Hello everyone! So as promised, here is the conclusion to the flag bandits/Phoenix pirates. I'm actually really happy to see that you guys caught up on the fact Puzzle is practically in love with Kimiko, but the question now is, does she love him back? lol, you'll have to read to find out!
Special thanks to my fabulous reviewers, Totong, Phoenix, Taiski, DinoZilla, Kilari G, and Fanboy316! I'm not sure when the next update will be... I know I have a ton of hw and school activities coming up plus I really need to work on my other stories as well. But I'm hoping it'll be soon! See you then!
-yesiamweird
"Enough!" Puzzle's voice rang right after that. His crew separated making a path for the man to confront the bounty hunter. "Don't get me wrong, I didn't capture him to hold him here. I want to…negotiate with you." He frowned looking up at the big muscled man.
Kimi walked behind Jiro and held him back from attacking either Brindo or Puzzle, she wasn't quite sure which he had been aiming for. "Easy Jiro…" She whispered.
"I want you to leave these guys and the Strawhats alone." He looked to his right at Kimi and Jiro. "In exchange…in exchange, I'll surrender my bounty." He looked down ashamed by his own words.
"No…" Kimi whispered letting her grip on Jiro loosen. "If you do such a thing, what'll become of our pirate crew?!" The young boy pleaded.
"Jiro…I…we are no longer pirates…" he frowned looking up at the smirking Brindo.
"Ha! Fine, in return for your bounty, all these guys will be free to go." He continued to laugh.
"No! I will fight!" Jiro raised a fist ready to attack the bounty man until Kimi pulled him back into her lap. "Jiro…please…" She begged and suddenly a rubber hand covered the laughter of Brindo.
"Strawhat?" Puzzle whispered confused towards his approach.
"Return our pirate flag at this moment. I don't care about them or Puzzle's deal." He responded coldly.
"C-calm down, the flag is inside the frozen highway where our family stronghold is, Lovely Land." He smirked and then a strange noise came from his pocket. "Oi, woman, there is a portable Den Den Mushi inside my pocket. Pick it up if you want to retrieve your captain's flag."
Kimi eyed the man nervously and then nodded. Not wanting to put herself in a trap, she cloned herself and allowed the clone to answer the small snail. "Oi, Brindo. What is taking you so long? Papa is getting angry." An unknown voice rang through the system. "Oi, say something if you are there!"
Kimi nodded to her clone and she nodded back, "Brindo has been captured. If you want him back, bring the Strawhat flag with you."
Suddenly the captive man began to laugh, "I take back my words. Niisan is now coming."
"What do you mean by that?" The real Kimi stood up pushing Jiro behind her as she walked to her clone. "Answer me!" She demanded crossing her arms and removing her control on her clone making her disappear. Suddenly he began to glow red making everyone on board nervous.
"Oi! Why are you glowing!?" Luffy dumbly smiled running next to his crewmate when all of a sudden a blast from the side of the ship rocked the boat making the crew fall to the floor. "Oi! Is this a replication technique?"
"Are you like Kimiko-san and have a devil fruit?"
Kimi looked up at Brindo on the side of the ship now wearing a blue shirt. "What?" She looked to the mast and then gasped. "But how?" She looked and saw two similar men. "Brothers…" she nodded as they continued to tell of their twin story magnetic relationship.
"Brother, who are our targets?" the twin asked. "Well brother, first is this guy, Puzzle the Phoenix with a bounty of 100 million Beri, and he over there is Strawhat Luffy with a bounty of 300 million Beri, and then that woman over there is Multiplying Beauty, Tomoko Kimiko with a bounty of 50 million Beri. Oh and Cotton Candy Lover Pet Chopper, with a 50 Beri bounty."
"Ah, well then, let's begin our Combination Play!" The ship erupted into a fight between the Strawhats and the twin brothers. Kimi used her Devil Fruit ability as best as she could to trick the brothers from attacking more, but eventually and unfortunately; Luffy had been thrown off the ship to an iceberg below. With the force of the continuous fighting a lose piece of an iceberg began to fall from above right to where Chopper, Kimi and Jiro had been standing on the side of the ship.
"Chopper! Jiro!" Kimi looked up noticing the large piece of frozen ice and quickly pushed the two ahead of her. Just as she was about to escape from the ice's path, a small piece of the ice fell faster and hit her on the head causing her to trip unexpectedly.
"Kimiko-san! Look out!" Jiro called out to the woman but she was in no position to move. She screamed trying to think of something to do when the clank of a metal chain sounded above her causing the wind from the force to hide her face into the chest of her jacket.
"Kimiko." She opened her eyes to Puzzle's voice and then sighed as he pulled her into his chest as the ice debris fell around the two. "Are you okay?" he asked holding onto her back carefully.
"Captain!" Jiro cheered running over to the two. "Thank you, Puzzle." Kimi looked into the man's eyes and blushed at how close their faces had been to each other. "You know, Puzzle, you are saving me too much. I am starting to look like a weakling…" She grinned and then dropped her arms positioned on his strong chest.
"You have saved me before and Jiro just now. It's only fair." He smiled.
"Oi! Turn back around, we need to help Luffy!" Chopper begged pulling the two out of their moment.
"Impossible. In this sea we can't try to go anywhere without the Doom Penguins changing our direction." One of the crewmates mentioned.
Kimi looked up at the red-haired man's concerned face. Once again, he seemed to be distant as if he were remembering something haunting him from his past. Kimi could relate; her past was a nasty memory stained with blood and tears. But no matter what happened to her in the past, it could not change her course from the future of being a Strawhat pirate…or so she hoped.
"Puzzle…" She whispered touching the bandaged side of his cheek, "You must let go of this pain you carry. Trust me, I know about painful pasts." She nodded and then smiled closing her eyes. "You have a wonderful crew." She then pushed off of her hold towards Luffy and Chopper.
"Kimiko…"
She smiled to herself hearing Puzzle whisper her name. "I hope my plan is working…"
"Let's go, Kimi and Chopper!" Luffy announced as the Phoenix crew managed to provide the Strawhat's yet another boat after rescuing the captain yet again.
"Wait! Take me with you!" Jiro held onto Kimi's pants leg not wanting to let go. "Jiro…" She smiled and then frowned at Puzzle's voice. "No! Stay here, Jiro!" He demanded. "There is no reason to go."
"It's alright, if we're able to hold our flag once again, surly the captain will go back to what he used to be!" He smiled.
"Don't talk nonsense, I-I…have already given up."
"I'm still small and I'm still pretty weak, but just wait! I'll bring back the flag of the man I've decided is going to be the Pirate King!" Jiro smiled and then a punch on his head knocked him to the floor.
"Luffy!?" Kimi and Chopper gasped concerned from their captain's action towards the child. "There's no way that guy could become the Pirate King! The one who's gonna be the Pirate King, is me!"
"I've already decided and no matter what you say, you won't step on his dream!" Jiro yelled back making Luffy form another fist. But this punch was light and un-forceful stopping at the boy's stomach. "You're not weak at all, you've got your strength right where it should be." Luffy smiled giving him a pep talk. "Yosh, let's get our flags back from those thieves!" the boy nodded and followed after Luffy and the other's to the dingy in the cold waters.
"I will bring back our flag!" Jiro nodded to himself making Kimi smile towards his crew. She hoped that Puzzle would understand Jiro frustration and become the pirate he once used to be, before it was too late.
Shortly after all of Chopper's hard work of paddling to the ice shore of Lovely Land, the four pirates jumped from out of the boat to the strange yellow shaped house in front of them. "GIVE US BACK THE FLAG!" Luffy screamed at the top of his lungs as a group of bounty hunters walked out of the building.
"Ready to fight, Jiro?" Kimi smiled getting ready; he nodded and then took a stance. Kimi nodded back and then quickly ran towards the entrance of the building. "Where do you think you are going, 50 Million Beri, Tomoko Kimiko?" A man in hockey attire smiled skating towards her.
"Inside to rescue my flag!" She smiled and then raised her hands in the air. "Clone clone, 50!" She yelled and fifty of her clones surrounded the man. "Try to escape from this!" all of her clones responded tricking the man to the true one.
She watched confused as the man shot three hockey pucks past and completely missing her clones. "Where was,"
"That,"
"Aimed too?"
Her clones asked rhetorically.
"Well not to you, Kimiko-san but to your two friends over there!"
She and her clones looked to Chopper and Jiro being frozen in their place. "NO!" She growled and then forced a clone of hers to help the two out from their position. "I won't be so easy to fight." A clone smiled and then attacked the hockey man. Continuously the clones attacked as he attempted to throw freezing hockey pucks. His attacks constantly failed to hit his target and instead hit a replica of the woman and then disappeared and quickly reappeared as if nothing happened.
"Rumble!" Kimi heard Chopper scream and then a giant ball of brown fur began to roll and chase after the man. "Yay Chopper!" The real Kimi smiled and then charged towards the running man. "Missed me!" She smiled and then punched him in the gut causing him to panic and fall backwards. At that time, Chopper bounced in the air and then smashed the man into the ice.
"Great job Chopper!" Kimi smiled and then ran over to Jiro and Chopper. "I'm not finished just yet!" The man sat up and then whistled resulting in many sliding Doom Penguins to surround the three. "Among that large quantity of doom penguins, there are some that are especially hungry!"
A clone got in the way of a hungry penguin and then disappeared from her position leaving the real Kimi in range. "Jiro, stay behind me." She took a stance ready to use her clones to protect her and the others.
"Oh no!" Chopper changed back into his original form once again. "My three minutes must have been up." He muttered.
"Jiro! Kimiko!" A voice yelled in the distance.
"Oh! Captain!" Jiro recognized the voice as Puzzle's and walked from behind Kimi's stance. "Jiro! No!" She blocked an attacking penguin with a clone and then pulled him back in the middle of her and Chopper.
The hockey man must have realized who Puzzle had been and thus whistled once more surrounding Puzzle and his crew with the penguins. Kimi rolled her eyes and frowned, "I have to do everything around here." She nodded and cloned herself to protect the men from the invading penguins surrounding them.
"Kimiko…" Puzzle took a step back confused at her defense of his men and him but quickly looked back to her and Jiro. "Jiro insists on fighting even though he cannot compare to the fighting of these other pirates." He muttered to himself.
"He's just like you used to be." Stancen smiled to his captain. "Vigaro always believed in you too. And now so does Kimiko, a fellow pirate traveling among the sea."
The battle continued on without the dazed and distracted captain. He stood there watching his crew fight, Jiro and Chopper fight and Kimiko's clones fight and disappear as they began to be eaten or attacked by the vicious penguins.
"Jiro!" Kimi's voice pulled him out from his dazed state and he watched helplessly as the blue-haired angel saved his youngest crewmate from being bitten and resulting in her leg being cut instead.
"Kimiko-san!? Are you okay?" Jiro gasped seeing blood from her gash. She pulled him behind her once more and kicked another penguin out of the area. "I'm fine. Don't lose focus!" She smiled and continued to fight.
Puzzle had finally had enough, he ripped off his forehead bandana revealing his phoenix shaped birthmark and then raised his chain whip in the air fighting off the evil penguins from the area. "There." He smiled and then watched the clones of the blue-haired woman disappear.
"Jiro!" He yelled walking over to the three, "Let's go get our flag back!" he smiled at the young boy and then to the woman of the Strawhats. She smiled at him and then turned her head to a noise coming from the building.
"Oi you couple! You stupid stupid, couple!"
"I won't let this go on any longer, you horrible disgraceful man!"
Kimi smiled recognizing Usopp and Sanji's voice.
"Where did you go, Hockey bastard?!" Franky yelled as well.
"This time won't be the same as before!" Nami screamed with her Climatact in her hands.
"Your crewmates?" Puzzle asked as Kimi walked near the Phoenix crew. She nodded and watched as Usopp made up a story as to why Luffy could not go inside until the bounty hunters were defeated. "Our captain is easily distracted and most likely they do not want to hear Luffy yell at them for getting the flag taken." She sweat dropped at the gullibly and stupidity of her crew.
Just then Campachino, Brindo's older twin brother they had fought before, jumped in front of the blue-haired woman. "You are done, woman!" He smirked trying to hit her. Instead she disappeared revealing she had really been a clone.
"How careless of you." Her voice came from Puzzle's side, "After all, I thought it would be easy to fight an insignificant woman like me." She smirked and then a clone kicked him in the back. "Now!" She looked over at Puzzle who then with the use of his chain pulled him father away from the others into the deserted area of snow.
"Why you…" He glared and then cried in pain as another clone of Kimi's kicked him in the face.
"It's over, Campachino!" Puzzle smiled as he watched Brindo being hit by Luffy in to the Lovely Land building. "Your brotherhood weapon is magnetism and if you get separated then you can no longer use that power!"
The man laughed causing Puzzle and Kimi to be taken a bit aback by his reaction, "That's not my only power!" He smiled and suddenly his muscles began to increase.
"What in the-?" Kimi gasped looking at the even bigger man, but had no time as he quickly attacked towards her.
"Kimiko!" Puzzle pulled her out of the way jumping back from Campachino's attack.
"Thanks, I owe you." Kimi smiled after Puzzle had jumped back a far enough distance and let her down from his arms. By now they were very far away from the others and the Papa man that had appeared right before Campachino attacked.
"Damn!" Campachino whispered looking as Puzzle and Kimi surrounded him from the battle. "At least I will have 150 million to take to calm Papa a little!" He growled ready to attack the man and woman.
"Unfortunately, a bounty hunter like you can't take me down!" Puzzle yelled throwing his chain to the man continuously as Campachino dodged his attacks.
Kimi watched from a distance as the men fought realizing what Campachino had been planning to do as he kicked up sheets of ice and snow on the man. "Puzzle!" She ran towards him with her arms stretched out in position to use her devil fruit. "Clone clone, ally!" She called out and thus forcing ten clones of Puzzle's figure to surround the area.
"Oi, what?"
"Ah, so you are going to help a fellow pirate then hmmm?" Campachino smirked not even fazed by the clones surrounding him.
"Yes, now attack, Puzzle-san!" Kimi called out and the real one nodded and then proceeded to do so. Suddenly all of the chains wrapped around the muscular man holding him down. "Do you think you can stop me with these foolish tricks?!" He growled and then proceeded to pull the chains surrounding him off by expanding his muscles causing the chains to break.
"No!" The real Puzzle jumped in the air with his chain ready, "It was just a foolish trick to stop you once and for all!" He smirked and then made perfect contact with the man's face and thus throwing him farther from the Lovely Land building.
Kimi released her control making the clones disappear and then walked back to her nakama while Puzzle decided to interrogate Campachino. "Oh! Kimiko-san!" One of the phoenix crewmates smiled at her.
"Where is Puzzle-san?" Stancen smiled at the girl.
"Right here. And we are getting back our flag." Puzzle attached his chain to the belt on his hip and smiled at Kimi, "Thank you for helping me fight, Kimiko." She nodded in response and then continued on, "Hurry, we don't want to miss anything when Luffy fights…trust me." She nodded and jogged forwards to her friends. "Look, there's Jiro and Chopper!" Kimi directed the men following her towards the two boys on the side of the fight. "Chopper!" Kimi smiled as the reindeer jumped into her arms. "Are you okay?" He nodded, "And you too, Jiro?" she smiled at the small boy hugging Puzzle's leg. "Yes of course, Kimiko-san!"
"Sorry to have you all worried all of this time." Puzzle apologized for their delay.
"No, I wasn't worried at all! That aside, let's hurry and get our flag back!" Jiro nodded. "Captain! Big trouble!" One of the crewmembers yelled out. "Our ship is being pulled away!"
Stancen smiled looking at his friends, "Leave the ship to us! You all go on!"
"I'm counting on you, Stancen!" Puzzle yelled back and then looked to the woman on his right. "Yosh, let's go!" She smiled and ran through the threshold of the building. "Where do we go?" Chopper cried and Kimi smiled running forwards, "One of my clones ran ahead, she told me this way! Follow quickly!" She waved them from behind and they quickly followed behind.
Sprinting forwards, the men and single woman pushed aside a set of doors to a room filled with many colorful and decorative Jolly Roger flags throughout the walls of the room. "Look!" Kimi pointed to a wall causing Chopper and Jiro to run towards their flags.
"Found them!" They yelled together and clutched the flags off of the wall.
"Yes!" Kimi cheered all too soon as the Papa man controlling the whole operation went flying through the building making Chopper and Jiro flying in the air. Like a speeding bullet, Kimi could see pass the debris and smoke what appeared to be a person jumping on the large piece of the wall towards Chopper. "ZOR-RO!" He cried out confirming Kimi's thoughts to who the person could be.
"Oi, Kimiko!" Puzzle pulled the woman into his arms before she became flattened by a piece of the wall Zoro had cut. She smiled at the man blushing slightly, "Guess I owe you double, huh?" She giggled and then looked back as Jiro screamed.
"Hold on!" Puzzle removed his chain and then threw it in the air wrapping around the boy and pulling him into his arms safe and sound with the pirate flag in Jiro's hands. "Nice job, kid." Puzzle smiled and then let his crewmate on the ground.
"Chopper!"
Kimi looked behind her shoulder as Usopp, Sanji, and Robin entered the now destroyed room. "Everyone!" the reindeer cried jumping from Zoro's arms. "I…managed to get it back! Look!" he held a flag in the air but not the right one for some reason.
"Oh no!" Kimi sighed face palming her forehead. The group gathered together trying to think of a way to get back the Strawhat flag. "Oi, Robin, Kimi? Can't one of you do something with your Devil's Fruit ability?" Zoro asked.
Kimi reluctantly shook her head, "My clones can't land on air… they need a base and the floating flags wouldn't work. What about you Robin?" She looked to her side at the older woman. "Yes I can, but I can't tell which one is ours?" She concentrated looking up at the floating flags in midair.
Suddenly a strange call echoed through the sky and a bird with something stuck in its beak nosedived towards the group. Just before it attacked, a black flag fell on top of Chopper and then flew away. "No way!" Kimi smiled realizing what was on the small doctor.
"Look! Our flag!" Everyone cheered as the men pulled the flag straight revealing the Jolly Roger wearing a strawhat.
"I'm happy for you, Sensei and Kimiko-san!" Jiro smiled big as Chopper hugged him tightly. "Thank you for helping us!" Kimi faced Puzzle once again as the rest of the crew members cheered. "Thank you, Kimiko." He smiled back at his blue-haired angel wanting to show his true appreciation in some way.
Zoro had been quiet watching Kimi thank the pirate captain confused by her comfortable attitude towards him. He knew that he hadn't been around because the others had gotten lost from him, but he never expected that Kimi would have been dependent on this man she had just met.
"Come on everyone! We have to get back before Luffy notices!" Everyone nodded and ran towards the battle area Luffy had fought near.
"This is where we split up, Strawhat pirates!" Puzzle smirked running to the left while Kimi and the others continued right. "Thank you for everything!" Jiro waved and continued to run with his Captain.
Kimi stopped to watch them leave when a hand on her arm pulled her back to running, "Hurry!" Zoro frowned pushing her to move forwards. "Look! In there!" Sanji pointed to a crater with Luffy stuck in the middle of what seemed to be lava. "How did he get in there?" Usopp questioned. "Oi Luffy we have the fl-" Chopper began but they all quickly covered his mouth.
"Ah! This is bad he found us! W-what do we do?!" Usopp cried taking the flag from the reindeer's hands. "Everyone! Let's hurry back to the ship!" Nami called out running forwards. They nodded and continued to run, "Everyone, listen, fool him no matter what!" Nami commanded while they ran as Luffy stretched his arm out of the crater and ran behind the crew.
They soon arrived to the cliff of the iceberg and noticed Franky had gotten the ship already ready to set sail. "Sanji-kun, Zoro!" Nami nodded and the two men understood. Shortly after they sent Usopp with the flag in his hands flying through the air towards the Sunny while Franky pushed him further to the mast of the ship.
"Everyone! We gotta hurry to get our flag back or…" Luffy yelled while the crew turned around.
"What? The flag? I wonder what he's talking about." Nami smiled hoping the others would play along. "Oh you must have just had a bad dream!" Sanji laughed nervously while Kimi and Robin smiled. "Luffy, look over there." Robin pointed to the flag flying proudly in the sky.
"Oh! It is perfectly safe. Those guys lied to me! Sorry I doubted you!" He stretched his arms out and then proceeded to bring everyone at once on board the Sunny. "Yosh! Prepare to set sail!" he commanded making the Strawhats cheer.
In an instant, the lava made from Papa's magma ability resulted in the entire ice island melting. "It's gone…all of it." Usopp gasped watching it disappear like the rest of the crew.
Kimi frowned now realizing she hadn't gotten the opportunity to say goodbye to Puzzle, Jiro or the rest of the Phoenix crew. Even though she had just met the bunch about a day ago, she felt like they had been lifelong friends.
"Oi, look! The Phoenix Pirates!" Franky called out from the steering wheel making everyone look on the opposite side of the Sunny they had been standing on.
"Chopper! Kimiko! Luffy!" Jiro's voice yelled out making the three run across the deck to the other side. "Thank you so much for everything!" The young pirate smiled and then pointed to his pirate flag waving in the air.
"Jiro! We will see you in the New World, correct?" Chopper smiled waving his hand in the air while hanging on the railing. "Of course!" the boy smiled and then looked to his side at Puzzle.
The red-haired man walked to the rail of his ship with his arms crossed, "Luffy, I admire everything you have given to me and this crew. From now on, you can count on us as your allies in the New World." Puzzle nodded and then looked over at the blue-haired woman smiling widely.
"Kimiko…" he whispered and then remembered the angelic look she had given him while he was ill. Throughout this journey, Kimiko was his guardian and for his crew when he hadn't been able to perform his duties as captain. It was then he knew how to repay the young woman and despite the many men stationed on the Strawhat crew, he knew if he wouldn't show his appreciation towards him he would never live it down.
"Puzzle?" Jiro commented as his captain jumped from his ship to the Sunny landing on the railing next to Kimi. "Jiro, I will be right back…" Puzzle smiled and then took a step down facing the young lady. "Kimiko-san…" he placed a hand on her shoulder making her face him. "You saved me, and this crew." He whispered leaning into her while making everyone on board the Sunny tense.
"I only wished to help." She smiled closing her eyes hoping the blush growing on her face would disappear.
"And you did." He reached for her delicate cheek pulling her face closer to his, "You will always be my guardian angel." He whispered so only she could hear and then pulled her lips to his.
Kimi couldn't move, her body completely frozen from the cold and the awestruck behavior of Puzzle towards her. Her eyes had been wide open for the first part of their kiss, but slowly closed just as he pulled her away. "Thank you, Kimiko…" He looked back at the jaw dropped Strawhats and smiled. "I'll see you all in the New World, thank you!" He nodded and then looked back at Kimi just before he jumped back onto his ship.
"What the-?" Luffy gasped and then ran over to his scientist crewmate holding her by the shoulders, "Oi! Kimi, are you plotting to go to his crew?" He growled looking up from her completely blushed face and shook her shoulders back and forth. "I won't have that!"
"Oi! Kimi-chan was just violated by that awful and deceiving man!" Sanji yelled just as furious as the steaming and innocent Luffy. "Even when I have created the Ordeal of Love to protect you Kimi-chan, do you not care for me!?" He cried making Usopp roll his eyes, "She never loved you to begin with."
"I'm not leaving, Luffy, I promise." Kimi giggling as he stopped shaking her. She tired her best to get rid of what seemed to be a permanent blush on her cheeks, and then turned to watch the Phoenix crew sail into the sunset.
"Oh, I wonder what Kimi and Puzzle did while they were alone fighting with that guy?" Nami snickered making Sanji even more furious.
"Nothing, Nami!" Kimi pouted and then pushed pass Luffy and Chopper who had seemed to be fighting for some reason.
Robin smiled innocently as Kimi pass by her, "At least we have one ally in the New World we can trust, yes, Miss Scientist?"
Kimi nodded and continued on walking through the deck. "Owwwww Suuuuuuuuupahhhh, Twin-san!" Franky gave her a big thumb up and then went back to steering the Sunny out of the maze of icebergs. Kimi just smiled and continued on her way back towards the direction of her room.
That was, until she passed by swordsman of the band of pirates...
It was a look that could kill anyone but her and yet it had such a saddening figure behind it that made Kimi think he might have disproved of Puzzle's kiss more than Sanji had. She ignored him as best as she could walking down the stairs to her quarters below without uttering a word.
'Puzzle, you were truly a great captain admired by your followers…' Kimi thought to herself as she walked, 'Although you were indeed a very good-looking and kind man at heart, I follow under the orders of Captain Luffy…it is he who will become the Pirate King. You can bet your guardian angel on that…'
"Oi, Marimo." The cook's voice rang throughout Zoro's sleeping head in the crow's nest or as he liked to call it, the muscle room since Zoro stored all his weights in the area.
"What is it?" Zoro huffed not even opening his eyes for the stupid cook.
"What did I tell you… if you wait, she would be gone…" Sanji smiled sitting down next to the skilled swordsman. "Kimi-san is a very beautiful and powerful pirate in our crew, along of course, with Nami-swan and Robin-chwan. If you want her to be yours, you have to tell her or-"
"Enough." Zoro opened his eyes staring down the blonde haired cook. "Kimiko is not something to be won. She is not a prize. If another man has feelings for her, I can't stop him from urging on them." He muttered and then resumed his resting position.
Sanji stood and shook his head at the insolence from the swordsman, "You really are a baka, Marimo." He kicked his head lightly. "I saw your face, she did too…"
Zoro continued to sit there ignoring Sanji hoping he would leave.
"Fine, if you are going to be stubborn then so be it, but Kimi-san will never know if you don't tell or impact on your feelings towards her." He walked to the trap door and then exited the room leaving the swordsman drowning in his thoughts of the beautiful scientist.