Kanashimi Zulu wiped his brow, he had just finished closing his corner store for lunch, when he heard a commotion outside. Curious, he peeked out the door to see a group of bandits attacking a group of people right outside of a strange ship. Zulu hated bandits, they ruined the local businesses and made unsavory comments and movement against him whenever they visited the town. Newkama weren't exactly common in this area, despite the involvement of the revolutionary army on nearby Islands, and he often had to deal with vandalization to his store and home.

Having spent years on the sea and the past ten months dealing with said bandits, he had reached his limit of what he was willing to put up with from them. Without a second thought to his own safety, or even if the people he was protecting would even appreciate his efforts, Zulu rushed outside to help.

He noticed a colorful collection of pirates were all spread out and fighting off the thugs. Quickly making a choice, he ran over to the smallest member of the crew, what he had assumed to be a helpless racoon dog stuck in the middle of the fight. He took the small creature into his arms before the nearby bandit could smash it with his club. Raising the now squealing creature above his head, he barred his teeth at the cursing enemy and raised his leg kneeing him in the chin.

As the body fell to the ground, he felt wiggling in his hands. Looking up he met eyes with what was now clearly a very small reindeer and NOT a raccoon dog.

"Thank you!" It exclaimed.

Lowering it to his eye level Zulu replied, "Er, you're welcome…?"

"My names Chopper"

"Ah, I'm Zulu."

Suddenly strong hands snatched Chopper from his grasp.

"Zoro! He saved me!"

"Thanks" A green haired man mumbled around the sword in his mouth, "Come on Chopper, I'll keep you safe" and then they were gone.

Bewildered Zulu had hardly any chance to process the encounter before he was almost smashed in the face by a cannon gun. There was a flash of black and then the cannon was sent back at the bandits, knocking them over.

"Hey there, beautiful Lady," His savior said with a wink, before realizing his mistake. His face turning from lust to disgust as he processed that the Tall, willowy, beauty in front of him was in fact, Not a woman. "AAAHHHHHHHHHH~! What are you doing dressed like that!? I thought you were an Amazonian goddess! I almost proclaimed my undying love to you!"

Zulu, rolled his eyes, and silkily replied "I'll take it, even garbage can be recycled if processed properly" Then with a wink he lunged over the blonds head, flipped him off mid twist and landed on top of an oncoming bandit crushing him to the ground under his 9ft frame. He then turned, blew a kiss the blond's way, and then ran back off into the heat of battle, leaving the man slack jawed.

"Garbage?" he whispered.

"Sanji! Get your priorities straight!" A redheaded woman yelled as she passed him by, using a pole to smack an incoming bandit on the head. "We're in the middle of a fight!"

"MAREINES!"

The call came from withing the group of bandits and they all started to scatter. A large group of Marines were running their way, weapons already drawn to confront the rowdy bandits and pirates. Well shit, thought Zulu bitterly, there goes staying in this town undetected.

He turned on his feet and prepared himself to confront the Marines. And found himself eye to eye with the barrel of a gun. It was only due to a quick swipe from Sanji's legs that sent him backwards hitting his head on the ground and avoiding the bullet.

"How's THAT for garbage!?" Sanji smirked around a cigarette as he continued battling.

Pouting and rubbing his head Zulu glared up at him. "Smashing, obviously," He replied dryly, sending the green haired swordsman laughing from across the chaos. He swiftly regained his feet, sent a cheeky raspberry toward the laughter, and joined the crew in the throughs of battle.

He fought alongside the Straw Hats, using his skills, as rusty as they may be, to help keep them even in the fight. As the fight raged on, Zulu found himself growing more and more impressed with the Pirates. Despite their chaotic and unpredictable nature; he found himself ducking and dodging debris form the captain throwing himself around more than he would like; they fought with a sense of purpose and camaraderie that Zulu had rarely seen before.

"Hey! I know you!" A sudden call had Zulu whipping his head over to a burly, bearded man and frowned. He had the displeasure of having made this man's acquaintance a few years back, He had been always too aggressive and nosey, Zulu held no love for him "You fricken traitor! I'll show you what it means to turn on the Marines!"

Zulu stood firm as the enemy charged toward him, a strange crackling energy emitting from his hands. He knew the rest of the pirates hadn't noticed the new Marine and they were too far away and busy with their own fights for him to warn them before the attack.

With a roar, the enemy lunged forward, faster than Zulu could track. Then suddenly a fist connected with his chest. Zulu felt a searing pain shoot through his body as he was sent flying through the air, crashing into the ground with a sickening thud, his body twisting in a way that made his stomach lurch. He let out a yell of pain alerting the crew to his injured state.

Zoro rushed over, his face grim as he swiftly dispatched the attacking Marine with one large sweep of his sword. "Oi, You. Are you okay?"

Zulu groaned, trying to sit up. But a sharp pain shot up his side, his breathing became ragged and blood dripped from his lips. "I don't think so," he gasped, collapsing back onto the floor.

"CHOPPER!" Zoro yelled out attracting the Doctors attention. Seeing Zulu down the little reindeer rushed over to him. He could see that Zulu was badly injured, his breathing shallow and labored, his slender face had turned pale with pain and shock.

"Oh no Zulu! This is bad," chopper said grimly. "He's got multiple fractures, one of his ribs is broken and it's punctured his lung. If I can't get him to the Sunny and my supplies, I don't know if I can save him." He hardly had to send pleading eyes upwards when Zoro quickly scooped Zulu up in his arms and raced back to the Sunny.

As they ran, Zulu drifted in and out of consciousness, his mind a blur of pain and confusion. He knew that he was in bad shape, but he couldn't help but feel grateful for this unexpected support and care.

They arrived onto the ship and Chopper ran off to gather the needed supplies while Zoro gently set Zulu down. As he laid on the deck, his body wracked with pain, he could hear the reindeer return. He was shocked to realize that the Reindeer was the Doctor of the crew and the one who was to tend to his injuries, but he wasn't in any situation to complain,

Suddenly the ground beneath him swayed, forcing a yell of pain to escape his mouth. He heard hurried footsteps and the sound of people running onto the ship.

"What's HE doing here?"

"He's hurt Sanji! I'm not going to leave him there to die!"

"Well you better hurry up Chopper," Interrupted a sharp female voice. "Because with them shooting at us like this we need to get the Sunny out to safer waters."

He could recognize the tone of arguing above him, but his mind had become fuzzy and black was creeping into his vison. Zulu knew that he could die here, but with the comfort of a dedicated Doctor tending to him, he didn't feel too guilty allowing himself to pass into unconsciousness.

Zulu awoke with a dry mouth and the squeaking of a chair to the right of him. Turning his head, he saw Chopper reading something from a notebook. As Chopper flipped a page he looked up and jolted in shock.

"You're awake!"

"Yes, thank you," He was able to wheeze out before breaking into a coughing fit.

He was handed a glass of water and Chopper continued the conversation.

"I think you're going to be okay, but it was a long operation and you're going to need a few more days until you fully recover. But don't worry, I'll have you on your feet in no time."

Zulu's head was still swimming, and Chopper was talking so fast. "What happened to the marines that were attacking?" he inquired instead of addressing his current situation.

Just then the door opened and a raven-haired woman entered. She seemed non to shocked to see Zulu awake and gracefully took a seat in the chair on his left.

"My name is Robin, Chopper told us your name is Zulu."

"Don't wear it out."

She smiled in a disarming way and continued "I'm usually a good judge of character, so the crew uses me to get a gage on new passengers. You already have Chopper and Zoro vouching for you however, so it's an easy job for me I suppose."

"I'm sorry what?"

With a slight chuckle, she stood. "You seem safe enough. Rest and recover, we can talk about dropping you off at a new Island once you're healed up."

"What?"

"We couldn't stay on your Island any longer" She replied patiently.

"And those Marines hurt you! I'm sure they wouldn't let you return even if we wanted to bring you back" Chopper added hurriedly. "I'm really sorry."

Musing Zulu thought of his local little store, of the quant little town on his island. Sighing he realized that because he couldn't keep his large nose out of other people's business he could no longer return to that quite life he had just settled down into. But as he laid in the bed, Zulu knew that he had been lucky to survive.

I won't let this defeat me, Zulu thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep that night. I'll come back stronger, I'll keep moving forward, no matter what.