Ha, finally getting to a point in the story. Sort of.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Warning: Mild Language.

Enjoy!

By evening the rest of the crew had returned and Chopper, who had bundled me in a spare robe and slippers, made me stay in the medical room while he went down to the kitchen to get some food. I didn't complain too much about this plan. The running for my life and nearly drowning episodes were taking a heavy toll on me, and I was asleep on the examining bed before the doctor returned.

I had no idea how long I slept, but when I woke again I was alone. Sliding off the bed I made my way out into the hall and started down to the kitchen, yawning widely. Half-way there I was waylaid by a broad, green mass pulling me unexpectedly through another doorway.

"Hey," I complained. "Not so hard. I still need that arm, you know." I didn't even think about the fact that I wasn't actually surprised anymore by the swordsman's odd behavior.

Zoro closed the door and the small room, which looked a bit like some kind of closet, was thrown into darkness. "Listen," he said quietly. "I need to tell you something before you go down there to the others."

I stopped rubbing my arm and looked up to where I knew his face would be. He now had my full attention. "What is it?"

"It's about what Shogun said," he started immediately. "Apparently you're a little more well-known on the Grand Line than we had thought."

I stood still in the dark for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant by that. "Is…is that even possible?" I asked finally. "I mean, only you guys have ever seen me, so…"

"It doesn't make much sense," Zoro agreed. "But I would bet one of the crew let it slip about you at a port somewhere. Something like what you can do, I wouldn't really expect it to stay a secret for long."

"Like what I can do?" I repeated. What was he talking about?

Again, he got right to the point. "You're a Seer, aren't you? I guess the word got out somewhere along the way, making you a rather popular commodity and at the same time an enemy, according to Shogun. That's why he wouldn't let you in earlier. They're afraid of you."

"Are you kidding me?" I shrieked, ignoring Zoro's furious shushing noises as I continued, "Why the hell would anyone be afraid of me? Are they nuts?" I was about as scary as a day-old kitten, and I knew it.

"Stop yelling!" Zoro hissed, finally resorting to putting a hand over my mouth to shut me up. "Jeez, what's the matter with you?"

I yanked his hand away and spat out, "What do you mean, what's the matter with me? This is bad, Zoro. This is really bad."

I was fully aware of the impact of having people from this world fear me; it would put me at risk, as the most popular way of dealing with a threat was to eliminate it. Immediately.

Zoro sighed, whether in exasperation or defeat I wasn't sure, and continued his explanation. "It's also why Syla is here, you know. She has certain…senses I guess, that let her be drawn to whatever might work best to her advantage. It's how she's survived for so long on her own. She knew 'the Seer' would be in the area at some time, and she's been staying here for awhile."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" I snapped at him, careful not to raise my volume again. "How could she possibly know that when I don't even know why I'm here to begin with?" Although, I thought, this information had probably been why the swordsman hadn't looked at all surprised to see her earlier.

"I already told you, Syla has more senses than normal humans," Zoro was beginning to sound frustrated. "She knew you by name, too. I'd bet she's the one who told Shogun who you are. Seems to be a connection there somewhere."

I was about to ask what the dragon girl could possibly need a Seer for if she possessed such abilities but stopped short when something else he had said hit home. "Here?" I asked. "We haven't left the island yet, have we?"

"The log pose isn't set," Zoro confirmed. "We're still docked, which means she could come back for you at any time."

"Then why wouldn't she have just taken me earlier?" I challenged, unwilling to believe what I was hearing. "I was already at her camp when you showed up, and she didn't seem all that worried that I was leaving with you, either." I was beginning to hope he was just making up a story to scare me, maybe to get back at me for yelling at him so much. The theory didn't fit anything in his personality however, and I was starting to feel a little panicky by the time he spoke again.

"The pose won't set for another couple of days, according to Nami," Zoro explained. "Syla's got time."

"Gah!" I snarled in fear and frustration. "What the hell am I supposed to do? Why does she even want a Seer?"

"She thinks she might be able to find the people she's been looking for, would be my assumption," Zoro said in a terse tone. I could hear a question in the statement and sighed heavily.

"I couldn't tell her that, anyway," I said. "I've never 'seen' this far, I didn't even know she existed before today." I almost wanted to cry. How had this happened?

"I doubt Syla will believe that, even if it's true," Zoro stated in the same irritated rumble. "For now, you'll just have to stay inside the ship with someone at all times until we leave."

I wasn't about to argue with that idea in the least. The last thing I wanted was some delusional, diamond-wielding girl with homicidal tendencies tracking me down for something I couldn't even do. I wanted to explain this to the swordsman, that I was not a psychic of any kind and couldn't be if I wanted to, but that would have me explaining about the show and I knew he wouldn't believe me anyway. Instead, I sighed again and leaned against the closed door. "So, why are we in a closet?" I asked. "Is this also something the crew isn't supposed to know?"

"I haven't told them yet," Zoro admitted. "I gave the rest of Shogun's message to Nami, but didn't say anything about Syla. Or you."

"Why not?" That was a strange thing to do, especially for this guy. "If I stay on the Sunny, don't you think she might come after the rest of them as well?"

"She would have to be completely insane to do something like that," Zoro growled. "I'm not really worried about them."

I didn't miss the implication this time and felt my eyebrows rise up in surprise. He was worried about me? That was even weirder. "Why do you care, anyway?" I asked.

Zoro made another grumbling sound. "The last time you were here, Luffy put me in charge of your safety."

"That was two years ago-"

"And nothing has changed," he cut in sharply. "I'm still under orders, got it?"

I huffed in irritation. "Don't have a say in it, do you?" I muttered. "No wonder you're so cranky. Still," I continued before he could jump in, "you should probably tell them anyway. They'll want to know."

"I know," Zoro answered simply.

I had been bracing myself for another argument and was thrown off momentarily. "What? Then what's with all this sneaking around?" I asked, very annoyed.

"I'm not sneaking," he protested. "I just wanted to let you know first so you don't faint or something later."

So, he hadn't been intentionally keeping this information from the rest of the crew, he was just waiting for me to wake up and giving me a chance to pull myself together before any plans were made. For some reason that made me feel a little better in an odd way, despite his usual harsh tone.

"Alright," I agreed. "I won't faint. I promise."

Zoro reached behind me and moved me away from the door, opening it and stepping out into the hall again. "Good," he said shortly. He walked off in the direction of the kitchen and I followed, still trying not to panic about this newest development. I wasn't having much success.

Only Sanji was in the kitchen when we arrived and I stood to the side as he greeted Zoro with the usual insults and a swift kick toward the head, which Zoro dodged with a much practiced move. The swordsman retaliated with another stream of colorful insults, still managing to ask where the rest of the crew were between bad-mouthing Sanji's appearance and implying that the cook did inappropriate things with broomsticks and sea shells. I never caught the point of the jab, having zoned out half-way through it.

It took another few minutes to get an answer out of Sanji after that and I joined in yelling at Zoro, my patience worn incredibly thin from the recent events. We eventually found out the crew were currently lounging in the aquarium room, all besides the three of us and Franky, who was on watch, and Zoro and I ambled down in that direction instead.

Nami and Robin were seated at the small table beside the wide, round support, talking easily with Luffy, Ussop, Brook and Chopper. The guys were sitting along the cushioned bench beside the thick glass of the tank and watching as Brook dug around in a long black violin case.

They all looked up at the same time as we walked in and Nami smiled in relief.

"Hey," she greeted. "Glad to see you're okay. Zoro said you fell in the river earlier."

"Yeah," I agreed. I left the swordsman by the door and went to sit on the bench beside Luffy. "Just went for a little swim, is all."

Apparently my tone was much sharper than intended because both women shot me a considering once-over before turning their attention to Zoro as Nami spoke again.

"By the way Zoro," she started in a dangerous manner. "What exactly were you doing during all of this?"

"I was doing what Luffy asked me to do," Zoro answered as he pulled a spare chair up opposite the bench, a few feet from the table. Chopper immediately hopped up from his seat and settled down in front of Zoro's boots to lean back against the swordsman's legs contentedly. Zoro hardly seemed to notice.

"Oh yeah," Luffy sat up a little straighter. "What'd the old guy say?"

"He said the island after this one will have what we need for the next step," Zoro shrugged, his arms folded behind his head as he lounged in the chair. "And that Renna's being hunted because she's a Seer and Modokai Syla is on this island right now." He might as well have been relaying the items on a shopping list, for all his lack of emotion. Then again, that wasn't very uncommon for him.

A loud ruckus unavoidably followed the report.

"What?"

"Who's hunting Renna?"

"The Modokai Syla?"

"Dammit, Zoro! Did you know about this all day?"

"Does this have anything to do with the river incident? What happened?"

"How does anyone know about her being a Seer, anyway?"

Zoro just glared at them all until they had settled down again, not moving an inch from his current position. Chopper was still attached to his leg when he began to answer them one by one and in order. "I meant exactly what I said; I have no idea apart from yes, the same Modokai Syla; I've only known since this afternoon; yes but you'll have to ask the girl; and again I have no idea."

I recovered quickly from the rapid-fire answers and frowned at him from the bench. "It took you an hour to get all that?" I asked. It seemed kind of extreme for the vague report, but Zoro had been inside that house for a lot longer than it would have taken to pass on such a small amount of information.

Zoro turned his eye on me. "I already told you, I got side-tracked."

"You also said you would explain," I reminded him.

Zoro glared again but sat forward grudgingly. "It wasn't actually a house," he said. "It was the entrance to an underground dojo. Shogun insisted I spar with him before he would answer anything, and when I refused to hand you over it turned into an actual fight. So like I said," he waved one hand carelessly. "Side-tracked."

I didn't really have any kind of reply for that but was saved having to give one by Robin, who leaned on the table and studied Zoro for a moment before asking, "Did you actually see Modokai Syla? Are you sure it's her?"

I looked away, pretending to be interested in the small fish swimming around in the tank as Zoro growled something like, "Yeah, kind of."

"What do you mean, kind of," Nami demanded angrily. "Either you saw her or you didn't. Which is it?"

"It was her," I spoke up. Nami, Robin and Ussop turned their eyes on me instead and I added, "She told me her name."

"Wait a minute," the sniper frowned thoughtfully. "How did you see her, Renna? She wasn't in the dojo, was she?"

"No," I shook my head at him from the other side of Luffy, who had apparently gone to sleep in the middle of the conversation after hearing what he had been waiting for. "I wasn't allowed inside, actually." I shot a glance to Zoro, who gazed back steadily, before continuing, "But she's the one who pulled me from the river."

"And what would you have been doing in the river?" Brook asked politely. "You didn't lose your panties, I hope. Perhaps I should check?"

Nami hissed at him in warning and the skeleton quickly shut his mouth. I ignored him with some difficulty, turning to Robin instead. "Actually, I had been waiting outside for Zoro but some kind of giant animal came out of nowhere and chased me to the river."

"A giant animal?" Ussop repeated, looking worried.

"Yeah," I nodded. "It was all black with yellow eyes, and kind of resembled a wolf or something similar."

Zoro tensed visibly and I looked at him in confusion. He was glaring as usual, green eye slightly narrowed, but it was almost freaky how well I could read the expression he was directing at me: Why the hell didn't you tell me that before?

I pulled my mouth tight and tilted my head at him, giving the silent reply: You didn't ask me before, did you? What's wrong?

Zoro scrunched his brow as his frown deepened: You should have said something earlier. It could have been worse than I thought.

"Okay, enough with the looks," Nami sighed suddenly. "It's creeping me out. What's going on?" She frowned pointedly at the swordsman.

"That wasn't a wolf," Zoro said.

"I guessed as much," I replied impatiently, still shooting him a stern frown. "What was it, then?"

"It was Syla." The swordsman answered. "A form of her, anyway. Not her actual body, more like a disposable scout." Both his glare and tone had taken on a dangerous edge and I automatically scooted a little closer to the snoring captain, stamping down the urge to question the absurdity of what he had just said.

"How do you know that?" Nami asked curiously. "Is she a pirate? Did you hunt her at one point?"

"Something like that," Zoro agreed, tensing again. He wasn't looking at anyone anymore, tugging absentmindedly on Chopper's ear and staring off toward the far side of the aquarium room.

I was struck with the sudden impulse to giggle at him, although I was still slightly terrified of the subject of our discussion, but knew it wasn't the time to do such a thing. Especially not with Zoro looking like he was ready to cut down the first person who annoyed him at the moment.

The tension was broken by the sound of a light chime and I watched Robin open the door to the dumbwaiter and pull a tray of drinks and snacks from inside, sliding it carefully onto the table. Ussop and Chopper got up to distribute the glasses to the people not sitting at the table and the doctor had to shove Zoro's into his hand to get him to notice it at all.

I realized Zoro probably wasn't just being absent-minded; more than likely he was stretching his senses far beyond the aquarium, feeling out any other presences besides our own. The others knew his habits better than myself and agreed as one to let him be, prodded along by a knowing glance from Ussop.

I nodded to the sniper and accepted the glass and small plate of rice cake before turning to Nami and Robin. "He said Syla's probably trying to get me to help her," I explained, attempting to keep my voice level. "But it's starting to sound a lot more like kidnapping, at this point." To distract myself I bit into the cake, chewing slowly. It was a pretty good distraction, actually.

Robin nodded her head a fraction as she started on her own snack. "You're saying she might try to take you from the ship," she said. It wasn't a question.

"No one's taking you anywhere," Luffy muttered from under his straw hat. "I've already decided."

I jumped a little and turned my head toward him, having thought he was asleep for the last part of the conversation. "Thanks, Luffy," I said gratefully.

The captain lifted one hand and raised the brim of his hat to grin at me. "Don't worry about it," he said. "'Kay?" He let the hat go and settled back on the bench again, legs stretched out in front of him. "Besides, Zoro will be watching you anyway."

The aforementioned monster gave a low grumble but didn't protest any more than that, having already been aware of this arrangement. He had closed his eye and was breathing steadily, still ignoring most of what was going on around him. It occurred to me that Zoro had still left out quite a bit of information, including his theory on how my name and 'abilities', as ridiculous as that sounded, came to be known in this world. I had to guess he was still mulling it over himself before accusing anyone of the slip-up.

I leaned back next to Luffy and finally started paying attention to the drink in my hand. It was a kind of fruit juice mix which tasted faintly of berries and reminded me strongly of summer picnics. I dutifully pretended not to notice the rubbery fingers as they snatched the rest of the cake from my plate a moment later.

A few minutes into the lull Brook apparently decided the atmosphere had calmed enough for him to begin playing a couple of songs on the violin in his hands. The tunes were soothing, the chatter in the room shifting toward more general and friendly topics such as Robin's flower garden and Chopper's list of candy he wanted to learn how to make. It was obvious to me that the crew wasn't particularly worried about what might be happening outside the cabin and I supposed it had a lot to do with the cyborg being on watch.

After I had finished my drink and Nami took my empty glass and plate I curled up on the cushioned bench to get more comfortable, only realizing I had fallen asleep listening to the music when I felt myself being carried through the ship by two large, furry arms.

I settled further into Chopper's hold and allowed my subconscious mind to drift away from the frightening events slowly unfolding around me.