Hiya guys. I'm back, just another procrastinating, marshmallow munching, energy drink addict otaku-nerd with another chapter to this wonderful little ZoRobin fic. I don't know how long it's been since I updated, a few weeks maybe, a month? But either way, it was too long. Sorry bout that. Heheh. Like I said, life likes to screw people over. And with me, it loves to just bend me over and shove a rusty metal pipe right up my- Yeah.. Never mind. ON WITH ZE STORY!
Things seemed to quiet down for the Strawhats, the exchange between archaeologist and swordsman quickly forgotten and everybody went back to their normal activities. Zoro finally managed to put that infernal Robin out of his mind and concentrate on meditating in the aquarium bar. But for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something. Robin was up in the crows nest, laying comfortably on the couch with the book she was reading earlier, held in her phantom hands, while her real hands and the rest of her body, was blanketed by Zoro's robe. The sun was slowly crawling across the sky, inching towards the horizon at a glacial pace, at a perfect temperature with a slight cool breeze and a few, wispy, white clouds high in the slightly tinted sky. It really was a peaceful moment for the devil fruit using archaeologist.
"Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnd!" Luffy's cheerful voice rang out as he burst through the door and onto the deck. It was a peaceful moment for the archaeologist. Robin looked over the ledge of the crows nest to see Nami introducing the energetic captain's face to the deck, courtesy of her fist. "No need to be so loud you idiot!" Nami scolded him as he slowly got up, now with a bump on his head. Robin was coming down from the crows next, the rest of the crew was coming up from below deck to see what the commotion was about. "Is it true, navigator-san?" Robin asked, Zoro's robe cloaked around her. Nobody seemed to noticed as they were all looking to the mikan head, who was currently rubbing her temples.
"Yes, if this wind keeps up, we should reach an island by tomorrow, or if we're lucky, by late tonight." Nami said, looking around. Most everyone was there, Sanji was just coming up from the kitchen, but Zoro was still in the aquarium, trying to shut out the racket from above. Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, Franky and Brook all began cheering and whooping happily, and began a parade around the deck, while Robin, Sanji, and Nami continued to converse. "So, my beautiful Nami-swaaaan~ What is the name of this island that is so lucky to be graced with the presence of two beautiful angels?" Sanji asked, wigging gleefully and switching his love-struck gaze between Nami and Robin. "Yes, Navigator-san, I would like to know as well." Nami thought for a moment. "Um, I think it's name was-"
The mikan head was cut off by an angry Zoro shoving the door open, and hitting Luffy in the face as they were parading around. "Why do you have to stomp so loud I can hear you from the aquarium?" Zoro growled to the group. "Aw, come on Zoro, stop grouching and join the parade! Shishishishi" Luffy laughed his trademark laugh and grinned widely at the currently pissed swordsman. Zoro shot a glare to them that made them all simultaneously shiver.
"Yohohoho, Zoro, you're so scary, I almost wet myself. But then again, I don't have a-"
"Finish that joke skeleton, and you won't even have bones to make skull joke's with." Zoro threatened. If it were possible, Brook's already sun bleached white bones might have gotten a shade paler. The crew's musician gave a nervous laugh of "Yohohoho!" and quickly skittered behind Usopp, pushing him forward, as if offering a sacrifice to some angered beast.
Zoro simply shook his head and went to the portion of his crew that had some sense about them. "What the hell are they celebrating?" He asked, looking back at the group who had quickly resumed their parade. "We're going to be reaching an island by tonight or tomorrow." Nami explained. "Hn." Zoro grunted. "What's the name?" He asked. "Nami-swan was going to explain that, before your puke green head popped up from whatever sewage you crawled from." Sanji said with a scowl. Zoro used his thumb to flick Shusui out of it's sheath, and growled, gripping the handle as he was prepared to slide it the full way out. "Was I talking to you, dartboard brow?" The swordsman asked with a smirk. Nami began rubbing her temples, trying to avoid another headache. "The name of the island is Baragas Island!" She shouted, just before fists were about to fly.
Both boys looked to Robin as she gasped and her eyes widened slightly. Nami looked to Robin with worry. "Are you alright Robin?" She asked, placing her hand on her best friend's forearm. The rest of the crew's antic's slowly died down. Robin almost never lost her composure! Luffy and the rest walked up to Robin, now surrounding her. "What's wrong Robin?" Luffy asked curiously, his head tilting. "Is there something wrong with that island?" Franky asked as well.
Robin looked around at her nakama before settling her gaze on Nami. "Nami-san, maybe we should go to another island," Robin insisted, her eyes dark. She remembered reading something about that island in particular, something that assured trouble if they stopped there. "I'm sorry Robin, but Franky needs new planks to fix a few old rotting ones near the hull, Sanji needs to restock the kitchen, and the only other island is a week's journey away. What's wrong with Baragas Island?" Nami asked. Robin sighed, using her arms to bring the biography she was reading back down to them all. She flipped back a few pages until she pointed her finger at a specific text.
The whole crew, Zoro included gathered behind her, all wanting to see what was so bad about the island. The text read:
In one of Explorer De'Paula's later trips, he wrote down this journal entry: "My last trip to Baragas Island was shocking to say the least. In the three years I visited, the once peaceful tourist attracting island has suddenly taking up a new trade. Human trafficking. I saw women on leashes, hands and knees, and even a woman who was visiting the area being snatched right up by the island guard and taken to one of the slave pens. This island has truly stooped to it's lowest days" To this day, Baragas Island openly participates in human trafficking. Baragas Island kidnaps and puts females into slavery, with men being the dominant of the island.
The crew became silent, looking at the two females with wide, some of them, horrified eyes. Nami gulped and began thinking about what could happen if they weren't beside one of the boys for even a second. Or even then, would that stop them from trying to take her and Robin anyway? "W-well, we still can't make it to another island in time.. The wood is just too rotted and worn, r-right Franky?" Nami's eyes looked to the cyborg, hoping that he would tell them they could make it for one more week at least.
The shipwright sullenly shook his head. "Sorry, maybe a day or two tops. Maybe. And that's if the weather is SUUUPERR peaceful, but a full week and we'll be sunk." Franky said, offering an apologetic look to both Nami and Robin. "And I'm sorry to say this, my beautiful angels of the sea, but with that bastard captain's appetite, and feeding the rest of these morons, we simply don't have enough food." Sanji said, groveling before them and begging for their forgiveness.
Robin sighed once more, shaking her head. "Then we have no choice, we must dock at Baragas Island." Robin said, her voice wavering for a single second. "She's right." Zoro spoke, his arms crossed and both eyes closed now. "Are you insane you shitty swordsman? You want to risk my beautiful Robin-schwan, and my gorgeous Nami-swan for stupid supplies?!" Sanji shouted in Zoro's face. Zoro grabbed the blonde cook by the face and chucked him across the deck and quickly followed, his good eye opened and glaring down at him.
"First off, she is not your Robin. Second, you wanna risk them drowning, especially when one of them is a devil fruit user, you idiot! You're brain must be as swirly and lopsided as your stupid eyebrow's if you can't see that!" Zoro bellowed to Sanji. Sanji was about to snap right back at Zoro, but he paused. The shit swordsman was right. Sanji settled for a simple scoff as he stood up, walking back into the kitchen. The moss haired swordsman turned back to his crew and continued. "And besides. The women will not be leaving the ship. Nami, give everyone money and put them in teams, tell them what to get. I'm staying here with you two just in case. If these idiot's get lost, I don't wanna waste my time finding them so I'm guarding Robin and you." Zoro said.
"If we get lost?" Usopp muttered to Brook under his breath. "Usopp's taking night watch tonight. I wanna rest up so I can stay guarded when we get there." Zoro said, catching Usopp's comment, earning a groan from the long nosed sniper. "That is very thoughtful of you, Zoro-san, thank you." Robin said with a slight smile. "Yeah Zoro, who knew you were so smart!" Luffy said with a laugh, before looking over to Robin and Nami. He knew if Zoro was there, no way anything could happen! Then his eyes were caught by something on Robin. "Oi, Robin." Luffy said, a confused look on his face as he walked up to the archaeologist. "Yes, Captain-san?" Robin said, her usual smile in place now. "Why are you wearing Zoro's robe?" Zoro's eyes widened, realizing now what he was missing as his eyes darted to Robin, seeing his Robe hanging around her from her slender shoulders.
All eyes were on Robin for the third time that day as they all now noticed Zoro's green robe completing today's attire for the beautiful woman. A small nearly unnoticeable blush adorned Robin's face as she went through a plethora of lies through her head, yet none were quite good enough. "Err.. I was training earlier and she held it so I wouldn't get it sweaty. Problem?" Zoro growled, walking over to Robin and slowly removing his robe from her shoulders. In the few brief moment's their skin touched, and their noses inhaled each other's pleasant scent's, Zoro noticed how flawless her smooth, silky, perfectly tanned skin really was. And how addictive her flowery scent really was.
And Robin felt his calloused fingers, rough from years of gripping sword handles, and heavy boulders, and throwing the occasional building or two at skilled Devil Fruit users. Zoro took his robe back and put his arms through his sleeves, a blush coating his cheeks as feint as the one that Robin wore as they locked eyes for a moment, before he went back to his where he stood prior. Nami had a slight grin on her lips, and it didn't go unnoticed by Robin. The mikan headed navigator gave her beautiful nakama a look that said "Girl talk. Later." But then went on to look at the crew. "Alright, everybody make a list for what will be needed and give it to me. When we reach..That island, I'll assign teams. But for now, everybody get some rest." She said. Everybody looked up, seeing the sky, it was a canvas filled with many colors, from orange, to a blazing read, to violet, to the slowly rising dark blueness. And a few faint stars could be seen breaking through the sky.
Luffy yawned, and it was mimicked by Choppers as they nodded. "I am pretty tired.." The tenacious captain said, rubbing his eyes. "C'mon Chopper.." He said, followed by the young reindeer who dragged his hooves, heading down to the men's cabin. "I'm going down to bed, see you there Robin." Nami said with a faint giggle before heading towards the door herself. "I will stay up here, I would like a nice cup of tea and stargaze tonight.." Brook said. Even with his childish behavior, nobody could ever say the skeleton didn't appreciate the small things. "Well bros, I'm gonna go down to the hull, and see if I need to bail out water from Sunny again." The blue haired cyborg said, walking down to the hull. "Usopp. Where do you think you're going?" Zoro said, noticing the cowardly sniper trying to creep behind Franky unnoticed. "Er...Bathroom?" He offered, looking up at Zoro. Zoro pointed up to the crows nest. "You can leak off the side up there. Go do your watch." He said. Usopp muttered a defeated "Dang!" And went to climb up to the crows nest.
All that was left was Zoro and Robin, who's eyes found each other again. "So, Mr. Swordsman... I noticed you only called out Cook-san when he called me his own, but you said nothing about navigator-san..." Robin said, leaving the sentence hanging in the air as she gave him a small smile, her eyes challenging his. Zoro blushed and rolled his eyes, turning away from her and looking off over the side of the Thousand Sunny's deck, as if there were something in the water. "I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late woman." Zoro grumbled, turning away from the object of his repressed desires. "Fufufu..You're worried about my health, Swordsman-san, I'm touched.. I will be heading off as well. Sleep well." She said, trailing a finger slowly from his shoulder blades, up and over his shoulder, slowly trailing a well kept and manicured fingernail over the flesh of his neck, bringing a slight involuntary shudder from the swordsman, and letting that finger trail down his chest as she past him, and made her way to the door leading below.
Zoro stood frozen, his eyes wide as he let out some sort of strangled noise. Thankfully, Usopp was to high up to hear, and Brook had went into the kitchen to ask Sanji to make a cup of tea for him, so the only one who heard was the woman who drew the noise from him, and it brought a giggle and a smirk to her lips. As she opened the door, she paused in the doorway to look back over her shoulder at the moss haired man. "And Zoro..it was very sweet of you to help Doctor-san in his game with Marksman-san." she giggled, and dissipated down the steps, leaving a very flustered mint green haired nakama behind.
Zoro was stunned speechless. She had heard what he and Chopper were talking about! "I can't let her get to me.. I will not play her games! She isn't gonna get to me...Not with those eyes..Not with that smile..Not with her soft skin...Her silky hair...Her nice round- Dammit you stupid swordsman! You're thinking like that dumb ero-cook!" Zoro chastised himself and shook his head clear. He wouldn't let her get to him. "God damned woman.." He muttered, shaking his head and closing his eyes. He woulld have to be on guard at all times around her! But for now.. He couldn't stifle the yawn that escaped him. Sleep was calling his name..He could only hope it would be peaceful this time.
Hey everyone! So, how'd you like this chapter? Was it worth the wait? I hope so. I promise, I will do everything in my power to try to not procrastinate and take so long ever again! I would so appreciate reviews and all that good stuffs. And as you might have seen, I changed my Author name, and can't garrantee it won't change again in the future, for reason's that are my own. So from now on, I'll just address myself as the name my otaku friends call me. Thank's again for reading! I hope you all have a nice rest of your day! BYE NOW!
~Mashu-kun