-Dominoes-

By Digitaldreamer

Chapter Four: Ambush!

Wow, there sure are a lot of people who like this story. Oo Wow…I thank you all for the kind praise!

I'm also really sorry about the new TW chapter taking so long. It's National Novel Writing Month and Constable decided to write a One Piece novel, so she's been busy with that and her job. So we haven't written TW in awhile, I apologize!

I planned on writing this fic for NaNoWriMo and getting it finished by the end of the month...but as you can see I kind of failed. Yeah. I think this fic is cursed, it never seems to want to be written. Stupid Dominos.

I'm also working on my Danny Phantom fic…if you like Danny Phantom, go be a nice person and read it, will you? Leaving a review for it would make me very happy…

Oh, and my friend Duo has demanded I plug his Boktai fic to you all…assuming any of you actually play the game. It's called Light's Shadow, Darkness's Light…and it owns. Seriously, I've only received a brief synopsis about the game from my friend Kaya and I thought the fic owned, so you should all go check it out. /shameless plug

Anyway, on with the fic!

---

"Land Ho!"

Usopp's cry from the crow's nest the next day came around sometime in the afternoon. The moment those words were yelled, the crew's spirits seemed to lift a bit.

Nami glanced up from her map and up to the crow's nest, her short orange hair blowing in the wind. "Good! How far away is it?"

"Not too far! You should be able to see it without a telescope pretty soon!" Usopp called back.

Nami looked to the horizon, shading her eyes. It was a nicer day than it had been yesterday, a bit warmer and on occasion the grey clouds would part to reveal a small ray of sunshine. The sea was a bit choppy, but it was a definite improvement.

"Ah! I see it!" Nami said with a smile, spotting the dark shape of an island against the clouds in the distance. "It's about time!"

Robin peeled her eyes away from her book to glance at the island. "Interesting…do you know the name of the island, Navigator-san?"

Nami nodded, brushing her fingers through her hair absently. "Yeah, Vendetta Island. Why?"

"Ah…now I remember. I read about the history of the island awhile back, I didn't know we were actually near it." Robin murmured thoughtfully.

"Oh? Care to tell me what you read?" Nami inquired, sounding interested. Really, what if the island turned out to be a rich one? It could mean quite a bit of money for her in the near future.

Robin propped her chin upon her palms as she gazed thoughtfully at the island ahead of them. "From what I remember, the book said that there was a mutiny on a settlers ship…the captain and his few loyal followers were marooned a small island and left to die…but the island turned out to be filled with all sorts of valuable minerals. By mining them, the captain and his followers made a fortune, and once this was discovered people came from all over to buy from the island. The captain soon had established a prosperous city upon the island."

Nami grinned. "So, it's a wealthy city, then?"

"It's mainly a town for storing the minerals mined there and things like that and it is fairly prosperous." Robin said, nodding.

"Perfect!" Nami said, belli signs in her eyes as she thought of all the money she could get.

Usopp frowned. "But why is the island called 'Vendetta Island'?" He asked from the crow's nest, curious.

Robin gave a dark, mysterious smile. "The settlers who mutinied against the captain were not so lucky and wandered from island to island, and eventually they ended up at the island where they had marooned their captain. They begged for forgiveness, hoping their captain would share some of his wealth. But their captain was still angry about being betrayed, and instead of helping them, he got his revenge. He had them all hung before the rest of his city, stating that this was what happened to those who crossed him."

"..He killed them all?" Usopp cried.

Robin nodded solemnly. "Some years after this one of the lovers of the traitors murdered the captain as an act of revenge for them, and that person too was killed. The island is well known as a place where the words 'if you go out for revenge remember to dig two graves, one for the one you're after and another for yourself' go forgotten. Honor was a very large thing, if you so much as looked a person the wrong way they'd be plotting to murder you in an alleyway within the week. Thus, the island was named Vendetta Island, Vendetta being another word for revenge."

The deck was silent for a few moments.

"That's…pleasant." Usopp finally commented, sounding nervous. "Are you sure we have to go there?"

"We're running low on supplies, Usopp." Nami said simply. And the place sounds like a goldmine. "We're going."

"B-but one of us will probably end up looking at one of the townsfolk the wrong way and they'll hang us!" Usopp cried.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Sniper-san. The time when the city people were that intense about getting revenge on each other is long past, the name has just stuck with the island." Robin stated calmly.

"But what if they are still crazy like that?" Usopp whined.

"I'm sure they're just rumors, Usopp. Now stop whimpering, it's hurting my ears." Nami snapped, glancing back at Vendetta Island, which was drawing ever closer…

---

Luffy woke with a start as the ship gave a sudden lurch. He blinked blearily up at the ceiling, letting out a groan. His entire body ached as if he had just been through a rock slide, and while it had been so hot earlier everything seemed freezing cold.

Zoro's face suddenly came into view as he leaned over the boy, concern that the swordsman wasn't even bothering to conceal written on his face. "Luffy?"

The rubber pirate gave another groan, staring groggily up at his first mate. "Zoro?" He mumbled, the word slipping through dry, chapped lips.

"Yeah, I'm here." Zoro said, taking the cloth off of Luffy's forehead as he watched the boy shiver, feeling another pain tug at his heart. He frowned…did that mean Luffy's temperature had lowered? He wasn't entirely sure, maybe he should get Chopper.

Luffy gave a small, tired smile. "Good…"

The swordsman frowned as he looked over his captain, feeling a bit awkward. What was he supposed to do now? Well, at least Luffy wasn't hallucinating this time. Maybe he could get Luffy to at least drink something. "Can you sit up?"

The boy frowned. "I dunno…maybe…" He tried to push himself up with painstaking effort, his face contorting with the energy it took. He managed to get himself nearly halfway up before he felt his arms give out. However, instead of hitting the couch like he expected, he found himself caught in a pair of strong arms. The boy blinked up at Zoro, who said nothing as he gently pulled Luffy up the rest of the way and set the boy so he could sit with his back against the arm of the couch.

"There you go…" Zoro murmured, dark, eagle-like eyes meeting wide, innocent ones, their faces mere inches apart.

Luffy smiled warmly again. "Thanks, Zoro."

The swordsman then suddenly realized how close they were and he pulled back, a blush coloring his cheeks. What on earth was wrong with him? Luffy blinked, looking confused.

Zoro cleared his throat and looked away; picking up the water bottle Chopper had left in case Luffy should wake. "Here...drink this." He said, offering it to the boy.

Luffy's expression became grateful as he reached out with a shaking hand to take the water bottle and bring it to his lips, gulping it down. Since his arms were shaking some of the water dribbled out of his mouth, but the boy didn't care. The cool water soothed his itchy, sore throat, and made him feel just a bit more clear-headed.

"Thanks." He finally said, setting down the now empty bottle and wiping his lips.

"You're welcome." Zoro said, taking the bottle and setting it down.

"Did Luffy wake up?" Chopper's voice came from above, and a few moments later the reindeer was carefully climbing down the ladder into the men's quarters. He landed on the ground with a small thump and glanced over at the couch. He gave a small smile, walking over and placing a hoof onto the boy's forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Really tired…and I hurt everywhere…and it's cold…" Luffy mumbled.

"Uh huh. Say 'ahh'." Chopper said, holding out the thermometer. Luffy did as he was told, making a face as the pointy glass was thrust underneath his tongue. He then closed his mouth as directed, wincing as the pointy end of the glass poked into the tender flesh beneath his tongue.

"Were there any attacks yet?" Chopper asked, glancing up at Zoro. "Nami said he had one while she was watching him, but he was sleeping."

Zoro just nodded.

Chopper's ears lowered sadly and he glanced back at their sick captain. Luffy looked back, and noting his doctor's sadness he gave a small, tired smile. Zoro watched that smile and felt a stabbing pain in his heart once more, knowing that smile was more for their benefit than anything.

After a minute the thermometer beeped and the reindeer took it, frowning as he looked at the long red line. "Still way too high….someone's definitely gonna have to stay back here and watch him."

Luffy frowned in confusion. "Stay back here?" He repeated. "What do you mean?"

Chopper glanced at Luffy, then smiled. Maybe the news would cheer Luffy up a bit. "We landed at a new island, Luffy! That's what that lurch was, we just docked."

The rubber pirate's eyes widened. "Really? Awesome! I wanna go see!" He immediately made as if to get up, but his strength immediately drained at the motion, and he had nothing to resist with as both Chopper and Zoro pushed him back.

"No Luffy, you can't go! You have to stay here and rest!" Chopper cried. He should have remembered that if he told his captain they were at an island that, sure, it would cheer Luffy up, but then he'd also want to go to it.

"But I wanna go see it!" Luffy whined.

"You can see it later, when you're better! It's going to take five days for the log post to be set, you'll be better by then! Just wait!" Chopper pleaded.

"But I wanna see it!" Luffy repeated, looking from the doctor to his first mate with pleading eyes. "Please! Can't I just go up to the deck and see it? Please?" He pleaded.

Zoro gazed down at Luffy for a moment before standing and wrapping the blanket around the boy. He then scooped his captain up like an infant, the boy's head cradled against his chest.

"Zoro!" Chopper cried. "He needs rest!"

The swordsman sighed. "Come on, it'll take five minutes and by then he'll have tired himself out anyway!"

Chopper glared at the two for a moment before sighing and shaking his head, smiling. "Okay, fine. But right to bed after that, alright?"

"Yosh! Thanks Chopper!" Luffy cheered, grinning weakly at the reindeer, who grinned back.

Admittedly, climbing up the ladder with Luffy in his arms was a difficult feat, but Zoro managed it. Soon enough he had stepped up onto the deck, the salt-tinted breeze blowing his hair back.

"Wooow…" Luffy gasped as he gazed at the island before them. They were docked at a fairly small port, as docking at one of the major ports when you had three people with large bounties on their heads was not a good idea, but even from here you could see much of the city. There were many large buildings in the distance, ranging from stores to taverns to restaurants. All sorts of people were bustling through the streets, buying and selling all sorts of things. A great sign stood at the front of the city stating "Welcome to Vendetta Port!" in large, shimmering letters.

But what really caught a person's eye was the great clock tower at the center of the town, towering above everything else. Its great white surface shimmered, the gigantic clock hands pointing towards the numbers 12 and 1, for it was one o'clock. It was decorated by the carvings of stone vines that were wound around the clockface, made to look as if the leaves grew as the numbers on the clock went from twelve to six, and died as they went from six to twelve.

Overall, it was an impressive sight.

Zoro couldn't help but smile as he glanced from the island to Luffy's awed face. No matter how many times they visited a new place and that childish excitement resurfaced, the swordsman never got sick of it. It was nice to see the boy brighten up after how gloomy the past few days had been.

Nami blinked at the sound of Luffy's voice and turned to look at him and Zoro, eyes widening. "Luffy! What are you doing up? You should be resting!" She cried.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Relax, would you? He isn't walking or anything, he just wouldn't go back to sleep until he got to see the island."

The navigator frowned at the two for a moment, but then shook her head and sighed. "You'd better put him right back to bed after this."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Zoro said, walking past Nami and up the steps to the bow of the ship. He soon reached the figurehead and, after some rather creative one-armed maneuvering, managed to climb on top of it. He sat down upon the lamb's head with a sigh, setting Luffy down on his lap.

"You okay with this?" Zoro inquired, glancing down at Luffy.

Luffy gave a nod, the salt-tinted wind blowing his hair back as he snuggled against the swordsman's chest. "Yeah! Thanks, Zoro!"

Zoro grinned, reaching up to ruffle his captain's hair affectionately. "No problem."

The air lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, the only sounds coming from the seagulls calling above, the waves crashing against the docks, and various sailors tying up their ships. Of course there were also the sounds of the rest of the crew getting the Going Merry tied down, but Zoro was used to tuning them all out by now.

The swordsman had to admit this wasn't so bad. Just Luffy, himself, and the sea. It had a nice, peaceful air about it, which was something the swordsman rarely saw as of late. Not that things were peaceful very often around his captain anyway, but when moments like this came, Zoro enjoyed them. Having Luffy in his arms admittedly wasn't so bad either. He really wouldn't have minded just staying here for awhile, with nothing to interrupt this peaceful moment.

But of course that wouldn't be so, not on the Going Merry.

"Oi, shithead."

Zoro gritted his teeth at the sound of the cook's voice. "What is it, Love Cook?" He demanded without turning around.

"Just wanted to tell you that Nami-san wants you to watch the ship. The rest of us are going out to get supplies."

The swordsman made a face. There went that woman ordering everyone around again. But it was probably best that he stay here with Luffy anyway and it meant he wouldn't have to deal with the navigator yelling at him to carry things, so he decided to go with it. "Fine, whatever."

"Yeah. Don't let him fall overboard or anything." The cook spoke this casually, but there was a hint of a very real threat in his voice.

"I won't." Zoro replied simply.

"Okay then. Later, marimo." There was the sound of Sanji's heavy clogs hitting the wood of the deck as he began to walk away.

"Don't get into too much trouble, I won't be around to save your skinny ass." Zoro called out.

"You only wish you were the one doing the saving, shit swordsman." Sanji sneered in return.

Zoro snorted. "Yeah, whatever. Get out of here already, I'm sure your lovely Nami-san is waiting."

Sanji didn't reply to that, he just departed wordlessly, his cry of "NAMI-SWAAAN!" being the last thing heard after a minute or so. After that, the ship was relatively empty and the silence resumed.

Of course it wasn't like Zoro could sleep, like he usually did when he got stuck watching the ship. But as Luffy's breathing slowed and the boy drifted into a peaceful sleep in his arms, the swordsman found that once again, he didn't really mind.

---

"Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Most of the Straw Hats seem to be gone. The only ones there are the captain and the swordsmen."

"That's fine. The captain's the one we need for my plan to succeed, at any rate."

"What about the swordsman?"

"He may give you some trouble, but it shouldn't take you too long. Just get moving."

"Of course, sir."

The line for the Mini Den Den Mushi went dead, and a pair of claws glimmered in the shadows of the warehouses along the docks. "Right…let's go then, boys."

---

Luffy was awoken from a peaceful sleep by a stabbing pain in his back. The boy gave a groan, peeking open one eye to stare at the sun high in the sky. He groaned at the brightness and lay back again, his head hitting something firm and warm.

He blinked in surprise, glancing up to find Zoro's sleeping face inches from his.

Oh yeah…Zoro had taken him up on deck and he had fallen asleep…

The captain glanced around the deck, feeling confused. Where was everyone?

He tried to get up, but found he didn't have the strength. The boy slumped back against Zoro with a sigh, pulling the blanket wrapped around him closer. It was kind of chilly, but he didn't mind. It was nice being outside for a change, and he still felt pretty warm…being sick wasn't fun.

But there were more important things to think about. Like how his stomach was growling rather loudly.

Luffy let out a groan. He was really hungry…when had he last eaten? He couldn't remember. There was only one way to solve this.

He reached up to shake Zoro awake. "Zoroooo…wake up…"

The swordsman cracked open one eye to stare down at Luffy before opening the other. "Hm? Luffy?"

"Zoroooo, I'm hungry. Where's Sanji?" The boy whined.

Zoro sighed, reaching up to scratch his head. "He and the others went to get supplies." He explained.

"Oh." Luffy frowned, thinking over this. If Sanji was gone, who would make him food? He thought for a few minutes before his face spread into a grin. "Then you make me food! Will you Zoro? Pleeaaassee?"

The first mate made a face, he wasn't a cook. But he could probably find something in the fridge. "Alright, alright." He lifted Luffy up in his arms like an infant once more and stood, stretching out his legs. He then began to walk towards the galley, noting how light his charge was.

"Geez…how can you eat so much but be so light?" The swordsman asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I dunno." Luffy said with a laugh, wincing at the pain it caused.

Zoro shook his head, smiling. "You're so weird." He muttered.

Luffy just grinned.

"Wand des Schattens." Zoro's sharp ears just barely caught the whispered attack name and suddenly pulled back a few feet, which ended up being quite wise as his shadow suddenly shot up in front of him and Luffy to form a solid, black wall. Had he been standing there seconds earlier, they both would have been sliced in two.

"Quick reflexes. Well, that's good; it should at least keep this fight from growing too dull." A cool, female voice spoke in a businesslike tone behind the two pirates.

Zoro's eyes narrowed and he quickly spun around to face the speaker, arms tightening around the bundle in his arms.

He was treated to the sight of ten large, burly thugs standing on deck. He probably wouldn't have given them much thought if it weren't for the pairs of black cat ears on each of their heads.

The Kuroneko Pirates? What are they doing here?

It was rare for Zoro to remember all the thugs he had taken down, but he did indeed remember that morning in Usopp's village. Those ears weren't exactly a fashion statement many others took up.

But these thoughts were soon pushed aside in favor of noting the one whom had conjured the wall and had spoken.

She was rather tall and slender, clad entirely in black while showing off quite a bit of her pale skin. Her short, silver hair fell just past her shoulders, the bangs nearly obscuring her icy blue eyes. She wore a pair of black cat ears and a fake tail, and her weapons seemed to consist of a pair of tight black gloves with claws coming from the finger-tips. She had a cold sort of air about her, like a blizzard blowing through an arctic land.

Zoro wasn't concerned about the thugs, but this woman had something off-setting about her.

The swordsman knelt to set Luffy on the deck, keeping a wary eye on the intruders. He wasn't sure what he would do if they attacked, he didn't want to end up hurting the boy. However, none of them seemed to be going for an attack. A few of the thugs snickered and gave the pair sneers, but they did not attack. Most seemed to be waiting for the woman's word. But instead of attacking, she remained stoic, watching the swordsman's movements with the patience of a cat toying with its prey.

I see…she won't attack yet. She's playing with me. Well fine, that's a foolish move on her part. He thought as he stepped in front of his captain.

"Zoro-"

"You stay there. You're in no condition to fight. Let me handle this." Zoro growled.

"..Kay…" Luffy gave a small smile. He wasn't worried, he trusted Zoro to protect him and the ship. Things would work out. Really, he wondered where these weird cat people had come from. He could vaguely recall some sort of fight…but it obviously hadn't been very important, as he most of it was a blur. Hadn't he fought some weird guy with claws? Kero, was it? …Oh well, it probably wasn't that important if he couldn't remember it.

"Alright…if it's a fight you want, let's get this over with. I don't have time for this." The swordsman growled, pulling Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu from their sheaths. He doubted he'd need three swords for this.

One of the Kuroneko pirate's snorted. "Oh, it's not a fight with you that we want. We're here for your captain."

Zoro's eyes narrowed. Well, that was entirely different matter. He didn't care if they were just here to fight, but if they thought they were getting anywhere near Luffy they had another thing coming. "You aren't touching him." He growled, eyes flashing.

Still…the question nagged at his mind. If they wanted Luffy, why were they waiting until after Zoro had set the boy down? And what was with that woman?

Things were silent for a moment. The woman cocked her head to the side, frigid blue eyes meeting black, eagle-like ones.

"Go." The woman hissed.

"YAAAAAAAAAARGH!" The ten thugs charged all at once, brandishing their various weapons.

Zoro rose an eyebrow. Did they honestly think they were going to get anywhere near Luffy that way? He really wouldn't even need two swords for this.

"Nitouryu…"

There was a flash of steel in the late autumn sunlight, followed by a blur of green, white, and black.

"TAKANAMI!"

A blast of wind shot across the deck of the ship as Zoro came to a stop behind the ten pirates, whom all gave cries of pain and collapsed onto the deck in heaps. They hadn't even had a chance to get close enough to attack!

"The wounds aren't fatal. Be grateful." Zoro growled, turning away from the twitching and moaning forms of his former opponents. He doubted Luffy would have wanted him to kill any of them, even if they were trying to get at the rubber pirate for some odd reason.

He glanced at the woman, who rose a perfectly arched brow at him.

"Well...this ought to be interesting. Shall we?" She purred.

"Be my guest." Zoro said, giving a feral grin in spite of himself.

The woman suddenly lashed forward, so fast a normal person couldn't possibly have tracked it, claws aimed to tear out Zoro's throat.

But Zoro wasn't exactly a normal person.

He reached up to block her claws with one sword, swinging with the other to try and slice her stomach. She responded by jumping and flipping over him, aiming a kick for his chest. The swordsman spun around, blocking the heel of her steel-toed combat boots with Yubashiri and then using the sword to send her flying towards the mast. She flipped and landed with cat-like grace on her feet, the ends of her trench coat flaring around her.

This all happened in a manner of seconds.

"Go, Yumi-san!" One of Kuroneko pirates cheered from their place on the deck before coughing and spitting up some blood. "The Meowban Brothers couldn't take the swordsman, but you have a devil fruit power on your side! Use the Kage Kage no Mi, Yumi-san!"

Several similar cheers came from the wounded pirates. Zoro snorted. "When they fail, they turn to the one stronger than them and plead. That hasn't changed." He muttered.

Yumi's stony expression did not change. "I wouldn't know. I have no care for nakama, only for battle."

Zoro rose an eyebrow. That would explain why she hadn't allowed the attack earlier. Right now she was focusing on the fight itself…but what was the point of taking Luffy, who was quite obviously too weak to fight at the moment? "So you have no goal then? What's the point of working with these goons, then?"

"Kuro-sama promised me bloodshed. In return I promised him a weapon and his chance for revenge." She explained calmly.

"Revenge?" The swordsman repeated. "Is that why you all came here for Luffy, then?"

"Talk is meaningless. Actions prove stronger than words." Yumi murmured, jumping into the air and crossing her forearms in front of her. "Nadeln des Schattens!" She called out. Her shadow suddenly rose up into the air to take the form of hundreds of tiny black needles. Each one hovered in the air for a moment before rushing towards Zoro all at once.

"What the-?" Zoro's eyes widened. He would have dodged, but Luffy was right behind him! He steeled himself and brought up his swords to block. He managed to deflect most of the needles, but there were far too many. Several lodged into his flesh while some just grazed him, leaving thin scratches in their wake.

After the attack stopped Zoro spared a glance back at Luffy, who was gaping up at him with wide eyes, apparently uninjured. The first mate gave him a relieved smile before turning back to Yumi, eyes narrowing.

"What was that?" He demanded, though his attention was momentarily torn from her as the needles in his skin seemed to melt and become some sort of dark liquid again, which immediately dribbled off of him and fell to the deck. The millions of tiny bits of shadow all traveled back to the cat woman, where they converged to form her shadow once more.

"My power. I can manipulate my shadow and anyone else's in any way I wish, transforming it into whatever I like." Yumi explained calmly, frigid blue eyes meeting his surprised ones. "I do hope you'll be able to at least provide a fairly interesting fight against it."

Zoro grinned again, reaching to pull Wadou from its sheath. That was a power he'd need all three swords to combat against. "You'll get your fight. But you're still not touching my captain."

"He is my payment to better battles, so I'm afraid you'll have to part with him." Yumi stated.

"You assume you'll actually need to find a better one. You won't win this, so you won't be needing him as 'payment' anyway." Zoro replied as he clenched his teeth around the white hilt of Kuina's treasured katana.

"Oh really? Prove it to me."

"With pleasure. ONI GIRI!" Zoro shot forward, his arms crossed in front of him. He slashed his swords diagonally as he shot past her, then spun around in time to block another slash from her claws.

She stared at him over the shining blades of his katana, blood dripping from new, thin gashes across her chest and stomach. "Ah…that move normally would have at least knocked a rather skilled person out of a fight. You are good."

"Glad to hear I'm so respected." Zoro grunted out, pushing her away and then dodging as another round of needles shot past his head. He was about to attack again, but was cut off by Yumi's sudden cry.

"Stehenbleiben!"

Zoro's eyes widened as he suddenly found his feet were stuck to the deck. He glanced down to see tendrils of darkness coming from his own shadow to wrap around his ankles and hold him down.

"Blätter des Schattens!"

The swordsman let out a cry as the rest of his shadow sprung up and sliced through him, as if it had been turned into several large blades.

"Gah!" Zoro grunted out, stumbling back as he was freed, blood gushing from these new wounds. Distantly he could hear Luffy crying his name, but he kept his focus on the woman.

He swung his swords towards her and she quickly ducked, backflipping and aiming a kick for his jaw. Zoro jumped at the last second and swung downward, which she quickly avoided by rolling and springing up behind him. The swordsman spun around and swung once more, only to have Yumi pull away. They were once again in the same positions that they were in before, with Zoro standing in front of Luffy and Yumi standing with her back to the mast as the rest of the Kuroneko pirates watched.

Yumi let out a small chuckle and made as if to charge once more, but paused suddenly.

Zoro blinked, looking confused. Why had she stopped?

The silver-haired woman reached into her pocket and withdrew a black, miniature Den Den Mushi, which was vibrating softly. She opened it and spoke into it. "Yes?"

The swordsman's eyes narrowed. After all that rambling about wanting a good battle, she had time to take a Den Den Mushi call?

"Hn…yes sir. I understand sir. We'll be there. Thank you, sir." With that, she hung up and slipped the snail into her pocket once more.

"I'm afraid our battle will have to be cut short. My captain wishes for his payment now, and I must do as he wishes." Yumi stated.

"What? What makes you think you can take him?" Zoro demanded, fists clenching around his swords.

"Forgive me for not respecting you by taking something your treasure without a proper fight, but my payment must be made. If you truly treasure that sick captain of yours, then I trust our fight will be continued soon." The woman continued as if Zoro had not spoken, crossing her forearms in front of her once more and closing her eyes.

"Oh no you don't!" Zoro snarled, charging towards the woman. She wasn't going to take Luffy! Not if he had anything to say about it!

"Umhang der Schatten!"

All of the shadows suddenly rose up and covered everything; it was as if the sun had simply ceased to exist. The Going Merry was plunged into to darkness, darkness so thick and pure that it seemed almost suffocating.

This only lasted a few seconds, however, and just as suddenly as it came the darkness melted away. Zoro's blades met empty air.

The swordsman gasped, glancing around. Yumi was gone, the Kuroneko pirates were gone…

…Luffy was gone.

---

To Be Continued…

Dun dun dun! I know, a horrible place to leave off, but this chapter has taken long enough as it is.

I do hope Yumi came out alright, I'm always afraid of using OC's, even if they're meant as enemies. What do you all think of her? Actually, what did you think of the chapter in general? Did it suck? Eh, please tell me!

Next Chapter: Well, this certainly can't be good. What's Zoro going to do, and where is Luffy being taken? Find out..um…next chapter, I suppose.