Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah. I don't own One Piece, so I hope you're happy with ruining my hopes! WAHHHH! (runs away crying) (comes back from crying) Buuut I DO own Pyrate X, Mel, Katsu (not the Roronoa part), and Ryu, and the Crossroads. On with the Story!
Lazzzy Days
By: Mischievous Sin
Chapter 7 – That extra push
Around 3 days after the whole Marine Ships crisis Zoro, Mel, and PyrX were up and at it as if nothing had happened to either of them. PyrX had been shot in the shoulder, but aside from wearing a cast, she was fine. She was pretty much protected with the leather padding she wears under her outfit, so the bullet didn't go in far, and since Chopper is an excellent doctor, as we all know, she was going to be fine. Mel was told to wear bandages around her wound on her side and a light shirt over it because the stitches weren't tight enough for her to wear heavy clothes. She kept moving around so much that Chopper never really got to finish, but he closed it up good enough. Zoro was also wearing bandages around his waist due to the chunk of wood that lunched itself into his side. He was just wearing bandages for a shirt like he did back when him, Johnny, Yosaku, and Usopp were on their way to get Nami back and defeat Arlong and stuff like that.
It was now early in the morning. The sun was brightly shining over the ships and the sea and the seagulls were flying above as always. Zoro was sleeping against the side of the kitchen wall outside, and Mel was walking by, still sleepy since it was early yet. In the kitchen, though…
"Nami-swan," Sanji whispered in the kitchen. "Are you sure about this?"
"It's the only way to get those two together," she whispered just as quietly in reply. "It's the only way for them to actually notice each other."
"They notice each other enough though!"
"Shhh! Here she comes!"
For the past few days, Nami and Sanji had been observing the distant connection between Mel and Zoro. They had so many things in common, and one of the things was that they were too damn stubborn to admit anything. Nami had assumed that Mel liked Zoro and so on, so she and Sanji decided to take action. Sanji, though, wasn't really "okay" with the whole thing because, well, he's a womanizer, and we all know that, BUT ANYHOW.
As soon as Mel walked past Zoro, Nami pulled a small cord that ran through a small whole in the wall and was tied to the railing outside, making a perfect line to trip on. And Mel did exactly that, and as soon as she was about to fall over Zoro jumped up, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her straight back up.
"Hey, watch your step, wouldja?" Zoro grunted, returning back to his position against the wall.
"Sorry Zoro," Mel yawned. "I actually think I tripped on somethi--- neh?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Mel and Zoro looked at the cord leading into the kitchen both wondering what the hell it was. With a swift tug, they heard a hard thud and two voices groaning in the kitchen.
"Is that…?" Mel said while walking into the kitchen doorway.
"Well what do you know? It is." Zoro glared as he saw Nami and Sanji on the floor, rubbing the bruises they got from getting pulled against the wall.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Well," Nami said, walking over to them. "We were just observing what would happen if one of you fell."
"Huh?"
"In other words," Sanji said from behind Nami. "We were testing your love!"
"WWHHHAAAATTTTT?"
"We've been watching you guys," Nami pitched in again. "You guys make a good couple, but both of you are too stubborn and blind to notice! So Sanji-kun and I decided to give you that extra little push!"
Mel and Zoro, whose faces were completely red, exchanged glances and both ran off in different directions to their rooms. Nami and Sanji stood in the kitchen alone and shrugged.
"Was it something I said?"
Men's Quarters
"What the HELL could they be thinking?"
Zoro sighed and dived into his hammock. Rocking back and forth, he stared at the ceiling, pondering and wondering one thing.
'What does she think? Is it maybe the same with her?'
Mel's Room
"UGH! I CAN'T BELIEVE THEM!"
Mel paced back and forth angrily. When she was down, she plopped down on her bed and sighed.
"There's no way that he would ever love a person like me," she said to herself.
Just as she was about to get back up, there was a knock at the door and Katsu stood in the doorway.
"Hey Mel, do you have paper?"
"No, sorry. Try asking Ryu."
"'Kay."
"Hey, wait a minute," Mel called right before Katsu was about to leave. "What do you need it for?"
"I'm gonna make fireworks with it!"
Mel's expression went from curiosity to blank in a second. Katsu tilted her head and innocently blinked.
"What? I'm making fireworks for tonight. Is that so bad?"
"Umm, no," Mel said. "How exactly and why?"
"Well, Usopp's gonna help me with the fireworks part. The reason we're going to make them and set them off tonight is because it's the start of Winter and the end of Fall!"
"Oooh," she nodded. "Like we do when every season changes?"
"Exactly! Now, I have to go get paper. Usopp's waiting. Later!"
Katsu dashed out of the room, leaving Mel to think about things.
'It's winter already?'
She shrugged and walked off to another part of the ship with a robe that she grabbed earlier. She could just barely hear the conversations outside, but she didn't bother to listen.
On the deck of the Going Merry
"NO NO NO! YOU HAVE TO PUT THE PAPER HERE!"
"Well how was I supposed to know?"
Usopp, Chopper, Katsu, PyrX, and Luffy sat around a pile of paper, gunpowder, Usopp's potions and other materials. It was tradition for the Samurai Pirate Crew to set off a series of fireworks when a season ended and a new one began, and since they had run out of fireworks from last season, they decided to make new ones.
"NO! DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Usopp shouted, taking away a potion that was about to blow up in Luffy's face.
"Aww, but I wanna know what it is," Luffy whined.
"Be quiet Luffy! Usopp-sensei is going to teach us how to make fireworks!" PyrX scowled.
Usopp-sensei. Just the thought of his new name made him feel proud. With a grin and an order, the 5 got to work on their homemade fireworks. A few minutes later, Zoro walked up from the men's quarters and on deck. He raised his eyebrow as Luffy took a potion and drank it.
"Hey Luffy, pass me the nitro---," Usopp stopped as he watched Luffy put down the empty glass vile. "DID YOU JUST DRINK THAT?"
"Yeah! It tasted kinda funny though," he smiled innocently while rubbing his stomach.
"LUFFY YOU IDIOT! THAT STUFF IS GONNA BLOW UP!"
"Blow up…?"
"YES! COUGH IT UP! DO SOMETHING!"
"Hey, I feel kinda funny…"
Once Luffy finished his sentence, he burped, and his stomach puffed up as if he had used his "Gomu gomu no Balloon" attack. With another burped, smoke flowed out of his mouth, and his stomach returned to normal. He began laughing while Usopp began to beat the crap out of him (or as best he could anyways). Zoro, who was standing behind them, blinked and shrugged. Katsu, who noticed him walk by, turned around and pointed to the Crossroads.
"If you're looking for Mel, I saw her walk off to the dojo," she said.
"Who said I was looking for Mel?" He replied.
"You don't have to say it for me to know what you're thinking," she smirked while turning back to her work.
Normally, he would've kicked the crap out of whoever said that, but being her brother, he really couldn't. He shrugged and walked over to the Crossroads. On the Crossroads were 2 doors. One of them lead to the bedrooms and the kitchen while the other lead to the indoor dojo. His only problem was which one? He reached for the doorknob on the left, but it opened before he could touch it. Ryu walked out and stared at Zoro.
"Where are you going?" She questioned.
"Um, the dojo…?" He said blankly.
"Ahh, to see Mel-san. She's in the other room."
"I never said I was going to see Mel! Why the hell does everybody think that I like her?"
"Zoro-san, we don't think, we know you like her."
Ryu pointed to the other door, closing the door behind her and walking off to the Going Merry. Zoro, already opening the other door, mumbled something and walked in. He looked inside and saw a small size but actual looking dojo. Walking in, he saw a bucket filled with some wooden training swords in 1 corner and a hallway leading away from the dojo to the kitchen. The dojo had tatami flooring and the walls were as a dojo looked. Walking further into the dojo, he noticed the sound of sliding doors open behind him. Mel walked in dressed in traditional Japanese robes fit for training.
"Zoro," she said noticing him standing before her. "What are you doing in here?"
"Um, just touring I guess," he said while scratching the back of his head. "Nice dojo."
"Thanks…"
She walked over to the bucket and pulled out two, throwing one of them to Zoro. He blinked.
"Are we going to train?"
"Why else would I throw you one?"
He nodded. Both of them took their places at opposite sides of the dojo with their own stances.
"You can start whenever you're ready," she said.
He nodded again in return and dashed before her, slashing in a diagonal from the right to the left. Acting fast, she positioned her arms upward, blocking the attack and pushing him back. As soon as he was far enough, she dashed forward as well, but this was different from what he did. She dashed straight at him, disappeared, and reappeared behind him. Zoro was about to turn around, but for some reason, his body froze up and was enable to move. When she was behind him, she struck downward and hit him thoroughly on the head, knocking him down and creating a huge bump on the back of his head.
Annnd a few seconds later…
"What the hell!" He said, sitting on the floor. "What was that?"
"Air Rush," she said simply, sitting across from him on the floor. "It's a move that splits the soul from the body, forcing the soul through the opponent's body while the body itself disappears from human sight, and returns to its normal state behind the opponent."
"Mmhmm…"
After a long silence, Zoro spoke up.
"Can you teach me?"
"It's not going to be simple," she said.
"Nothing is ever simple."
Mel blinked at him and nodded. She got up and walked up to the sliding doors. When she opened them, she went in and came back out with a stuff straw dummy and erected it in the middle of the floor.
"Go for it," she said with a smirk, sitting back on the floor.
Zoro got up and stood a few feet away from the dummy, waiting for orders.
"Now, this is how you do it. You have to reach deep into your soul and you have to try and pull it from your body."
"How the hell do I do that!"
"Why are you asking me?"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE TEACHING ME!"
"Well, I don't know how to explain it. Just try running into it."
Zoro looked at her as if she was the stupidest person in the universe. She shrugged in return.
"You've gotta be kidding me," he glared. "I'm not gonna run into a straw dummy like an idiot!"
"Then I guess you're never gonna learn how to do the technique," she pointed out.
Zoro looked at the dummy, then to her, and back to the dummy. He sighed and ran at it full speed, but he didn't necessarily do what he intended. He toppled over the dummy, knocking it over, and falling face down on the ground. Mel laughed her head off as straw from the dummy's now detached head flew all over the floor. Hearing a loud thud from outside, Katsu, Luffy, Usopp, PyrX, and Chopper poked their heads in to find Zoro on the floor covered in straw and began to laugh their heads' off, and hearing Katsu and the others laughing, Robin, Nami, Ryu, and Sanji, who were dining in the kitchen on the Going Merrry, came over, saw Zoro on the floor covered in straw and began to laugh THEIR heads' off! So in other words, everybody was laughing at Zoro who was on the floor, covered in straw, and tapping his fingers on the floor impatiently.
"Hey Marimo," Sanji called inbetween his chuckles. "Nice look! It makes you look better than you usually do!"
"You know, I have the same color hair as he does," Katsu pouted, crossing her arms.
Zoro sat up and sighed. Choosing to ignore the laughs, embarrassment, and Sanji's comment, he head out of the room silently and left the other's to laugh non-stop.
Nightfall…
It was already dark on the high seas. Torches, provided by the Samurai Pirate Crew, were lit all around the Going Merry. The fireworks were set up on deck and chairs were aligned for a perfect view of the dark sky. Everybody was talking on deck, except for Zoro. Since his little "show" earlier that morning, nobody's seen him.
"Hey Luffy," said PyrX who was setting up more fireworks. "Have you seen Zoro at all?"
"Not one bit," he replied, helping with the fireworks. "Did you?"
"If I did see him, do you think I would be asking you?"
Luffy stopped to think for about 5 minutes until he answered.
"ZORO'S MISSING?"
PyrX sighed and continued with the fireworks while Luffy ran around in circles yelling Zoro's name. In the kitchen, Sanji was cooking up some treats for everyone, or maybe just the girls, with the help of Ryu.
"Hey Sanji-kun," Ryu said, handing him the sugar. "Have you seen Zoro?"
"No," he said back, adding the sugar into the batter. "I haven't seen him since the straw show."
"I don't think anyone has. Where do you think he could've gone?"
"Not far. He probably just went to go take a nap somewhere."
"I hope you're right," Ryu said with concern.
Outside the kitchen, over near where the chairs were getting set up, Robin, Nami, and Mel were chatting.
"Has anyone seen Zoro lately?" Mel asked curiously.
"I have not seen him since earlier," Robin replied. "What about you Navigator-san?"
"No, I haven't," Nami said. "Why, Mel? Are you worried about him?"
"No! Well, yes. But not in that way!" Mel shouted, her cheeks getting red from the way Nami asked her question. "I'm just worried that something happened to him, that's all."
Behind the kitchen at the stern of the Going Merry, Chopper, Katsu, and Usopp were making their last minute finale fireworks.
"Hey guys," Katsu spoke. "Has anyone seen Onii-chan?"
"I haven't," Chopper said in his innocent, kiddy tone. "Usopp, did you?"
"Fufufu," Usopp replied mysteriously. "I saw him alright. I saw him fall overboard as well."
"WHAT?" Katsu and Chopper shouted in unison.
"But he did not get lost, no no. In fact, he hopped aboard a HUGE goldfish and sailed off to "Never-Wake-Up Island"!"
"HE LEFT US?" Chopper cried.
Katsu glared at Usopp. She had to admit that he had her going for a moment, but when Zoro came up behind Usopp, it all went downhill.
"And tell me, where is this Island of No Waking?" Zoro said from behind Usopp.
"Well, it's far off in the distance next to another island called…" Usopp paused and slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Z-z-Zoro! You're back!"
"I never left," he glared, making Usopp gulped.
"Where the hell were you then?" Katsu stated.
"I was in the crow's nest. It's actually really comfortable up there."
"Umm, oh…"
Just then, Mel came around the corner holding a folding chair.
"Hey guys, did you see… ZORO!"
"Hi M---"
WHAM! WHAAM! WHAAAM! MORE WHAM! AND ANOTHER WHAM!
Katsu, Usopp, and Chopper sweatdropped and took a step back from Zoro who was on the ground with newly made bumps on his head. Mel gasped and accidentily dropped the folding chair on Zoro in a place where the sun doesn't shine.
"OH MY GAWD, ZORO! I AM SOOOOOOOOO SORRY!"
"Umm, I think you killed him," Katsu said, sweatdrops quickly forming.
"Ugh, what the hell was that for?" Zoro grunted, standing up slowly.
"I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"
"Then what the hell did you mean to do?"
"I was going to put the chair away! Is that so bad!"
"YES! It is bad because you hit me FIVE TIMES on the HEAD with a FOLDING CHAIR!"
"I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T MEAN TO!"
"THEN WHY'D YOU DO IT?"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
"Lover's quarrel perhaps?" Usopp asked.
Zoro and Mel turned their glares to Usopp, who gulped and backed away. Katsu and Chopper did the same. They turned back to each other and were about to continue when out of nowhere came a certain rubber boy.
"ZORO! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
"Hi Luffy," he grumbled.
"THIS IS GREAT! And you're just in time for the fireworks to start!"
Luffy leapt away to the others with Usopp, Katsu, and Chopper, leaving Zoro and Mel alone. After a long silence, Mel spoke up.
"So where were you?"
"I was in the crow's nest, avoiding everyone," he mumbled.
"Oh… I see…"
"Yeah…"
Once again, there was a long silence.
"Well," Mel spoke up again. "I'm gonna go to see the fireworks. You coming?"
"Huh? Oh yeah. Sure. I guess we better be heading over to the others then?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
Just as they were about to head over to the deck, they heard a loud boom and immediately looked up to the sky. A burst of colors lit the sky and showered over the ships. Again there was a loud boom and again a burst of colors lit the sky.
"Y'know," Zoro said. "This isn't a bad view from back here."
"Yeah," Mel nodded.
The fireworks continued to light the sky throughout the whole night and into the morning.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0O
Sin: Squeeeee! I just loved writing this chapter! The original chapter ended at the part where Katsu comes in Mel's room. It actually went like this:
Mel: Hey, umm, Katsu…
Katsu: Yeah?
Mel: Umm, you don't think that Zoro and I make a good couple, do you?
Katsu: …Well, I'll say just this. If you want a second opinion from someone other than me, you won't find it on this ship because we all think you like each other.
Sin: EHERM! Yeah, it went like that. But since that was so short, I decided to put in things that came off the top of my head! Who knew a straw dummy and beating Zoro with a folding chair would be involved? Hehehe! REVIEW TIME!
Mirathin: NEVER FEAR, FOR I SHALL NEVER LEAVE THIS STORY TO GO TO SHAMBLES… again… X.x And if I do, then I guess I'll need that boat, even though I can swim… And I'm glad you like the cake and I hope you like the chapter! M…Z… :D
4getregret: Yayz! A new reviewer! I'm very VERY glad you like my story, I shall keep working, and thank you for the b-day greeting:D
Sin: Okey dokey! See ya in the next chapter! Sayoonara:3