Hello, Readers! :-)
The next chapter AFTER this one will jump forward in time a bit, in an effort to keep this fic from growing to a monstrous size.
BUT I am considering doing a fic of one-shots for this story-world, with Babbi. Snips of adventures and cute moments, drama, hurt-comfort, family feels - all the good stuff.
So I will be taking requests for things you would like to see! Comment below, private message me, etc!
What would YOU like to see with Babbi and the Strawhats?
Nami agreed to stay in the tree, her arms wrapped protectively around the satchel, her chin on Babbi's fuzzy head.
Zoro was glad.
The four of them crouched and crawled their way into the mouth of the den, a dirt hole in the slope. It opened up about twenty feet ahead of them. Snarling Zangilors charged them, one at a time in the tunnel, but Zoro was in front and he dispatched each one as they came.
"How many are in here?" Sanji gritted after the sixth one charged and met its end. Usopp stumbled behind, tripping on one of the bodies.
No one answered. None of them knew. Zoro's nerves were on high alert, letting him know when another was coming, darting forward in the darkness towards him.
It almost wasn't fair, taking them on one by one like this, in such a narrow space. Soon they reached the end of the tunnel, the space opening into a small cavern. Zoro straightened and rolled his shoulders, looking around.
The den was huge.
This was not just a nest.
Faint light from the outside gave them just enough to see shapes by, and the work now was quick, if unpleasant. The eggs were destroyed, the young dispatched as quickly and painlessly as possible, as well as the last few adults.
When they left the den, they took rocks and logs from around the slope and closed up the entrance. Just in case they'd missed anything.
The silence was almost deafening. They all turned and surveyed the battlefield - the ripped and flattened plant life, the ground and leaves painted and dripping red, the dozens and dozens of Zangilor bodies. Now that the nerves of battle could calm down and Zoro could just look, he wondered how they had managed to come out of the fight alive, much less in one piece.
Well.
Maybe not entirely in one piece, but pretty close.
"They owe us at least double," Sanji declared, setting off resolutely up the slope.
Luffy threw an arm around Usopp's shoulders and another one around Zoro's, missing the flinch and grunt. Zoro ground his teeth, sucking in a breath through his nose. "This will be such a great addition to your stories!" Luffy crowed, squeezing Usopp and grinning.
"I was pretty amazing," Usopp said smugly as they all followed Sanji. "I took out two - three - four dozen of them by myself, at least!"
Zoro looked up at the tree as they got closer, scanning the fronds and leaves.
A leg moved down, dangling. A branch was pushed out of the way, and an orange head peeked out from under it.
Large ears shivered under Nami's chin, big blue eyes - wide and frightened - staring at him. Nervous, questioning coos barely reached his ears, her voice small and hushed.
"Are they gone?" Nami called. "Did you get them all?"
"YEAH!" Luffy howled, throwing a fist into the air and bouncing on his toes. "We got 'em, every last one!"
"You should have seen it," Usopp declared, dropping into a stance. "There I was, zeroing in on the leader itself, the biggest, baddest Zangilor of them all -"
"Excuse me, I think I had the leader," Sanji interjected, looking offended. "Didn't you see my awesome moves up there?" he pointed backwards at the top of the ridge.
"No, I had the leader -" Luffy interrupted, frowning.
Zoro stepped close to the tree and held up his hands, catching Nami by the waist as she climbed down. The moment her feet touched the ground she spun and threw her arms around him, then pulled back, a hand on the satchel.
"Sorry," she said, snatching her hand off his arm and the cuts she saw on it. Swallowing, she looked up. There was that look in her eyes again, the one she'd had when he'd given her Babbi and told her to run with her. "Babbi was really scared for you," she whispered.
Babbi stared up at him, still quiet, still wide-eyed. Zoro crouched so he was eye-level, and touched her hand, letting her fingers close over his thumb. He cupped her head in his other hand. "Hey," he murmured. "You okay? Mm?"
She stared, and then her eyes moved over him, stopping here and there. A distressed sound left her lips, her face twitching. Her chin was shaking, mouth twisting as her eyes began to well.
She was looking at his injuries. At the clawed skin of his shoulders. At the blood spattering him. At the bruises he could feel forming from his tumble down the slope.
He must look like a demon to her.
The frightened expression, her unnerving quiet as she looked back up into his eyes, made him want to pull back.
He didn't want her to be afraid of him.
Ducking his head, he let go of her head and began to pull his thumb away.
"Bapa…"
Her grip on his thumb tightened. How could a baby be so strong? He didn't look at her, standing straight - or as straight as his ribs would let him, aching fiercely now and not wanting to expand right as he breathed.
A whine touched his ears.
"Hey," Nami's hand touched his forearm as he tried to pull his thumb away again. "It's okay."
"She's scared of me," he mumbled, not lifting his eyes.
"She's worried about you," Nami corrected, her fingers closing around his arm. "Her Bapa is hurt."
He glanced at Nami, then down at Babbi, looking up at him with such an expression - he'd thought she was scared of him, and he didn't blame her. He'd been in enough fights to know what he looked like.
Crouching again, ignoring the tightening in his ribs as he did so, he hesitated, and then drew closer to the reaching hand, closer and closer till her hand found his cheek. She touched it hesitantly, mouth pinched, watery eyes unblinking, and then she began to pat his face, feeling him, making little chirping sounds.
"I'm okay, baby girl," he murmured, and forced a small smile.
She stared at him, at his smile. She squeaked.
"I'm okay," he said again, and rubbed her ear.
Nami pulled a rag from the bag (he always brought a few, he'd found them a necessary tool for caring for an infant) and draped it over his shoulder, fussing till it covered as much of him as possible - covering up his wounds and the blood that stained him. Then she ducked both hands into the satchel and lifted Babbi out. Zoro took the suddenly grasping and squealing child, and tucked her close, marveling at how she grabbed him, molding herself to his shoulder, her head against his neck, under his chin - and then she stilled. Little fingers opened and closed, opened and closed, opened and closed on his collarbone.
He held her close, one arm under her, his other hand covering her entire back.
"I'm okay," he whispered.
She didn't say anything, or make any noise.
The trip back was long, hot, and tiring. It took longer this time, with their weariness and injuries. Nami was already planning on the conversation she was going to have with the village elders, and Usopp was practicing how he was going to tell the tale. Luffy and Sanji listened attentively, the cook leaning on Luffy, his leg wrapped with one of the other rags from the satchel.
Babbi remained on his shoulder, like a barnacle on a ship, silent and still. Zoro could feel her little heartbeat, pattering like a hummingbird, against his chest.
His injuries were making themselves known now, stinging and aching, burning as sweat dripped into them. His ribs were definitely cracked, but not broken. A massive headache was settling in to stay, and he could feel the bruise forming on his skull from the tree he'd crashed into.
Some of the claw marks would need stitches, but otherwise, it could have been a lot worse.
They'd come out of it pretty okay, considering.
"Bapa?"
Her voice was so little. She whispered it, so quiet he almost missed it. He hugged her a little tighter. "I'm here."
She shifted, barely at all, just enough to roll her eyes up and glance at him.
He rubbed his cheek on her head, her fuzzy hair tickling his skin. "I'm here," he whispered.
Little fingers patted his collarbone, and he felt her sigh.
The villagers, it seemed, had seen the entrance to the den and assumed it was no different than finding a wildcat den, or a wolf den. They'd had no idea that Zangilors denned in groups of fifty to two hundred.
Nami's prepped arguments for more berry were completely unnecessary. Without any prompting they increased the payment to eight hundred thousand, all they could afford, and the Strawhats were invited to stay - for free - in the inn till their injuries were healed.
Zoro winced as he pulled on a new shirt, trying to not scrape the fabric across the new stitches across his arms and shoulders. He had a couple on his legs, too, and one long angry swipe across the right side of his ribs. The left side was mottled and bruised, but there wasn't anything the village doctor could do about bruises or cracked ribs, except to offer him painkillers, which he declined.
He'd needed three stitches on the back of his head, where he's smashed it, and two on his left eyebrow. More bruises kept blooming by the hour, across his face, his hip, his right knee.
Falling sucked.
When he finally made his way out of the room and down into the dining room, he found his crew already situated in a booth. Luffy's arms were stitched and wrapped, from his hands to above his elbows, and a white bandage wrapped his right foot. Sanji had the outer seat, a crutch resting beside him, his leg and ankle wrapped tight. Nami's right leg was lightly wrapped, the cut not needing stitches. Thank the Blue.
Usopp and Babbi were the only ones unmarred and healthy, it seemed.
The moment he stepped in a squeal pierced the air, causing several heads to turn. A moment later there were grins as people went back to their suppers, amused by the little child toddling across the floor as fast as her little feet could carry her, arms raised.
Zoro spread out his arms and bent down, smiling as a familiar weight slammed into him.
"Bapa! Bapa! Bap-Bapa!" She babbled on as he lifted her up to his shoulder, telling him something interesting, pointing around at various things and then patting and holding his jaw between her hands, her voice dropping and becoming serious.
"Really?" he grunted, walking over to the booth.
She growled, and then grinned.
"You look like something the cat dragged in," Sanji declared as he approached.
"Least I can walk by myself," Zoro shot back.
The cook hissed, eyes sparkling. The corner of his mouth lifted, unable to hide the grin, and he turned back to the table.
The cook and an assistant brought out a veritable feast. Luffy's ear-piercing crow made Zoro flinch. He rubbed a finger in his ear, but the Inn's cook beamed at the reaction and promised to bring more of anything they wanted. They only had to ask.
Nami immediately pulled some meat and veggies onto a plate and began blowing on them. Zoro snagged a couple rice balls before Luffy's hand engulfed them, and handed one to Babbi. Nami put the plate in front of her, and within minutes there was rice and meaty, sticky sauce and spices all over face, her hands, and the edge of the table.
Zoro sighed.
As often as he had to scrub out her clothes, he should really get a few more. So he could go longer than two days without doing laundry.
While she slurped her food in and growled at the rice in her hands, he filled his own plate and began to eat. His stomach rumbled as the scent and taste of food reminded his body of how hungry it was.
Laughter and conversation filled the space around him in a pleasant hum, warming his chest. The moment a platter or bowl emptied, the cook sent out another, so soon he was full and warm and surrounded by the voices and cheer of his crew. He tipped his head back against the booth and listened. A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. He laughed at the ridiculousness of his captain and their sniper, and the sniping banter of their cook and navigator.
His lids began to droop.
"Zoro?"
He turned his head, blinking.
Nami was adding more shrimp and long green beans to Babbi's plate. "About earlier -"
He waited.
She didn't look at him. "You gave me Babbi."
"Mm."
She gave him a side-eye. "You gave me Babbi."
Zoro narrowed one eye, trying to figure out where she was going with this. "Yeah."
She shifted, uncomfortable, a question in her eyes.
Was she wondering why?
"Why me?"
Oh.
She was.
Her lips were thin, her eyes hard but big, the way she always looked when she was trying to hide how much something meant to her, how important it was. When she tried to hide how badly she wanted - needed - to know the answer.
"You could have given her to anyone, they all love her." She swallowed, fingers closing into fists in her lap. "Any one of them would die for her."
"You wouldn't?"
"That's not the point," she whispered. "You trust Luffy beyond reason…"
More than you trust me.
They're friendship had not begun with trust. It had been a hard road, learning to rely on each other, only to have that tenuous trust broken, viciously, on the Baratie when she'd left them. When she'd revealed her deception, her true alliance to a vicious pirate crew. When she'd betrayed them all and taken the Grand Line map, abandoning them while Zoro lay at death's door.
Turned out she'd had a reason for it all. That the hold the pirates had on her family and home was enough to make her do anything, anything, to try and save them. Even betray the Strawhats.
But that was in the past. If anything, what she'd been willing to do for her family had proven how strong her loyalty was. Once they'd helped her rid her home of those pirates, and her home and family were finally safe, that loyalty had transferred to them.
There was nothing she wouldn't do for them.
He shrugged. "I trust you, too. Just as much."
Her expression didn't change, but her eyes welled.
Her fingers were still clenched.
Zoro sighed. "Look, everyone here loves Babbi and would do anything for her. But… you understand the world."
Babbi squealed, and waved a meat skewer, showing him, almost stabbing his nose. He smiled down at her, and she grinned, showing off her single tooth.
"You'd keep her safe."
A tear fell down Nami's cheek.
He looked her straight in the eye.
There's no one else I'd trust Babbi with.
Another tear fell. A cord strained in her neck. Then a sticky hand smeared meat juices on her arm, a half-gnawed on skewer slapping her cheek. Nami flinched, and looked down as Babbi chirped at her, trying to push a piece of meat from the skewer into her mouth. The tense moment ended like a popped bubble, and Nami dashed her hand across her cheek and laughed, catching the piece of meat with her teeth and sliding it off the end of the stick. Babbi squealed in delight and shoved the edge of it into her mouth, gumming the last piece ferociously.
"Hey Babbi, catch!" Luffy called, and tossed a piece of rice cake. It slapped Babbi on the nose and fell, startling her. She stared at Luffy for a second, then shrieked and opened her mouth, leaning forward.
By the time they finally finished dinner the floor was littered with food, but she had caught a surprising amount. Zoro wasn't sure how she was able to eat the sheer amount she did, but it was just one more thing in the list of unexplainables that pertained to the crew.
When they went to sleep that night, Babbi curled up in a ball against his side, Zoro tucked his free hand behind his head and stared up at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of night.
Keeping watch over his crew and his child in the strange town.