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Italicized text - thoughts
Chapter 11 - Zoro
7:00pm
The second I heard that guy's voice, I felt slimy. Even if I couldn't find Nami in that room, I was already half-decided that I was taking his head. He spoke as if he was superior to everyone around him, even the guy I heard him call "brother" he spoke to like he was trash. Great. Another asshole with a God complex. Every word was biting and cruel, and the way he talked about Lavender. She may be a girl I'd never met, but the anger that started to pour out of me when I heard her grunt of pain and what I could only assume was her body hitting the ground was explosive. Only my need to ensure Nami's safety kept me in place, and even that was tenuous. Sanji'd be so proud, using that brain, he likes to say I don't have.
Deep breaths in and out were doing very little to keep me calm. I'd practiced meditating for years, and the sounds coming from the throne room in front of me were putting my careful training to the ultimate test. My hand ached from clutching my sword's hilts too tightly. Finally, I could hear the urchin of a man in the next room wrapping up his speech. He was telling someone, Lavender, I assume, that he planned to kill her. The rage I already felt doubled, and my heart began to pound. What is going on? I thought. I mean ya, this is upsetting, and I'm for sure gonna kill this bastard, but this amount of stress and panic has never happened to me.
My internal struggle was almost enough to distract me from the commotion beyond the door. Then I heard it, a voice cutting right through my buzzing thoughts. Soft but strong like steel, even if she only said one word. "No." Her voice was low and had a sultry quality, but it was rough, almost as if she hardly ever used it. It wrapped around my ears and sent a slight shiver down my spine. If I were Sanji, I'd have a poetic sonnet already buzzing through my head about the lovely quality of her voice, the strength of her bravery, or some other romantic horse shit. But instead, I'm me, and I can't wait present this woman with her abuser's head. Decision made, a maniacal grin was already spreading across my face when suddenly, a surprised male shout echoed across the room beyond my cracked door. Two sets of running footsteps were heading in my direction. I quickly placed Wado in my mouth and drew the other two from their sheaths. I was ready if they were coming for a fight.
The voice I now knew was Lavender let out a painful shriek right outside the door, and I watched stone and plaster rain down as she was slammed hard against the outside wall. I could hear murmuring, but he must have been right against her ear because I couldn't make out his words. I could, however, hear Lavender when she brokenly sobbed, "No, please. Not Nami." I didn't catch the rest because my tenuous control over my anger finally snapped. I didn't even push the door open. Instead, I sliced through the door, stone, and plaster, causing a deafening explosion. The shockwave I threw off sent debris flying in every direction, and large plums of dust swathed through the air. I could hear various shouts and footsteps as I took short, quick steps out of my destroyed hiding place.
The room I entered was dim, most of the sconces on the wall having been blown out with the blast. My eyes swept the room, and I knew they must have looked murderous. On the ground to my right was a tree of a man lying on his side. He was doing a very poor job of trying to make me think he was unconscious, but his breathing was too even and measured. What a coward. I had just moved my foot to step toward him when I heard a shout from the opposite direction.
"Zoro!"
Never since I met Nami had I been so happy to hear her voice. My head swung her way, and I saw her standing behind a slightly shorter girl with periwinkle-colored hair. How the fuck do I even know that color? She was viciously balling her fists, and I knew if I had meant to harm her, Nami, or the other girl standing with them, she would have fought me with everything she had. She was lovely and brave. I turned my gaze to Nami to take her in. I scanned her from head to toe and was enraged by what I saw; bruises, scrapes, hair disheveled, no doubt from rough hands, and too-small clothes pulled in several places.
I turned my head back to the man pretending to be unconscious on the floor. He seemed to be trying to hold back a smile, like he thought the situation was all under control as he lay there with his eyes closed. This fool has no idea.
I took one step toward him, and suddenly a man of similar height appeared in front of me. He brought his sword down at a steep angle toward my head and caught me across the cheek; only my fast reflexes kept my head on my body. I sprung several feet backward to put some distance between us, but he kept coming, pairing my slashes with expert ones of his own. I growled and pushed back, catching him across his right arm and forcing him to take a step back and regroup before he flew back at me; his determination doubled. He sliced me across the chest and thigh several times, not enough to disable but just enough to sting like hell.
Breathing hard, I glanced around quickly to take in the surroundings and saw the man on the floor start to stand. Before I could do anything, my assailant started coming back at me, and we again were battling across the room. I caught the eye of the darker man, and his poison smile grew wider as he watched us bounce and slash and parry all across the throne room, neither landing another hit as we'd learned each other's movements. He had begun to move toward the girls, and when I made a motion to try and go to them, the white-haired man beat me to it, suddenly steering the fight right into his path and putting me the closest to the girls.
How bizarre. The darker man seemed pissed, his steps faltering as he tried to figure out how to get back to his hostages. Not gonna happen, shithead. I didn't let myself get distracted; instead, I bounced back several feet so that my back was directly in front of Lavender, the speed of my steps causing the air around us to rustle, wafting her scent across my face. Funny for a girl named Lavender; she smells just like daisies. Something about her scent tickled at the back of my brain. I could have sworn I'd smelled this specific perfume before. I shook my head. I'd think about that later, now I needed to focus.
Keeping my eyes trained on the enemies, I take Wado out of my mouth and resheath her to speak to the women behind me. "Nami. You ready to get outta here?"
She gave a shaky huff, "Fuck yes, that guy is a psycho. Where is everyone else?"
"Don't know. Coming for sure, but Sanji and Robin wandered off right when he left to look for you." It was silent for a minute, and then I heard her laugh. A full belly laugh. Irritated, I flicked my eyes to see her hanging off Lavender's shoulder, tears rolling down her face while she held her side. The other two women looked at her like she'd lost her mind, their eyes full of apprehension as they tried to gauge my reaction to her laughing at me.
"What's so funny, witch?" My voice was snappy, but the familiar nickname caused Nami to look up at me fondly.
"So," she had to pause to settle another laugh, "you're telling me I was kidnapped, and you all set out to find me, and you immediately got lost. And yet somehow, you were the first one here. God, how embarrassing." She smiled fondly at me again, even as she was making fun of me.
My ears went hot. "Well, if it's so embarrassing, how 'bout you rescue yourself, your majesty?"
Her smile grew cheeky, "As if you'd ever leave me here. You love me, and you know it."
I opened my mouth to respond, but a loud clapping suddenly started across the room. Swinging our heads toward the darker man, I tighten my stance, preparing to fight.
The man with white hair made similar motions in front of and slightly to his brother's side. The clapper gave me a friendly politician smile. "You must be one of those crewmates my Blossom was speaking so highly of. I must offer my congratulations. I don't remember the last time someone fought that long against Gunther and lived."
His voice had disgusted me through the wall, but having it aimed directly at me made my skin want to crawl right off the bone. I don't respond to him, and I can see my lack of participation in the banter irks him. So he continues,
"And while that is usually a feat worthy of great reward, usually monetary or a night with any whore of your choice, but you being an intruder means we will have to kill you. But if you like, before your inevitably slow and painful death, you could pick from the women gathered behind you. You can't have Princess Celia, of course; gotta save her for my wedding, but the others will do. The redhead you and your crew have probably already had, what with being stuck out at sea with her for so long, so if you are looking for something new, take Lavender there for one last hurrah. She's not the freshest whore in my menagerie, but she is greatly skilled, saw to that myself." He smiles a crocodile smile at me like he's just offered me all the Berries in the world, and it grates my already frayed nerves.
Nami is spitting mad; I can hear her angry muttering getting louder by the second at his disgusting insinuations; my own blood was about to boil over with rage. I glance behind me at Lavender and find her face flushed a deep scarlet and drawn into a look of utter shame. I rein in my anger and gently nudge her foot with mine; she looks up at me with big sad green eyes; I smile gently at her and ask, "Would you rather I cut off his head or his dick?"
It does the trick. Lavender briefly looks confused before she lets out a surprised huff of a laugh. It's light and makes me feel warm and proud to of got it out of her. She gives me a weak, watery smile and asks, "Both?"
I smile back, letting her voice wrap around me; I nod, "Who am I to deny a lady?" This seems to please her, which oddly pleases me deeply. I shift my gaze back to my enemy and ask loudly. "What's your name?"
He seems surprised for a second before settling his face back to amused apathy, "King Marcus Urasea." He says this to me, slowly over-enunciating the words like I'm an idiot child. Fucker.
"Well, Mark, I'm gonna have to decline your offer. However, since I already took all your other women out of that horrid little cell, I might as well take these too. Complete the set, ya know."
I hear an excited gasp from Lavender, and my cocky smile grows. At the disrespect and insinuations, Marcus's smile drops, letting the actual monster he is show through. He pulls a transponder snail with a purple shell from his pocket and begins rapidly shouting orders into it, only to get silence as a response.
I watch, slightly amused by his anger but trying to remain aware as he quickly unravels and his anger becomes palpable. This could get messy. Two on one with three women to protect is not ideal. I'm quickly thinking of ways to loop around with them at my back to the mess I left of the secret passage, wishing that Luffy, Robin, or Sanji was here to help. Motion brings my attention back forward as suddenly Gunther flies in my direction. I put up Kitetsu and Yubashiri and prepared for a fight. But suddenly, the girl whose name I don't know is rounding me to stand between the oncoming attacker and our group. Panic rushes through me as I try and think about how to save her and protect Nami and Lavender, but I come up blank. Lavender starts around me to grab her, but for some reason, the thought of her in Gunther's path scares me even more, so I swing into her way, knocking her back and earning an angry shriek for my trouble.
She tries to get around me several more times, and when she realizes she can't, she yells, "Celia, please come back!" There's so much sadness and affection in her voice it's heartbreaking. I can hear Nami crying out from behind us. The situation is suddenly so far out of my control I don't see a way out. Then the woman, Celia, says loud and clear, "My love, it's time."
Almost like a switch had been flipped, Gunther's whole demeanor shifts. He smiles, and he doesn't plunge that wicked-looking blade through the girl's chest when he reaches us. Instead, he sweeps Celia into a one-armed embrace, kissing her deeply. It feels too intimate to be watching, so I look at Nami and see confusion in her eyes that I know is echoed in mine. Lavender, though appears unsurprised, watching them with a thoughtful expression. He sets her back on her feet, brings her back to our little group, and places her beside Nami. He meets my eyes, the red color no longer as menacing with the new light behind them. He holds out a pale hand, "It would be an honor to fight alongside you to bring down my brother." His voice is whispery but strong. I stare at the hand and worry it's a trick, that when I turn my back, he'll stab me there.
Then Lavender gently touches my bare arm, and the jolt I feel surprises me. I look down at her, and she stares in awe at where our skin is touching. She looks like she wants to talk about it, but then she looks away and wanks her hand back. Her eyes meet mine, bright and glimmering, and she says, "You can trust him."
"How do you know?" I say, my voice stern. I know my eyes are probably a little wild.
She just gently smiles in the face of it and looks at Celia. They have what seems to be a silent conversation, Lavender asking her the same question I had posed to her. Celia smiles broadly and nods which appears to answer whatever Lavender needs to know. "We can trust him because my sister trusts him."
Ya, that really answers everything, doesn't it? Girls are fucking weird. Wait. Sister! Doesn't that make her a princess too? I don't ask. Now is not the time. Instead, I shake the thought away and turn back to Gunther. I grip his more delicate hand in my rough one and pull him close. I let all my feral, demonic energy flow into my eyes as I speak, "If you betray us, all she'll have left of you are memories, and maybe this hand is I'm feeling generous." His eyes grow wide, but he nods, and we shake once.
Through all this, Marcus has been only semi-aware, trying madly to get someone to respond on the snail. What kind of King ignores threats in his throne room? Pathetic. He finally turns to us, and I can tell he is surprised to see us still standing. He caught the tail end of our handshake, and his face flushes with fury under his olive complexion.
"What is the meaning of this!? Gunther, my own brother. A traitor!" Marcus takes deep breaths, clearly struggling with the news. He tries to smother his anger and makes a weak appeal to his brother.
"If this is about the girl? You can have her back after I'm done." A feral sound rips from Gunther when he says this. His grip on his sword tightens enough to tear the fabric on the hilt. He takes a step, so he is in front of all of us, and points his sword at Marcus. They stare at each other for a moment before Marcus shrugs like his brother means nothing.
"Well," Marcus says, "it's no matter. The brothers will be here momentarily. They just finished placing Leanna on timeout, so there shouldn't be any more distractions. And then I don't think I'll wait for our wedding day. I'm going to teach you a lesson right here." Gunther backs up and presses his back to Celia's front, and she grips his shirt tightly in her hand as she presses her forehead against him. I feel empathy for them. The pain they must constantly be in is unfathomable to me. Before anyone can say anything else, a door to our left squeaks, and Marcus looks over my shoulder and smiles.
I don't have time to ask who the brothers are or what that means for my sudden new alliance because Lavender lets out a frightened cry from behind me, and my whole body reacts before I can control it. I look back and find her having moved to the back of the group, a knife handle sticking out of her shoulder. Why can't she stay put!? On instinct, I fling myself in front of her and find myself face-to-face with a giant cloud of rolling black smoke. The room suddenly feels smaller as it presses out from the wall, swallowing all light it touches.
I look at Lavender and find her crying fat tears as she looks from the fog to me. She reaches a hand out to me, beckoning me back away from the fog. I go to reach back, but I have a sword in each hand and can't. I try to step forward, but the fog has encapsulated my ankle, and it's stuck in place. The fog quickly rushes up my body, and when it gets to my neck, a shout escapes me that I cannot stop. My eyes go wild, and I look from each person to the next and see the same panic settling in them.
The light disappears from my sight as the fog surrounds my head. I hear Lavender scream again, a gut wrenching sound I feel in my soul. Then the ground drops out from under me and the creeping blackness descends to unconsciousness.
A/N This isn't my favorite Zoro chapter. I'll probably edit it to death at a later date, but I think it works well for what I need.
Hope you enjoy it. Please leave a review if you have time. I'd love to know what y'all think of the story so far. - CL