I'm ALIIIIIIIVE! :D hahaha. yes. I appologize deeply for the absense, I give you the lame excuse of life. *is pelted with tomatoes*
ahem. I have written two chapters after this one, and I wanted to release them all at once to you, but I made a mistake and have to go through and correct the two chapters. Until then, please enjoy this one! I swear I wont wait as long for an update! I want to finish this story, it's been burning in my mind for a long time. Thank you for your patience and support. Also, as always, a big thank you to ZeldaAddict42 for awesome patience with my grammar (lacking) skills!
Title: Zoan
Author: ZOroronoaRO
Fandom: One Piece
Pairings: none. (i suck at romance, so why try? :P)
Timeline: After Ennies Lobby before Florian Triangle Series.
Spoilers: Do not read if you care about spoilers and are not up to date to Ennies Lobby.
Summary: At the newest island, Zoro's strength is admired…a bit too much, and he is now the next target of an X-world government scientist.
Zoan – Chapter nine
[Confrontation]
"Zoro, stop!" Nami yelled, but it was too late.
She watched the swordsman disappear into the thick forest.
She clenched her fist. Why can't he just stay put for ten seconds?
She turned towards the kitchen to see Luffy walking towards her.
"Where's Zoro?" he asked.
Her eyebrows crashed together.
"He went running off on the island."
"Whaaat? Zoro gets to go exploring! I thought we couldn't leave the ship!" He pumped his fist. "Yosh! I wanna go too!"
Without another word, Luffy tried to leap over the side of the boat, but Nami smacked him over the head.
"No, you're not going anywhere!" Nami waved her fist, emphasizing that she wasn't messing around, "Now stay put! I'm going to get a den den mushi!"
"Buuuuuut, Naaaaamiiiii." Luffy's whining quieted as she got farther away.
She then made her way back to the kitchen, mumbling about idiots who don't think about anything.
She opened the kitchen door and almost ran into Usopp.
"Ah, Nami. What's up?" Usopp asked, taking a step back.
"Nami-san~!" Nami couldn't see Sanji, but she heard him at the sink.
"Hello, Navigator-san." Robin was still at the table with her coffee.
She walked over to the couch where she left her Clima Tact and strapped it to her thigh.
"Direction-sense-of-a-peanut just ran off onto the island."
"W-Why would Zoro leave?" Usopp stuttered.
"I don't know; he said something about his sword and just jumped off." Nami went over and grabbed a baby den den mushi from the table and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Zoro still owes me a lot of Belli. I guess I'll have to go find him, but I don't know if I can."
She put on the "oh poor me" act, and Sanji came running to her aid.
"Nami-san, I could go for you! I would trek across miles and mil-"
"Aw, thank you, Sanji-kun!" Nami cut off Sanji and handed him the baby den den mushi.
"Oi, oi, oi," Usopp mumbled, observing Sanji's behavior.
"There might not be anything to find if Rika gets to him first." Robin stated bluntly after taking a drink of coffee.
A stunned silence fell over the room.
"You don't have to put it so morbidly…" Nami said quietly.
"Robin-chan, you don't have to worry about marimo for brains because your knight will find him." Sanji cheered with pink hearts fluttering around him.
"I can stay and watch the ship," Usopp said.
"Come on, Mr. Fearless Captain Usopp, you're coming too," Sanji said, walking out the door.
Upon hearing his name next to the word 'captain', Usopp's attitude did a 180. "Of course! The Fearless Captain Usopp has found many lost citizens in his travels!"
"I'll go get the big den den mushi," Nami said.
"I'll show you where it is; I believe Franky moved it to the library," Robin said, picking up her book.
The other three followed Sanji's lead out the door but stopped because Sanji suddenly halted.
"Ahhh, mellorine!" Sanji spun in a fluttery circle.
Nami pushed him aside to see what he was gawking at.
A woman in a gaudy, black leather jumpsuit, equipped with matching leather equipment bags, was out in the middle of the deck. Her seemingly perfect brown curls streamed down to rest on her shoulders. Their perfect shape a color which struck a nerve in Nami.
"Hi there." She waved politely.
"Who the hell are you?" Nami asked rudely.
"Hm. 'Cat Burglar' Nami, I thought you would be calmer in person."
Before Nami could say anything, Sanji spoke. "My beauty, may I ask your name?" He was suddenly down next to the woman on one knee with a slight bow.
"Nakiami, dear," she said with a slight smile.
"Oh, Nakiami-chan. You are a pearl of the sea…!" Sanji drooled over the new set of female legs.
She chuckled, musing at the blonde's antics. "'Black Leg' Sanji…Your wanted poster doesn't do you justice." She bent down slightly to come closer to Sanji's kneeling position.
"Wanted poster?" Usopp wondered, cowering behind Robin.
Nakiami ignored him and traced Sanji's lips with her finger then moved her face closer to the blond. Sanji eagerly accepted the attention, puckering his lips slightly.
Suddenly his eyes rolled back and he toppled over.
"Sanji!" "Sanji-kun!" Nami and Usopp cried together.
Nakiami took off a clear glove from her hand and tossed it aside.
"One down."
Zoro spat out a stream of curses when he lost the man for the third time.
The swordsman scanned the area, looking for a trace of him. Once again, he appeared out of nowhere, taunted Zoro by making a funny face, and the chase through the dense forest resumed.
Zoro knew the man was baiting him, but he had no choice; he had to get his sword back.
Zoro lost track of the man again, but came across a half burnt down building.
Despite the charred remains, even Zoro could tell it was old by the type of bricks used and the style of the foundation. He looked over the ruined walls that were only three feet high to see a clearing in the rubble.
Zoro ground his teeth together, trying to keep his anger in check.
Continuing his search, he hopped over the wall and looked around the ruins a bit more.
It wasn't a very big structure; in fact, it only had one big room, so it didn't take long. He didn't find the man, but in the clearing of the rubble, he found a stairway leading down into darkness.
The green haired man was about to head down, but a voice stopped him.
"What you're looking for is not down there."
Zoro turned to see Chris standing at the former entrance of the building.
"And where would it be?" Zoro asked, voice kept forcibly calm.
"The man you were chasing left. Beat me, and I'll tell you where your sword is."
At the notion of battle, Zoro sized up the man immediately. Chris was leaner; Zoro could easily beat him with strength. He also didn't seem to have any weapons on him, but Zoro knew not to judge a book by its cover. He did note something on Chris' wrists, underneath the man's baggy, long-sleeved, button up shirt.
"Alright," the swordsman said as he drew Kitetsu.
"Sanji-kun!" Nami called in vain.
Robin crossed her arms in front of her, sprouting extra limbs to subdue Nakiami, but the woman was too quick. Nakiami dodged the hands on the ground and twisted out of the arm hold Robin had her in. In the same motion, she whisked something out of one of her pouches and hurled it at Robin. Startled at the woman's skill, Robin didn't have time to block the incoming projectile, and it exploded on her stomach. Robin was uninjured, but the dark green smoke that spewed forth made her eyes water and her lungs ache. She quickly held her breath and backed away while her nakama jumped into action.
Usopp ran and grabbed his weapon from the kitchen while Nami whipped out hers. Nami jumped down from the railing and went for close combat.
Where did Luffy go? Nami thought, but then changed her focus to the fight. Nakiami wasn't very skilled at close range and was easily being defeated by Nami until the burnet pulled out more pellets and smashed them open against Nami's arms. Smoke enveloped the two women and the navigator backed away immediately, closing her eyes and holding her breath. When she opened her eyes, she realized her opponent was still in the cloud of smoke. The redhead wondered how Nakiami wasn't being affected by the smoke; she was rewarded with an answer.
"Like my new toys?" Nakiami asked. "I made them myself, the pellets that is; the actual powder is an old recipe." She emerged from the cloud and gulped down the contents of a small blue jar. "Too bad you don't have the antidote."
Usopp joined Nami on the lower deck, but Robin was still by the kitchen door, paralyzed.
I need to get that antidote for Robin! Nami thought.
"Two on one? That isn't very fair." Nakiami frowned. "Let's even it out a bit." She clapped her hands three times.
Four whole seconds ticked by before anything happened.
Luffy appeared from behind the mast, but something was off about him.
"Get him." Nakiami smirked.
Luffy charged right at Usopp, fist raised.
"Luffy?" Usopp cried. "Wait, what are you-" Usopp wasn't able to finish his sentence as a fist collided with his cheek, sending him crashing into the far wall. Luffy stopped, shoulders sagging, and only stood where Usopp had been.
"What did you do to Luffy?" Nami asked angrily, observing a strange yellow cream smeared over her captain's neck and face.
Nakiami only replied with a chuckle and pulled two containers out of her satchel; one had purple powder, and the other contained a white liquid.
Nami looked between Luffy and Nakiami, wondering what she should do.
Robin recovered enough to move closer to the confrontation.
"I remember now," the archeologist said, voice rough. She moved closer.
"'Lady Poison' Nakiami." Robin coughed then continued, "As rumors have it, you're supposed to have hundreds of different types of gasses, perfumes, poisons, and such."
Nakiami tossed her hair out of her eyes. "Oh, so the 'Demon Child' does know everything. Rumors aren't everything, dear. I'm also a little short on cash right now, so you and your friends won't be getting the fancy stuff today." She turned to Luffy. "Like what I used on your captain, very expensive stuff, so I don't have a lot to go around." She clapped three times and pointed at Robin. "Kill her."
Luffy looked up at Robin; his eyes were glassy and his movements were sluggish. After a two second pause, he ran at her, stretching back an arm to hit her.
Franky walked through the door from his workshop. "Mugiwara, I heard a crash! What did you break this time?"
Nami clicked her Clima tact apart and created cool and heat balls, dropping the pressure so she could disappear. Before she vanished completely, she called out, "Franky, stop Luffy!"
Franky didn't understand what was going on, but with the eyes of a shipwright he was able to size up the situation immediately. He knew things didn't look good, so he didn't hesitate to go into action. He grabbed Luffy in a bear hug before his captain could finish his attack. Luffy squirmed in Franky's grip but made no move to attack the man with no pants. Luffy's squirming, however, proved to be too much for the shipwright. Luffy kicked off the wall of the ship, making Franky lose his balance and teeter on the side of Sunny.
Another unwanted guest appeared and pushed them both over the side.
The uninvited man listened for the satisfying splash at the end of their fall.
Nami surrounded the brunette with fake illusions, but it didn't seem to faze Nakiami. Instead, Nakiami eyed the newcomer.
"Took you long enough, William."
The blonde looked over to her and growled, "I told you not to call me that!"
He stormed away, grabbing the unconscious Usopp from the hole in the wall. "Hey, wake up. I need someone to fight."
She giggled and opened a small container. She took a big whiff of it through her nose and then blew it back out, but instead of coming out as powder, a purple flame spewed forth. Her fire consumed two of Nami's illusions, leaving three left. The illusions multiplied again, and a look of frustration crossed Nakiami's face.
Robin went over to Sanji and tried to wake him. When he didn't respond to words or shaking, she bent down and kissed him.
Sanji's eyes flew open. "Mellorine! Oh, Nakiami-chan. Robin-swan?"
"Hello, Cook-san," she said with a smile.
He sat up and looked around, still slightly dazed.
"Robin-chan, I had a wonderful dream that an angel came on our ship and-"
The blond looked over and saw Nakiami in all her tight black jumpsuit beauty. "It wasn't a dream." He smiled and got up. His lovestruck vision faded and saw one of Nami's illusions consumed by purple fire.
"Nami-swan!" He started to go over to her, but heard Robin cough hoarsely. Sanji turned to see Robin wobble, almost falling over, but the cook quickly jumped to her aid and caught her.
"Robin-chan, what happened?" he asked, now noticing her bloodshot eyes.
Unable to talk, the archeologist pointed to the fight without looking but missed and pointed to the blond man shaking Usopp.
Sanji's expression grew dark. "Don't worry, Robin-chan. I'll take care of him."
Robin smiled slightly, and then closed her eyes to rest. Sanji set the raven-haired woman down and tapped the point of his shoe on the ground.
"Just wait, Nami-san. I'll come for you next."
In a burst of speed, Sanji dashed at the man. The love cook planted a kick in the man's side, sending the stranger into the same hole Usopp's unconscious body had created earlier.
"Bastard, what did you do to Robin-chan?" Fire radiated off of the cook.
The man appeared from beneath the rubble. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I really don't care."
He stepped out and took off his dark blue jacket, showing how muscular he actually was. His tight, black tee shirt rippled every time he moved.
"Name's William J. Bane, nice to meet you." Bane took a strange fighting stance.
"Sanji." the cook replied, his hands in his pockets.
"Well, now that we're properly introduced, I won't feel bad when I kill you."
Dun dun dun! :D till next time, folks. thanks for your patience!