One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.
-Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Two-
"You know it" the monkey behind him snickered.
"To ensure you don't get lost, we're providing each of you with an Eternal Pose" Itomimizu said as multiple Eternal Poses suddenly were dropped from the sky.
"Get lost?" Nami questioned with a confused frown.
"I'll be keeping hold of this" I said, catching the Eternal Pose. "Knowing our luck, we might still end up getting lost anyway because of Zoro" I sighed.
"Did you say something?" Zoro irritably asked in irritation, causing me to chuckle.
"Nope" I chirped, patting the top of his head as he huffed.
"If it wasn't for the race about to start, I'd throw your ass in the water..." he grumbled.
"Do that and I'd take you down with me" I grinned.
"Try not to wander too far from the island's coast" Itomimizu said as Luffy almost dropped his Eternal Post before Sanji quickly caught it.
"What's this doofus talking about? Why would we have to leave the island?" Nami frowned. "We're taking the inside track the whole way" she huffed.
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple" Usopp suddenly piped up.
"What? Why not?" Nami asked, tilting her head.
"Look, including the big one in the back, all the other boats are on the outside track facing out to sea—it's a little suspicious" Usopp pointed out.
"Now, on your marks...get ready..." Itomimizu began.
"Just tell me why it won't be simple!" Nami frowned, growing irritated with the sharpshooter and how he wasn't really giving her a direct answer.
"Trust me" Usopp dismissively waved as he turned to face the rest of us. "Hey, listen up, get away from the shoreline as soon as the race starts!" he ordered with no real explanation.
"What did he say?" Luffy asked.
"Tell me why!" Nami snapped as the crowd started to cheer.
"Go!" Itomimizu shot off his gun, signaling the start of the race as I flinched.
"I got a bad feeling about this..." Usopp nervously mumbled as we started to move forward.
"Quit babbling and tell us why already!" Nami snapped, done with the sharpshooter's cryptic behavior.
"Usopp, just tell Nami what it is that's bothering you so she'll calm down" I sighed before owlishly blinking when a sudden wave of water gushed out from behind us, bringing with it a crowd of barrels. "Eh?" I questioned, legs tightening as I lightly grabbed hold of Zoro's head the second the ship raised and rocked a little in response to the wave that traveled under it.
"Huh? What's with the barrels?" Sanji asked.
"Oh no! We didn't get far enough!" Usopp whimpered.
"What's the big deal? It's just a barrel" Nami huffed as she curiously started to poke at one of the barrels.
"No, Nami—don't!" Usopp frantically cried when she knocked at the barrel with her oar. Covering my ears, I yelped at the sudden explosion that went off and sent the three's boat flying.
"And they've been released! Look at that Kaboom Barrel mine—the Foxy's trump card!" Itomimizu boasted as Usopp and the two women came crashing back down into the water—their boat miraculously still intact.
"See you later, chumps!" Proche laughed. "You're supposed to avoid sinking, you know?" she mockingly teased when passing us by. "Good luck!" she waved before finally disappearing out of sight as she and the rest of the boats started to take off.
"Go away!" Chopper cried, desperately trying to blow away one of the barrels that was getting a bit too close to our boat.
"Well, this is troublesome..." I grumbled, leaning over to the side as I attempted to use the tip of one of my sword sheaths to lightly splash the water and send a few barrels floating the other way, being mindful not to accidentally touch or set any of them off.
"Dumb bombs! I'll knock them all back!" Luffy frowned as he started to spin his arms around. "Now, Gum Gum—"
"Cut it out, Luffy!" Sanji snapped, striking the rubber man before he could do anything rash.
"Stop! Are you trying to blow us out of the water?!" Chopper scolded.
"Calm down, we got to do something!" Luffy argued.
"Yeah, but that something can't involve touching them" Zoro said before reaching up and grabbing my waist as he brought me down from his shoulders. I blushed when he patted the top of my head before turning to Luffy as I now found myself uncomfortably pressed up against him—we really should have tried to make this boat bigger...I hadn't realized just how much room he could take up. "Luffy, pass that oar over here" he suddenly instructed.
"Huh? What are you doing, Zoro?" Chopper curiously asked.
"Hopefully something that won't get us blown to smithereens" I said.
"Stand back and watch" Zoro said, facing away from us as he started to spin the oar in his hand around—creating a gentle breeze that pushed the barrels back before finally, he finished it off with a slash. Instantly, the gush of air created by the slash was enough to send all of the barrels back toward the big boat they had come from where they then detonated due to eventually brushing up and bumping against one another.
"Oh crap!" Sanji flinched. "Nami! Robin! Look—hit the deck and hold on tight!" he shouted as the impact of the explosion created a huge wave that was now barreling towards us. "We've got to ride this wave!"
"We can't ride that!" Usopp cried. I yelped when I was suddenly snatched up into a protective hold by the swordsman—his arms tightly wrapped around me as he pulled me even more flush against his chest as if attempting to use his body like a shield.
"We're going have to—we have no other choice!" I called over to the sharpshooter, struggling to turn and tilt my head back so as to be heard.
"Yahoo! This is awesome!" Luffy happily cheered, the only one sounding like he was having the time of his life as the wave swept us up and started to push our boats forward.
"Dammit! She's starting to break on us!" Sanji clenched his jaw the second he saw the damage that his and Luffy's boat was now taking as it rode the wave.
"This is terrifying!" Chopper cried.
"Nah, I agree with Luffy! This is awesome!" I laughed as a large splash of water suddenly drenched us all.
"Man, that's cold" Zoro shivered as he shook his head.
"No! Not good!" I heard someone suddenly cry as one of the Swordfish King boats was destroyed by the wave.
"I can't believe it! The Straw Hat team is making their way to the front of the race—this is incredible!" Itomimizu gaped as the massive wave finally began to calm down, bringing us to a halt right behind the other boats that had the pleasure of not being destroyed earlier.
"It finally died down..." Chopper panted in relief as he returned to normal size, dropping onto his stomach on top of his seat as Zoro flopped to the ground in exhaustion, dragging me down with him in the process until I was situated on his lap.
"Aw man, that didn't exactly leave the raft in the best condition" Sanji frowned, holding up a broken piece of wood that had come off of his and Luffy's boat
"Oh boy, that was awesome!" Luffy cheerfully laughed. "I hope something causes another wave, right?!" he eagerly grinned, hoping to hear the blond agree with him.
"Shut up! Another wave will flatten this lame boat you built!" Sanji snapped. "I just hope that the girls are okay—Skylar!" he suddenly shouted.
"Yeah?" I asked as I calmed myself from my own laughing fit, head perking up as I curiously looked toward the blond. "Something the matter?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Are you alright, my sweet?" I only chuckled at the question before perking up as I suddenly felt Zoro's grip tighten around me as he suddenly rested his head against my chest. His breathing was just the slightest bit ragged as if he was still coming down from that sudden rollercoaster of a ride.
"Yeah, I'm alright—just a bit wet!" I called back over to the blond with a wave. "Perhaps you should check up on Nami and Robin, you know? Just to see if they're alright!" I quickly suggested when I spotted the irritated look on his face as he narrowed his eyes at the swordsman holding me, opening his mouth—he looked just ready to pick a right that we really didn't need at the moment. Instantly shutting his mouth, he quickly nodded and began looking around when he realized that he hadn't yet checked on the other two women to see if they were alright.
"There they are!" he shouted once he spotted them, now wildly waving his arms in an attempt to catch their attention as he called out to the two. I chuckled at the sight, shaking my head before jumping when I suddenly felt gentle fingers grab my chin and turn my head forward until the tip of my nose was now touching Zoro's.
"Uh..." I blinked, heavily blushing at the way his eyes stared deeply back into my own—his gaze gentle and soft that it made my heart practically fluttered. There was a familiar flicker of recognition in those eyes of his, one that made me instantly freeze on the spot as I sat there unable to really process what was happening. "What—"
"You know...I really missed you..." he murmured as everything seemed to just stop the moment he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against mine. I felt my brain almost short-circuit as my eyes widened, my heart practically skipping a beat before rapidly speeding up as the rushing of blood filled my ears. I was tense at first—at a loss on what to do before eventually relaxing as my eyes automatically fluttered shut and my body leaned forward into his own...
I couldn't find it in me to really care if this was possibly the worst moment for him to finally confess seeing how we were in the middle of a race—I didn't even care that his confession was possibly inconvenient and wasn't really this big and romantic spectacle like I'm sure any other woman would have preferred. No. All I cared about was the warmth that suddenly flooded my chest as I returned his kiss, my arms quickly wrapping around his neck in an attempt to keep him close for just a little while longer as if afraid he'd disappear should I let go.
"You...you really remember...?" I quietly asked the second he pulled away, the blush on my cheeks only darkening as I listened to the way he chuckled.
"Of course, why wouldn't I? We made a promise back then, didn't we?" he grinned, causing my lips to twitch upwards for just a moment before instantly falling into a frown.
"Then why didn't you say anything sooner?!" I scolded, slapping my hands down on his cheeks as I moved my face closer to his. "Do you know how worried and stressed I've been this entire time!" I huffed.
"I didn't know how to approach it, okay?!" he embarrassingly snapped. "If you clearly remembered then why didn't you say anything, huh?!" he shot back, causing me to sputter and stumble over my words, not knowing how to really argue back that my fears and worry of possible rejection were what held me back from doing something so simple and logical. It sounded so stupid to admit knowing that all of this wasted time spent dancing around one another could have been prevented had one of us just come out and confessed sooner. I knew deep down that our behavior was more than just close and affectionate friends and more like that of people genuinely interested in one another...but I just couldn't look past my self-consciousness and fear that everything would be ruined between us if I had been the one to step up first and verbally confess. "Besides, I thought it was obvious I remembered" he huffed, crossing his arms.
"Being a pervert isn't a hint..." I grumbled, before laughing as he suddenly slapped his own hands against my face.
"You know that's not what I mean" he glared.
"I know..." I softly sighed, leaning forward and pressing my forehead against his. "I guess I was just...scared...is all..." I embarrassingly confessed, quick to avert my gaze as if I didn't want to see his reaction to such a silly confession. "I just kept thinking something bad would happen—what if I was wrong? What if I was misreading everything? What if acknowledging everything would make it disappear?" I mumbled. "I wanted to push all the responsibility onto you despite how selfish that sounds..."
"I guess I can't blame you, I was doing the same..." he muttered with a sigh of his own. "I'm not the best with feelings if you couldn't tell..." he bashfully admitted.
"That's an understatement" I quietly snorted, smiling at the small glare he sent me.
"I was just as afraid as you were about being wrong—not only that, but I was terrified at the thought of losing everything" he confessed. "The thought of things changing between us and no longer being the same...I wanted to do the same thing as you and push all responsibility off on you" he said. "It sounds stupid saying it out loud now, but...just the thought of everything going wrong and it possibly being my fault all because I went and misread everything between us was just so awful, I can understand what you mean about wanting to be selfish."
"It sounds so ridiculous out loud, huh?" I chuckled, watching how he nodded with a soft laugh of his own. "You know...I really missed you too..." I eventually confessed after a moment's silence, lifting my gaze to meet his once more. "I..." I hesitated for a second, quick to catch myself before I could say those words to him—those three little words that could effortlessly make or break just about anyone and send them into either utter bliss or a spiraling pit of despair. "I'm glad you remember me and our promise..." I eventually smiled...it didn't feel right to say such daunting words to him just yet despite the kiss being proof enough that this friendship of ours was finally moving onto the next step...
At least I hoped it did...
"So," I began, heart jolting at that sudden thought as fear suddenly took hold, "does that kiss we shared now mean that we're..." I shyly looked away, too embarrassed to really finish that sentence.
"I mean, only if you want to..." Zoro mumbled, blushing as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head and looked to the side. Barely was I able to catch the look of fear that flashed in his eyes as if he was afraid that I was just going to reject him despite having returned that kiss of his. Biting my lower lip in thought, I softly smiled as I tilted my head and leaned in—kissing him.
"I would love to be your girlfriend, Roronoa Zoro" I happily smiled, giggling as I watched how his face burst into a look of pure happiness—all traces of fear now gone as he quietly sighed in relief and pulled me into a tight hug. He buried his face into the crook of my neck as he did so while mumbling about just how happy he was.
"What the...?" he soon muttered, attention slowly dragged away from me the second one of the other boats suddenly pulled up beside us.
"Whoa! Hey, relax, guys—this is a friendly visit!" the man in the boat quickly held his hands up in defense the second he saw the way we suspiciously eyed him. "You must be exhausted, not to mention hot in that fur coat" he remarked, casting a glance over toward Chopper who was still trying to catch his breath. I had nearly forgotten Chopper was here with how quiet he'd been...then again, no doubt he had temporarily passed out after such a frightening experience like riding that wave.
"It's not a fur coat!" the reindeer snapped, weakly raising his head.
"Whoa! I'm sorry" the man quickly apologized. "Let me make it up to you—would a candy apple be a good start?" he asked as he held up the treat he was offering.
"What's a candy apple? Is it a sweet?" Chopper innocently asked. In the span of mere seconds, I soon found myself with my back to Zoro and Chopper as they now indulged themselves in whatever the boat beside us had to offer—from sweets to alcoholic beverages—it seemed there wasn't anything this boat couldn't offer. It wasn't much longer before a second boat suddenly pulled up and was able to help in luring Sanji and Luffy right on over with the offer of food and women.
"Hey, we need another round of drinks down here!" one of the men operating the boat shouted as Zoro finished the last of his drink. Slowly, I found myself growing more and more irritated with the men the longer I listened to the way Zoro and Luffy were getting buddy-buddy with the enemy while Sanji was practically surrounding himself with nothing but women. I don't know how many of those women actually saw an interest in him, from the looks of it, they mainly looked like they didn't really care to listen at all to any of the compliments and praises he was giving them.
"Argh! You're all idiots!" I groaned, crossing my arms and huffing as I realized just how easy it was for the opposing team to take advantage of them. Unlike the mean, I actually refused any of the drinks and food that the boat had to offer despite how good some of the meals they were preparing smelled. I yelped when Zoro suddenly flung his arm over my shoulders and pulled me into his side. Pressing a gentle kiss to my temple before nuzzling himself closer to me.
"Come on, relax a litte" I huffed, blushing as he breathed into my ear. "They're not bad" he said before turning his head so that he could take a swig from his cup.
"You're just saying that because you're getting free booze" I sweat dropped.
"Update! Looks like the "Pleasure Boat" and "Harem Nocturne" have made a move!" Itomimizu exclaimed.
A/N: Enjoy
Please Review, Favorite, and Follow.