Hey everyone! My break was fabulous, just exactly what I needed to get my head back into the game! So this new update is short (I'm sorry!) but there is A LOT of Zoro/Kimi situations! I hope you all love it as much as I do, plus, there is something super important to the whole arc that is going to happen in this chapter, so get ready!
Also, I must note that during my break I caught up on my online reading of the One Piece manga... Oh. My. God... why is Oda-sensei a genus? Like, really? The whole arc of Punk Hazard had me BONKERS and now that it is over and continuing onwards, I'm dying! I LOVE IT! If any of you are wanting to chat about Oda-sensei's masterpiece please PM me! I don't want to give spoilers to through reviews! And speaking of reviews, special thanks to Taiski, Fanboy316, DinoZilla, and Totong for their reviews on the last chapter!
* LAST THOUGHT * Soooooo, I want to play a game with my amazing fans out there! Read this chapter and then notice my AN at the end!
-yesiamweird
It seemed like the group had been walking around the dark forest of the island forever. With Luffy wanting to make every Zombie a part of the crew didn't help the time pass anymore. Actually, it seemed to drag it on more since she and the others had to pull him back.
At the current moment, Kimiko walked in between the swordsman and cook. Despite the distraction of Sanji and Franky arguing with one another and Luffy's stimulating off-pitch singing, she didn't pay the men any attention.
No, instead Kimi examined the three-headed dog/fox monster Luffy had tamed earlier. Or rather, forced to be their guide for the moment. With all the bandages, scaring, and sores on the beast, Kimi was smart enough to piece together the fact that this three-headed dog should not medically be alive.
There was also something else intriguing about the creature, the fact that one of the heads was yellow despite the blue of the other two, and the big black numbers engraved on its back.
"You know," Robin spoke from the other side of the dog, "What all of the strange creatures in the forest have in common are bandages, stitches and numbers engraved into their bodies."
Kimi giggled while nodding to the raven-haired woman. "You're right. I noticed too… do you think someone is controlling them?"
She nodded, "Yea…something like that."
"Controlling them?" Zoro questioned to the scientist. "How?"
With a slight shrug of her shoulders the scientist continued, "I'm not really quite sure…but that's part of the mystery we need to solve."
The group walked in the forest silence of humming bugs and cooing birds and creatures… that is until they heard something of the forest that shouldn't normally be heard.
"Neg-i-tive… Neg-i-tive, Neg-i-tive!" The echo sounded and then grew louder with each step the group and Cerberus took. "What? I can hear something?" Luffy questioned.
"Neg-i-tive… Neg-i-tive … Neg-i-tive … Neg-i-tive!" The small ghost from earlier returned.
"THERE IT IS!" Luffy declared with his net ready, "THE GHOST!" Indeed the blunt captain of the crew was correct, but not only was it one ghost but instead the one turned into three. "When it dances it clones itself! Just like Kimiko, amazing!" Luffy continued.
The said Devil-Fruit user frowned, "No… not like me, Luffy." She looked up at the ghosts, "I've got a bad feeling about that chant though." She muttered to Sanji and Zoro as Luffy jumped off the Cerberus's back and attempted to catch the ghosts with his net.
Despite his strength and determination, Luffy failed miserably in catching either of the ghosts. "It's nothing but a soul, huh?" Franky wondered aloud as he walked towards the floating creatures. "Yosh, here it goes: FRESH FIRE!"
He blew out an explosion of flames directly onto the ghosts, but like the captain failed. "It's no good…" The cyborg frowned and watched the creatures float around while continuing to sing their 'Neg-i-tive' chant. "It didn't work-"
One of the ghosts flew inside Franky chest and then appeared out his back with a smile on its face.
"Totally useless!" Franky muttered while crumbling to his knees. "This week I'm really useless… Whatever I do I'm useless…I've got no confidence to live."
He slammed his fists on the ground while crying profusely, "I just wanna die!"
"HOW DEPRESSED ARE YOU GONNA GET?!" Sanji yelled out to the cyborg. It was strange notion for Franky to become so emotional so easily, Kimi thought. But if she had to guess, Franky's change in mood was linked to the ghost flying through his body.
"Yosh!" Luffy yelled throwing down his net and attempting to attack the ghosts up-close and personal. "You bastard!" He screamed as his arms toppled over the ghosts figure but just as before transported right through the other side of Luffy's body.
The Strawhat captain fell to his knees just as Franky, "If I get reborn, I want to become a clam…this sucks…I want to die…" Luffy's statement was actually quite comical since the black-haired boy was not known to be quite so miserable as he was acting now.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THIS DEPRESSION!?" Sanji screamed again at the moping men.
"Robin," Kimi walked pass the monster to view the woman on the opposite side. "Are you thinking that the ghosts depress your spirit when touched by them?"
She turned and nodded with a blank face, "Yes. That is also what I was thinking."
Sanji puffed out his cigarette, "That's idiotic."
"Hmph! You guys are pitiful." Zoro crossed his arms over his chest. "Because you guys never pull yourselves together you let some ghosts or something break your spirit."
Just when Kimiko was about to retaliate with a hypothesis of her explanation, a ghost surprised the group by flying through the swordsman's back and out through his chest.
"I'm sorry that I was born…" He fell to the floor just like Franky and Luffy."
Blinking once, and then twice, the female scientist had to physically place her hands over her mouth to stop her laughter from escaping out of it. She had never seen Zoro act in this manner during her time with the crew, and as she calmed her giggle-fit she decided she never wanted to see him act so, so, so unmanly.
It just wasn't a course of action the tough swordsman took a part of. Franky, yes. But Zoro, never…
"ENOUGH!" Sanji yelled holding his smoke in his hand to look at the ghosts floating and chanting above the groups heads, "Looks like you were correct ladies."
"They're difficult enemies… not only do they have no real body, but when you get touched, your spirit is crushed." Robin concluded. "What a strange island."
One of the ghosts stuck out its tongue and then started to laugh. As he did so, the others followed and floated into the thick forest treetops. "Neg-i-tive, Neg-i-tive!" they called out just before the disappeared.
"Luffy, Franky, Zoro? Are you ready to go?" Kimi called out adjusting her bag back onto her back as she and Robin climbed onto the Cerberus with Sanji's help.
"Oi, Kimi, forget those guys. They'll get up when their spirits are better." Sanji scoffed taking a spot on the middle head of the monster.
She nodded at the cook but instead cloned herself to help the men up. "We should hurry, Sanji-san. We need to find Nami and the other two. I'm worried."
"YOSH! Hurry you baka! We must find Nami-swaaaaaaaan quickly before something hurts her!" Sanji balled his fists as the clones helped the depressed spirited men up.
"Damn you ghosts!" Luffy yelled as the clone disappeared from his standing. "The next time you show up I won't forgive you!"
Franky cracked his knuckles as he stood and walked over to the group, "They must have a weak point and I'll wipe them out!"
Zoro stood by himself, waving off the aid of the Kimi-Clone until she forced the clone to disappear. Instead of saying anything to the others, Zoro simply ducked his head and followed in front of the moving Cerberus.
Sanji laughed in a taunting matter, "I saw something funny, Kimiko-Swan, didn't you?!" He blurted out.
"SHUT UP!" Zoro turned his head only towards the blonde. A widespread blush on his cheeks indicated the embarrassment he felt of the situation.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Sanji patted the air insulating he was going to stop. "'I'm sorry that I was born'!" He mimicked in Zoro's voice from earlier and then began to laugh hysterically on the back of the Cerberus. The monster, believe it or not, laughed just as much as Sanji. It obviously found humor in the situation of the swordsman as well.
Kimiko smiled shyly while attempting to avoid looking at the swordsman walking in front of her. Sanji had brought her into the conversation and she wondered for a moment if it was purposely or unintentional.
Either way, she wouldn't allow herself to laugh at the already embarrassed swordsman once again.
And then she widened her eyes.
Why did she care so much? Zoro was her nakama and just as the rest of the crew, she should be able to joke and laugh at her friend, right?
But laughing at Zoro felt wrong. She didn't want to hurt his already diminished pride anymore… With a quick glance, Kimi noticed the pulsating throb in his head as well as a bright red blush that seemed to cover his entire torso.
Why was he so embarrassed- she thought turning her head curiously to the side… Was it because of her?
When Sanji and the monster finally settled from their hysteria, Robin made another observation comment, "Although one could make generalizations about those numbered patchwork creatures… those ghosts were something entirely different."
"That's true…" Kimi nodded while watching the depths of the forest and road for anything else to come their way, "They didn't have numbers on them at all."
"There was one of those ghosts on the ship as well." Sanji announced. "They are appearing from time to time, observing us…the problem is, who's behind it?
The hallway the group walked down was quiet… maybe too quiet…
Well, that was a lie, because the sound of footsteps and snickering could be heard from the group. The hostage wall pig Luffy had demanded to be the guide of the castle from the main room couldn't stop laughing at the group. Not that they knew exactly why he was laughing, but Kimi suspected it had something to do with the fact Sanji was missing.
After traveling through the forest and graveyard and taking down zombie after zombie, the Strawhat's gained useful information about the island they were captive on.
First of all, the island was actually a giant pirate ship. They had discovered the black sails of the "Thriller Bark" just before they entered the castle.
Secondly, this ship belonged to one of the seven warlords… Gecko Moria. Both Kimiko and Robin knew of this man's name and the reason of why he was considered one of the seven. He was brutal, and possessed a cruel devil-fruit: the ability to steal shadows. If it hadn't been for the old man without a shadow in the forest to aid in their realization, the group would have walked into Moria's castle blind.
Now that they knew the type of situation they were dealing with, the crew not only had to find their three lost nakama but plus one. Once entering into the castle, they encounter even more zombies and after the battle concluded Sanji was nowhere to be found.
Walking down the dark and empty hallway, Kimiko took the rear of the group as she contemplated all of her findings of their adventure.
"Ya know," Franky started, "If that Gecko Moria saw the old man asking us to go here, the Curly-Cook's disappearance may be related to him, too."
The pig, firmly grasped in Franky's large cyborg hand, continued to laugh even louder.
"That stupid cook, serves him right…" Zoro scoffed resulting in Kimi to give him a frown. He should be worried Sanji disappeared so swiftly. If anything, the group should have heard a scream or sign of struggle. "But, to think one of the Shichibukai was hiding out here…"
"I've heard he's a bit… different." Kimi replied to the swordsman.
"How?"
"Well, they say he's not like your average man. Then again that one of the main reasons why Shichibukai are what they are, right? But from what little I know, it makes sense why he's hiding out in a strange place like this." Kimi finished remembering the description her sister had told of Moria so long ago. Just the thought of her explanation to Kimi as a young child brought shivers down her spine once again as an adult.
A slight noise struck Kimi's full attention forcing her feet to a slow shuffled pace while her head turned slightly behind her back.
Zoro turned his head as well, making sure to walk by Kimi's side in the event that she was falling too far behind the others. When the woman deemed it harmless, she only nodded and then continued to walk forwards avoiding Zoro's glance.
Something about the scientist and swordsman's relationship appeared strained. Despite the small subtle rescues on the ship and the forest earlier, the two attempted to avoid interaction as best as they could.
It might have been linked to the event in the ice just the other day and the Phoenix Pirates (more specifically, Puzzle kissing Kimi in front of the whole crew) but the two seemed to pretend that never happened as well.
"What are we going to do if one of our shadows is stolen?" Franky wondered aloud.
"Now that would make things interesting." Robin smiled in response. Luffy turned to the group with his hands placed behind his neck, "I know I promised that old man I would beat up Moria, but saving our guys comes first, right?"
Before anyone had a second to open their mouths to respond, the small pig laughed harder, "Like I said. Your nakama are no longer safe!"
Luffy slammed his fist into the top of the pig's head, "Stop oinking and guide us, Oinky!"
Pitt pattttr…
Kimi stopped walking at the sound of small footsteps behind. As she did, the swordsman by her side proceeded to stop as well.
Without informing Zoro of the situation, Kimi cloned herself down the dark end of the hallway allowing it to examine the room for anyone else that shouldn't be a part of their crew.
"Huh?" Franky noticed the two crewmate's footsteps not following, "What is it, Twin-san?"
Kimi sighed shaking her head defeated. "Nothing. I guess I'm imagining things…"
"No, I think I heard it too." Zoro nodded. The group waited for something, anything to happen, but of course after thirty seconds of waiting Luffy had enough. "Come on you guys! There's nothing there!"
"Seems like it." Franky shrugged with Robin following behind.
"I swear I heard something…" Kimi continued to look into the shadowy hallway waiting for a sign of movement. A warm hand patted her shoulder. "Come on, let's go before we get lost from the others."
Kimi had to laugh at Zoro's response, "If anything I'm sure I won't be the one to get lost down a straight hallway, Zoro."
The man blushed in a frown, "Well fine then!" He continued to walk leaving Kimi to stand waiting. With a roll of her eyes and a defiant crew ahead, the woman paced her steps to keep up with the swordsman. "You know I'm kidding, right?"
He only nodded, making sure to avoid her glance at all costs.
"Zoro? Are you okay?" Kimi whispered finally caving in from his actions. "Listen if Puz-"
"I think we should keep up with the others." He avoided her sentence as best as he possibly could. With a frustrated sigh, Kimi adjusted her glasses on her face passing up the swordsman and following right beside Franky and the pig.
Kimiko attempted to focus on the big problems the crew was facing. Nami, Chopper and Usopp were gone for over two hours now, and now Sanji was missing.
She shook her thoughts away and then concentrated on the sound of Zoro's footsteps right behind her. He had a certain stride to the way he walked, she noticed. Almost as if he put no weight into his steps and only allowed his shoes to make contact.
No matter how much she tried to keep her mind focused on those issues, it seemed to wonder back to the stunned reaction Zoro had when Puzzle kissed Kimi. Was he really jealous? Why? It's not like Zoro like-liked Kimiko or even thought of her that way, right?
She concentrated on his footsteps right behind her once again. One, after the other after the other…
She was just a nakama that often needed saving during their fights. Kimi had never been a fighter, nor would she ever be… but Zoro was and is. Making him the perfect rescuer for the inexperienced woman.
Then, she noticed his footsteps had diminished abruptly.
Turning her head abruptly around, Kimi only saw the dark empty hallway. "Zoro?!" She gasped causing the others to turn around as well. "Zoro?" She called again and then looked to the snickering pig.
"Hey, Oinky!" Luffy proceeded to smack the pig face again, "What have you done this time?! Spit it out!"
"I've told you from the start that I don't know anything!" He chuckled adding to his usual fib.
Franky turned his head towards the pig in his hand, "Oi, you're chuckling! It's so easy to see through you."
"But it's strange…we don't even hear their voice… maybe they were strangled?" Robin sighed with one hand placed on her hand in distress.
"Why must you always say something like that?!" Franky yelled at her.
Kimi continued to search down the empty hallway for any sign of movement, "He was right behind me…how did he disappear so quickly?"
She only wished they would find the others soon…before it was too late for whatever reason they were taken… Kimi glanced back once more before continuing on.
As soon as she turned back to face the group, a dangling spider, thing, covered her limbs and mouth with some sort of webbing. Before she had time to register what was happening, Kimiko only saw darkness.
A rough banging noise alerted the scientist of her position. In the confined dark space, she could only assume with the theme of this island that she might have been stuck inside of a coffin.
"What kind of game is Gecko Moria playing at?" She wondered while attempting to figure out a way to clone herself small enough in the confined space to escape from the spider's webbing surrounding her.
From the other side of her captivity, Kimi could hear laughter…but not a happy chuckle. No this was an amused screech of laughter. The pitch was so defiant that the scientist made sure to note it in her memory in case she never saw the person.
Then, Kimi panicked.
What if she never got out of this box/confident? She began to thrash the part of her legs that weren't bound together against the thick wood. "Help!" She attempted to muffle out pass the spider web surrounding her mouth.
Just then the lid of the case began to slide open, slowly as if to intensify her moment of justice to her capturer.
"Gish gish gish!" The laugher was loud now. It seemed to be right in front of her. "Tomoko Kimiko!" The voice declared as the lid to the box clattered against the floor.
Kimi adjusted her eyes carefully observing the large figure standing in front of her. He was massive, with pale white skin, a pear shaped body, and fangs sprouting from his purple lips. This was none other than Gecko Moria standing in front of her. She was sure of it.
"Gish gish gish! You don't know me… but I know your family very well! Gish gish, and luckily I have the pleasure of taking my revenge on your sister straight on you! Plus, I can use your talented power and mind on my team!" The man laughed once again as he clutched the woman in the palm of his hand.
Effortlessly, he hung the thrashing Kimiko onto a string in the middle of the room. As much as she wanted to reveal the truth about her sister to the monster, the bound of her mouth wouldn't allow her to do so.
In the midst of her flaying a bright light suddenly shined on her back forcing a large and predominate shadow to loom on the bare concrete ground in front of Moria.
If Kimi could have gasped, she would have. Her eyes sat horrified at the sight of Zoro and Sanji lying on the ground just inches away from the harsh beam of light.
"Gish gish," Moria's laughter brought Kimi back to stare at him in horror. "Now for the fun part…" He proceeded to pinch the head of Kimi's shadow right at her styled bun.
The noise of paper ripping echoed in the empty room and bounced around Kimi's bustling head.
She felt weak as if her spirit was being drained from the top of her head down. The ripping noised continued as well as the draining feeling.
"Your shadow is mine! Gish gish!"
She only had a moment to realize her shadow was literally being ripped away from her body. She struggled against the bonds once again but failed her captivity and diminishing strength nonetheless. A shine glared through the lens of her glasses catching her attention back to Moria. In his hand held an over-sized pair of sliver scissors.
Even more horrifying than seeing Zoro and Sanji lying motionless on the floor was the fact the blades of the scissors were threatening to cut off her shadow from the bottoms of her boots.
Kimiko muffled out a scream, either for Moria to stop or for Sanji and Zoro to wake. Neither worked… and her mute screech wasn't stopping the monstrous villain.
As the scissors chimed shut together, Kimi felt her spirit completely shattered forcing her into a dark stupor.
Gahhhhh! So Kimi's shadow has been stolen! And here's where you come into my little game/contest
I have NO idea what in the world Kimi's Zombie should look/act/do in the story. I obviously want her and the crew to meet her zombie, but other than that I am stumped! Sooooo, I need all of my amazing readers to post a review describing Kimiko's Zombie and what the Zombie should do.
The reader who gives me the best idea will not only get their 'design' included in the story! SO GET TO IT!
* EPIC MUSIC THAT PLAYS DURING THE 'TO BE CONTINUED' IN THE ANIME *