Hellooooo!
I hope everyone is doing okay! Holidays are ending for me, so my fanfiction productivity is going to drop… But I still have a few chapters left in stock, so you can wait a bit more before picking up the carrots and the sticks haha.
Anyway, I want to thank again everyone who read/followed/reviewed/faved! Now I get why some authors go on about this being 50% of their motivation… Also, since I can't reply to reviews left by guests through PMs, I'll leave my answers there!
To MellowSunday: Thank you very much for taking the time to leave a review! Honestly, I love what I managed to build between Zoro and Elynna so far, so I hope you'll like it too -although they don't interact much here, but you'll definitely read about them next chapter! Also, I like the name you put : )
To Guest: I totally agree with you! It's often funny to see characters hitting each other in this kind of manga because they're so strong that a fist in the face doesn't do much for them, but if I start thinking about it just a bit, I realise it would totally be abuse for most other people… And I'm very glad that you've liked it so far -hope you'll like what is to come as much!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, so anything that you see in this fic and that you can recognise as belonging to One Piece is not mine. If I did own it, I wouldn't have to write fanfiction. Duh. Also, I don't own the picture.
Part One - Dive|rgence
THREE
Your voice is screaming out your dream, the dream locked in your body and chained to your will,
Bright like the sun shining upon the horizon of your future
When I
Can see nothing on my path,
And my hands are clenched so hard but there's
Nothing
To hold onto.
(Tell me,
What is my worth here?)
〪〪〪〜〜⏆〜〜〭〭〭
"Finally!" Luffy exclaims, jumping out of the boat as Coby docks it. "You're so great, Coby! We went straight to our destination!"
The boy flushes at the praise and directs a worried frown at him.
"Ah… Luffy-san, you should really find a navigator. You'll never get to the Grand Line if you just wander around. And won't you please reconsider taking Zoro the Pirate Hunter as your crewmate?"
"Uh? But I haven't made up my mind about whether he's a bad guy or not yet."
"He's been captured because he's bad, Luffy-san!"
Elynna snorts at that, drawing their attention.
Sure. Whatever makes you sleep at night.
"Where are you going, Ann?" Luffy blinks, confused as he sees her walk in a different direction than the one he took.
"I have some things I want to buy, and I think I saw the sign of a library when we were nearing the island."
"Ah, okay! We'll go eat, then!"
"Sure thing. I'll look for you when I'm done."
She waves a her hand over her shoulder, and turns away.
As she walks in the streets, she ponders what she needs to buy.
Books to learn more about this world, because she's definitely at a disadvantage there.
(Books and knowledge are reassuring, something she can do, that she knows how to do, unlike all the crazy fights she knows await her-
her hands shake, and she feels cold.)
And some basic first aid equipment. A must too.
If she has enough money, a few other outfits would also be nice. She'd rather not steal if she can help it, especially not when there is a Marine base just around the corner.
A few looks from passerbys makes her remember that she also doesn't have shoes, since all those in the shed were way too big. Spraining her ankle because of something stupid like the wrong size of shoes is at the very bottom of the things she needs right now. Besides, the skin of her feet is pretty thick and she's used to taking walks barefoot in the middle of rocks, so it's not really an urgent problem, especially since the streets seem pretty clean compared to her hometown.
Eventually, after a few detours, she finds the library she caught a glimpse of before docking, in what looks like one of the main shopping streets of Shells Town.
She dislikes shopping, except maybe when it comes to books, so even if there's not a big crowd, she gets to it quickly.
She enters the book shop first, giving a quiet greeting to the old man behind the counter, and takes a moment to browse the signs above each shelf so as to understand the organisation of the shop.
(-her stomach twists violently at the words that she cannot read but that somehow make sense in her mind, and no matter how much she loves speaking new languages, she hasn't learned this one, and it feels so wrong-)
Her eyes stop on a map of the region that is pinned to the wall, and she takes the time to memorise the name of two islands that are not too close that the townspeople would necessarily know about it, but not too far that coming to Shells Town would be illogical.
She won't go out of her way to give herself an alibi, but if someone asks her, better say that she's on her way to meet a family member rather than tell the truth about how she's a pirate.
Eyes flitting between titles, she walks through the alleys that can fit what she's looking for, until she has piled up a book on basic medical procedures, a school textbook on World History, and a copy of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. It might be stored in the shelf on legends and myths, but she knows better after hearing this term so many times from her sister's mouth. It would be stupid to not take it when she's lucky enough to stumble upon a copy, knowing that so many important characters, enemies and allies, are Devil Fruit Users.
It turns out that either the prices on this island are low, or she stole a fairly good amount, because she still has around half of her money left when she comes out of the library. Although, Coby and Luffy also took money from Alvida along with the boat, and gave her a part of it, so she has more than what she took from the shed.
She probably should try to keep some though, since she learnt just that morning about the News Coo selling the World Economy Newspaper to anyone paying for it. Coby looked at her strangely when she asked him why a seagull would wear a cap and carry a satchel, but the fact that Luffy didn't know about this word's version of a mailman either -then got excited and tried to catch one of them- fortunately shifted his attention away from her unnatural lapse of knowledge.
She takes less time in the drugstore and the clothes shop, being less tempted to browse once she has everything she needs, and goes back to the boat. She doesn't have a place to change clothes right now, but she stuffs an outfit in her bag anyway, along with the medical textbook, a bottle of disinfectant, and a roll of bandage, before putting the rest under the tarpaulin that Alvida and her men kindly provided them with on top of the boat.
Once relatively sure that they won't be stolen, she sits down, takes out the notebook and pen that crossed over the world in her rucksack and, just in case there is a conscious entity behind this really, really bad trip, she writes a letter and dumps it in the sea -since that's where she comes from:
"To Whoever-The-Hell-Is-Watching,
You got the wrong person. This entire clusterfuck of a joke was on the Christmas List of my sister. Not mine. Do have the generosity to rectify this.
Fuck y- Thank you in advance."
(It's petty and rash and entirely useless, she knows, but-
not doing anything would feel like acceptance.
She's not quite at that stage yet, and doesn't want to be.)
She watches the piece of paper sink in the sea, and comes back to the main street just in time to spot Coby and Luffy walking in the opposite direction, the latter holding his stomach as he chortles.
"Something funny happened?"
"Ah, Ann! Yeah, we went to an interesting restaurant! People were jumping around for no reason, it was so funny!"
She hums, looking at Coby's anxious face.
"You don't seem to find it that funny, Coby-san."
"Well, it's strange… They did it when we said Roronoa Zoro's name, which I could understand. He might have been captured, but considering his reputation it's normal for people to be afraid that he could escape. But they also did it when I said the name of the Marine Captain who is in charge of this base…"
"Maybe he did something bad?" Luffy shrugs, not seeming particularly interested.
"Impossible!"
"Why?"
"Wh- What do you mean 'why', Elynna-san?"
"First off, I don't think it's normal for them to react like that at Zoro's name either. He's a pirate hunter, which basically means he's supposed to side with the government. As for that Marine, well... You can find scum everywhere, whether inside governments or in a seedy town."
"That's not-"
(He must be at least fifteen, and she doesn't know if she resents him or envies him for still being able to see the world in such a stark contrast of black and white at that age.
She grinds her teeth together, and remind herself of the bruises on his skin and the terror in his eyes, reminds herself that Marines must have been his only hope during all this time he spent with Alvida and her crew, reminds herself that Luffy is probably the first nice pirate he has ever met-
But she can't chase away the thought that no matter what world you're in, humans are always the same, and it drowns her in ashes, makes her mind dark and heavy and so, so tired, because no matter how many times she tell herself that they, that she can be good, it's never enough to turn her away from the bad-)
Her shoulders slouch, hand rubbing absently at her temples.
"Look, Coby-san. I don't think you'll be able to convince me I'm wrong on this just with words when you don't even know what is actually happening."
"Well, let's just go to the base then! We have to meet Zoro, and Coby has to follow his dream anyway!" Luffy decides, crossing his arms behind his head nonchalantly.
"Hmm… You do that."
"Eh? You're not coming?"
She rubs harder at her temples. This street is more animated with the lunch hour, and all the noise is doubled by whatever translation trick is going on in her mind.
(It feels like there's a wall of noise between her and this world, like she can understand no one and no one can understand her, like she can't reach anyone, leaving her all alone in the middle of this crowd-)
Her hand is snatched away from her temple by another hand, and she knows from the texture of the skin whose it is, even before opening her eyes again and meeting the dark, concerned gaze of her Captain.
"Ann. Are you okay?" He frowns, looking annoyed that he can't immediately guess the source of her discomfort and beat it into a pulp.
It makes a hint of amusement fizzle through her, but she's too tired to do anything more than smile politely, which she knows he dislikes, so she doesn't.
His voice is low, but somehow breaks straight through the wall, and his hand is so real in hers-
"I'm fine, just a bit tired."
She makes to take back her hand, but suddenly Luffy clamps both his hands around it, and now his eyes look positively starry.
She blinks, confused.
"What is it?"
"Elynna-san… Did you just speak another language? I couldn't understand what you were saying."
Shit.
She curses herself internally for not noticing that the sudden surge in noise, after what little time she had to get used to this, made her switch back to the native language that is ringing inside her brain as the surrounding conversations are being translated -something she didn't even know was possible.
Except she's pretty sure that everyone in this world, no matter which island you go to, speaks the same language -an illogical but necessary premise for the Straw Hats' adventures to happen.
She is such an idiotic, careless little imbecile-
"Ah, that… Well, my island doesn't have much contact with the outside world, apart from the merchants who go out from time to time to buy what we can't make ourselves. So there are several dialects that developed in the different regions, even though everyone speaks the universal language."
Please, please, please, don't ask questions-
"That's. So. Cool! Hey, hey, can you teach me?!"
Luffy's eyes have somehow lit up even more and can now probably serve as spotlights. His smile is wide like only a rubber man's smile can be, but she's pretty sure the brightness and childish excitement in it is just him, and oh hell, since when does she find this kind of thing this adorable?
"We can try, I guess." Her gaze turns to the sky in thought. "It could even become some kind of secret code in case we need one-"
She doesn't immediately understand what happens then, because the next moment she finds herself with an armful of Monkey D. Luffy, arms locked around her neck and legs coiled around her waist, squeezing her enthusiastically and babbling and laughing in her ear about how we're gonna go on secret spying missions, so cool! and you're so great, Ann!
Before she can actually realise what is going on, he slides back down, tells her to go wait for them at the Food Foo restaurant they went to earlier, and then drags Coby away, disappearing around the corner in a cloud of dust.
Leaving behind a dazed Elynna, trying to remember when was the last time someone hugged her this tight.
(She can't find anything, and her whole self aches to hold him against her again.)
〪〪〪〜〜⏆〜〜〭〭〭
Elynna does as Luffy told her and goes to the restaurant, telling the owner that she's waiting for two other friends so that she can get a table. She orders a glass of water and a dish of pasta, considering that she hasn't eaten anything since that one apple before they were swept in a freaking whirpool of all things, and takes out the medical textbook. Reading has never failed to draw all of her attention, fading the surrounding sounds into a faint buzzing noise at most, and that's exactly what she needs right now.
She's carefully scanning the pictures explaining the process of how to do and change dressings, on various parts of a body and with several types of wounds, all the while chewing on the last remnants of her meal, when the call of her name brings her attention back to the world around her.
Raising her gaze from the pages in front of her, she watches as Luffy sits down beside her, eyeing the sauce that is still covering her plate with great interest, while Coby brings a little girl with dirty clothes and tear tracks on her cheeks to the owner, who begins to fuss over her with hushed whispers and frantic touches.
"How did it go?"
"That Zoro guy is super strong! He's been tied up for three weeks without food! I would've died in three days." Luffy laughs loudly, leaning more and more out of his chair and towards his First Mate, hand creeping towards her plate.
More like three hours.
Elynna pushes him away by his shoulder, and slides her plate towards him. His eyes sparkle, and with a loud thanks Ann!, he sets about blithely running his finger all over the plate and licking the sauce off of it with a cheerful, pleased smile.
Her fingers twitch, and she wants (so bad) to run her fingers through his hair -she's never seen hair that looks that soft- and hug him. Hell, if she could even just lean a bit closer-
(just close enough to be sure that he gives off enough warmth to be real,
because in that moment she feels so cold inside, so numb-)
But he's busy, and you can't just touch people like that out of the blue, you creep. He barely knows you, are you trying to get him to kick you out of the crew and leave you to find your way home on your own?
So she presses her fingers flat on the cover of her book, and stays put.
"You were right, Elynna-san." Coby laments as he joins them.
Her eyes on him is all it takes to prompt him to recount the story of how they met Zoro and the little girl, how she told them that Zoro was the nice one in this case, and how much the Marine Captain's son's behaviour crushed, crumpled and tore apart the pretty picture of the Marines in Coby's head.
Elynna fidgets in her seat with a slight frown. Yes, she disliked Coby's foolish -in her opinion- view of the world, but that doesn't mean that she wants him to suddenly lose faith in the human race and himself in the process or anything.
(She doesn't want him to become like her.)
Although meeting Luffy will probably prevent that.
"It's not because one Captain seems to be a bastard that all Marines are, you know. And if you become one, it will be one more good Marine, right?"
"Hm, y-yeah, I guess you're right." Coby chuckles shyly, cheeks reddened in pleased embarassment as he rubs the back of his neck.
Luffy's eyes bounce between the two of them, and he hums in satisfaction.
"Anyway, I've decided to take him in my cr- Annnnn, what ar' 'ou doin'?!"
Chin nestled in one hand, she tugs at the cheek that she's pinching between her fingers of the other hand, although not enough that it becomes too apparent that Luffy's flesh is elastic.
"Captain, you might be the one who makes the final decision, but every choice you make will affect your crew, so it would be best to at least ask for everyone's opinion before deciding, unless we're in the middle of a fight. Otherwise it's called being a tyrant or a dictator, and they're usually not very good examples of a leader. Besides, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so a crewmember might think about something that you didn't consider."
Her Captain crosses his arms, eyebrows furrowing thoughtfully as he stares at her.
Then he beams.
She lets go of his face, stopping herself just in time from patting his cheek.
"Okay! I don't wanna be a ditac- didac- dicda-"
"Dictator."
"Yeah, that. I still want Zoro to join us, though."
"That's fine, I'm not asking you to be selflessness personified or anything."
"So if I bring you to him so you can meet him, it's alright?"
"Yes."
"Great, let's go the-"
"I want a table for myself, I'm in the mood for a free feast!"
She has little doubt that the motherfucker who is currently bullying a citizen to give up his seat is anyone other than the Marine Captain's son she heard about a few minutes ago.
If he's not, that means there are two top-level motherfuckers in this town with a powerful father behind them, which would be shitty odds for such a small island.
She presses her lips together as she watches him brag loudly and push everyone around, watches how the hands of the little girl's mother are trembling as she brings him food that she bought but won't get any money for, watches the civilians cower and one of the boy's Marine bodyguards clench his fists and screw his eyes shut.
She thinks that villains can be put into two categories.
There are those who use their strength, their looks, their brain -whatever- to gain power, make people suffer or whatever villains are supposed to do. As much as they can make her stomach roll around beneath her skin until she's sick, she can at least respect their strength (physical or otherwise).
And then there is this kind of villain. The kind who have nothing to do on the top of society, shouldn't be able to get there, let alone stay there, but who do anyway because the powerful ones find them useful, or can't be bothered to take them down.
She hates those. Cannot even respect them, because she rarely finds anything worthy of respect in them -as far as she's concerned.
(She thinks it's a good thing that she wasn't granted some crazy power when dropped in this world, because she doesn't know if she would be able to stop herself from crushing him until he can only crawl on the floor and beg.
She can't really say why exactly she thinks it's a good thing, apart from the fact that it fits the socially acceptable moral compass that was taught to her.
She doesn't know if she should protect this part of her.)
When you're weak, you either lay low or get stronger. How can he think that no one will ever come to knock him down when he's so weak and there are so many strong people here? That no one will ever be desperate enough to stop caring about his money when it can't stop them from slashing his neck open?
Then again, he doesn't seem very smart to begin with. Not that kind of smarts, anyway.
"Bring me my meal hotter! Do you want to be like Roronoa Zoro? I'm going to publicly execute him in three days, that will remind you lot who gives orders around here."
Elynna waves her hand towards him and mouths 'that is a dictator'.
But Luffy barely reacts to her words, already getting to his feet.
"Three days? You said he had a month."
Ah.
She forgot that one doesn't need to be desperate to stop caring about money or status.
One can also be fucking crazy.
…
At least he's adorable.
And not the serial killer kind of crazy. Always a bonus.
"Who are you? So rude. If you must know, I was only joking. Why would I let him go when he had the gall to hit me?!"
Annnnnnd he gets hit.
Again.
Elynna throws her head back with a groan as Coby jumps out of his chair to try and hold back her Captain, whose hand is still fisted in the fabric of the Motherfucker Number One's shirt.
She sighs, and gets up.
People are screaming and running out of the restaurant, probably in an effort to not be associated with the events.
The two Marines are screaming questions at their Captain's son, fussing over him, while he is screaming threats at Luffy.
Who is also on the receiving end of Coby's screams of calm down Luffy-san! and you'll get into trouble with the Marines!
She wants to scoff, because they are pirates anyway, and she's pretty sure being a pirate is enough to get into trouble with the Marines.
She slides between Luffy and his temporary punching bag, fingers slipping around the former's wrist as she hides the latter from his view.
He lets go of Motherfucker Number One's shirt, gaze locking with hers.
His face is blank, but his eyes are like boiling clouds and the clap of thunder, brimming with a violence eager to burst forth.
She thinks it kind of suits him, but she still prefers it when he's being adorable, so when his stare slides back to Motherfucker Number One, she takes a step closer to shift her attention back to him.
"Captain. What's the point of hitting him when we can just go untie Zoro right now?"
His lips twist into a frown, before he casts a last glare at the blonde guy who is being carried away, and allows the tension and anger to leave his body. His face is still blank, though, and the tempest still brewing.
"Fine. He's not worth punching, anyway."
She hums in amusement.
"That too."
Luffy smiles a bit, although there is still an edge to it that makes it vaguely unsettling, and reaches down to take the hat that flew off with his momentum.
Coby's sigh of relief is loud in the suddenly silent restaurant.
Elynna is about to release her Captain's wrist to get back to her seat and grab her rucksack… Except Luffy snatches her hand out of the blue and starts dragging her behind him.
"Let's go get our new nakama!"
She opens her mouth to ask him -politely- to let go, but then she sees that he's smiling that sunny smile again, all teeth and gums and puppy-like excitement, and she closes her mouth again.
Damnit.
In the end, she just grabs her backpack on the way out and follows her Captain, hand still clasped into his.
〪〪〪〜〜⏆〜〜〭〭〭
Zoro tears himself away from memories of a girl whose tears shone bitterly under the moonlight when he hears footsteps, only for him to come face to face with the weird kid from earlier, marching up to him hand in hand with a girl that he hasn't seen before.
His eyes shift back to the brat, who throws his free hand up in greeting.
"Yo!"
"Back again? I already told you: I don't plan to become a pirate."
"I'm Luffy!" The kid goes on, lips stretching into a wide smile that looks a bit... off -too wide. "How about I help you with these ropes and you join us?"
"Didn't you hear me?!" Zoro barks.
Is the kid sent by Helmeppo as a new type of torture or something?
Because he sure is annoying enough for that.
Said kid turns to the slightly taller girl who came to a stop beside him.
"He's great, isn't he?"
Her answer is blunt as can be.
"He's mostly pissed off. And unconvinced."
Zoro snorts.
At least one of them is actually listening to him.
"Damn right. I have things I need to do, and no desire to become a criminal."
The kid tilts his head to the side with a face of confused frustration.
"Everyone already thinks you're a bad guy anyway. Why do you care?"
"I don't give a shit what society says. I never did anything I regretted, and it's not going to change!"
"... You know you just conceded his point, right?" The girl points out with a raised eyebrow.
Zoro shoots her a glare too, because now she's being equally annoying.
"Anyway, I'm not becoming a pirate."
He almost thinks he has convinced the guy -Luffy, but then he puffs out his cheeks and crosses his arms stubbornly.
"Don't care! You're going to join me!"
"Don't decide by yourself, damnit!"
Now it's the girl's time to snort, and she's rewarded by another glare.
"You don't mind Ann, right?"
"No objection here. You just have to convince him though, otherwise he'll find a way to escape at some point."
"Hmm… You use a katana, right?"
Zoro pauses, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Yeah…"
"Where is it right now?" He glances around, as if Zoro's katanas would suddenly appear in the yard.
"That bastard took everything I had. After my life, it's my most precious treasure."
"Treasure?!" He perks up. "Okay, then I'm gonna get it back for you!"
"Uh?"
"But if you want me to give it to you, you'll have to join us!"
"The hell?!"
The girl snorts again in approval, the sound clearly amused even though her face doesn't change, and making Luffy beam up at her with satisfaction.
"I'm going then!"
"Oi! The base is the other way around, dumbass!"
Seriously, how can he get lost when the building is just right there?! Besides, there's nothing more ugly on the whole damn island.
...
Wait-
Did his arms just stretch?!
The weight of someone's gaze brings his attention away from where the kid disappeared.
The girl is still there.
His eyes narrow.
She has dark hair and pale skin just like her, but the similarity ends here. There are hints of green in her hair, and her body is too chubby. Her skin is too pale (like a ghost) and her eyes are too flat, too distant.
(even though Kuina was serious, she wore everything she felt on her face)
She -Ann?- crosses her arms and shifts her weight on her left leg, staring at him pensively.
"Why did you accept?"
"Why did I accept what?" He asks gruffly, because he doesn't have the patience to deal with cryptic questions when he just got tricked by a kid who looks for all the world like he's completely dumb.
The polite smile slides easily on her face in reaction to his tone, like an automatic reflex.
"Ah, sorry. I was wondering why you accepted an honour-based deal from someone like that blonde motherfucker."
He almost chokes on nothing.
And here he thought she was starting to sound more polite.
"What did you just call him."
"I was never told his name, and I don't think I would care to remember it either." She shrugs carelessly.
"How does it matter what kind of guy he is?"
She tilts her head, as if contemplating whether to answer (but it also looks as if she's contemplating how much of an idiot he is, and it pisses him off).
"He doesn't give a damn about honour. He was going to have you executed in a few days."
For a moment, he can hear nothing but the violent thumping of his blood through him, and his fingers twitch, itching for his blades so he can sink them in this bastard's body, limbs suddenly alight with the need for violence -despite the numbness that settled after the excruciating pain caused by their constant immobility and this motherfucker's blows.
〪〪〪〜〜⏆〜〜〭〭〭
She remembers three katanas and green hair.
But seeing Roronoa Zoro -really- for the first time, the first thing that she notices is his eyes.
Slits of steely grey, that make her feel consciouly all of her weaknesses, despite the fact that he's the one tied up and running on an empty stomach.
And now they glint like blades, so much so that she shifts her weight back on both feet in case she needs to run, even though she knows that she's not the one these eyes are for (even though she knows that if she were, there is nothing she can do to prevent him from killing her).
His lips pull back into something that she's pretty sure is not supposed to qualify as a smile, the aggressive tilt of it setting her even more on edge.
"Elynna-san!"
Coby's scream almost makes her jump out of her skin.
"Coby-san."
She watches as he runs up to Zoro and starts to fiddle with the ropes holding up his arm.
"What are you doing? It won't take long for the Marines to see you and come down." The swordsman warns, murderous intent now reined back in.
"I can't stand this kind of Marines! I'm going to enroll, but I won't become like them, just like I know that Luffy-san won't become a bad person despite his dream of becoming the Pirate King!"
Zoro sputters at that.
"Yeah, I was surprised too, but he really means it! Maybe that's why he wasn't afraid to hit Helmeppo when he said he would have you executed!"
Elynna feels Zoro's eyes shift back to her, but for the first time since he has met Luffy there is something in his eyes…
Interest.
So that's how he was convinced.
She sighs as Coby groans in despair at the still untied knot.
"Coby-san. Step aside."
"Wha-"
She walks up to the swordsman, unsheathes the knife that is tied at her hip, and gets to work cutting the ropes. She feels the weight of Zoro's gaze on her, and this time when he talks his voice is calmer.
"Why does someone like you follow him?"
She pauses, and looks up from the rope tied around his stomach, aware that he is trying to gauge Luffy's worth further through her answer.
He just might be my only ticket home, so I'm clinging to him as hard as I came, without caring how far down I'm dragging him.
Uh.
Telling the truth is probably a bad idea.
"He asked me to join him when we were stuck on the verge of a whirlpool so, you know, I was a bit more concerned with saving my life than what was coming out of his mouth… More seriously though, he might be brash and stupid when it comes to some things, but he's got what it takes to make a good Captain -including honour. Besides," she steps back and puts away her knife, ready to raise her arms in case the swordsman needs a moment to regain his balance after three weeks in the same position. "He's going to give you back what you treasure most after your life. Whether you join the crew or not, you might as well pay back your debt and help us get out of here, right?"
Zoro grumbles something about manipulative little shits under his breath, but sighs in defeat.
"Fine. I owe you that, I guess."
And that's when a group of Marines rush in the yard and they find themselves surrounded by the dark mouths of a dozen rifles.
"The rest of you, surround the base! Don't let that brat with the straw hat escape!"
"Yes, Sir!"
The man she assumes to be the infamous Motherfucker Number T- uh, Marine Captain steps behind his soldiers, and starts talking to Zoro, but Elynna is too busy wondering how he can move his elbow when an axe this big has been shoved in his arm like that and is he trying to compensate for something? Because considering how huge that thing is, she doesn't want to see how small is his-
"You little bitch!"
She blinks, and sees veins popping furiously all over the Motherf- Marine Captain's face.
Oops?
"... Did I say that out loud?"
A few Marines nod furiously.
... Shit.
She didn't think Luffy's absence of a brain-to-mouth filter was contagious.
(And here she thought she would always be trying to find her words in an effort to not offend anyone, that she would always be trying to guess what people want her to say-)
"My innocence is lost. Forever."
She raises a mocking brow at Zoro's groan.
"What innocence? You killed a damn puppy."
"It was a wolf, and it was attacking a little girl! Whose side are you on, damnit?!"
She flips her hair nonchalantly.
"Ehhh, still undecided. You have green hair, and at least this guy is blonde, but in my opinion his haircut is just ugly enough to give you an advantage."
"That's your criteria?! And that's not just your opinion, that's a fact!"
"Discrimination." She claims with a disapproving twist of her lips.
"Aaaah?!" He eyes her threateningly.
"Elynna-san… Your hair is green too." Coby tries to intervene.
She… forgot that.
"... Nah, it's blue. Definitely blue."
"No no, it's green."
"Go check your glasses, four-eyes."
Coby recoils at this one despite her unchanged tone, looking unsure whether this is still supposed to be teasing.
"Discrimination yourself!" Zoro barks in exasperation, but she's too busy crossing her arms, nails clawing at her skin because goddamnit, what the fuck is she doing, loosening her tongue around people she barely knows, when even her family can't take the acid that curls inside her mouth sometimes?
"What are you doing?! Kill this bunch of clowns already! I will not let anyone who insults my greatness walk out of here alive!"
Coby's breaths are coming in short gasps, and he's starting to cry.
Zoro is crouched down, ready to spring out of the way and survive until Luffy comes with his katanas.
(because he cannot die here, when he still hasn't fulfilled their promise, when he still isn't the greatest, when he still has so many people he must beatbeatbeat-)
Elynna… Is just standing there. Staring at the rifles. Waiting. She doesn't move, doesn't make a sound.
Even if this body is adapted to the physiology of this world like she thinks, she doesn't have the experience to get herself out of a bullet's way, let alone a dozen's.
This… Is out of her hands. There is absolutely nothing she can do.
Even though, when her vision is filled with a lean back dressed in red, arms spread like a shield, and a straw hat perched on a mess of soft-looking, black strands, when Luffy's unique, smug laughter booms in her ears over the stupefied silence that follows his entrance, she finds herself letting out a shuddering breath.
Seems like she's not completely indifferent towards the end of her own existence yet.
A shrink would probably say it's a good thing.
(She's not particularly convinced either way.)
Luffy turns around and flashes a smile her way, supremely unconcerned with the bunch of armed Marines behind him.
"I didn't know which katana was yours, so I brought them all. Which is it?"
"All three. I use the Three Swords Style." Zoro huffs, because is the guy almost late on purpose or something?
He can already tell that this one is going to be a handful.
At least he won't be the First Mate, so he can just dump all the responsibilities on the girl.
"Really?! That's so cool!" Luffy is almost drooling at the idea of the tricks his new crewmate will show him. "So then, since you don't want to die here, are you going to run away without your katanas? Or are you going to resist the Marines with us and become an outlaw?"
"Are you guys demons?" Zoro scoffs, but he's smirking excitedly when he holds out his hand. "Well, whatever. Just give me my katanas. I'll join you."
"Yay! See, Ann? We've got a new nakama!"
Please stop being so cute. I'd rather keep my heart numb for now.
"That's great and all, Captain, but we're kind of about to die here." Elynna points out with a wave of her hand towards the Marines running up to them, swords in hand.
"Ah, yeah."
Obviously having no intention to get involved in this fight if she can help it, she shuffles behind her two crewmates and settles beside Coby, punctuating his fanboy running commentary with 'ow, that must hurt's and 'wow's in the right places while checking her nails -she should probably cut them considering their state after two days spent running around and playing pirates.
Then something cold is pressed against her temple, and she feels her spine go ramrod straight when she realises that fucking hell, is Motherfucker Number One pointing a goddamn gun at her right now?!
Yes, yes he is.
Coby gasps from her other side.
Yeah, he's seeing it too. She's definitely not dreaming.
... Okay, so she probably shouldn't look at her nails during a fight next time.
"Wait!"
Her Captain doesn't listen, and punches Motherfucker Number Two again anyway.
"I told you to wait, you idiot! Don't move, or I'll shoot!" He pushes the canon of the gun further, until she has to tilt her head on the side. "If any of you move, I will blow that bitch's brains out!"
…
At least he recognises she has brains.
She almost laughs at the hysterical thought, but stops herself in time -it would be just her luck that laughing would startle him and make him pull the trigger accidentally. Judging from how much he's shaking everywhere, he doesn't seem to be very sure of what he's doing, after all. Not that she blames him. She's never even hit someone with the intent to hurt before, let alone kill.
As for dying…
(She wonders if letting him give a new paint job to the courtyard with the content of her head would take her home.
She's not supposed to be here, after all.
And no matter what Luffy said before, he fits Luffy so well, he's, like, the perfect First Mate for him! is still echoing in her head, and she knows that Zoro is made to be better than her at this job.
It's tempting.
No one cares enough about her yet for her death to have much of an impact on the timeline, and even though Luffy's smile kind of makes her heart melt, she doesn't care enough about anyone here -yet- to feel guilty about letting herself go like she would in her own world.
She's always been the type to give up as soon as she can't see an immediate solution to her problem, anyway.
Except-
Except she didn't come here by dying. What if there's another way? What if she just… dies? Without seeing her family again, when she already doesn't know the consequences of her disappearance in her own world?
Except she has a solution, in the form of two -frankly scarily strong- guys, for whom she knows honour and nakama are important.
Except-)
Her lips part.
"Ah… Could someone save me? I mean, I'm totally willing to die for your dream and all, Captain." She jabs her thumb towards her aggressor. "But if I die at the hands of an idiot like Motherfucker Number One here, I'll be so ashamed I'll die a second time."
… Ah, she opened her fucking mouth again, didn't she?
She really should stop.
Although it would really help if this world would stop putting her into crazy situations with crazy people. The 'hey I wonder what will happen if I push that big red button?' kind of crazy.
So she sighs, joins her hands together, and adds a 'pretty please'.
She has to compensate for the fact that she just called someone Motherfucker to their face, after all -although it's not her fault that she has yet to be told this guy's name.
(Blaming others has always been a fine talent of hers.)
"Elynna-san…" Coby whimpers.
Zoro cocks a brow in surprise, and smirks.
Luffy bursts out laughing as he walks towards her, aiming his punch without a care for the Motherfucker Number Two who is raising his axe behind his back.
"Okay, Ann! I got it!"
"Hey! I told you to not move! Stop, or I'll shoot!"
"Go ahead! I'll save her anyway!"
He does.
And he and Zoro win.
As the entirety of the Marine corps rejoice over the defeat of their superior and she's trying to make herself move (she thinks she just might be in shock), her attention is drawn to her new -she searches for the term that has no translation in her own language- nakama as he walks up to her, bringing his blades back into their sheaths.
"For a criminal, you're pretty weak, you know."
"Because I couldn't save myself? Well I've never had to fight before, and I certainly didn't think I would end up being a pirate, so there. Since it irritates you so much, I'll enlist you to help me with my training."
He scoffs, but now there's approval in the slant of his smirk. "Fine by me."
And just like that he crashes right into her when she still can't move, and she knocks into her Captain on the way down because of course he chose that moment to walk up to her.
Fuck manga logic.
"Raaaaaah, I can't breeeeeathe." Luffy wheezes from under her. Loudly.
Yeah, well me neither, but thanks for being a great cushion.
"What I have in fat he has twice in muscles. It's his fault."
"I don't caaaaaare. Get uuuuuuup!"
She sighs, but it almost sounds like a laugh.
〪〪〪〜〜⏆〜〜〭〭〭
When they finally drag Zoro's body back to Food Foo, its owner is very happy to let them eat as much as they want, and the villagers are very happy to pay for at least a part of it. Because let's face it, Elynna is not sure they have enough money to pay for a guy in his late teens who hasn't eaten in three weeks and, you know… Luffy.
(It takes a long time to drag him back. A very long time. And Zoro is very lucky that all these muscles saved her life and make him look sexy, because otherwise she wouldn't do her share of work, or at least not without a lot of complaints.)
When the mother of the little girl -Rika- turns to her to take her order, she shakes her head.
"I've already eaten earlier. Although it would be great if you could prepare some food for us that we can take with us when we leave, if you have the time to make it while taking care of these two. But… Um, would it be possible to borrow someone's bathroom? I kind of would like to freshen up…"
"Oh, of course! My daughter and I live just on the second floor. The bathroom's door is the lavender one, and there are towels in the left drawer under the sink. Feel free to use whatever you need."
Elynna's shoulders slouch in relief. Taking a dive in the sea helped, but it clearly isn't the same as taking a shower.
Being a pirate is okay, but not becoming a pig, thank you very much.
She thanks the woman, and rushes up the stairs with her backpack.
The shower feels really nice, and she makes sure to scrub all the dirt and sweat and salt that has accumulated on her skin, under her feet and in her hair before she comes out.
She slips on her still slightly wet swimming suit -since they will probably set sail again today- and into loose, raw denim jeans that sit low on her hips before putting on the basic yellow t-shirt that is one or two sizes too big -just the way she likes it.
She gives up tucking it in halfway through, and throws the heavy weight of her still-wet hair into a loose mess of curls on the top of her head.
When she looks in the mirror, she nods at her reflection in approval. Without the darkness of her hair flowing around her too-pale face and with the bright colour of her top, she looks a bit less like a ghost (and the shower makes her feel a bit more human).
She tries to wash the old Marine uniform as best as she can in the sink, and uses the hairdryer to take out most of the humidity, before she deems it good enough. It wasn't in great shape to begin with, and besides she just wants something to cover herself, not attend the Fashion Week.
When she comes back down the stairs, she's greeted with Coby's life story and how thankful he is to her crewmates for teaching him how to stand up for himself and his dreams.
She feels her cheeks burn in mortification, and she squirms, uncomfortable.
She will never understand how some people can blurt out all their thoughts and feelings in a public space like this. Or at all, really.
Without looking at him, she crosses the room quickly and throws herself in a chair at the boys' table, fingers reaching for the last sticks of dried vegetables that Zoro didn't eat, dipping them in the sauce before popping them in her mouth to give herself the time to regain her composure.
"Ah, Elynna-san! Luffy-san and Zoro-san want to head for the Grand Line without any more preparation! Please stop them! It's not known as the Pirates' Graveyard for nothing, this is too reckless!"
She nods gratefully at the glass of water that is brought to her, and gulps down a mouthful as she sifts through what little knowledge she has on the timeline. Even though it's spotty at best, her memory is good enough that she remembers the Straw Hats' entrance into the Grand Line as vaguely important. Something about crossing a moutain to get there -however that's supposed to work.
The point being, she's pretty sure that there are at least a couple more crew members by the time that moment rolls around.
"Well, we don't have a navigator, so we're probably going to get lost anyway. We just might meet some more people that fit the Captain's criteria on the way there."
"That's true… But still-"
"You should worry about yourself." Zoro cuts in. "No matter how unwillingly, you've sided with two different groups of pirates already. You shouldn't underestimate the Marines' capability to gather information. If you enlist, they'll learn about it sooner or later."
He leaves Coby to mull over that particular fact, and turns to his Captain.
"Anyway, how many are we on that crew of yours?"
"Three for now!" Luffy exclaims, looking absurdly proud of himself.
(does she need to mention that of course it's adorable too?)
"W- Wait! You mean…" Zoro successively points at the three of them, incredulous.
"Yep. The Captain is aiming for quality over quantity."
"Flattery will lead you nowhere." He gripes, obviously still feeling betrayed despite the fact that they didn't say anything about a big crew.
She shrugs, unbothered.
His eyes narrow suddenly, and he leans forward in his seat.
"And our ship? Where is it?"
His gaze is helpfully directed through the window and to the rowboat moored in the port.
"Luffy-san was born with no planning skills." Coby concludes.
The Marines enter on that note to -politely- kick them out, and Elynna gets up with a sigh (she just sat down, damnit) to collect the little food their host had the time to prepare, thanking her once again.
She finds herself thinking how strangely easy it is to abruptly leave for an unkown destination, even for her, who loves control so much that she plans her days ahead even during holidays.
Then again, she's not alone, and she's not leaving anything or anyone behind that she is particularly attached to.
(In the end, everything she owns here fits into her rucksack and the boat.
And whether in Shells Town or in the middle of the East Blue, her family and her world don't feel any closer.)
Clearly though, she was right to tell Zoro that their Captain is not entirely dumb, considering how he helps Coby to shake off his past involvement with pirates.
〪〪〪〜〜⏆〜〜〭〭〭
I try not to write anything canon that isn't necessary, especially if it's not funny... Well, you got to know a bit more of Elynna's personality here, and she does have a sense of humour, yay!
Although a pretty dark/offensive one, admittedly. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but that's not gonna change so...
I hope you liked this chapter, and that everything will be good for you and your loved ones until the next update!