Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Fairy Tail.
I would like to thank everyone who commented, favorited, and/or followed this story. Your support helps.
And now, on to comments.
gwineviere
The problem is how you write; you tell, you don't show. You relay the events without actually showing what happened, I'll give you a random example:
Telling/informing: The temperature had fallen overnight and the heavy frost reflected the sun's rays brightly.
Showing/evoking: The morning air was bitter ice in her nose and mouth, and dazzling frost lay on every bud and branch.
I hope you don't think I'm hating at you, I just really want to help since you have a really good idea for this story however it irks me when I don't read things happening, cause otherwise it gets really boring. I don't want you to lose views, so please start writing more dialogue and actions; the whole chapter was practically just a summary.
I appreciate the concern and the advice, but these are things I am already aware of. If I gloss over something, it's usually just plot stuff that everyone reading this should have already seen and it would simply take way to long to write out all the arcs. Right now, I'm just focusing on trying to finish this story before I start college, because then it will just be sitting there forever because I know I won't have time for it. But once again, I appreciate your advice.
12Rayne
Waaaaass! *breaks down in a tearful sobbing mess* this part in One Piece is one of the parts that made me cry so bad!
I know, I know, I cried like a little biatch during this part as well, and I feel bad for glossing over the whole thing like I did.
Shunakoo25
I remember this scene in one piece and actually made me cry. Whaaaaaa now I'm still crying... And it makes me happy too since you know Zoro and Lucy is all so lovey dove... Aaaaaahhhhhh. Really great update today. I love it. I hope you make a scene were they KISS. HEHEHE..
I figured it would be a great time for Zoro to show a gentle side. And don't worry, there were definitely be a kiss scene, one I've had planned for quite some time. But for now, a little teaser is going to have to suffice.
StrongGuy159
Awesome chapter continue & make Merry a Spirit Key called: Open, Gate of The Kind Ram! I summon thee Merry please.
Thank you for your suggestion, and it is one that I had considered before but needed to figure out how I would make it work. I am going to change the summoning chant.
WindBear47
A good paced chapter. I can hardly wait for Zoro's reaction when he finally gets a clue. And if it's LUFFY that tells him about his feelings, it would be comedy gold!
I highly doubt it will be Luffy. Robin will probably be dropping hints, and so will Robin. The one that finally breaks it to him will probably be either Usopp or Chopper.
It took a couple days to return to Water 7, during which time they rested while their wounds were treated. Galley – La brought the Straw Hats their belongings that they had confiscated from the Going Merry when they had thought they were assassins. After that however, it was back to business as the Galley – La workers began repairing the damages done to the city by the Aqua Laguna. The crew was starting to get a little worried about how they were going to continue their journey without the Going Merry.
It was then that Franky came by and informed them that he had purchased wood from the legendary Treasure Tree using the 200 million beli that the Franky Family had stolen from them. It was the same material that was used to build the ship that Gold Roger used to sail to the end of the Grandline. He told them that he planned to build a ship out of the wood, and he wanted the Straw Hats to sail it. It was only fair since it had been their money that was used, and he wanted to build a great ship that would sail all the way to the end of the Grandline. And that just happened to coincide with Luffy's dream of becoming the Pirate King. Then suddenly the wall was destroyed.
"What the-?!" Franky exclaims.
"Who-?!" exclaimed Chopper.
Lucy didn't really have much of a reactions. Spending over a year in Fairy Tail had sort of numbed her to minor acts of destruction like this. They waited anxiously as the dust cleared and a large figure appeared from the dust cloud. He was extremely well muscled and wearing some strange animal mask.
"Are you guys the Straw Hat Pirates? I have a couple of men here who want to meet with Monkey D. Luffy." the man said. His voice was rough age, judging by the aged appearance of his skin.
"Marines!" said Sanji as everyone got into place to defend their currently vulnerable captain.
The Marine looked past them at the sleeping Luffy. "Really, just as careless as always." he muttered.
And with that, the old man was suddenly behind them. Lucy, along with the other were shocked, the hadn't even seen the man move. They turned to try to stop them but they were far too slow.
"WAKE UP!" the old Marine shouted, punching Luffy on the top of the head, sending him into the ground.
"Luffy!" Chopper shouted n concern.
The said captain began flailing around, holding his head. "It hurts! It hurts!" he yelped.
"Hurts?!" Sanji questioned. "That was a punch! For it to hurt a rubber man-!"
The old Marine was grinning. "There is no defense against a fist of love." he claimed as he took off his mask. "I heard you've been acting pretty recklessly . . . Luffy."
Luffy looked up at the Marine. "Eh?! G-G-G-Grandpa?!" he exclaimed
Everyone let out exclamations of shock.
"Now Luffy, don't you think you owe me an apology?" the Marine questioned.
Outside the building, the marines gathered there seemed just as surprised as the people inside.
"Garp?" Nami said in shock. "Garp . . . isn't that the name of the legendary Marine hero?!"
Turning to their captain, Sanji asked, "Luffy, is your grandpa really . . . ?"
Still holding the large steaming welt on the top of his head, Luffy confirmed. "He is, don't try to fight him. I was almost killed by Grandpa tons of times in the past."
Everyone was shocked by this. Their stubborn captain was telling them that this man was too strong for them to fight. Lucy honestly had no idea what to expect or what was going on. Not being from this world, she had no idea who Garp was, but she was still shocked to hear that a grandfather could nearly kill his own grandson.
Garp didn't seem that happy about Luffy's claim. "Hey now, don't go speaking ill of me. When I tossed you into that bottomless ravine, and left you alone in the jungle at night, and tied you to balloons and sent you flying into the sky, all of it was to make you into a strong Marine!"
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT!?" Lucy shouted at Garp.
Expression deadpanning, Sanji stated, " . . . I think I've just figured out part of what gives Luffy his endless will to live . . . "
After declaring that he had no intention of capturing his grandson or any of his crew, Lucy kind of tuned out as Garp and Luffy began arguing. Garp took Luffy and Zoro outside the building to meet two old friends of theirs. They continue to talk outside as Garp began repairing the hole he made in the wall. The crew also found out about Luffy's father, who even Luffy didn't know about. They were also informed that the second half of the Grandline, known as "The New World", was far more dangerous than the first, being filled with stronger marines and stronger pirates as well.
Some time after the Marines left the Straw Hats location to do their own thing on the Water 7, namely, helping the Galley – La Company with their repairs, the Pirate Crew decided to throw a huge barbeque party with the Franky Family, Galley – La Company, and the giants from Enies Lobby. They partied all through the night, drinking, laughing, and eating to their hearts content. Once again, Lucy and Robin enjoyed the party, but made sure not to party too much with their crewmates. Once morning came around, they were could pretty do whatever they wished as it would be five days before their new ship was done being built.
That being said, the Straw Hats were free to explore the city as they pleased, and so they did. The first thing Lucy did was go to the place where they had first docked the Going Merry. She knelt by the water and sent out a prayer to wherever Merry's soul might be.
"Merry, I hope that, wherever you are, that you are safe and happy. Thank you for carrying us all on our journey. And I hope that, one day, we will meet each other again." she said.
Smiling and wiping away the tears that had slid down her cheeks, Lucy stood and headed to where she had agreed to meet up with Nami and Robin. She'd promised they'd go shopping together. What Lucy wasn't aware of was that her prayer had been heard, loud and clear.
• • •
During their shopping, some of the press people wanted to get photos of her and Nami. They happily obliged. However, more importantly, later into their shopping Lucy happened to spot a head of spiky green hair running away out of the corner of her eye. Curious, she excused herself, apologizing to Robin and Nami, before running off after him. By some miracle, considering how bad his sense of direction was, she managed to catch up with him as he leaned back against an alley wall to catch his breath.
The green haired swordsman was wearing a shirt that said "mama" on it with a picture of a woman and was far too small for him, resulting in it exposing his stomach, and was carrying bags of groceries in each hand. But the most shocking thing was the cloth fastened around his neck that was being used to carry three babies. Three. Adorable. Babies.
"Z-Zoro?" Lucy questioned, absolutely shocked by what she was seeing.
Zoro's eyes widened in mortification as he turned to look at her. "L-Lucy!?" he exclaimed.
"Th-that . . . Zoro . . . wh-what are you . . . ?" Lucy wasn't even sure how to formulate the question, or even what to ask.
That was when Zoro hurriedly explained to her how he kind of got roped into babysitting the three, well, babies, and helping out this woman who he only knew as "Mom". "B-But you can't tell anyone about this!" he pressured her. "Not at all!"
Lucy thought that the whole thing was all so terribly sweet and didn't understand why Zoro felt that they needed to keep this a secret, but she nodded. "Of course, I promise I won't tell a soul."
He seemed relieved at that. "And you can't go blackmailing me for this this!" he said, giving her a serious look.
She crossed her arms and gave him an offended look. "Why would I do that?" Lucy asked him.
When Zoro couldn't come up with a valid answer, he responded, with, "Sh-shut up! How would I know if you would or wouldn't?!" before walking off.
Lucy followed him. "Wait, where are you going?"
"I have to find that woman and give her these kids back. And the groceries too." Zoro said as he kept walking.
"Maybe I should come with you." Lucy suggested.
Still not stopping, Zoro demanded, "Why?"
Lucy sighed. There was no real way to put it lightly. "Because Zoro, you have a horrible sense of direction." she stated matter-of-factly.
"MY SENSE OF DIRECTION IS JUST FINE!" he shouted in protest.
"Alright, alright," she said, rolling her eyes as she made a placating gesture. "Just let me come along with because I want to then?"
Zoro thought about it for a few moments. "Fine." he said begrudgingly.
Lucy smiled. "Thank you." she said, walking alongside him now. "And you know, for what it's worth, I think that's a pretty good look for you. You'll be a great father one day."
A light dusting of pink adorned Zoro's cheeks at the compliment and he looked away from the warm smile Lucy was giving him. For whatever reason, that statement had made him feel pretty happy. "Whatever." he responded.
They kept walking, and Lucy managed to keep Zoro from doubling back or taking the wrong turn many, many times. She did all this while managing not to lose Zoro in the process, which was a small miracle considering how he tended to wander. And she still kept an eye out for this "mom" woman while she was doing this. Some time during their searching Lucy's mind began to wander . . .
Lucy smiled warmly at the two green haired babies in her arms, while Zoro stood next her holding a third child, this one blonde, looking down at it with the same warm expression.
"Such beautiful children we have." he said softly.
"Mm," Lucy hummed in agreement. "That's because they were made with love."
An arm wrapped around her waist as a gentle kiss was placed on her cheek. She chuckled and looked up to smile lovingly Zoro, who shared her expression. Without the usual hard frown lines on his face, Zoro was sparklingly handsome. The mere sight of it was nearly enough to make Lucy swoon.
"Of course they were, my lovely wife. And I'll always be more than happy to make more beautiful children with you." he said, nuzzling her hair.
Lucy giggled and blushed. "Oh you!" she lightly admonished him with a slight roll of her eyes.
His smile widened and he brought his lips down to meet hers. Lucy began leaning up to meet him halfway . . .
Lucy stopped in her tracks, eyes wide and face red like Erza's hair. There was practically steam coming from her head. She squealed in embarrassment and went to crouch in a corner. She slapped her own cheeks.
"Ah! What on earth am I thinking about?!" she cried.
Zoro raised his brow in confusion as he watched. "The hell's up with her?" he muttered to himself.
Looking over, he spotted the woman they'd been looking for and went over to her. He handed her the groceries and the babies. He told her she was going back to his friends, which caused her to argue with him that family was more important than friends. Once again, Zoro told her that they weren't his family before walking off.
"Oi, Lucy! You coming with or not?" Zoro asked the girl, who was still blushing and muttering to herself in the corner like a weirdo.
She stiffened and let out a small "eep!" as her name was called. Lucy turned to Zoro, her face still red. "Y-yeah." she stammered, standing and going over to him.
Lucy noticed the absence of the babies and turned to the woman surrounded by children. She put two and two together and smiled, walking over to them. Her smile widened before she bowed deeply at the waist. "Thank you for taking care of Zoro." she told them with a bright smile when she straightened. If you looked, you would have seen a few of the boys blush. "Well, see ya." she said with a wave as she went back to Zoro.
He looked at her impatiently. "You done?" he asked her.
She answered with a nod.
"Good, then let's get back." he said, beginning to head back to the crew.
Lucy grabbed his hand. "Zoro, it's this way." she said, pointing in the opposite direction.
"I knew that!" he shouted.
Chuckling, Lucy began leading him in the direction their crew was, still holding his hand. Zoro felt no inclination to remove his hand from her grip either.
"Mom" watched the two leave. "I see, so that's why . . . my oldest son is in love eh? Oh well, we'll fetch him later." she said. "Let him enjoy his little date."
• • •
Zoro had seemed distracted as they walked around town. They had decided to walk around Water 7 a little bit more since Zoro was still looking around for a place he could get his sword fixed or buy a new one. He was thinking about that woman and all the kids she took in as her own. Lucy sensed that this was what he was thinking about so she left him to his thoughts. One of the boys that had been with the lady caught up with them. Zoro stopped and turned when the boy shouted after the two. Lucy wondered what could be wrong when she saw his desperate expression.
The boy bent double when he got to them, hands on his knees as he panted for breath. "Aniki! You have to come quickly! Those bad guys came again!" he told them once he'd gotten enough of his breath back to speak.
"What? Those loan shark guys?" asked Zoro. "Sorry, it's not really any of my concern. Besides, you mom can handle herself."
"B-but this time he came back with a bunch of guys! They cornered mom with the others and took them away!" he exclaimed.
Lucy gasped and Zoro's eyes widened. "Where are they?!" Zoro asked, his tone urgent.
The boy seemed happy and relieved that Zoro was going to help. "I know where they're taking them! They always take people to the same place!" he told them.
Zoro grabbed him and put him on his shoulders. "Lead the way."
With a nod he told Zoro where to go and the swordsman took off with Lucy following at his heels. There was no way she was going to let some damned loan sharks bully such a kind woman who selflessly took in so many kids who didn't have anywhere else to go. And there was no way she was going to let Zoro fight alone, regardless of if it was 20 men, or two hundred.
• • •
They arrived just in time to see "mom" beaten back by a large swordsman. The small fry began approaching her, but the kids moved to stand in front of her, protecting her. Just as the men started forward to attack them, Zoro leapt from the roof they were standing on to in front of the family, blowing all the small fry off the narrow roof and into the water below with one attack. Lucy didn't take long to join him using her Flueve d'etoiles to swing herself up.
Zoro began going for the big guy, but Lucy held out her hand to stop him. "Don't worry about these guys Zoro, even I can handle this much." she said before grabbing one of her new keys. "Open, Gate of the Fox! I summon thee, Vulpecula!" she called out.
'Even you?' Zoro thought as he heard the now familiar chime and saw the familiar golden light that usually accompanied her summonings. 'Lucy . . . I don't think you realize just how strong you really are . . . '
Vulpecula's smirking, fox eared form appeared. "Hey Luce." she greeted. "I've been hoping you would summon me out to play." she said in a lazy, sultry tone.
"Hello Vulpecula. You want to show me what you got and take care of these two guys for me?" Lucy asked her, looking at the large swordsman and the loan shark.
Vulpecula smiled mischievously. "With pleasure." she said, eyes glinting.
"Wh-wh-wh-where did you come from!?" the loan shark boss exclaimed, pointing at Vulpecula.
"Your best dreams . . . or your worst nightmares." was her response.
That seemed to anger the loan shark as his face contorted with rage. "What the hell are you on about?! Get her . . . ?!" he trailed off, his angry expression turned to horror, as did the swordsman's.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, with the exception of Vulpecula, as the loan shark and the large swordsman both paled, slowly looking up at something with terror. Lucy, Zoro, the mom lady, and the kids all looked up, but they didn't see anything. The two men screamed in horror and leapt off the roof they were on down into the water below.
Vulpecula turned to them with a smile. "There, all done. That was a lot easier than I expected."
Lucy looked at her confused. "I . . . don't understand . . ." she said. "H-how did you . . . ?"
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Vulpecula.
Zoro and Lucy shook their heads in unison. "Not at all." they intoned.
Chuckling, Vulpecula smirked playfully at them. "Is it not? It's quite simple really. They saw something that simply wasn't there." said the fox spirit.
"A hallucination?" asked Zoro.
"Illusion magic?" asked Lucy.
Her smirk widened. "My busty key bearer is correct. Now, if that is all, I will be taking my leave." she said with a curtsy. "Ooh! Wait, I almost forgot, the king wanted to give you this." said the spirit, reaching into her chest and pulling out a white key and placing it in Lucy's hand. "He also told me to tell you, 'Your prayers have been heard.' . . . Or some crap like that."
And with that, she disappeared. Lucy looked down at the key in her hands. It was pure white in color, but had a slight glisten to it, as if it was made from some kind of opaque crystal or mineral. Just like her other keys, there was a symbol to represent the spirit the key summoned, and this one was very familiar to Lucy. Smiling, she attached it to her keychain. They said goodbye to "mom" and the kids and headed back to the building the crew was at.
"So, you're really happy you got a new key?" Zoro asked Lucy as they walked.
"Mm hm." she said happily. "And I think everyone else will love it too."
"Huh? Why's that?" asked Zoro.
She just smiled at him. "You'll see. I think it'd be best if the whole crew met him though."
Zoro just raised his brow. "Whatever."
Well there it is folks. Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review.
