Okay, let me explain. I don't really have a valid excuse for my absence, except that I just wasn't in the mood for writing! No matter how I tried, I couldn't get the fingers to move. And for that I sincerely apologize.
But besides my apparent unwillingness, I was also busy learning Chinese and performing in a show, so I had very little time. And now my college search is getting more intense. Now I'm just making excuses. I'll stop now.
Anyway, yes, this chapter may seem really short, but it has a lot of information in it. I wasn't planning on revealing this so early, but this would definitely have been a useless chapter had I not.
Review Corner:
00000000000000000000Zero00000 – I was aware Zoro was being OOC, and I see where you're coming from. But Keiko had to have some sort of leeway against him, because that's just her personality, and it was the best I had at the time. Either way, thanks for your review!
NinjaSheik – I don't think Zoro wants to be hugged right now, considering this random girl is getting her dirty hands all over his precious sword and there's nothing she's gonna let him do about it. And Keiko's role is to make her unlikable. Actually, she's based on me a little bit. Thanks for your review!
The Wolf and the Wildcat – You'll have to read and find out what happens to the poor Wado! I originally had it being Kitetsu, but then I thought it would hit him closer to home if the Wado was stolen. :D Thanks for your review!
UltimateC3 – Keiko is kind of like Robin in this story, background-wise anyway. She has her personal reasons for doing things, and doesn't really tell anyone about them until the very last crucial moment. I appreciate your review!
ScorpionsBane – I don't plan to abandon this fic, but it will take a long time. I'm not getting as into it as I had previously hoped. Thanks for your review!
dukefan01 – Hopefully, Keiko won't be a "jerk girl" for long. Thanks for reviewing!
shadowangel9999 – Yes, yes, and yes again. Yeeeees. His sword, his precious, precious sword. Well, I guess he can use this time to practice his Nitoryuu. XD Thanks for reviewing!
animhey (Guest) – It's hard to add ZoRobin into this without kind of misleading from the story plot, but I'll try to get some in this chapter to appease you. :D Thanks so much for your review!
Enjoy the newest chapter!
Chapter 5 – Setting Sail
"You came without fear. Don't have
any regrets, no matter what
happens. This is the duel
you wanted."
- Monkey D. Luffy
Zoro POV
It was still dark when we left the cabin the following morning.
Keiko, despite being a growing pain in my ass with her attitude, proved actually quite resourceful. I gave her ten minutes to pack a bag of belongings, and when she returned with a single change of clothes, a hairbrush, toiletries and a small basket of food, I admitted myself a bit speechless. Sailing with Nami and Robin had given me a stereotype that women all demanded twenty changes of clothes, six pairs of shoes and two bags of makeup for a weekend getaway. This girl packed light.
Keiko rummaged through the cabinets for anything she may have overlooked before leading me to the small pond in which she had hidden the boat she had stolen from the old man at the shipyard.
It was indeed a simple fishing vessel, a few feet larger than the ship Luffy and I sailed on when we first started our journeys in the East Blue, though this one was outfitted with a small cabin with a refrigerator for storing fish. This Keiko used to keep the food fresh. Scattered over the deck were various pieces of fishing gear, like nets and lobster traps and other things I didn't know how to use.
We shoved off from the small pool and through a tributary that fed into the larger river I had followed to find the cabin. I took charge of the wheel while Keiko called out directions from the front, though for some reason, after she mixed up left and right and almost got us capsized, she started shouting out opposites, and I learned to go the opposite way she called out to keep us alive. I was never good at steering, but I was the only one between us with real sailing experience, so it was my job.
I could see the ocean through the trees not long through the journey down the river, and the transition from fresh to salt water was a smooth one. A gust of wind filled the frayed sail and pushed us farther to sea.
Staring at Keiko's back as she stood at the front of the ship, I suddenly had half a mind to chuck her overboard and take back the Wado by force, but the notion that she still had information I needed held me back. When I was sure that nothing bad would happen the second I let go of the wheel, I joined the female and made myself comfortable amongst the fishing supplies.
"So you have the log pose," I muttered, folding my arms behind my head. "So set us going where we need to. You claim to know where they went."
Keiko glared at me. "Don't think just because you're older that you can tell me what to do."
"I'm not thinking it. I'm saying it. And it's not because I'm older; it's my crew that was kidnapped, so therefore I'm in charge of this ship."
She grumbled to herself and stomped to the helm, and I could feel the ship alter its course a bit.
"And now I want the information I was promised," I said as Keiko returned, sitting herself in a chair and beginning to prepare a fishing rod, her fingers moving swiftly and skillfully. It didn't seem to me like she had any intention to sleep. "What do you know about this guy and his freaky powers?"
Keiko's movements slowed a bit and a faraway look dawned in her eyes. She was silent for a few minutes before, "Can't it wait until light? It'll take several days to reach the next island. We'll have plenty of time."
As if on cue, a huge yawn escaped my lips, and my eyelids grew heavy. "Suit yourself," I mumbled. "You're on watch duty."
"Yeah, yeah."
.o0o.
"Roronoa Zoro, you get back in here right now!"
Robin's shrill voice grated in his ears, piercing his eardrums and making his head ring. He ignored her, much to her chagrin, and strode purposefully toward the door. He knew he was overreacting, but she didn't need to be aware of everything he was feeling. Why should she even care?
She tried to stop him, blooming a hand from the floor and wrapping it around his ankle.
His temper flared, and he glared menacingly at her. "You're either brave or stupid to try and stop me," he said, fully aware of the poison lacing his tone. He could see the hurt and anger in her eyes, and guiltily relished it. "You're a smart woman, Robin. You decide which you are."
Let me alone, he thought, still staring intensely at the woman whom he had claimed as his. Why can't you just let me alone?
"I told you because I knew you could trust me!" she yelled, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes, though she didn't even seem to be aware of it. "Was I wrong to confide in you first before telling any of the others!?"
The thought of what had spited our argument spurred his raging emotions into a frenzy, his fingers itching to draw the katana. He resisted. No matter how angry he was, he wouldn't draw his swords on a fellow crewmember, whomever they may be. Just the knowledge of that little object tucked in the drawer's existence made him clench his fists. "Maybe you were," he growled. "Maybe I was better off not knowing."
She tensed as a shudder shook her body. Robin grabbed the coffee cup sitting on the bedside table and threw it with all her might. His hand rose automatically, catching the cup before it did some real damage. He ignored the scalding liquid, nd dropped the cup on the carpet, the broken shards of what he knew was her favorite mug clinking as they collided with each other.
"Don't you dare walk out that door!" she warned, and he was fully aware of the power the woman possessed. He knew exactly what she could do. But if she qould do it was another matter, and he knew she wouldn't follow through with her threat.
"You get rid of it," he said. "Or you get rid of me."
He made a point to step on the coffee mug shards before slamming the door behind him.
.o0o.
I woke to the smell of smoke. My first thought was that Sanji was cooking bacon. Then I remembered that bacon doesn't smell like fish.
Peeling open my protesting lids, bright sunlight invaded my pupils and nearly blinded me. Wincing, I shaded my eyes with a hand, staring at the sparkling horizon as the sun slowly rose above the glittering ocean. I suspected the time to be about nine o'clock.
I let out a deep sigh, reaching inside my haramaki to draw out the small towel of mug shards I had collected in Robin's room prior to my escape. The pieces were stained brown, the sharp edges glinting wickedly at me, as if reminding me of the consequence of a lost temper. I picked up two of the larger pieces and fit them together as a puzzle, a small smile quirking my lips as the two pieces fit perfectly together, the small crack which divided them disappearing as they were united once again into a single unit.
A wave tipped our boat, and my grip on the shards was lost. The crack reappeared again, separating the pieces as Robin and I had been separated. I was willing now to admit I was at fault, but fate was tricky. Had we not fought, I would probably be locked inside a wooden dummy, too, and then no one would have been able to rescue us.
I wrapped the pieces once again and secured them in my haramaki, scanning around for the girl I had been forced to bring along. I quickly located her through the window of the cabin. The smell was of breakfast, a small and controlled fire cooking the fish she had apparently caught last night.
I stood with aching joints and entered the cabin. Keiko turned as my entrance caught her attention, and I stopped short. Instead of my initial observation of her dark green hair, it was actually a deep royal-blueish color, and her eyes were a shimmering green. "Your hair," I heard myself say.
"What about it?" She shoved a plate of smoked fish into my hands.
"It's blue."
"And yours is green. How expensive was that hair dye?"
"It's not dyed! It's natural!"
"So's mine."
I eyed her. "I guess I was just put off a bit. That guy with the powers has blue hair almost the same color."
It may have been my imagination, but I thought I saw her tense. "Yeah. I'm sure he does."
Her behavior wavered the two days we spent together on that small ship. Whenever I mentioned the blue-haired menace, Keiko would freeze for a fraction of a second before coming up with some excuse to avoid telling me whatever she knew, like pickling the pickles or mending the sail. I may not be a cook, but even I knew you couldn't pickle pickles. I was slowly losing my patience, for she had yet to hold up the entirety of her end of the deal.
Finally, as Keiko was sloppily cleaning the dishes after a small breakfast in a way that would give ero-cook a heart attack, I blocked the door with my body, shielding the sunlight from penetrating the small room. The girl turned indignantly as she felt the rays vanish from her back.
"Oi, move."
"No."
"And why the hell not?"
"Because you haven't held up your end of the deal yet."
"Sure I have. You have a ship and a log pose and even a chef."
"A half-assed one," I muttered, for once in my life wishing that the Dartboard chef was in proper condition to cook.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY!?"
"I said you're a half-assed cook!" I yelled. "And I don't give a damn right now about the ship or the log pose. I want the information you've been putting off telling me about for the past few days. According to you we'll land at an island tomorrow afternoon, and I need to know what the hell I'm going up against!"
Keiko's eyes narrowed. "Move."
"No."
Her fingers curled. "Out of my way."
I didn't budge. It was times likes these I wish I possessed some form of the King's Haki, just to intimidate her a little.
The girl's lips twitched, her hands shaking as an internal war raged in her mind. To tell or not to tell. She had better tell, or she would have a pissed pirate as an enemy in the middle of the goddamn ocean.
Keiko seemed to come to this conclusion as well, and she finally consented, leaning against the countertop. "Fine," she sighed. "You win."
"So," I demanded. "What's the guy's name?"
"Yusuke," she said. "Or at least it was."
"Was?"
She heaved a breath. "Actually, the body's name is Yusuke. The soul possessing him is called Arrow. About twenty years ago, Arrow-san was this really nice old man, or so my grandpa said. He was a bounty hunter in his youth, but after a pirate got one of his legs, be became a trader of ceramics on Raxim Island, the one where we met. He was always so helpful and kind, but my grandpa said that he had one fatal flaw.
"Arrow-san was obsessed with immortality."
"Who isn't these days?" I muttered to myself, thinking back to Warship Island back in the East Blue with Apis and all those dragons.
"He said that immortality was by surviving by mind and soul, and not by body. In other words, the body can die, but as long as the soul is alive, then that is living forever.
"Arrow-san was eighty when he found and ate the Soul Soul fruit. It was on a pirate ship that had sunk off the coast of the island, and he couldn't resist reliving his bounty hunting days. He sent a group of divers out to collect any sunken treasure. Of course Arrow-san took the fruit himself. I don't know what happened afterward, but apparently with his new powers he caused a lot of mischief. I'm not exactly sure what kind though; my grandpa died and I never heard the end of the story.
"Anyway, Arrow-san died not long after. Everyone said that he was gone for good, and good riddance. But my dad wasn't fooled. He was sure that Arrow-san was still alive. He went out one day while my mom was pregnant with me, and he never came back. There were rumors of course, and as I grew up the rumors drifted away, and my dad was forgotten.
"But two years ago, a man came to the island. He was old, super old. Like really, really, really super old. I had no idea who he was; we hardly ever got visitors anymore, not since Arrow-san died and his business perished. The geezer hobbled into town and approached me as I was buying apples and asked me where my parents were. I told him that my dad disappeared and my mom died last year. Then he asked if I had any siblings, and I told him I had a brother. The man smiled and walked away. Never saw him again."
Keiko studied her soapy hands. "I realize now that I probably just signed the island's death warrant with those words. Cause the next week my brother went missing. The blink of an eye, gone. The youngest male on the island, vanished. I was left alone in what used to be the house we shared."
I was starting to get an idea for what was going on here. This Arrow guy's body died, but he transferred his soul to Keiko's dad when he vanished. And then her brother goes missing, too. Hold on…
"Wait… are you saying…?"
She looked at me, her eyes daring me to make her say it. I dared.
"So your brother…"
"Yeah. Yusuke is my older brother. And he's possessed by Arrow-san's spirit."
The only sound now was the gurgling of the ocean as it lapped against the small boat. The pieces were clicking in my head now, slowly falling into place.
Arrow had been a bounty hunter in his youth, and old geezers always want to do what they did in the past, but because he lost a leg, he had to retire from bounty hunting. But now he can transfer his soul to anybody, and resume his first career. So he attacked our ship, kidnapped the captain and 80% of the crew, and would be heading to a marine base to turn them in.
Luffy, with his four hundred million belis. Nami with sixteen million. Usopp with 30 million. Sanji with seventy seven million. Chopper and his fifty. Robin with her eighty million. Franky with forty four million. Brook and his thirty three million. In all, 680,000,050 belis. One of the most expensive pirate crews in the New World. And they are all at Arrow's mercy.
A part of me wanted to feel remorse for Keiko's brother's situation, and I realized that Keiko's reason for coming was wanting to save her brother. For a moment, she reminded me of Luffy, not caring about his own safety, if it would only rescue his brother and best friend from execution. With how that story turned out, I could only imagine what might happen to the depressed teen sitting on the counter top a few feet away.
I didn't want to think about that.
"Fine," I said, retreating from the door to let her out of the musty make-do kitchen. "You do whatever; I'll finish up."
She looked up a bit surprised at me, but not for long. Her usual bitchy demeanor suddenly returned, and she threw a punch at my shoulder. I sidestepped easily. "Don't go easy on me out of pity!" she yelled. "You worthless moron!"
"Who are you calling a worthless moron!?"
"You, blockhead!"
"Go die in a hole."
She stuck her tongue out at me and turned away, but not before I caught the shadow of a genuine smile on her lips.
Okay, now that I'm done, you guys will be nice, right? No throwing tomatoes at me for a bad chapter? Please? No? At least let me change clothes…
Thanks for sticking with me and my infrequent updating schedules. I have decided that after this fic, I'm going to take a hiatus from writing One Piece and head over to my second favorite anime now, Detective Conan. I have a really good plot lined up for that, and I'm looking forward to it. But first thing's first, I have to finish this.
Coming Up: Chapter 6 – What It Means to Live Forever