?" He asked her.
"They don't catch pirates here," she repeated " they only catch bad people who do mean things, not just because they're pirates... Pirates make a lot of good things here."
He looked at her in silence for a moment as if considering, then he stood after leaving a few coins on the bar table.
" Fine, if you don't want to talk I won't force you kids. There's other candidates for that. I am still going after them, I don't give a damn what those 'shitheads at headquarters' do or say here."
And with that he turned to go, leaving the two kids to look down a little guiltily, despite their better judgment of the situation. But it was somehow their fault; they should have learned to keep down in their excitement.
Unbeknownst to them, The White Hunter wasn't the only one looking forward to meeting the Straw Hat pirate crew...
A pirate, one evil enough to deserve the local Marines' attention, gave a low chuckle from under a very big, ugly Rudolph-like nose.
Too bad the man exiting didn't notice them under their cloaks.
Real action would have to wait until later then .
Back in the cellar...
The woman was helping Zoro sit up, something he'd found surprisingly difficult to do on his own, to make him drink some very sweet fruit juice. Raspberry?
He forced himself to swallow the last of it with a loud and difficult gulp and immediately regretted it.
"I'll go bring you some soup, 'kay?" she said kindly. "I didn't think you'd be awake so I didn't make any yet."
He shook his head 'no', he still felt too sick to swallow anything more yet.
"I'm probably gonna puke anything you give me." he groaned.
"And why the hell does my head feel like it's exploding?" his voice grew louder.
"... Just—WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME?"
'Okay, if I'm shouting now, that means I've totally lost it.' He thought despite himself.
" Honey, calm down, okay?" she sounded genuinely concerned. "The banging and blowing on the inside of your skull is eventually gonna stop, Babe. Soon you'll be complaining about the water filled balloon that's gonna replace what little gray-matter you have in there and give you serious nausea."
He was helplessly holding his head in his hands, (crushing his own skull seemed like the only bright thing to do right then) still sitting, lying lightly on her side for support.
He turned to her and again she immediately answered his unspoken question,
"It's your fault you know. You were the one silly enough to—wait silly? Practically stupid! Dumb enough, to sleep outside when the sun was so dangerously hot! You weren't even lying in the shadow or something, it's like you had a death wish…"
The she confirmed what she thought his flabbergasted expression meant he was thinking, " —Yes Hon, a sun hit! You shouldn't have stayed exposed! You seriously could have died there you know..."
A sun hit?
A sun hit!
And what a hit that was! It was even more painful now that Realization was helping The Sun finishing the job by smacking him hard in the face. So hard actually, that he could almost hear its smacks as well as feel them. In a way, it all threatened to knock him back unconscious.
Maybe it would have been better if he hadn't awaken at all.
Now, he was painfully reminded of one of Nami's loud lessons about navigations she kept calling 'basics':
Clouds moved constantly so there was no point following in their direction or lying under them for shadow.
Because shadows moved as well, depending on the sun's position; well of course, he'd already known about that last one, but how was he supposed to know where it would fade to?
She'd said stuff about the sun rising East or West and setting in some opposite direction, but how was he supposed to guess where to?
He couldn't tell where the North was if he were given the position of the three other directions(E,W,S)...
... in four different dimensions.
" A jewel for the pretty woman? Fur coats perhaps?"
"No thank you. And I don't wear animal skin." She said smiling broadly.
Robin then meaningfully looked down at the little chopper who'd let out an audible sight of relief. At least Nico really considered the 'Deer-side' of him.
" Thank you Robin-san." He said timidly, blushing just a little.
"Ahaa!" exclaimed the salesman, "I see, Robin, Nico Robin. Oh well you certainly have grown beautiful since the release of your first Wanted Bounty Add. I didn't recognize you my dear, please forgive me."
"Thank you." She said simply, the smile never leaving her face.
It was a welcome change to be famous AND popular for once.
To see admiring faces rather then expressions contorted in terrified recognition, while walking in streets where one didn't have to look over one's shoulder but rather ahead to see instead, people who'd proudly and fiercely swing their fists over that very shoulder to punch away any offender for them. People you either recognized or didn't, people you most likely didn't know, but certainly people who recognized you.
People who believed they knew you.
People that perhaps did.
"Well let me try and confirm some of the rumors that have been running about you and your friends in our humble city." The man continued suggestively "If you're not the one who's interested in jewels, then I can only think of one more thing, how about choosing one of these?"
He pointed at a nice collection of various pretty hats behind him.
She smiled still silent, until he added laughing "Choose two on the house; I know you're considering to take many. And I promise I'll help you and make a good final price. What do you say my pretty? An old salesman can only do so much."
She chuckled, accepting his proposal, with the good prices on this Island, making such affairs was quite tempting.
Even if they weren't of the original Duskai Panda brand. (2)
Usopp knew better then to be surprised by this kind situation after almost a week of such treatment.
At first though, he'd kept quite wary and suspicious, the last time they'd been so well welcomed on an island had been quite an experience, one difficult to forget.
Weaskey Peak.
He also remembered it had been shortly after their departure from that island they'd met Robin for the first time. Funny, how ironic fate could be sometimes, he thought.
She'd made quite an impression back then, arriving on her huge swimming turtle, Haunt or Manji or whatever the weird animal's name was. Made him wonder what had become of the giant beast now. Was it really hers or was it another one of Mr.0/Crocodile's abnormally huge pets?
Anyway, to think she'd confused even Luffy about which side she was on back then...
And to now see her get along so well with Little Chopper now made him think
Man, life really is full of surprises.
Reminds me of... Who'd though we'd...
No, he had more important things to do then reminisce, right now. Nami and Luffy were also off with Sanji to look for Zoro who'd disappeared without leaving a trace. Many people had said to have seen and recognized him on the day of their arrival and his disappearance, but, apparently, he hadn't been seen or heard of since then.
At first they'd tried finding him separately, then in groups of two, and now finally in two groups of three. Why was that? Well, he didn't really know either, but the inhabitants of the town kept warning them that they were the most admired crew around(by the local citizen)these days and therefore the most likely to be targeted(by the local Marines). And so Nami suggested that they stay in larger groups each day.
Maybe, Usopp thought, she's growing more anxious about whatever happened to Zoro, we have no idea what that is after all.
Usopp knew she was worried. She might not have let it show much but he knew she was.
He knew her well, maybe better than anyone on the crew did, they had grown to be rath
er good friends somewhere along their voyage.
In fact, he often though of her as his best friend on the crew. Not that he didn't get along a lot better with Chopper or Luffy, they were a lot more fun to be around, of course.
But somehow, he trusted her. He knew he could rely on her and, somewhere, he knew she trusted him as well and knew the same (the best proof was when she'd asked him for help in creating a new weapon for her, so they could both help fight with Vivi as well as the rest of the crew).
That trust, they shared with no other members of the crew. That trust must have been what made their friendship different.
After all they'd also shared that feeling of weakness, helplessness, almost uselessness sometimes. They both wanted to be stronger and prove themselves to the rest of the crew somehow, since they were, both, rather disadvantageous on the plan of physical strength.
And they knew that to find that strength, the two of them would have to rely each on the other.
And it was time for him to prove himself to his swordsman crewmate, who, until now, hadn't thought much of Usopp's capabilities as a 'courageous warrior'.
'Well, gotta find him before I can change his mind and rub it in his face,' he thought gravely.
But Robin didn't look too worried about continuing their search. In fact, Usopp thought, she might still be a while; can't blame her though, at least she can take advantage of an opportunity.
He, on the opposite, had been too gullible for his own good when shopping once, back in Loguetown and still hadn't recovered the same amount of money he'd had back then until now…
" Say Robin, you want me and Chopper to go ahead?" he asked the schdar.
" Yeah, let's continue looking and get out of here…" squeaked Chopper before he could stop himself, he still didn't like the salesman behind the fur stand. The way his facial hair covered almost all of his countenance made him look like some kind of hungry black bear. The scarily strong Russian accent didn't help ease him either.
" Don't you want to help me carry these when I'm done Doctor?" Robin asked the dear.
Of course, it was just for the fun of seen his immediate indecision. The poor creature could not think of offending anyone; she could easily convince the seller to deliver her shopping to the inn they were staying at if she wanted, after all.
" Well, uh…"
In truth, Chopper usually enjoyed Robin's company, but right then, he really wanted to go with Usopp, the great warrior captain who told great stories, for good reasons too:
they had to find Zoro,
he didn't wanna have to carry anything in this heat but to be carried and finally…
Get away from the fur stand.
But how was he to say this without offending either of them?
He looked from one to the other, an expression of pure helplessness on his cute little face. An expression which greatly amused the archeologist inside.
Robin was smiling down at him, awaiting his reply and Usopp just looked expectant.
" Um... Well…" he started weakly.
Oh, this is hard, he thought.
What's a poor deer to do?
To be continued…
A/N:
Cliffy! Hahaha!
Am I not the meanest thing you've ever encountered in your life?
Sorry this chapter isn't too fulfilling, but I just wanted to end it there.
But I'll give you a glimpse of next chapter.
Hum,hum...:mimicks a narrator's deep voice:
NEXT TIME, IN 'THE ANGELS' MANSION':
" This one?" asked Nami.
"Beautiful!" Sanji answered immediately.
"Mhmm… not bad." Said Luffy truthfully.
And for doing so he earned a hard kick from Sanji, right at the back of the head.
Man, thruth really did hurt.
-
Double cliffy! Hahaha! Mwahahahaargh---:chokes n coughs:
1. Authoress can't help but let out very evil chuckle right here. ;-)
2. Or was it Daskoi Panda? Duskoi? Dusko1? Haha! Don't bother getting the joke if you haven't played Grand Battle 2 on PlayStation One
Okay so the only two people who actually did find a reference in my previous chapter will receive each a half of my Zoro plushie.
:StarS.' s Bro n Cuz look disappointedly at their half of the stuffed Zoro:
What? They found one each! Do you have a better or smarter solution then sharing?
I'm also really disappointed to see the only two peeps who had them figured out where close enough relatives of mine to guess correctly, knowing a little about my background of insane thinking.
Well the 1st reference was to… :Drums' roll:
Well, you could have cited just about any War fiction movie that included a submarine been hit by a torpedo and I would have given you credit for it!
And the second one was really obvious I think:
Enemy of the nation.
You know when Will Smith runs out of the building with the super smart guy and his cat before everything blows… I thought that was a memorable quote!
Of course I converted it to Onepiece style… Phones are slugs in Oda's world you know (a world soon to be mine hmhmhm).
Try your luck in this chapter, I'll make it easy for you, here are the questions:
1-Who does the blond lady remind Zoro of?
2-Who's the evil man under the cloak who goes unnoticed by the smoking Marine?
(These kinda questions I give to kids in kindergarten with the I.Q of a canary in coma, and they go all like "Ow, that's just too easy!")
Anyways, thanks to anyone who's reviewed.
See you next chapter, hopefully with loads of reviews!
Or else :takes out gun:
:reviewers gone before it clicks this time: