One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.
-Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-
"About who fixed the Going Merry for us—what else?" Chopper asked, curiously tilting his head as he wondered why the woman wasn't the least curious about who this mysterious shipwright of ours was.
"Who cares?" Nami dismissively waved. "If they wrecked it that would be another thing, but it's fixed—what do you want me to do? You want me to track them down and thank them?" she asked, not really understanding what the reindeer was wanting from her.
"Well, no..." Chopper mumbled. "But I…" he trailed off, not really knowing what to say.
"Chances are our mysterious shipwright just doesn't want to be known, so finding them probably wouldn't be a good idea" I shrugged.
"Why not?" Chopper confusedly frowned.
"Not everyone's comfortable with being shown gratitude—instead of wondering who fixed the ship, we should just be grateful that they even did it in the first place despite clearly not having to" I said, watching as the reindeer slowly nodded despite still having troubles understanding what I was saying. I didn't blame him, the concept of someone not wanting to be known for their good deeds is difficult for some to grasp—everyone wants to be shown some form of gratitude in their life that it's difficult to really understand those that don't when you run upon them.
"How could he have possibly known...?" Usopp mumbled to himself as he continued to look around the repaired ship. "Come on, Merry, just tell me who I saw..." he never got an answer as the rest of us continued on with our day.
Sitting up on the stairs of the altar with my head propped up with the palm of my hand, I watched alongside the rest as Usopp and Chopper sailed around using the boat he, Sanji, and Luffy had arrived in.
"Hey, what are you doing? You got a plan, Usopp?" Nami called out to the two, not quite understanding why the sharpshooter had decided to take the smaller boat out onto the water.
"That or maybe he just wanted to go on a joyride" I joked as I shifted around until I was now leaning back. Curiously, I watched as the sharpshooter came back and attached a piece of rope to the front of the Merry, making sure it was secure and that it wouldn't break before he got back into the smaller boat and began to use it to help him in trying to pull the Merry down and off the altar. Everyone cheered as they watched—shouting words of encouragement for this plan of his. For a while there, it almost looked like it would have worked until the small boat suddenly snapped in two due to the immense pressure it had been put under in trying to pull down a boat that was twice its size. Though, this didn't seem to discourage Usopp and only seemed to further fuel his need to make sure that this plan of his succeeded.
Sloppily was little boat fixed up and it wasn't long before he and Chopper were silently whispering amongst themselves as they tried to come up with a new plan that would actually work. The plan they came up with was one that I didn't really approve of as a frown settled on my face and deepened the longer I watched the sharpshooter now dangle Chopper right over the cloudy water as if he was using him for fish bait. Already could I feel arms wrap themselves around my waist to hold me back as Nami quickly raced down the stairs after me and stopped me from jumping right into the water the minute I heard Chopper start to cry.
"Wait! Just wait and see what he's going to do!" she frantically pleaded in an attempt to soothe my anger and keep me from heading out there and either getting myself killed or killing Usopp. "Chopper will be alright, I promise—I promise!" she desperately tried to assure me.
"Usopp! If something happens to Chopper, I will not hesitate to beat the ever-loving shit out of you!" I angrily shouted out toward the sharpshooter who shivered upon hearing my threat.
"I promise, he'll be fine!" he shouted back before jolting as my body tensed upon spying the Sky Shark that was now swimming through the water and making its way toward the crying reindeer. "Just trust the process!" he frantically pleaded as the giant fish's fin was instantly pierced by the spear Sanji kicked the second it emerged, causing it to instantly disappear back underneath the clouds and start trying to swim away—dragging the Merry right behind it until she reached the top of the stairs and the rope attached to her was severed by Zoro. Soon gravity did its job and dragged her the rest of the way down the steps and into the water with a loud splash.
"See, Chopper's alright" Nami gently smiled as she comfortingly patted my back.
"Good..." I grumbled, huffing as I crossed my arms.
"Okay, let's look at the map!" Nami clapped once we boarded the ship and were gathered around one another, ready to hear this plan of hers. "The exploration team will be taking this route moving south—there should be some old ruins near the skull's right eye. Keep an eye out for enemies and bring back that gold!" she explained as she traced the way the exploration team would be taking on the map with her finger.
"You make it sound so easy" Zoro chuckled.
"I'm looking forward to investigating those ruins" Robin grinned, an excited gleam in her eyes.
"It sounds like it'll be fun" I hummed as I peered down at the map and stared at the path that the navigator traced out for those of us that were going.
"Hold on—you're the one that keeps talking about gold and more gold, but you're not coming?" Luffy questioned, tilting his head in confusion when he realized that the ginger wouldn't be joining us in finding the gold
"Well, of course not, it's way too scary" Nami admitted. "Did you say something?!" she snapped when she saw the face Chopper was making before looking pleased with herself when he quickly shook his head. "We'll be in danger too, you know? We'll be taking the Merry downriver through the island, then we'll head to the beach near the ruins as fast as possible—we can meet up here and then escape this stupid Sky Island" she went on to explain as she started to trace out the route that those staying on the ship would be taking. "At long last, we'll be a rich and powerful pirate crew able to buy anything!" she grinned.
"Oh yeah! All the meat I can eat!" Luffy cheered.
"Escape? That sounds great!" Usopp excitedly grinned, more pleased with the idea of leaving than with the idea of gold.
"Just don't make me the bait" Chopper whimpered.
"Don't worry, we won't" I assured him with a gentle smile as I patted the top of his head before harshly glaring at Usopp.
"I said I was sorry and he's alright, isn't he?" Usopp mumbled, holding his hands up in defense as he nervously smiled. "Looks like the weather's perfect" he cleared his throat, quick to change the subject.
"Sure, we're on top of the clouds" Sanji said, not finding it all that surprising that the weather was sunny and clear.
"Okay, we'll meet safely on the east coast" Zoro nodded after the teams had officially been decided and everyone knew where they needed to go.
"You bet!" Usopp nodded as he, Sanji, and Nami all stayed on the ship while the rest of us headed out.
"Let's get going then!" Luffy cheered, taking the lead as he led those of us on the exploration team away from the ship and into the woods. "Hey, that's the wrong way, Zoro" he frowned the minute he noticed that the swordsman was about to walk off in the opposite direction of him. "We're supposed to be going west—you know? West? This way" he pointed. "Geez, I can't believe your sense of direction" he huffed.
"What? But he's going east?" Chopper frowned in confusion when he saw which way the captain was pointing.
"Oh come on, Luffy, use your head for something besides a hat rack for a change! We're supposed to go to the skull's right eye, so we go to the right, you rubber brain!" Zoro frowned, not liking the tone that the captain had taken with him when it came to his sense of direction.
"They both lost their minds" Chopper sweat dropped as he looked between the two who were only proving that they didn't really have much of a sense of direction to begin with.
"Are you sure they even had one to begin with?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"Why don't you go tell those two heroes that we're supposed to be heading south before they end up lost" Robin said as she bent down closer to Chopper's height so that she could properly look him in the eyes while talking to him.
"Sure thing, Robin" Chopper nodded. "Luffy! Zoro! Wait up, guys!" quickly did he rush over toward Luffy—who seemed currently enthralled by the big stick he had just found—to tell him the correct direction we were meant to be going.
"With Zoro, even if we tell him the right way, he'll still get lost" I said, seeing it as nothing more than a waste of air in trying to tell the swordsman the right direction we needed to go.
"You sound confident about that" Robin smiled.
"That's because it's true..." I grumbled.
"South, huh? You should have said so sooner" Luffy grinned as we got back on track and started heading in the right direction. Robin was now in the front so that she could properly lead us, she was then followed closely by Luffy while the rest of us followed behind him at a leisurely pace.
"Luffy, that's a pretty neat stick you got there" Chopper suddenly piped up, eyeing the large stick the captain held.
"Isn't it?" Luffy grinned. "It's mine though, so you got to get your own" he quickly added like a child wanting to make it clear that he had no intentions of sharing with the other children.
"Aw! I want one—stick! Stick! Stick!" Chopper chanted as he now began to look for a walking stick of his own
"What's up with sticks?" Zoro asked, sounding rather annoyed and I couldn't tell if it was because of the embarrassment at being reminded that his sense of direction was shit earlier or because something was beginning to get on his nerves.
"I don't know, but I kind of want one now" I hummed, feeling the urge to have my own walking stick as well the longer I watched Luffy and Chopper act like there was something mighty important about just having one.
"I could give you one" Zoro suddenly offered, a sly grin tugging at his lips the second my face exploded with color as it seems my mind went straight into the gutter the moment I heard him say this.
"No thank you, I'm good!" I squealed, voicing raising in pitch and cracking just a little.
"What's wrong?" he laughed. "I was just offering to help get you a stick—what were you thinking, perv?" he teasingly asked, laughter only growing as I harshly shoved his arm while the flush of my cheeks only seemed to grow and spread.
"The only pervert I see is the walking piece of algae beside me!" I huffed as the corners of my lips twitched upon seeing that dumb grin of his return.
"You know...I thought this forest would be scarier" Chopper suddenly admitted. "But, so far, it's been nice and peaceful" he smiled.
"Most forests are" I hummed as I glanced back at him before taking a second to really drink in the wildlife that now surrounded us. Nature was always so beautiful and calming to walk through—just like the sea, I've always preferred it over crowded places due to how relaxing it was.
"Hey, Chopper, you're in a pretty good mood today" Luffy noted. "Are you feeling courageous for a change?" he curiously asked.
"Yep, you betcha!" Chopper laughed.
"Yeah, you're right" Zoro suddenly agreed. "This forest has been a really big disappointment" he huffed, showing that he didn't care all that much for the peaceful atmosphere that had settled between the five of us. "Nothing but birds and trees for two whole days—makes me want to scream, I'm so bored" he admitted. "We haven't even seen one of Eneru's Priests, so I know exactly how you feel, Chopper" I stared at him for a minute, wondering if he actually did understand what the reindeer had meant or if he was just trying to project.
"Do you?" Chopper tilted his head, not having expected someone like Zoro to understand what he was currently feeling at this exact moment.
"Just listen to the two of you, are you that eager for something dangerous to happen?" Robin asked, causing the reindeer to giggle.
"It wouldn't surprise me if they are—these two are always looking for a fight it seems" I sighed. "Peace is never really an option with these two..." I softly grumbled, aware of just how much Luffy and Zoro enjoyed stirring up trouble just to avoid boring peaceful moments like this. It was rare for them to actually want to spend a day where nothing big or exciting happens, far different from the rest of us who usually preferred moment's like this and wished they'd last longer.
"What do you see, Chopper?" Luffy suddenly asked the second he noticed that the reindeer had suddenly stopped walking and was now falling behind as he peered behind us.
"Oh...uh...it's nothing, nothing at all" Chopper nervously responded.
"There's something eerie about this place" Robin suddenly remarked.
"But don't most forests have an eerie feeling about them?" I asked. "I mean, you're so far away from civilization when you're out here in the woods and it's always so easy to get lost or to run into danger if you're not careful—so isn't the eerie feeling just natural?"
"That may be so, but this feels different" she hummed.
"Chopper, why do you keep looking behind us?" Zoro asked when he noticed just how frequently the reindeer seemed to just peer back behind us as if something was following us and he just needed to make sure that that wasn't true.
"Uh...no reason—no reason at all" Chopper nervously answered, his voice wobbly as if he was terrified about something.
"You alright?" I worriedly frowned. "You sound a bit nervous, something bothering you?" I asked.
"Whoa! Get a load of that weird stripy-looking root back there!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed, rudely cutting the reindeer off before he even had a chance to respond. Looking back to see what Luffy was shouting about, I froze on the spot as I watched how the "root" right behind Chopper slithered on by.
"Oh...that? So you guys can see it?" Chopper quietly asked.
"I've never heard of roots moving before" Zoro raised an eyebrow as he watched the moving "root" continue to squirm and wiggle.
"That's because they're not supposed to" I said, taking a cautious step back.
"Oh no! You see that too? I thought I was just imagining things!" Chopper cried out, his fear spiking up the minute we confirmed that we were seeing the same thing that he had been seeing this entire time.
"What in the hell?!" Zoro shouted in shock as my eyes widened when the "root" finally decided to show itself completely.
"What's that?!" Luffy gaped as the ground started to violently shake.
"That would be a giant snake" I said.
A/N: Enjoy
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