CHAPTER 5
A Favor from Robin!
100 Fruity Caliber Phoenix?
"Wake up, mosshead." Sanji opens the door and leans inside. "Breakfast is ready."
The crew's ruckus is heard through the open door. Usopp and Chopper run down the long hallway and race each other to the dining room. Usopp seems victoriously in the lead, but then Luffy flies past him and swings himself, column by column, down to the dining hall. "HEY! LUFFY! NO FAIR!" Usopp cups a hand by his mouth and screams.
Luffy's laugh echoes down the hall. "SEEEE YAAA!"
"Darn it all, Luffy!" Usopp runs a little faster.
"HEYY! Guys! Wait for me!" Chopper pants and tries to keep up, but is ultimately in last place.
Sanji leaves the door open and strolls down the hall, following Luffy and the others.
Zoro rubs his eyes open and wonders what all the fuss is about. He stretches out his arms, and swings his legs over the side of the bed, resting his feet on the soft carpet beneath them. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. He walks over to the chair to pick up the bag he put there last night when he notices that it's not there. I thought for sure that I put it here! Maybe I'm going nuts or something. Zoro looks all around the room. In the dresser drawers, the floor, and on the bed. He looks in every nook and cranny where it could possibly be. Zoro peeks his head under the bed and in the middle of looking under there at the dust bunny colony, Nami and Robin pass by his room.
"You didn't get lost going to the door did you?" Nami inquires with a seriously concerned expression lining her face.
"'What-" Zoro knocks his head on the bed frame in his haste to get out. He finally wedges himself out from under the bed and looks over to them. "No, I was just looking for something."
This isn't going to end well. Nami laughs to herself.
"Have either of you seen a bag with fruit in it?" Zoro keeps searching under the bed.
"I can't say that I have," Robin replies, "but I've heard that it's quite pretty." Both girls start laughing and Zoro frowns. Robin and Nami take their leave and talk about going shopping in the village the next day. Zoro ignores their comment about the bag since he has bigger issues to deal with.
Damn. Where the hell did I put it?!
After a couple more minutes of searching, Zoro gives up, heads out the door, and walks down the hallway. He happens to pass by Usopp's room and looks inside.
The room is just as girly and extravagant as Zoro's. A high ceiling, a chandelier, and a fancy bed frame. It's almost an exact replica. Zoro sees Usopp's knapsack draped over a chair and goes over to it. That flute that we found in the forest… I may be imagining things, but… He takes the flute out of the bag and inspects it. There is still a crusted layer of mud covering the flute's surface, making it difficult to see any detail clearly.
I probably shouldn't try washing it myself since I don't know how old it is. I can't risk it breaking. I'll ask Robin about it. Zoro tucks the flute into his waistband. With a few detours he finally makes it down to the dining room and takes a seat. The noise and laughing around him is muted by his own thoughts. An hour goes by without him realizing it, and everyone rises from their seats, about to leave the dining hall. Zoro finally comes to, and walks up to Robin and inquires about the flute.
"Sure. It shouldn't be a problem to wash it." She examines the mud-encased flute in her hands. "It appears to have been buried not too long ago."
"Yeah?"
Robin nods. "I'd estimate about anywhere from four to five years ago."
Zoro looks shocked. In that case, maybe I'm not far off.
"It's not necessary, but I'm still happy to wash it for you."
"Thanks." Zoro leaves the dining hall and heads outside the palace. He intends to walk towards the Sunny to get another look at that newspaper. The Fluttering Swordswoman huh? Lost in his own thoughts, and also just lost in general, he ends up on the wrong side of town. Not where I wanted to go, but at least it's quiet. The birds chirp and sing from the treetops and the constant ocean breeze sways the tree branches this way and that. The sun has almost risen to its peak. He happens to come across a small cottage that seems a little detached from the rest of the village all the way out here. The loud voices of two women pour out from it.
"Come on, it's safe," one voice says. "These pirates aren't like the rest of them. The captain is the same man who saved my life from the Empress five years ago."
"You don't understand Marguerite!" another voice shouts. "If pirates see me they might-"
"ARI… WAIT!" Marguerite says. "I'm your friend you can tell me anything!"
The door of the cottage is slammed open, and a girl, presumably Ari, runs out and into the left side of the forest. Marguerite leans out the door and reaches towards her friend. Her shoulders sink and are weighed down by her friend's sadness. She notices Zoro walking up the path towards her.
"So I'm assuming you came here to bring back her bag." Marguerite looks around him for her friend's bag and continues talking when she doesn't spot it. "But as you can see she distrusts pirates completely and I, myself, don't even know why."
"Yeah," Zoro says. "I can change her mind."
"What makes you think that you're able to do that?"
"Because I'm loyal to my captain," he declares, "and I won't have anyone mistake him as your run-of-the-mill pirate!" Zoro starts toward the right side of the forest.
"She went the other way."
"Right!"
"No, Left!"
"That's what I meant!" Zoro turns and runs into the left side of the forest.
XXX
After a couple of hours of straggling through the forest, Zoro comes back to the place that he was at yesterday. Funny, looks like I ended up here again. He looks past the trees and into the clearing he stumbled upon the day before. He sees the same girl that was there yesterday, hugging her knees and looking far into the distance. He steps out of the trees and into the clearing, snapping a twig in the process.
The girl jumps up to her feet, startled. Their eyes meet, and she realizes who he is. It's one of those pirates! I can't risk him recognizing me! "STOP! Don't look at me! Go away!" she shouts at him and turns her face away, desperately covering it with her hands.
Zoro solemnly walks over to her until they're less than a foot from each other. "And why exactly should I do as you say?" he asserts.
In shock, she lowers her hands from her face enough so that Zoro is able to cup her face in his hands. Her arms drop to her sides and she looks straight at him. Her intense mint-green eyes make his face flush. To his surprise, he tucks a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear. Their faces inches from each other, he continues, "I see no reason why I can't."
Ari moves shyly away from him and his hands drop back down to his sides. Blushing, she holds an arm with her hand in front of her. "You heard from my friend that I don't like pirates so why… why are you-"
"I'm here because you threw my captain in with all the rest of them," he says angrily. "Your friend is right. Luffy isn't just any pirate captain and you shouldn't label him like he's just another pirate."
"No, I didn't mean to label anyone! I, myself, don't like to judge people."
"Good. Just so long as we have an understanding." He turns to leave. "Frankly, I don't give a damn why you don't like the lot of them, but for the record, I used to hate them just as much as you. Thought they were scum. By the way. Sorry for startling you yesterday."
She turns her face away from him, but nods in acceptance.
"You were picking fruit yesterday, weren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, here." Zoro stands and draws out his swords. "Three-sword-style… 100-fruity-caliber...PHOENIX!" All of the fruit comes raining down. Ari smiles, standing and catching as much of the fruit as she can. After the 'weather' has cleared, Zoro asks, "What are they?"
"These?" She points toward the juicy, red fruit in her palm. "They're pomegranates." She beams at him. He grins slightly. "It's almost sunset so we should go back to the village if we don't want to get lost."
"I'll.. um.. follow you," Zoro says.
As they walk back to the village Zoro starts thinking about what she said a little deeper.