One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.
-Chapter Eighty-One-
"This is really getting old—if the Marines keep attacking us like this and we keep running away, I'm going to drop dead from exhaustion!" Usopp groaned as he helped Zoro in rowing the boat due to the lack of wind.
"Not if that cannonball gets us before that, now shut up and row!" Nami snippily ordered as the sharpshooter screamed in surprise at the sound of another cannonball landing just a bit too close to the ship.
"I never suspected the Marines' aim to be so terrible" I hummed, raising a curious eyebrow as I watched Chopper roll around the deck of the ship. His body poofed up into a big ball of fluff. "Be careful not to fall off the ship" I called out to him as he rolled past.
"Nonetheless, just because they're not hitting us at the moment doesn't mean they won't succeed in hitting us sometime soon" Nami huffed, hands on her hips as she watched over the rowing men. "This truly is bothersome, the amount of bad luck we've had in running into the Marines..." she grumbled.
"Tell me about it..." I muttered with the roll of my eyes. "Who would have thought it would be this easy to run into the Marines this many times" I sighed. I wasn't dense, I knew the Marines tended to sail the open seas just as much as pirates did, but to run into so many repeatedly since setting sail from Alabasta just felt a bit silly.
"Hey, Luffy, a little help would be nice!" Sanji snapped at the raven-haired man sprawled out across the deck.
"Sorry, I've got no strength—haven't eaten in hours..." Luffy groaned, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he seemed to just sink further into the deck of the ship.
"How about the taste of the back of my hand?!" Sanji threatened.
"Careful there, Sanji, he might just take you up on that offer" I chuckled.
"What the heck?" Chopper owlishly blinked the second he caught sight of one of the Marine ships suddenly sinking.
"They're shooting at each other?" Zoro questioned.
"I know I said their aiming was bad before, but I didn't think it was that bad" I raised an eyebrow as Usopp placed a foot on the railing and began to laugh.
"Take that! I predicted that those Marine bill rats would eventually turn on each other, right from the start!" he boasted.
"And when did you predict that?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah, when did you do that, oh great Captain Usopp?" I hummed as I leaned up against the railing, crossing my arms as I peered up at the sharpshooter.
"Who cares?!" Nami snapped at the three of us. "Their formation is collapsing, we got to use this opportunity to escape!"
-Later-
"We lose them?" Usopp asked as Robin peered through a pair of binoculars and looked out toward the vast sea behind us.
"It'd appear so" she answered.
"Well, when you have three people on board with big bounties on their heads, you can't blame them for going all out" Zoro said as he plopped down onto the ground before grunting a little when I followed soon after and flopped right down onto his lap.
"He's right, that does help in explaining why they've been so persistent in chasing after us" I agreed, spreading my legs out across the deck and leaning back as I felt his arms wrap around my waist and his chin rest atop my head.
"Luffy, you should move, there's a chance we could hit one of those shallow reefs and you could get thrown overboard" Nami suggested once she spotted the captain currently draped over the ship's figurehead.
"He's fine" I waved to her as the captain only seemed to groan in response to her concern.
"Look, it's a harbor!" Chopper suddenly pointed.
"Where is it?" Luffy asked, instantly sitting up now that his interest was piqued.
"There! Right next to that lighthouse" the reindeer motioned.
"A harbor means a town and a town means restaurants and that means food! Yahoo!" Luffy happily cheered as we started to dock.
"That's some great logic you have there, captain" I giggled.
"You think so?" he brightly smiled.
"Oh, it's not a lighthouse at all, is it?" Chopper questioned, now staring up at the building he had mistaken for a lighthouse.
"Really? It sure is tall—I wonder what it is?" Usopp pondered.
"I would assume that it's used for something important" I said.
"What gave you that idea?" he asked.
"Well, just look at it, I'd bet you anything that if you walked around town you won't find any other building this tall and expensive-looking" I pointed out. "Although...I'm not quite sure what it's being used for or why any town would need a building this big if it's not a lighthouse" I murmured, tilting my head back in thought.
"Who cares?" Luffy dismissively waved as he made his way off the ship. "Let's get some food!" he grinned.
"Alright, wipe the drool from your face" Nami rolled her eyes, coming to a halt right before she fully jumped off the ship and looked back. "Skylar, you coming?" she curiously asked once she realized I wasn't following close behind.
"Yeah, let me—" I stopped, grunting when I was suddenly yanked back towards Zoro's chest the minute I tried to move to get up. "Wha..." peering back, I sweat dropped the second I saw that the swordsman had already fallen asleep. "Shut up! It isn't funny!" I snapped the second my ears pricked at the sound of giggling. "Get your ass over here and help me" I blushed, grumbling as I motioned for the ginger to come closer.
"Aw, but why would I want to help you when you two look so cute together cuddling like that?" she teasingly cooed before giggling once again when I glared at her. "Alright, calm yourself" she smiled, walking over and taking hold of my outstretched arms as she started to pull. With each yank, the more I felt Zoro's grip tighten to the point that I was afraid my internal organs were going to burst from the immense pressure he was now putting on them.
"Can't...breathe..." I wheezed out as Nami clenched her jaw and continued to harshly pull at my arms, the bottoms of her shoes now starting to slide against the wooden floorboards of the deck.
"Skylar, I don't think he wants to let go—I'm afraid I might end up pulling your arms right out of their sockets if I pull anymore" she confessed, stumbling back the minute her grip on my arms slipped and I was once again pressed against the swordsman's chest. I felt him suddenly shift as his arms moved so that they were now holding me by both my chest and waist as if attempting to secure me even further against him. "Yeah," she nodded upon seeing him move, "the only way I'm getting you out of his grip is with a crowbar, which I don't have on me so...bye."
"Wait! Nami, come on, don't go!" I pleaded. "I actually really wanted to explore this place with you guys!" I whined, heaving a sigh as she jumped off the ship and disappeared. It wasn't long though before my pout shifted into a small smile the second I heard the content sigh that left Zoro's lips as he seemed to just snuggle closer to me.
-Later-
"Argh! Are you really still asleep?" I groaned, mindlessly poking the swordsman's face in utter boredom. I giggled every time he'd quietly grunt as his face twitched in slight irritation at the bothersome act. 'His grip seems to have loosened just a bit, maybe I can just...' I yelped when I was suddenly yanked back toward the swordsman as his body fell right over onto its side, dragging me along with him. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" I bemoaned, slumping over in defeat.
I didn't receive an answer as he only continued to snooze away, now burying his face into the back of my head as he quietly hummed in delight. Puffing out my cheeks, I let my gaze now wander before raising an eyebrow when I suddenly spotted the tall mast of a ship docked nearby. I couldn't see anything else of the ship thanks to my current position which left my mind to wander and fill the missing gaps of what a ship with such a massive mass might look like.
"Hope Luffy and them get back soon..." I eventually sighed, gaze drifting skyward.
-Later-
"Hey, Pop's!" Luffy shouted. It really hadn't been that long since he and a few of the others returned, only to immediately set sail toward that giant ship I had spotted earlier. "Gum Gum Rocket!" he wasted little time in shooting himself toward both the ship and an older-looking man I hadn't seen before. All this racket had naturally woken Zoro up earlier and though I had hoped that I'd be able to get free upon hearing his irritated grumbles...my hopes were quickly dashed when all he did was simply pick me up and stand—moving us to a different spot and away from the racket that had awoken him before he settled back down. In an instance did he fall back asleep and once more did I find myself trapped in his arms like I was his own personal teddy bear.
I'll be honest, under any other circumstances I wouldn't really mind the treatment since we used to take naps together a lot when we were younger. His constant training back then would always lead to small nap breaks in between, mainly encouraged by me and my concern for how hard he would sometimes push himself to get better. But I wasn't tired nor in the mood for a nap myself. My interest in what the others were up to was now piqued and it frustrated me that I couldn't participate in the activities that were now unfolding before me.
"What the hell?!" the old man shouted in shock, clearly taken aback by what Luffy had done.
"Hello, can I have your cool little boat?" the captain asked.
"Who's that man? Do you guys know him?" I asked, turning to look at Robin who was close by.
"His name is Henzo, we met him on the island" she answered, a look of amusement now dancing across her eyes the moment she peered down at me. "How are you holding up, Miss Swordswoman?" she asked, a playfulness in her tone.
"Oh, you know, just fine" I deadpanned. "Just been enjoying the scenery of the island that I've been so cruelly denied the chance to explore—oh wait" I sarcastically answered, motioning all around me and earning a chuckle from the woman.
"You must have eaten a Devil Fruit, didn't you?" Henzo questioned.
"Sure did, it was the Gum Gum Fruit and it made me a rubber man" Luffy nodded as he stretched his cheek out. Once the captain returned aboard our ship and spoke with us, he quickly suggested that we go with the old man and explore the large ship docked beside us. "You're coming along too, Skylar" he grinned.
"Am I now?" I gave a strained smile in return as I motioned down to the arms wrapped tight around my waist. "I mean, Luffy, I would love to—but there's sort of a problem" I said.
"And what's that?" he innocently asked, tilting his head.
"Your first mate's holding me down" I deadpanned, watching as he grabbed his chin and nodded as if he truly understood what the problem now was.
"I see, well I can help you with that" he brightly smiled as he walked right over and grabbed my arms.
"Nami tried this earlier and it didn't work so I doubt it's going to work for you" I chirped, watching as he started to pull at my arms. I didn't budge an inch as Zoro's grip instantly tightened the second he felt me move, his face now burying itself against my back as he gave an irritated grunt at the sudden disturbance.
"Soft..." he sleepily murmured, snuggling closer as Luffy's arms started to stretch out 'til he was all the way on the other side of the ship. Robin giggled at the confused look on our captain's face as he continued to pull until eventually, his grip slipped and his arms harshly snapped back into place.
"Huh? He really doesn't want to let go" Usopp remarked, frowning as he wandered closer. "What are you? Glued together?" he asked, attempting to make a joke and lightened the mood when he saw the way my shoulders drooped as I heaved a sigh.
"You must be rather comfortable, Miss Swordswoman" Robin teased, causing me to childishly stick out my tongue.
"Just go, you guys—I'll stay here and keep watch over the ship with Zoro" I waved, watching as the three exchanged glances with one another before nodding as they left and boarded the larger ship. "Once again have you denied me the chance to explore, I hope you're happy" I groaned, looking back at Zoro who looked as if he was happily smiling to himself now that his slumber wasn't being disturbed anymore.
I'm not exactly sure how much time had passed after the others had left before I was startled by a sudden beeping sound which was then followed by the appearance of a rainbow-colored mist.
"Uh..." I rubbed my eyes, owlishly blinking at the sight of the brightly colored mist that had suddenly appeared.
"That's the Rainbow Mist!" I heard Robin gasp as she and others came rushing out onto the deck of the larger ship, clearly drawn outside by that loud beeping from earlier.
"Dammit! The H1 is too small to take into the open sea—what do I do?" Henzo cursed, his gaze wandering before it finally landed on the Going Merry. "That could work.." he mumbled to himself, hopping aboard and instantly setting sail without the others. "Hope you don't mind" he called back to them.
"H-hey!" I sputtered, taken aback by his bold decision to just steal the ship with Zoro and me still on it.
"What?!" Usopp and Luffy shouted in shock.
"Don't go stealing our ship, Pop's!" Luffy huffed as he and the other two quickly hopped onto the ship before it could get too far away.
"Yeah, if you want to go so bad, you should take that galleon" Usopp nodded as he jabbed a thumb back toward the large ship we were now leaving behind.
"Trust me, I would, but its helm is still broken—it was destroyed long ago by Wetton" Henzo responded.
"This is getting weirder and weirder by the minute" Usopp frowned. "How do you know what happened on that ship, Pop's?" he warily asked.
"Because fifty years ago, I was onboard it and saw everything" Henzo wistfully sighed.
"Guys, are we really going in there? Isn't that the place where countless people have sailed off into, never to be seen again?" Usopp whimpered as we finally started to near the Rainbow Mist.
"Is it really that bad?" I tilted my head.
"Indeed" Henzo nodded. "But I've spent decades trying to locate the Rainbow Mist, I'll be damned if I turn back now!" he huffed.
"Are you scared?" Robin asked, almost sounding amused.
"Don't be silly, I'm not scared—I'm he who travels all over the Grand Line with no fear! I'm the great…Captain Usopp..." Usopp trembled as I hummed.
"Ah yes, I can tell how brave you are by the way you're trembling—we'll be sure to look to you for protection should any dangers arrive" I nodded, earning a small whine of distress in return.
A/N: Enjoy
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