I am back, bby!
Zoro wasn't a man of any faith.
At most he did believe that fate always has its own wicked plans for good and hard working people, but at the end one can always be the master of their own path with enough stubbornness and determination to fight it back. It was the kind of mentally that he embraced after the loss of Kuina; a natural talent with the katana snuffed out of existence by a mere accident on the stairs.
What kind of end was that?
No, he will forever refuse to believe in any god that was as cruel as that.
Although, after their miraculous escape from Loguetown (and with all stakes against them), the green-haired man felt that strong resolution falter a little the moment he had seen a lightning strike both Luffy and Buggy in a perfect synchronization of timing and place.
The fact that his idiot Captain was made of rubber only added to the surrealism of the whole situation once she came completely unscathed from the splinters and smoke.
After that whole mess, plus the horrible little joy ride that had been the Reverse Mountain, Zoro felt tempted to say that from here onward was smooth sailing for their crew.
He should have known better than to even think about it while trying to nap at the deck.
Now? Now they had two stowaways in ridiculous costumes luring them to what was obviously a trap at an island called Whiskey Peak.
Being welcomed by cheering people and a party only made things even more suspicious for him; Nami seemed to be the only one that had managed to catch onto it mostly because of her natural weariness, but once they had been offered alcohol with the nicely added reward of a heavy bag full of berries, Zoro had been completely romped by the damned woman to drink too so the both could have higher chances to win said bag.
Wine free of alcohol his ass, the drinks had tasted weird the instant he drank the first pin and by the looks of his knocked out Captain and crew, it seemed they even spiked the food too. Of course, that didn't change his mind about chugging it down.
A free drink was a free drink.
Even if it had been a sloppy trap (one that they still have fallen into), the swordsman felt a little glad for this turn of events as it gave him the perfect excuse to unwind his built up itch for a fight.
These bounty hunters could barely count as simple warm-ups.
It had been all fun and silly games up until he found himself between what seemed to be a drama he had no business getting involved into until that devil of a woman arrived at the worst possible time.
"Compensation, you say? Make that 1000 million berries and we got a deal!" Nami said with too much enthusiasm for someone that wasn't going to be doing much in that arrangement.
"What the hell are you talking about, woman?! Weren't you unconscious a few minutes ago?!"
"Oh Please, you really think I could go down that easily? Who would fall asleep all willy-nilly in a town that celebrates the arrival of pirates? I could have drank you under the table if I had wanted to! You know?" the ginger girl says in mock, changing her focus just as fast to the man still holding his pant leg which, apparently, was a royal soldier from Alabasta. "So do we have a deal?"
For once, the swordsman was happy to not be the focus of Nami's greediness, watching how the weird man was sweating a river by simply watching the devil of a woman egg him on to accept. He's gotta admit it's quite impressive how the navigator can play people that easily when she immediately calls out the mayor's loyalty to his princess, which the old man can barely dodge.
How did that lead him to be saving a princess from a piece of snot? He wasn't sure, but he'll get Nami from this. That's a promise.
He's ready to take on to those two devil fruit users until a voice breaks among the havoc of the night.
"Zoroooo!"
If only he knew what that would mean for him.
Luffy would admit that she felt a bit ashamed for what Zoro had done to these nice people. After all, the town had made an effort to throw a whole banquet to welcome them with lots and lots of yummy food, but on the other hand, she also felt a little guilty too for simply jumping the gun and not trusting her First Mate's actions at the very least.
Zoro would never be a bully, period.
At the start of their fight, the dark-haired girl had intended to punch the swordsman as a rightful punishment just like the ones that her grandpa used to give her when she back-talked to him, but that quickly changed a bit later the more their scuffling progressed. Luffy realized that she was enjoying fighting her friend a little too much, their competitiveness shining brightly with each slash and punch shared. It made her heart thump harder and her blood to boil in a funny way and by how Zoro seemed to smirk at the increasing excitement on her face, the green-haired man was feeling quite similar.
Where Zoro had technique and resilience, Luffy easily counteracted him with her unpredictableness and creativity to block his attacks.
Even the two weirdos that tried to intervene in their fight barely served as anything but an annoyance that they easily swatted away to keep their own battle going.
It was amazing!
An all encompassing battle of wits that she couldn't get enough of… until Nami appeared from within the shadows and punched the daylight out of their faces.
Very hard.
"Stop it, now!" bellowed the navigator in exasperation, hands over her hips like scolding a pair of unruly children. The fact that her knuckles looked intact was insane on its own too. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?! At least the princess is safe. You idiots almost made me lose 1000 million berries!" to make her point even more clear between that scolding, Nami decided to lift them up from the scruff of their shirts as if they weighed nothing. "Do you both get it?!"
"W-who are you people… What are you talking about?" this time it was a meek and nervous voice to call their attention, or at least, Nami's attention.
Luffy was trying to slap and punch Zoro just as much as the man tried the same against her, exchanging blow after blow in a more watered-down version of their previous fight. Of course that ended up being a bad idea, making their orange-haired navigator lose the very little patience she kept a hold on and forcibly dropping both her and Zoro to the floor. Not even happy with that, Nami delivers a heavy smack on their heads like nobody's business to finally have them settle down.
"Stop fighting!" she yelled with hot fury and not leaving room for any argument, all while shaking any dust that may have clung to her hands and blouse thanks to all the scuffling the two idiots had done non-stop. "Ah… Sorry about that! I wanted for the two of us to make a contract, if you don't mind"
The bewildered and long silence of the blue-haired princess was good enough of an answer.
Of course they would end up saddled with the problems of others.
Of course they would end up gaining the attention of a damn Warlord (of all things!) just entering the Grand Line.
And of course her Captain would now side with this helpless princess if it meant fighting said Warlord. Which, she may add, was now stirring up tensions for a civil war to break soon and collect the spoils left among the bloodshed and despair.
It was revolting to think such a cold and greedy mindset could exist, but then again, Nami grew surrounded by vicious fishmen a great deal of her childhood and teens. Even the navigator had a hard time stealing from faceless people since she could still think about the struggles that her own family went through.
'What if I stole from a man trying to feed his family?' 'What if I stole from a poor kid that wanted that money to help their grandma?' 'What if…' 'What if…'
That's why she had decided that stealing from either assholes or pirates was better than dealing with a conscience that, more often than not, sounded like the late Bell-Mere scolding her.
To think that there were people who would go out of their way to cause a war simply so they could steal and own the remains of a burning country, not caring for those losing their homes, their families, their friends or their lives… it left a foul taste on her mouth just imagining it.
So as much as Nami was scared, she gave in rather quickly in the decision to take. It was a lost battle anyway, as Usopp would be the only one on her side to avoid danger at all cost.
Anyway, it was water under the bridge already and right now… a poor lonely girl needed some reassurance and company after watching her royal guard's ship explode by one of those Baroque Works agents.
Nami was a bit too intimate with the feeling of losing those you loved and cherished and like hell she'll let such a strong and stubborn girl like Vivi to wallow on her own.
"Are you sure I can sleep here too, Nami-san? I don't want to impose"
"Don't worry your little head about it. We fit perfectly in the bed and if Luffy moves too much, you can just kick her and she stays still. It's a trick I learned" the orange-haired girl winked with amusement, already set on her pajamas and taking out a few hair brushes and clips.
"What's that for?" asked the young princess once looking at the array of objects over the bed.
"This will be our tools for our nightly tradition"
"I'm ready, Nami!"
Talk about the devil and she will appear.
Luffy arrived as loudly as possible and immediately jumped over the bed, just barely missing hitting her and Vivi in the process. Her laugh was always contagious wherever she went and the navigator felt relieved once she noticed the small smile dancing on the princess' lips at her Captain's antics. Good, the girl needed some distractions from the looming catastrophe that this endeavor will be.
"Luffy and I do this little tradition of brushing our hair every night when we get the chance. Mostly is me brushing the birdnest she had at the top of her head, but it's a nice relaxing activity" Nami gave a brief annoyed look to the still laughing pirate girl and huffed with resignation. "Probably the only relaxing activity I can get from that idiot. Alright! Sit still, Luffy!"
With that command, the rubber girl crossed her legs and let her friend start untangling some of the bigger and stubborn knots. The fact that her hair could still get knots when it was that short was just baffling. All while Vivi sat there as a simple witness of the peaceful vision such a destructive girl could paint.
A true dissonant contrast. An incredible one nonetheless.
It was nice.
"Vivi!" at the call of her name, the teen looked up only to see a very excited Luffy with a hair brush on her hand. "Come on and get close! I learned how to brush hair a bit less rough!"
"You better not pull and force the damn brush! You'll end up leaving the princess with bald spots on her head"
Luffy simply pouted at the scolding, but insisted for Vivi to come closer towards her.
Even if Nami's words hadn't given her some confidence, the blue-haired girl relented and let the rubber teen take some locks of hair and start to untangle some of the strands and proceed to brush it. Surprisingly, Luffy's movements were gentle and started from the tips of her long hair only to progressively going up little by little.
The effect was instantaneous, leaving Vivi incredibly sleepy and relaxed like she hadn't be in months since she started her suicidal crusade to stop Crocodile and the civil war. Luffy started to hum a little tune, encompassed by the sound of the moving sea and the bickering of the boys downstairs (Sanji and Zoro fighting over nothing as always while Usopp complained but didn't do much to stop them).
It was so wonderful. So warm like a welcoming hug of her father.
'Just wait a bit longer… everyone!'
That night, Vivi allowed herself to cry down the weight of the world.
If the two pirate girls heard or saw her, none made a comment about it. They let her be and simply held the remains to pull her back together.
The princess had never felt this grateful.
Thank you for reading!