Here we are again! Legal stuff: All original One Piece characters, plots and settings belong to Eiichiro Oda. I didn't receive any revenue or payment for writing this fan fic. Enjoy Chapter 7!
He caught a glimpse of it before Nami's voice galvanized everyone into action.
"Don't keep staring! We have to move! Now!"
Usopp and Luffy grabbed one set of oars while he and Chopper grabbed the other. They rowed furiously, trying to get unstuck before the bullet-like ship rammed straight through them. Magina untied a rope quickly. The half-furled sails caught the barest touch of a breeze but it was enough. Merry popped! free just seconds before the ship plowed on by.
"Oi! Frog! Get out of there!" Luffy shouted to the huge frog they were chasing.
It jumped right in front of the ship and waited patiently. Everyone watched in horror as the frog was hit dead on by the steam spewing monstrosity.
"Ah! The frog was hit!"
"Wha-What was that? A ship?"
"No! A ship can't travel with a body like that!" Nami shouted.
Magina sank to the floor, her knees shaking badly. Her face was pale again. Zoro was going to ask if she was okay when he faintly heard, "Obaa-chan! Pirates!"
"Pirates? Really, Chimney? Alright, get the Den Den Mushi!"
The snail was put on the ground in front of her but when the large and clumsy woman used the Den Den Mushi, she hung up quickly. Zoro noticed that her words were slurred. Maybe she forgot because she was actually drunk?
"Seems like we just barely dodged that fishnet," Magina sighed in relief beside him.
Zoro's lips twitched into a wry smile. How many fish idioms could one fisherman have? He frowned when he remembered. He smelled blood on her earlier. Why? She stretched and yawned, obliviously ignorant of his increasing concern.
"Anyway, it looks like things have calmed down. I'm going to rest until the next island. I didn't even get to close my eyes before the ship went off course," Magina smiled at him before opening the door that led to the girls' side.
Zoro narrowed his eyes. He had to be sure that he hadn't just imagined it. He followed her into the darkened corridor. He grabbed Magina's hand and spun her towards him.
"What-? Zoro?"
He trapped her against the wall. Zoro leaned forward, trying to catch a hint of that particularly stringent odor. She must have washed away all traces before coming out earlier. He knew what he smelled though. There was only one way to find out.
Zoro kissed her, thrusting his tongue past her teeth much like he would against an enemy with a shield. He felt her stiffen as she realized the purpose of his sudden and aggressive kiss. Their tongues clashed as she desperately tried to stop him from exploring her mouth. They traded blow for blow and as time marched on; Zoro could feel her shaking.
He was sure he would find his proof. She suddenly retreated. Zoro pressed his advantage. His tongue suddenly surged into her mouth. It wasn't until her teeth gently clamped down that he realized his mistake. Her withdrawal was just a feint.
"Let go of my tongue," he growled.
Magina clenched her hand that he held against the wall. She couldn't reply but the message was clear enough. Then, let go of me.
"Fine."
He released her hands and she unhinged her jaw. Still, before he retracted his tongue completely; Zoro managed to taste it. He was right. Blood! He scowled at her.
"Why haven't you seen Chopper yet?"
"I have! There's nothing wrong with me as far as he can tell. He wants to wait until more symptoms show up. He doesn't think it's serious," she paused and glared at him suddenly. "Why can't you just ask me about that normally?"
Zoro smirked. "Then I would have to use another excuse to kiss you, wouldn't I?"
"Idiot. You don't need an excuse," Magina blushed shyly, stretching to kiss him gently on his cheek. She shoved him towards the door afterwards.
"I really am going to nap until we get to the new island, so you can go back now."
Zoro allowed himself to be pushed out of the dim corridor. He couldn't stop his satisfied smile in time. Sanji glared at him.
"Oh, so that's why he didn't move. I've decided! I'm not going to eat that frog! I'd never eat anything that brave!" Luffy declared loudly.
Zoro sighed in relief. Frogs were no longer on the dinner menu. The old lady gave Nami a map of Water 7 and a letter to someone called Iceberg. The Going Merry set off, headed once again to The City of Water.
…
Mimi paced nervously. She was positive that the Straw Hats were coming from the west. Then, their songs veered sharply to the north. They were heading this way again but that jog in a different direction made Mimi think momentarily that they weren't going to come to Water 7 after all.
"So, are they really coming here?" Jotaro asked.
Mimi sighed heavily. "They have to be! I mean, they're heading directly this way. It's the most logical destination."
"So, when will they get here?"
"Sometime today, probably," she frowned in concentration.
"And when are you going to confess?" Jotaro asked a little glumly. Mimi wondered if he was sulking because he finally knew her reason for wanting to meet with the Straw Hats. Oh, well. He wasn't going to let her do this all by herself, not at this point.
"Tonight. I'm going to make my move tonight," Mimi responded with determination. It wouldn't be long. Only a few more hours until Zoro-sama was hers.
…
Magina stretched in the sunlight. The short nap was exactly what she needed. She felt refreshed and ready for adventure.
"I'm telling you! We need a shipwright that's five meters tall!" Luffy was saying.
"How is he going to fit on the ship?" Usopp demanded quickly.
"Luffy, just leave it to me! I'll find the hottest babe to be our new nakama! Ah, it'll be so lovely having another flower on board to nurture and help bloom," Sanji said blissfully.
"Are you an idiot, Sanji? A shipwright is like a carpenter. Just wait, I'll show you what he should look like!"
Magina shook her head and smiled. It was just as lively as ever. She loved when she could spend a carefree afternoon with her energetic nakama.
"We were really lucky that we met Cocoro-san. Now we have this letter and a map of the city!" Nami said excitedly as she opened up the piece of paper she was holding. A moment later, she threw it down in disgust. "That's not going to help at all!"
Chopper picked it up and yelped in surprise, "It looks like Luffy drew it!"
"Oh, Magina! You come see too!"
Luffy waited until she sat down in between Usopp and Sanji before revealing his rendition of what their new nakama would look like.
"Okay, we're looking for someone like this!" Luffy said seriously, holding up the picture.
Usopp and Sanji leaned back as far as they could from the picture; an expression like they ate a pickled eel by mistake on their faces. The man's green nose came out from underneath his blue striped hat while his torso and arms covered most of the page. His legs were wavy, blobby stumps and black eyes squinted at them.
"If I see someone like that," Usopp commented, "I'm running away."
"Uh, me too. If I had a ship, I'd go to sea except he looks part octopus so he might follow me," Sanji responded nervously.
"I don't know. I think he looks almost like a gorilla, only I can't figure why he's sticking his tongue out at me," Magina said as she took the sketchbook and studied it closer.
"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Zoro asked in annoyance.
"Hey guys, come and get your allowance!" Nami called.
An instant shouting and shoving match began. Magina chuckled. She knew better than to get in the middle of a fight like that. She'd get her allowance later. The westerly wind pushed them along and it was only a few minutes later that Luffy started shouting happily.
"Land ho! Island ahead!"
Maigna jumped to her feet and rushed to stand by Robin. The closer they came to Water 7, the more amazed she was. Gasps and exclamations echoed her thoughts.
"What a huge fountain!"
"It's spectacular!" Robin agreed.
A boat man stopped them as they approached the entrance.
"Pirates can't enter from the main entrance! Why don't you try going around to the back!" he shouted with a friendly smile.
"Ah, yes. Thank you!" Nami answered in confusion.
"What do you think those huge doors were for?" Usopp pondered out loud.
Luffy held up his picture. "They must be for the five meter tall carpenters!"
"How many of them do you think there are?!" Usopp exclaimed in shock.
When they were partly into the outer edge of the city, they were turned away again.
"Oh! Are you here for plundering or pillaging?" a friendly restaurant owner asked.
"We're here to repair our ship!" Luffy answered promptly.
"Then, there's a little place outside of town where you can anchor your ship!"
Magina frowned. It was a weird not to have anyone scared of them. It normally went like, "Ah! Pirates! Run for your lives! Someone call the Marines!" Didn't it?
"Why isn't anyone afraid of us?" Chopper asked.
"There is probably someone on this island who is strong enough to handle a situation when pirates get too violent," Robin answered calmly.
"That makes sense," Magina smiled.
"You don't think those strong people will c-come after us?" Usopp stuttered.
"Of course not. We're customers," Sanji said.
"That's right! We've got lots of money just for fixing Merry up. And to get a huge bronze statue! We can't forget about that!"
Magina spotted a low-lying piece of land slightly to the starboard side of them. There was barely any grass and it didn't have that many rock formations either.
"I think this is the place they were talking about," she turned to say.
"What a dreary little spot," Sanji commented dryly.
"It can't be helped. We're pirates after all," Nami replied before giving orders, "Furl the sails! Lower the anchor!"
"Aye!"
Everybody helped by tying down ropes or throwing the anchor overboard. Soon, all that was left was tying off the furled sails. Zoro yanked on the rope, bracing his foot against the mast. It creaked and groaned alarmingly as it bent backwards towards the swordsman. Shouts of surprise echoed around the ship.
"Zoro, what are you doing to Merry?!" Usopp cried angrily.
The culprit propped the mast up by himself. "All I did was pull the rope. Is Merry really in that bad of shape?"
"I understand why they're not worried about pirates running wild in the town but why do you think the people don't call the Marines to just chase them out? Cocoro-san said that there was a base nearby. You'd think that would be the easiest solution," Nami asked, watching with only a little interest as Zoro struggled to set the mast straight.
"The shipyard. As far as they're concerned…" Zoro grunted, "pirates are customers just like anybody else."
"Oi! Zoro! Stop blabbing and fix the mast!" Usopp yelled at him while whacking him on the head.
"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy shouted, running ahead. He grabbed Usopp and they started walking down a path toward the city.
Nami shook her head, "Wait, you two! You're coming with me. We're going to find the shipyards and some place to exchange the gold."
Magina watched them load the gold on a cart and head off toward the city. Usopp had a parting warning before they disappeared entirely.
"Zoro, when we get back, the mast better be back to the way it was!"
She giggled softly as she recognized the flare of annoyance coming from the laboring swordsman.
Chopper sighed dejectedly, "It feels like we were left behind."
Magina almost echoed Chopper's sigh. "Luffy does seem to have all the fun any time that we land on a new island."
"Then, shall we go as well?" Robin suggested serenely.
"Yeah, I want to go! Do you think that there will be a bookstore?" Chopper asked hopefully.
"I'm sure there is. Did you want to visit anywhere in particular, Miss Siren? I thought that you would take this opportunity to be alone with Mr. Bushido."
Magina tried not to wrinkle her nose. "I do want to be alone with Zoro but Sanji is still here. Besides, I'm not sure how I'd put up with the two of them fighting. And a little time apart is good sometimes too."
"That's true. Well, then you are more than welcome to join us."
"Sure," Magina smiled brightly.
Chopper and Magina climbed down the rope ladder first while Robin told Zoro that they were going sightseeing. When she joined them again and they started walking, Robin smiled at her.
"What?" Magina wondered briefly if there was still some paille on her face. Or maybe…her cheeks suddenly flushed…maybe there was some mark from when Zoro kissed her?
"Oh, it's nothing. Mr. Bushido is just very overprotective of you."
Magina sighed in frustration. "Let me guess, he didn't want to let me go sightseeing. I keep telling him that I'm fine!"
"He conceded once he learned that Chopper was coming along," Robin's smile turned secretively knowing.
"You sure have it rough, Magina," Chopper said, "I don't know if I could handle Zoro staring me down all the time. He can be scary."
All of her irritation at Zoro stopped as suddenly as it began. He was only so protective because he cared about her. Magina couldn't really complain anyway since she felt the same need to protect the swordsman too. She smiled.
"So, the first stop is the bookstore?"
The conversation changed and they talked about books as they walked down the streets of Water 7 together.
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 7. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last time.
ShikaTachidoriKitsuneHebiTak a: I'm glad that you thought that it was interesting. There were some parts in that chapter that made me feel nervous that it was too dull. ^_^
Zororenjilover: Heehee, I don't want to give any spoilers or hints so you'll just have to continue reading, lol. There might be an incident or two. Look forward to it!
I also wanted to thank the people who added Dream Like Eternity to their favorites recently. Japanese:
Den Den Mushi: a snail transponder that act like telephones or cameras
Obaa-chan- Grandma or an older lady
Review if you want to. I look forward to seeing what everyone thinks! See you all in Chapter 8!