One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.

-Chapter Fifteen-

"No!" Vivi and I shouted as I tackled Zoro to the ground while she knocked the other two onto the floor, giving the Sea Cat a chance to quickly diver under and disappear for good.

"Vivi? Skylar?" Luffy frowned. "What are you doing?! I'm hungry!" he whined in frustration.

"Why? Just why?" Sanji groaned. "It was food!" he complained, just barely able to contain his own frustration.

"Because you can't eat a Sea Cat—I won't let you!" Vivi scolded. "Sea Cats are sacred animals in Alabasta" she calmly explained.

"Well...that's good to know..." Luffy groaned.

"Although...," Vivi began as she now shifted her attention towards me from my spot atop Zoro's stomach, "I didn't expect you to jump in the way that you did, Skylar—is there a reason why?" she asked.

"Yeah, aren't you hungry also?" Zoro grunted from underneath me. "Why'd you let it get away? That thing could have helped make up for all the food Luffy ate earlier!" he frowned.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm hungry" I admitted with a nervous shift. "But...well...I like cute things and I couldn't just sit by and watch you guys hurt the poor thing" I confessed, awkwardly laughing as I mindlessly scratched my cheek. "It was adorable and looked absolutely terrified, therefore, I didn't want to witness any harm coming to it!" I proclaimed, cheeks puffing out as I crossed my arms.

"Cute things, huh?" Usopp questioned. "What about Chopper? What do you think about him?" he then asked as he motioned to the reindeer behind him that was starting to look a little shy.

"Well, I think he's the cutest thing to ever exist" I sweetly cooed out with a smile that only widened as I watched the reindeer start to go through his normal wave of emotions after hearing such a compliment.

"Mind getting off?" Zoro grunted.

"Hm...nah, you've got a pretty soft stomach" I teased as I shifted around like I was settling in before giving a sharp yelp in startled surprise the second I was suddenly knocked off him and onto the deck. "Rude..." I muttered with a glare as he sat up. With a peculiar glint in his eyes that disappeared just as quickly as it had come, he barked out a laugh that caused my face to split into a wide grin. Neither of us paid any mind to the curious looks of the other as they silently exchanged questioning glances with one another.

"There are more animals in the ocean than I thought" Chopper suddenly sighed, his gaze now locked on the lapping waves of the surrounding sea.

"If you're still scared of that stuff, then you still got a long way to go" Usopp said before diving straight into one of his many tall tales he seemed to enjoy spreading and instantly captivating the reindeer.

"You know, he'd probably make for a great author someday" I said while leaning back against my arms, smiling at the way Chopper peered up at the sharpshooter in wonderment the longer he listened to his tale.

"You think so?" Zoro asked from beside me as I nodded. "I think you might be right..." he mumbled upon spying that same look of wonderment I had on the reindeer's face.

"Our food got away!" Luffy wailed before he started to chew on the railing as if he was starving to death at this very moment.

"Yeah, but don't worry, Luffy" Vivi softly sighed. "You'll be able to stuff yourself really soon" she reassured him with a small smile.

"Yeah, really?" he perked up. "Will we get another cat to eat, Vivi?" he asked.

"Vivi, the wind and air seem to be stabilizing" Nami butted in before the princess could properly answer the rubber man.

"Yeah, we're reaching the climate area of Alabasta Island, seeing a Sea Cat come out of the water is proof as well" she responded as she now wandered away from Luffy and over toward the navigator.

"And those things you see behind us over there is all the proof I need that we're getting close" Zoro suddenly piped up as he finally stood, offering his hand in the process and helping to pull me back up onto my feet.

"That's a lot of ships, huh—who are they?" Luffy asked as we finally took notice of the ships that sailed not that far behind us in the distance.

"They're all flying the Baroque Works symbol on their mast, this can't be good!" Usopp shuddered in realization.

"It looks like all the Baroque Works employees have started gathering" Vivi frowned. "I'm guessing that these are the Billions—they're the subordinates under the officer agents" she explained.

"Which means there are about two-hundred enemies waiting for us" Nami sighed, her grip around the railing tightening in silent frustration and fear at the realization of just how many enemies we were possibly going to have to face.

"The best Baroque Works has to offer, the elite of the underlings, this group should be a lot better than the bounty hunters at Whisky Peak" Vivi added with a sigh, causing Usopp and Luffy to hurriedly start setting up the cannon. Though...they didn't far as an argument soon broke out between the two as they now fought over exactly what method to use to fight off the ships that were following us.

"Hold on though, I need to eat something first" Luffy soon interrupted with a hand raised as his stomach once more began to growl.

"Come on, they're not worth it—don't bother" Zoro dismissively waved.

"He's right, we need to keep our eyes on the prize or we might lose it all together" Sanji agreed.

"I mean, eight against two hundred isn't exactly that fair of a fight" I remarked as I mindlessly leaned against Zoro, resting my head atop his shoulder in the process as I crossed my arms. For a brief moment, he tensed before instantly relaxing as a light blush now dusted over his cheeks. Silently did the others share curious looks with one another, yet said nothing as they shrugged to one another.

-Later-

"I can tie this myself, you know?" I mumbled as Zoro finished tightening the bandage around my arm.

"I just want to make sure it's tight enough so it won't accidentally fall off—I don't want to be tricked by the enemy" he reasoned.

"Zoro, let's be honest here" I said. "You'd probably still get tricked if the person just flashed you, you perv" I playfully teased.

"Wha—I'm not a pervert like that creep of a cook!" he snapped in embarrassment as I burst out into a fit of laughter.

"It's alright, Zoro, every boy your age goes through a time in their life when they finally start to notice a woman's body—there's no need to be ashamed" I cooed, patting the top of his head while giggling at the venomous glare I was receiving. My laughter was cut short though as I yelped the second he suddenly and harshly tightened the bandage around my arm to the point that it almost felt like it was about to cut off circulation. "What was that for?" I glared as he grumbled something under his breath.

"Nothing, now behave" he huffed, lightly swatting at my head as he stood. With a sigh, his features softened as a small smile tugged at his lips the moment I childishly stuck my tongue out at him.

"What a good plan" Vivi praised as she admired the bandage wrapped around her arm.

"We'll always know who are friends are, just look for the bandage on their arm" Nami grinned as she patted her own.

"This Clone Clone Fruit guy, so is he that similar when he turns into someone else?" Sanji asked.

"You have no idea—it's the same, not similar, and it was crazy" Usopp told him. "Really, you should have seen it, Sanji. He changed into every one of us—even Nami—and then we got to dance with him" he explained.

"Oh, Sanji, you would have absolutely loved it when he turned into Nami" I grinned as Zoro gave a loud snort.

"Wouldn't that have been a sight to see" the swordsman remarked.

"I'm not really interested in dancing with a male ballerina" Sanji said, mindlessly blowing out a puff of smoke and never once catching onto what any of us were saying.

"We know that someone with his power is among the enemy, so we need to be really careful and be on our guard at all times" Zoro stated.

"So, what can I do to help against this guy?" Chopper suddenly asked.

"Just do whatever it is that you can do, you're not expected to do anything more and if you get overwhelmed then just run" Usopp responded.

"Sounds like the pep talk he's always giving himself..." Sanji muttered.

"Yeah, but it's good advice in its own strange way" I smiled. "For a few of us, that is..." I added.

"For a few of us?" Nami questioned with a raised brow. "What's that supposed to mean exactly?"

"It means just exactly what it sounds like" I answered with an innocent smile.

"Whatever it is I can do, I got it..." Chopper muttered to himself with a firm nod.

"I can see the island now!" Luffy suddenly and excitedly exclaimed.

"Let's stop at a town called Nanohana, we have to hide the ship" Vivi suggested.

"Okay, no matter what happens on that island, remember, this thing on all of our arms is a sign of our friendship" Luffy reminded us as he held out his arm with the bandage wrapped around it which caused us all to follow in suit. "Now let's land, okay? Then eat—oh, and help Vivi" he quickly added, almost sounding as if he had forgotten the main reason why we were here in the first place.

"That's a side note?!" everyone questioned. I couldn't help but playfully bump my hip against Zoro's after everyone had wandered off, leaving the two of us alone in the process. Playfully did I grin up at him before yelping in surprise the second he roughly bumped me back in return, almost causing me to lose balance in the process.

"What? I barely tapped you" he defended, one eyebrow now raised in amusement.

"If that's what you call a tap, I'd hate to know what you identify as a tackle" I said, straightening my posture and crossing my arms as I looked up at him with a stern face. "Nearly threw me to the ground" I huffed.

"That expression of yours looks more cute than scary" he teased, grinning at the way my cheeks became warm with embarrassment even though my expression stayed the same. Moving my hips further out to the side, I swung them back as fast as I could and smashed them against his own as hard as I could. Clearly taken by surprise, he stumbled before hastily grabbing hold of my shoulder and yanking me toward him in an attempt to regain his balance. I jolted at the sensation of my body being pulled toward him as my cheeks grew even warmer the second our gazes locked. He was the one to break eye contact first—his gaze nervously darting elsewhere as he hastily backed away with a mumbled apology and blush.

-Everyone's P.O.V-

Finished with her lecture, Nami found her gaze silently drifting away from the captain—who was quick to take off the moment he saw that he was free—and towards the two sword users that were nervously laughing and shuffling around in place not that far from where she stood. Their faces were stained pink and red with obvious embarrassment as they shyly looked away from one another and awkwardly scratched at either the backs of their heads or cheeks. Humming in thought as she observed the two, a sly grin soon spread across her face as she finally took note of their posture...

Clearly, they both had something they were either denying or far too embarrassed to say.

She wasn't dense, having noticed the change in the two's behavior after Drum Island fairly quickly. Zoro wasn't usually so touchy or chummy with the others in the same way he had quickly become with the brunette. There was something natural about the way the two talked—their body language screaming familiarity as they subconsciously acted like old friends who'd known each other for a long time. Even now, she watched as they started to relax, their awkward behavior from earlier melting away as they seemingly fell into a comfortable conversation once again.

Smiling, she wondered if she'd be able to possibly dig some information out of the brunette the next time they were alone.

-Later-

-Skylar's P.O.V-

"So, hungry!" Luffy whined from his spot sprawled out on the floor, his voice slightly muffled by the sandal in his mouth that he was currently chewing on.

"You know, I've heard the saying, "so hungry I could eat a horse," but not the one that mentions anything about a shoe" I said, raising an eyebrow as I peered down at the raven-haired man who only continued to groan in despair. "Does it at least taste good?" I asked.

"No—taste like feet!" he bemoaned, causing me to snort.

"And hot!" Chopper belated wailed not that far from where Luffy lay. I couldn't blame him for being so sluggish—with all that fur, it was amazing he hadn't yet suffered a heat stroke. I couldn't help but feel empathy for the little guy, no doubt this was his first time experiencing weather that wasn't akin to an icy tundra.

"So, this is an Alabasta city?" Usopp questioned as we now drew closer to the island.

"Is there food?" Luffy weakly asked.

"Don't worry, they'll be food" I assured him, smiling as he gave a weak cheer of relief upon hearing such news.

"Listen carefully, guys, I want you all to do your best to control yourselves while we're here" Nami said as we anchored the ship once we were finally close enough to the island's shoreline.

"Of course, Nami!" Sanji happily obliged.

A/N: Enjoy

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