Chapter 9

One Piece © Oda

Pokemon © Nintendo, Game Freak

Blizzard, Vice-Admiral Moss, and Captain Knuckle © Me

Luffy somersaulted out of the way of the raging Zoroark's claws. The Straw Hats watched, unsure of what to do. The Pokemon were also frightened by their guardian's sudden attack on their new friend, and stayed hidden in the trees, the bushes, or the pond.

"Zoroark!" Luffy cried. "Stop it!"

SLASH! Zoroark roared as she attempted to slash Luffy with her claws, again, only for her attack to be blocked by Luffy's arm. She made another attempt to attack the Straw Hat captain's bandaged stomach with her free claws, but Luffy managed to block that with his foot.

"Zoroark!" he said. "Why the hell are you attacking me?!"

"Yeah, Zoroark!" Nami agreed. "Stop it! You're scaring all the other Pokemon!"

Zoroark seemed to be angry to listen.

GRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWRRRK! She let out ferocious roar, frightening the smaller, younger Pokemon.

"I'LL KILL YOU, STRAW HAT~!" She bellowed as she freed herself from Luffy's block.

SWIPE! She made another slash of her claws at Luffy, who dodged, once again, and turned to run away, but Zoroark gave chase after him. Tepig and Snivy ducked out of the way as Luffy found himself backed up against a rock wall.

"Zoroark, stop!" he said. "Calm down, already!"

SWAK! SWAK! SWAK! SWAK! Zoroark tried to hit Luffy by stabbing her claws at him, but thanks to his Haki, the latter was able to evade them easily.

"HOLD STILL!" Zoroark growled before she attempted to make another attempt at stabbing Luffy, but then, WHAP! She felt someone grab her arm. Turning around, she saw Chopper (in Heavy Point), his huge hand grabbing Zoroark's arm.

"Zoroark, you need to calm down and- WAH!" Chopper spoke before Zoroark mustered all her strength and threw him over her shoulder, plowing him into the ground. "Ow…!"

CHOPPER! Blizzard thought before he growled and charged at Zoroark, who charged back at him and BAM! They collided, headfirst, but Zoroark grabbed Blizzard by his ears and threw him into a stone wall. She then turned her attention back to Luffy, who attempted to climb up a tree.

"Luffy, no!" Nami cried.

Too late. As Luffy attempted tried to get up the tree, WHAP! He felt one of his pants' legs get grabbed, and then, with a mighty tug, Luffy was yanked out of the tree like a freshly picked apple and Zoroark threw him down to the ground once more.

"AGH!" Luffy cried. "Zoroark, what's gotten into you?!"

THOMP! Zoroark pinned Luffy down to the ground with her paws and opened her mouth wide. She threw her head down and prepared to bite Luffy's face, but the Straw Hat captain threw his arm in the way in an attempt to block it. CHOMP! Zoroark bit down hard on Luffy's arm, making him cry out in pain before WHAM! He kicked Zoroark in the stomach, forcing her to release her before he continued to run away, holding his bleeding arm as he did, and the Illusion Fox Pokemon gave chase after him.

"Luffy, stop running!" Nami shouted. "That's just what she wants!"

"Fight back!" Zoro called.

"No! Drop on the ground and play dead!" Usopp added.

"THAT'S WITH BEARS!" Luffy yelled back before he dove to the safety of the bottom a hollow tree, forcing Zoroark to stop. The spaces in the roots were too small for her body to fit through, but she growled as she attempted to find an opening large enough for her to at least squeeze her head in. SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! She snapped her jaws on Luffy's head, but Luffy managed to evade her bites. Then she tried to reach in and grab Luffy with her claws. Looking around, frantically, Luffy spotted a stone sitting next to him, and then looked back at Zoroark, who continued to try and grab at him with his claws.

KRUNCH! Luffy grabbed the stone and jammed it in between Zoroark's arm and the tree root, causing her to roar in pain. This gave Luffy a chance to jump out from under the tree and escape, once more, but once again, Zoroark gave chase after him.

GRRAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRR~! Zoroark roared, again.

"Stop!" Luffy cried. "Dammit, Zoroark, do NOT make me hurt you!"

GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWRR~! Zoroark roared, once again. SWIPE! She slashed her claws at Luffy, once more, only for it to be dodged with a backwards somersault.

"Fine! But I warned you!" Luffy shouted before he stretched his arm back, pumping his blood through his body and turning his arm black. "Gear Second- Armaments Enhancement!"

"Luffy, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Usopp questioned. "Get outta there! She's coming for you!"

Zoroark galloped furiously towards Luffy, growling viciously.

FOOSH! Luffy's extended arm ignited into flames.

"Gum GUUUUUUUM…RED HAWK!"

WHOOSH! KAPOW! KOFF! Luffy's flaming arm collided with Zoroark, hitting her square in the chest. The resulting blast not only burned her, but it caused her to cough up blood.

FWUMP! Zoroark fell to the ground, landing between Nami and Usopp. However, despite her injury, she staggered to her feet and attempted to charge Luffy, once again.

"Zoroark, I don't understand!" Luffy said. "What did I do to you?!"

"BECAUSE OF YOU, MY SON HATES ME!" Zoroark shouted.

Everyone , even the Pokemon who had been observing the battle, gasped.

"Oh, no…" Nami murmured.

THWAK! Zoroark slammed her paw into Luffy's chest, pinning him to the ground.

"Luffy!" the Straw Hats cried.

"Because of your loudmouth, Zorua hates me!" Zoroark growled, beginning to wrap her claws around Luffy's throat. "And now…I'm going to have to kill you!"

"And you think that will really stop him from being mad at you?!" Luffy questioned.

Zoroark paused.

"Zoroark, I know that you're his mom, and all," Luffy started as he grabbed at Zoroark's arm, "but…this is not the way you're supposed to be protecting him! You can't shield him from everything!"

"Who the hell are you to tell me how to raise my child?!" Zoroark questioned.

"Listen," Luffy said. "Let me talk to Zorua, okay? Maybe I can get through to him."

"No!" Zoroark barked. "I do not trust you!"

"Zoroark, please!" Nami said. "Luffy has this…really weird way with words, sometimes! He can actually be very persuasive when he wants to be! Give him a chance!"

Zoroark seethed at Luffy, but then she heaved a sigh and let Luffy go.

"I am giving you one more chance, Straw Hat," she said, threateningly. "My Zorua better not still be angry with me by the time I get back from patrolling the island, because if he is, I will crunch your head in my jaws."

With that, Zoroark stalked off, leaving Luffy to find Zorua. Hopefully, he can set things right.

XXX

Luffy, his arm now bandaged by Chopper, found Zorua, still lying curled up in the den.

"Hey, Zorua," said Luffy.

Zorua turned to look up at the Straw Hat captain, still looking very sad.

"Hi, Luffy," said the Tricky Fox Pokemon.

Luffy walked into the den and sat down next to Zorua. Then he picked him up and laid him down in his lap.

"Your mom says that you and her had a bit of a falling out," said Luffy.

Zorua just sighed.

"Listen, Zorua," said Luffy. "I know that sometimes, a mom will do stuff that will kinda make you mad…but…you don't really hate your mom, do you?"

"No…" Zorua answered.

"Then why did you say that you did to her?" asked Luffy.

"I…I guess I don't really know," Zorua said. "I guess I was just so angry that she didn't want us to be friends, anymore, that I didn't even know what I was saying. I must've really hurt her feelings, huh, Luffy?"

"Yeah, you sure did," Luffy said. "Zorua…I know your mom made you upset, but she's your mom. The only one you've got in this world. You can't be mad at her, forever."

"So…what should I do?" Zorua asked.

"You should go find your mom and apologize," Luffy replied, "and it should be from your heart." He pointed to Zorua's chest.

"But…what if she doesn't wanna talk to me? What if she ends up hating me?"

"That's not gonna happen, Zorua, because you're her son, and she loves you very much. Heck, just to make sure, I'll even go with you."

"Really?"

"Of course, I will. After all, we are friends. Friends forever, remember?"

Zorua smiled and nuzzled his face against Luffy's chest.

"Yeah," he said. "Friends forever. Like you said, Luffy."

Luffy smiled and cuddled Zorua in his arms.

"Okay," said Luffy. "Let's go and find your mom, now."

"She usually goes outside to patrol the forest at this time of day," Zorua said. "Come on! Let's go see if we can find her!"

With that, Luffy and Zorua left the den to go find Zoroark. Hopefully, she had calmed down enough to listen to reason.

XXX

Meanwhile, Zoroark is out, stalking on all fours through the forest surrounding the oasis. She made a soft, purring growl in her throat. Obviously, she is still upset about what her son had said, and she is still quite furious at Luffy for telling him, even though he gave her his word.

She started to wonder if being a mother was really worth all this trouble.

"Hey, Zoroark!"

Zoroark turned around and saw Luffy approaching her with Zorua at his side.

"What do you want, Straw Hat?" asked Zoroark. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of patrolling the island?"

"Zoroark," said Luffy. "Zorua has something he wants to say to you." He looked down at Zorua, who seemed a bit hesitant. "Go on, Zorua," he urged as he gently nudged the Tricky Fox forward with his foot.

Zorua approached his mother and looked up to see her face.

"Momma," he said. "I…I know that you got upset because I got mad at you…but…Luffy is my friend, and you promised you'd let him stay until he felt better…but you shouldn't be mad at him and send him away, forever."

Zoroark just stared at Zorua.

"But still…I shouldn't have said that I hate you," said Zorua. "I know it really hurt your feelings, Momma."

Zoroark raised her head up a little, her ears pricked.

"I…" Zorua began. "I guess I'm what I'm trying to say is…Momma, I-"

"Shh!" Zoroark shushed him before she looked behind herself.

"Hey!" Luffy said. "Don't shush him! He's trying to-"

"Quiet, I said!" Zoroark whispered before she turned around completely, ears swiveling. That's when Luffy realized that she must've heard something.

"What is it?" asked Luffy in a hushed voice.

"Momma?" Zorua called, puzzled…and a bit worried.

Zoroark's blue eyes darted this way and that with ears pointed. SNURK! SNURK! Grr~! She sniffed the air and then growled.

"Humans…" she thought. "More of them are here…on the island."

"What?!" Luffy questioned.

"The Marines…" Zorua said. "They must've followed us!"

"You brought more of them here?!" Zoroark asked Luffy, growling angrily.

"N-no!" Luffy said. "And even if we did, we didn't mean to!"

"Never mind!" Zoroark growled. "Take Zorua and get him back to the oasis! I'll deal with these invaders, myself."

"No!" Luffy said. "Zoroark, you can't take the Marines on your own, no matter how strong you are! You're gonna need me and my crew to help you!"

"I said go!" Zoroark barked.

Luffy paused, but then, he picked Zorua up before he turned tail and ran, leaving Zoroark alone.

"Wait!" Zorua cried. "Momma! Momma!"

Zoroark stood where she was, ignoring her son's calls, when suddenly, her body seemed to twitch, involuntarily. KOFF! She covered her mouth with her paw and then pulled it away, revealing specks of blood that stained her fur.

Zoroark's eyes went wide. Why did she suddenly start coughing up blood?

That's when she gasped in realization.

"Straw Hat's punch…" she said, momentarily remembering Luffy's Red Hawk attack.

KRUNCH! She heard the snap of a twig, and she looked up, and saw, to her anger, that Luffy was right. The Marines approached her from the shadows of the forest, and leading them is Moss and Knuckle.

"Well, well, well," Moss said with a toothy smirk. "You must be the rare Zoroark. A pleasure to meet you at last."

Moss' Mightyena growled at Zoroark, who glared back at him.

"Explain yourselves," Zoroark said. "What do you want here?"

"Why…you, of course," Moss answered with a sinister chuckle.

XXX

Meanwhile, Luffy is running back to the oasis with Zorua in his arms.

"Luffy, wait!" Zorua said. "What about Momma? We're not just gonna leave her back there with the Marines, are we?!"

"Who said?" Luffy questioned. "We're just going back to get help."

"Huh?"

"Like I said…she can't handle the Marines on her own," Luffy said before he grinned. "Trust me."

Zoroark smiled back at him.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AT FREAKING LAST! I'm so sorry I took so long getting this up, and I'm sorry it's short, but it's the best thing I could come up with.

I've been so busy~! TT^TT

Anyway, review please!