"What-" she exclaimed, the scent of cigarettes confirming who had grabbed her.
"What're you waiting for, Tiri-chan, it's dangerous up here," she heard Sanji's deep voice near her ear, speaking loud to be heard over the roar of thunder as his arms encircled her.
"Sanji? I can't see, a lightning strike blinded me, I think," her voice sounded panicked even to her own ears and she cursed inwardly.
She felt gentle fingers touch her face simultaneously as she felt the air rush past her as she was carried, the rapid fall of his footsteps echoing even in the fury of the storm. Suddenly her stomach dropped and she knew they were in mid-air. Tiri was never one to be even remotely afraid of heights, but being unable to see caused her fingers to clutch the rain dampened material of his jacket in trepidation. Suddenly, she jolted and the rapid steps reached her ears once more. Then the rain stopped pelting her and it sounded slightly muffled. The aroma of books and paper assaulted her nostrils and she guessed they were in the library.
She was set on her feet and she pushed back wet curls out of her face. She felt cool hands envelop hers and she tilted her head back, feeling his presence in front of her and hoping she was at least looking in his general direction. Her silver eyes darted left and right rapidly and then there was a light pressure against her cheek.
"Can you see anything?" he asked and she shook her head, anxiety causing her throat to feel tight.
"No," she whispered and shivered, goose bumps erupting across her body.
"Come on, let's get you into something warm."
She heard him rummaging around, then footsteps and soft, warm material being pressed into her hands.
"Here, change clothes, I'll keep my back turned."
"You'd better, I'll know if you peek by the sound of the blood gushing," she teased weakly and he chuckled.
"I'll keep that in mind."
She grinned, fumbling with the wet clothing and tugging it off to throw it with a sodden slap across the room. Shuddering in the damp and chilly air, she swiftly pulled on the new outfit, pleased to feel long sleeves and pants covering her limbs. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, blinking rapidly in the hopes that she could make out something in the blackness.
"Hey," she said softly, "I can make out shapes."
She heard footsteps approaching and felt his body near her left shoulder, where she had her neck craned in a vain attempt to see him.
"That's good, the blindness isn't permanent then," he muttered, relief clearly discernible in his tone as she listened to him strike a match.
She could see him lighting the cigarette in her mind's eye, his hand covering the light out of habit as his head bent to catch the flame. She jerked back when she felt fingertips near her eyes.
"Relax, I just want to see -," he paused, "I mean, I'm checking your eyes for any outer damage. You might have wood splinters in or near your eyes and not noticed."
"Nice save there," she said with a wry smile and a soft snicker.
He didn't respond, but she could picture his grin all the same. His touch was gentle, carefully probing around her eyes for anything that may have embedded itself in her skin.
"Seems clear," he muttered, though he didn't lower his hands.
She nodded, enjoying the feel of his somewhat calloused digits softly moving against her skin. Without her sight, Tiri found that she was becoming hyper sensitive to touch and sound; at least, it was the reason she told herself. His thumbs softly trailed across her high cheekbones, tracing their contours as his other fingers brushed against the sensitive flesh of her neck, making her shudder.
"Are you still cold, Tiri-chan?" he asked her, his voice low and she shook her head slightly.
A thought struck her at that precise moment and she twisted around to place her hands about where she guessed his chest was. Tiri was on the mark and frowned at the soggy feel of his jacket under her digits.
"You can't stay in this suit, you'll catch a cold for sure," she chided him gently; nimble fingers making swift work of the buttons that held the jacket closed.
"Oi, Tiri-chan, what're you-"
"Relax," she interrupted him with a cheeky smile, "I'm used to opening things in the dark."
His hands dropped from her features and swiftly covered hers in an attempt to stop her, but she dexterously slipped from his grasp and continued her work, reaching the last button. She slid her hand up his lean chest, trying not to pay any special attention to the muscles she could feel beneath the shirt and pushed the wet jacket from his shoulders. Without further preamble, she immediately started on his shirt buttons, but he quickly trapped her hands in one of his larger ones before she could undo more than the third button.
"Tiri," he murmured, his voice sounding strained and it gave her pause. She lifted her head.
"What?" she asked quietly.
He didn't answer and they stood there in silence, the thunder's booming resonance fading into the background till neither was aware of it. She could feel him move the tiniest bit closer to her and Tiri was aware that her heart was hammering in her chest harder than the rain that drummed across the deck. A flush crept up into her cheeks as she realized what he must have been thinking and she briefly wondered why his nose hadn't immediately started bleeding at the contact. Perhaps that was why he had stopped her?
Curious, she tugged one hand free, lifting it to touch his face, near his nose and she tilted her head. He must have figured out what she was wondering.
"When I know it's you, the thoughts are…different. I mean, you're beautiful, just like Nami-san…well- I- what I mean is-" his stammering made her smile and she shushed him with a finger against his lips before he dug himself a hole he couldn't get out of.
Tiri let her fingers move over his cheek, much like his had done to her previously, except that she swept up to touch the soft strands of his hair. They were damp and she frowned, trailing her hand back down till just two fingers rested on his chin. He was very still and she had the impression that he was watching her closely. Her lips twitched and she quietly stepped back, taking him by the hand. She knew the layout of the room, so she led him to the couch, tugging on the blanket she slept under and offering it to him.
"At least take off the shirt and pants. You can wrap up in this and don't worry," she teased him with a grin, "I won't peek either. Not that I can at the moment."
He chuckled and she sat cross-legged on the sofa, turning her head to listen to the storm rage outside the window.
"I hope the others are managing without us," she said softly and felt the cushions give as he sat next to her.
"They'll be fine, they've weathered storms like this with fewer crewmates before," he replied and she nodded.
Without warning, she was pulled against his bare chest, the warmth of his skin seeping into her back, driving away the chill that still lingered around her body. Tiri tried not to think too much about his near nudity right behind her, instead forcing her traitorous mind to focus on counting the seconds between thunder claps. His chin rested on her shoulder as he wrapped the blanket around them.
"Fastest way to get warm that I know of," he said into her ear and she laughed, leaning back into his loose embrace, feeling some of the tenseness drain away at his light teasing.
"Oldest trick in the book, my friend," she replied and she could feel his smile against her cheek.
"Oi, don't knock what works," he protested.
When she turned to reply, their lips brushed and both froze.
Several heartbeats passed and they remained where they were, her still blind mercurial eyes searching his face as his did hers. Neither pulled away for a heartbeat. It felt as if tiny currents of electricity where dancing across her lips where they touched his. His hand slid across her stomach gently as he pulled her closer to him, soft curves molding against his more muscular frame.
But she became aware of a strange coppery smell.
Tiri pulled back and swiftly tugged the corner of the blanket up to cover Sanji's nose.
"The," she said huskily, "thoughts are different, eh?"
He smiled helplessly, lifting his hands as a flush crept into his face and Tiri was pleased to note that she could see it.
"Well, mostly," he admitted, then sobered, lowering his gaze, "I'm sorry, Tiri-chan, I-"
She silenced him with a quick, chaste kiss to his cheek, removing the corner of the blanket before pulling back and holding the material to his nose firmly. After a few moments, the bleeding stopped and she lowered the blanket.
"There, better?"
He nodded, not elaborating and she figured that if he spent too much time thinking about what had just happened, the bleeding would start again, so she dropped the subject. Instead, she curled into his chest, finally warm, and together they watched the rain fall in silence.
Tiri kept up with the swordsman's training and nothing further happened for the next week. She worked hard on what he called her form. According to the bonehead, she needed more confidence when facing an opponent, to overcome her instinct to simply melt away. All of this, of course, had been told to her at the end of one of his wickedly sharp katanas, which did not endear him to the lavender-haired woman at all.
"I'm not a swordsman like you, Bonehead, so our strategies are going to be different," she had finally snapped after a particularly brutal session.
She had absolutely made Luffy's day when she had floated down in her petal form and plucked Chopper from the deck, gently carrying him up to the nest for bandaging. After the reindeer had gotten past his terror, Luffy had immediately shot up to see what else she was going to do. He left disappointed however, when she just sat still and let the doctor work. She thanked him for his work and he blushed as she carefully set him down on the swing, and then resumed her training with Zoro.
In frustration, she broke from the lock as Zoro had instructed her, but did not resume her stance, glaring at him pointedly while trying to even her breathing. He shouldered one of his swords, returning her glare with his normal cranky expression.
"What is it with you, today, witch?" They had reverted back to their original disdainful attitudes towards one another.
Tiri didn't answer, twisting her upper body and throwing her daggers to thud quivering into the wall behind her. Without a word, she strode to the rack nearby and withdrew two wooden swords. One she tossed to Zoro who caught it easily, the other, she spun lazily, a motion that proved she was at least familiar with the larger blade. The swordsman sheathed his katanas.
"Let's do something different today," she said, whipping around and holding the pointed end out towards him, her posture one of challenge as she smirked self-assuredly.
He snorted, closing his eye and shaking his head.
"You're not ready for that kind of training," he said coolly.
She struck before he raised his head, but he still blocked the blow with the training sword as it came from the side.
"Maybe so, but how's this beating going to be different than the others I've been taking?" she countered.
His lips twitched as he vanished with barely a flurry of movement. Tiri had been watching him when he did that, and she thought she had worked out his pattern of attack. She parried to the left.
It had been a while since she was that wrong.
He moved in on the right, Tiri having fallen into his feinted trap and struck her with the flat of the stick and she cursed. The flesh of her rump stung from the hit and she rubbed at it ruefully.
"That," he said as he leaned against the wall, a smile playing around his lips, "was for being cocky."
"You just said I was not confident enough," she snarled back, her cheeks flushing with her wounded pride.
"There's-"
"I know, I KNOW," she bit out, cutting him off with a sneer, "There's a balance to it, just like everything else you've been teaching me."
"Apparently, you don't and," he disappeared again and she quickly tried to put her back to a wall, but failed, the blade smacking her again on her rear, making her yelp, "stop talking and start listening, for a change, witch."
That did it.
Growling, she spun, intent on at the very least taking off his smug head. Unfortunately, all she managed was to wear herself out over the next hour. Panting heavily, she tossed the training sword to the floor, following it closely. With a sigh, she spread herself out on the floor, the coolness of wood on her back a balm. Silvery eyes closed and she focused on breathing through her nose.
"That's the first thing you've gotten right today. If you've figured out how to breath properly, maybe there's hope for you," his voice rumbled from somewhere to the right.
"Bite me, Bonehead," she muttered tiredly, too exhausted to argue with him.
Suddenly something had pinned her arms down, a heavy weight settling across her legs and she opened her eyes, startled. He held her down, the look in his eye enough to make her pause and carefully rethink what she had just said.
"Is that an order or a request, witch?" he asked calmly and leaned down until she could feel his warm breath fanning the skin of her neck, "Either one can be arranged."
Before she could formulate a scathing retort, there was yelling from below. She shoved hard against his shoulder with a scowl and he chuckled evilly, letting her up.
"Oi, Zoro, Tiri, there's an island ahead, come see!" Nami's sharp tone floated up on the breeze and they both immediately made their way out to the railing.
Tiri shaded her eyes and looked westward, spotting what looked like a great lump of brown in the distance. She turned slightly at the hip to consider Zoro.
"What kind of island do you think it is?" she queried and he just shrugged.
"Does it matter? It won't be anything we can't handle."
She just let out a small hmm, lightly hopping up and crouching on the railing.
"Bonehead," she muttered, rising and walking to the ladder. Melting into lilac scented blossoms, she floated down, materializing next to a hopping Luffy, Zoro landing lightly right next to her.
"There you guys are, what took so long?" the Captain yelled at them as he practically wiggled in excitement. "Did you see it? It's a giant sand hill! I'm gonna roll down it and Franky's gonna shoot me up to the top to do it again! He says he'll even build a ramp!"
"Slow down, Luffy, you'll wear yourself out before you even get started," Tiri laughed, walking past him and tugging his hat down over his eyes fondly to stand at the railing with the others.
There was something odd about this island though, she thought. Apparently Robin thought so to, the older woman's blue eyes unfocused as she stared over the water.
"It's strange, isn't it? A sand hill in the middle of the ocean," the lavender-haired pirate asked and Robin nodded absently.
"Yes, it is very odd. It might have flesh easting sandworms."
"Well, there's a pleasant thought," Tiri teased, making the other woman smile softly.
"Tiri-chan, Robin-chan, I made some delicious drinks for you," Sanji's warm voice cut through their conversation and Tiri gratefully accepted, sipping the fruity concoction, rewarding the cook with a playfully blown kiss, his heart eyes making her bite her lip to keep from laughing. She was starting to think that her initial suspicion that the enamored attitude was an act to keep the women of the ship in good spirits was the correct one. While she could appreciate that, the idea of one of the other two being…she shook her head, her thoughts enough to set her teeth on edge.
The taste of strawberries exploded on her tongue and she sighed in pleasure, momentarily letting go of her darker thoughts.
"Oi, what're you staring at Tiri-san like that for, you shitty marimo?" Sanji yelled, coming out of nowhere and the swordsman spun on his heel with a red face.
"None of your business, you nosy ero-cook!" he shouted back and Tiri shook her head.
As they neared the island, Tiri turned to her captain who was hopping up and down at the rail next to her in excitement.
"Oi, Luffy! Brooke and I are the lightest, why don't we go on ahead and scout it out? If there's anything really bad, we'll come get to beat it up for us on the Mini Merry," she asked, half joking.
Luffy stilled and scratched his head a moment before breaking out into a wide grin.
"Eh? Alright, but don't climb the hill before I get there!"
"Deal, see you there," she smiled and turned to Brooke. "Shall we?"
"Of course, my lady, Yohohohoho," he replied, offering her his arm gallantly. She took it and spotted Zoro adopting his grumpy expression again.
As their bickering escalated, Brooke hopped onto the water, his light body and quick feet sending up a spray of water as he dashed for the island. Tiri, more graceful, easily stepped onto the railing and leapt into the air, bursting into a fragrant plume of petals and drifting on the westward wind after him.
She landed gently on the hot sand, grateful for the thick soles of her leather boots as Brooke met her.
"Well, this doesn't seem too terrible, except for the endless sand and the heat and the incline all the way around," she groused and the skeleton nodded.
"Perhaps we should still have a look about."
"Agreed, lead the way."
Tiri followed the musician along the shoreline, keeping one eye on the sand and the other on the approaching Sunny. A scent drifted past her nose, like rotten meat and she stopped mid step.
"Brooke, wait…there's a strange smell on the wind," she said softly and the skeleton paused.
"Yohoho? What is it?"
"It smells like bad meat, but…" her silvery eyes narrowed as the smell increased in strength, "We need to get back to the ship, now! Something's coming and it's big."
Brooke apparently didn't need to be told twice, but as soon as he started and the words left her lips, a tentacle burst out of the sand, wrapping around her legs and making her loose her balance. She hit the sand with a dull thud, the scalding ground scrapping against her bare arms painfully with her impact. She saw Brooke turn, his sword flying out of his cane.
"No!" she screamed at him. "I can take care of it, go get the others, there are more coming!"
He hesitated, clearly not wanting to abandon his nakama, but she burst into petals and rematerialized a few steps away, her body braced for another attack.
"Go!"
Seeing her ability, he darted off across the water, but her eyes were glued to the waving tentacle in front of her. The sand shifted beneath her feet and she melted away again, floating in the air and wafting to and fro. More tentacles shot out of the earth below and she dodged, moving further uphill so as not to be caught in the breeze from the ocean. She couldn't keep it up forever though; any stray wind could put her in serious danger.
With a swift motion, she darted down, petals taking on a razor edge and sliced past the now writhing mass, carving wrinkled, brown flesh. She formed on the ground where she thought its back might be and sure enough, the feelers turned and she fearlessly grabbed one, giving it one hell of a pull. Tiri felt something give and out popped a small, octopus looking creature, covered in spikes and gnashing fangs.
That couldn't be good.
"What in the Line-"she didn't get time to finish the question, sensing something hurtling at her from the left.
She dodged, but not before another one of those creatures grazed her arm, excruciating pain bursting from the contact, making her cry out. She clutched at the scratch, horrified as it throbbed, her skin burning. Those spikes are poisonous, she thought.
"Shit," she cursed and bolted down the hill, losing her footing and tumbling down to the beach.
She scrambled to stand up, but another tentacle grabbed her ankle and tugged, more following, twisting around her lower body, and trapping her. Tiri struggled, but their grip tightened and she felt tiny pricks along her legs. Damnit!
She looked towards the sea and clawed her way forward on her belly, gritting her teeth in an attempt to at least get to the water. Please hurry, she thought, as what she could only assume to be the poison flowing into her system as her body started to tremble, her muscles indisposed to obey her will. Black began to dance at the edge of her vision as the feelers skulked up her body and she fought not to retch as their stench flooded her nostrils.
Suddenly, there was a foot in her field of view and she looked up at see a blur of flames and steel, the tentacles' grip gone in a millisecond. She was turned over gently and felt a welcome coldness spreading over her scorching wounds. The lavender-haired pirate was lifted in strong arms and she looked up to see just a flash of blonde hair. Then she heard Zoro's voice growling from somewhere nearby.
"What did you do to the witch?"
Tiri found the energy to slap the palm of her hand against her forehead. Really? He had to claim her as the crew's witch in front of not only monsters that couldn't understand, but also their nakama? It was going to be a long afternoon at this rate. Zoro looked over at her in Sanji's arms with his irritable expression.
"Oi, what was the big idea? They could have killed you."
"Well, they didn't, so put me down and let me return the favor," she snarled at the both of them, even though her body felt empty from the antidote.
"Allow me, Tiri-chan," Sanji spoke in a low voice, one that caused her to pause and look up into his face, noting the clenched set of his jaw, "These shitheads need to learn not to hit a lady."
Zoro shook his head and let out a breath, giving her an annoyed look as he nodded in agreement with the cook. If she had any more energy, she would have bolted. Nothing good could come from those two agreeing on anything. Instead, she squeaked weakly when she was handed over like a ragdoll to someone with large furry arms. The lavender-haired pirate looked up to see Chopper's muscular form and gave him a small smile.
"Thanks for the medicine, Chopper-san," she said quietly and he smiled down at her.
"You're welcome, Tiri, just hang tight," he replied cradling her carefully, like she was the most fragile thing on the Grand Line.
"Keep her there," Zoro barked as he and Sanji moved to stand in front of her and the doctor, poised for battle and pointedly ignoring the death glare Tiri bored into both their backs.
She patted Chopper's shoulder and wiggled.
"I can stand, let me down."
"Are you sure? The poison won't have completely left your system yet and Zoro said-"
"I'm sure. Can't let that Bonehead have all the fun. Besides," she said grimly, "I owe them one."
Reluctantly, he complied as the other members of the crew came ashore. Luffy walked slowly past Tiri, putting his hand on her shoulder, his face unusually solemn and his gaze traveled over her slowly, looking for any sign of grave injury.
"Brooke said you might have trouble. Are you injured?"
"Nothing life-threatening, just a few scratches," she shrugged and Zoro folded his arms across his chest and snorted.
"Liar," he muttered and she cuffed him on the shoulder, glaring.
Luffy pushed his hat back with his thumb, stepping past the two of them and his black eyes were narrowed. The tentacles writhed in the air, spiked bulbous forms surfacing from beneath the sand.
"She isn't hurt, but you touched her when she didn't want you to, so that means," Luffy's face was in shadow as he spoke and the way he said those words made a chill run up Tiri's spine. He was deadly serious as he looked up, "I'm going to pummel you from this island."
With that, he stretched his arms back, yelling something that Tiri didn't hear as she had begun melting into petals, but something powerful grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her under their arm. She struggled and craned her neck, her furious silver eyes meeting the cool eyes of Sanji. Apparently he knew better than the others what she might do.
"Forgive me, Tiri-chan, but you are not fully recovered. It would not be prudent for you to fight anymore," there was an edge to his voice that brooked no argument, but Tiri was having none of it.
She stilled and he released her, setting her gently on her feet. He kept an eye on her though, as he stepped to take his place with Zoro and their captain, flames licking around his leg as they tore through the creatures, their attacks nothing to her nakama's power and it shamed her that she was so easily defeated.
I've got to find some way to redeem myself, she thought, struck with a devious plan.
Grinning, she ran into the fray, ducking past Zoro and darting up the hill.
"Oi! What're you doing, Tiri! Stay back!" the swordsman yelled at her but she ignored it, turning on her heel.
She knew she was potentially in the way of any of their attacks, but she had a move of her own, one that she kept only for emergencies. Still, she had her honor to think of and she definitely did not want to appear weak in front of her nakama, much less let them fight for her when she could defend herself. That bonehead was just going to have to get over it; as was Sanji, she thought with a twinge of guilt. She spread her arms wide, summoning the power she had been imbued with. Her body glowed a soft purple as she gathered strength, her hair curling even more wildly than it ever had, lengthening and waving about her head like living vines.
"Move!" she yelled and Luffy looked excited, hopping backwards with agility.
Zoro and Sanji, however, started to run towards her.
"Stop, Tiri, you'll get yourself killed!" the cook's words fell on deaf ears and the glow around her flared.
Petals floated around her, not a part of her, yet they were, breaking off from her hair as she raised her arms above her head with a wicked smile.
"Hey, bastards," she howled, her silver eyes clouding over into the color of spring lilacs.
She dropped her hands to the sand, firing the power she had been building straight into the ground and there was a pulse of energy, rippling the sand like water. The motion of the sand threw Zoro and Sanji back and they landed near Luffy.
"Oi, that looks so awesome!" she heard Luffy shout and she grinned.
Green tendrils shot out of the earth, writhing with the brown ones and she made a gesture. The green vine-like things moved to her command, slamming into the enemy tentacles with ferocity. Wrapping around the others tightly, she made a fist and they squeezed, crunching noises popping across the shoreline. Others slammed into the ground like giant hands, smashing the spiked creatures into oblivion.
Within moments, they were all dead or had fled under the earth and Tiri waved her hand, the tendrils withdrew and she released the power she had tightly reined in. Her hair returned to its normal length, while her eyes cleared to their natural mercurial color. She collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily.
"Tiri!" That sounded like Chopper, she thought dimly.
She was lifted then, her head snapping back at the force of the speed in which she was pulled to the shore. Luffy must have grabbed her.
"That was cool, but stupid," she heard her captain laugh as he placed her carefully on her feet and threw an arm over her shoulder.
"Sorry, Luffy. Pride…it can kill you, you know," she joked softly, her body trembling from exertion and one eye open.
He grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up and that was the last thing she remembered.