One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.
-Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Eight-
"Pull it together guys, really!" Usopp cried toward the two being mercilessly spun around.
"It looks like Pickles and Hamburg have finally recovered from their earlier accident!" Itomimizu announced as the two men from before reappeared—both looking like they were ready to get back to playing.
"Look, they're back in it!" someone in the crowd cheered.
"Slaughter them, guys!" another laughed.
"And what's this? It seems they've updated their wardrobe!" Itomimizu noted once he spotted the weapons the two now sported. "Hamburg is sporting some iron knuckles and elbow guards—where did those come from? Meanwhile, Pickles is sporting some iron spike shoulder protectors, those clearly violate the no weapons rule" he pointed out as the referee once again turned his head the other way. "But by complete coincidence, the referee seems to be doing some stretches right about now—oh well, you can't expect him to catch everything, right?" he whole-heartedly laughed.
"Oh come on!" I snapped.
"Time for revenge, my friend—you ready?" Pickles grinned, causing Hamburg to eagerly laugh in response. It wasn't long before Pan finally released the swordsman and cook and sent them flying straight toward the other two Groggy Monsters.
"World! Stop spinning!" Zoro grounded out through clenched teeth.
"Now, bring the pain!" Pickles laughed as he and Hamburg shot toward the two. "Spinning Tackle!" his started to spin as the monkey jumped on top of him before launching himself into the air.
"The Groggy Monsters spawn a counter-attack! But this time, their target isn't the Ball Man—but his partner, Zoro!" Itomimizu announced, causing me to tense up. "This is about to get ugly" he whistled.
"What?!" I gasped.
"Hamburg Hammer!" Hamburg roughly smashed his fist against Zoro—sending him crashing straight into the ground right away.
"No! Zoro!" Usopp worriedly cried.
"The assault isn't over yet!" Itomimizu announced as Pan jumped and sent Hamburg flying straight down toward the swordsman once more. "Big Pan's ready for another brutal attack!"
"W-wait..." I ignored whatever else the man had to say as I stared at the brutal scene before me in horror. Already could I feel a lump starting to form in my throat as it became harder to breathe...there was something almost malicious and personal about these attacks the longer they went on like the opposing team no longer thought about winning. Instead, all that mattered to them at the moment was causing the most damage.
"Oh no!" Nami gasped.
"This is bad..." Robin mumbled.
"Wait...please..." I shakily breathed as worry now seized my heart the longer I watched.
"The Straw Hats are about to learn the power of teamwork" Itomimizu chuckled, unbothered by his crewmates' cruelty. "Like an arrow raining from the sky" he sighed as Hamburg's iron guards slammed into the swordsman and crushing his stomach—I wanted to cry out in horror at the sight...yet all that came out was a choked sob. "A direct hit! He won't be walking that one off!" I trembled at the way the crowd cheered before harshly grabbing my hair and pulling as I started to scream in frustration once I realized there was very little I or any of the others could do.
"Skylar?" Nami mumbled as I violently shook my head, shaky sobs now slipping past my lips as I painfully yanked at my own hair, not liking this tightening feeling in my chest or the way my heart ached. Violence between pirates was nothing new—playing dirty between pirates wasn't anything new either...and yet, the unnecessary cruelty being displayed made my stomach churn and my eyes water. "H-hey, Skylar! Come on now, calm down!" the sudden feeling of gentle arms wrapping around me as my head was pressed flush against Nami's chest only made my crying worse.
"I...I don't..." I couldn't get the words out as I shakily cried, my trembling only growing worse as I desperately clung to the ginger. I didn't like seeing him so hurt. I didn't like seeing anyone close to me get hurt if I'm being honest. After finally confessing, there was something almost cruel about seeing him in such agonizing pain and not being able to do anything to stop it. I felt helpless...
I felt like a child again unable to do anything more than shakily wail as I wait for it to pass.
"Hey, it's okay..." Nami soothingly mumbled, running her fingers through my hair as I struggled for a moment to breathe. I wasn't sure what exactly was triggering this sudden bout of frantic crying outside of my feeling of helplessness and the fear of what more was to come the longer this match went on. Shaking my head, I wanted to believe her...yet that tiny voice in the back of my mind refused, finding it silly to think that things would be fine when the cheering of the crowd only seemed to spur on the opposing team's cruelty and encourage them to grow more violent.
"By the way, all of this occurred in the Groggy Ring, in case you didn't know" Itomimizu amusedly reminded everyone.
-Everyone's P.O.V-
"So dizzy..." Sanji weakly mumbled as the world around him seemed to spin, making it harder for him to really gather his bearings. Zoro shakily breathed from where he lay, his chest soon growing tight the moment he heard Skylar's frustrated scream...
She was worried for him.
She was scared and frustrated—overwhelmingly angry that she couldn't do anything to help...that she couldn't stop what was happening and prevent any further harm coming to him. It was almost funny in a way, they had only just confessed to one another mere hours ago, and already was he worrying her—already was he making her cry.
"And now, the Groggy team turns their attention to the Straw Hats team's ball!" Itomimizu announced.
"This isn't even a game anymore..." Skylar weakly muttered, vision blurring as she slumped against Nami who continued to soothingly run her fingers through her hair while murmuring words of comfort into her ear.
"Have faith, they'll be alright..." she muttered in assurance, trying her best to be comforting despite how thrown off she was by the teen's sudden outburst. She wasn't used to seeing the brunette react in such a violent manner—wasn't used to seeing her lose her composure and break down in such a manner as if she had become overwhelmed by her own emotions. She had been hesitant at first about touching the teen, not knowing what to do before eventually pulling her into her arms.
"Sanji, move!" Luffy worriedly shouted.
"What—you thought that was it? They're just getting started!" Itomimizu boisterously laughed as Skylar drew her lips back into a wince the minute she heard the three monsters ganging up on the blond—showing him little to no mercy in the same way they hadn't the swordsman. She was too scared to lift her gaze and sneak a peek, not wanting to see her friend being brutalized in the same manner her lover had been as the tightening feeling in her chest only seemed to worsen.
"Stop..." she silently croaked, lips wobblingly the longer she listened to the three. It was clear this was no longer about playing or winning some game as they violently ganged up on the two men. The unfairness of it all only made the churning of her stomach worsen as she sucked in shaky breaths of air. She wished she could do more than just scream and cry in frustration—wished she could give the swordsman his swords back or force the referee to do his job properly. She wished she or any of the others could just rush out into the field and help...but she couldn't...
None of them could.
"Hamburg sends him flying back—they don't even care for scoring anymore! The Groggy Monsters stomped the competition flat with a three-man attack!" Itomimizu gaped, only confirming what the brunette had realized earlier as the three men on the opposing team continued to beat on the two pirates.
"Look!" Nami gasped as she quickly grabbed hold of Skylar's shoulders, forcing her to turn and look toward the field in hopes that the sight of the two getting back up would help calm her down. She wished she knew why the young woman had reacted so violently to the cruel treatment despite the fact that the two men had been badly hurt before...
Then again, Skylar was never really present during those times as far as the ginger was aware.
She always only saw the end result—was always absent during the actual fight and only ever had to bear witness to the damage once everything was said and done. Not only that, but the navigator was also aware of the brunette's strong feelings for Zoro. No doubt the sight of him so defenseless and the inability to do anything about it contributed to such a violent breakdown. No doubt the overwhelming sensation of helplessness followed by the frustrations of unfairness and malicious intent grew to be too much. There was something needlessly cruel about the opposing team's behavior and the way they violently beat on the swordsman and cook as if they had forgotten they were supposed to be playing a seemingly simple ball game. There was something insulting about the way they ignored the defenseless blond, forgoing their opportunity to win all because they found it more satisfying to beat on him and the swordsman—spurred on by the cheers of the crowd and their own sense of enjoyment.
-Skylar's P.O.V-
Through squinted, blurry eyes, I watched how Zoro and Sanji stumbled to a stand once the onslaught of attacks ceased—neither looking ready to call it quits just yet. Such a hopeful sight didn't last long though as they soon tumbled back down, quick to lose whatever strength they had in a matter of seconds. I felt my knees wobble as I dropped to the ground, a weak laugh escaping my lips as more tears welled up in my eyes. There was something intense about the pain I now felt in my chest...
Sure, I've seen Zoro get hurt plenty of times before...but, he always got back up.
He always brushed off the pain and stood right back up all those other times. There was something agonizing about watching him crumble to the ground, his legs too weak to keep him up and the pain too much for him to seemingly stay conscious. I hated this sense of hopelessness—this feeling of being unable to help the people I've come to care about so much. No doubt the others probably felt the same as they silently stood around with bated breath, tensely watching and waiting.
"Such a cruel way to win..." Robin muttered, causing my shoulders to tense.
"They're alright...aren't they? They have to be...right...?" I quietly asked, desperately looking between the two women on either side of me with watery eyes as even more tears started to fall. "My...my swordsman and Sanji just have to be alright...right?" just as I said them, I quickly covered my mouth as my tears instantly halted—face now exploding with color as Nami raised an eyebrow. "W-wait, I can—I didn't mean to...it's just..." I stumbled over my words in a sloppy attempt to cover up my mistake, not having meant for such words to come out so soon. Especially not to Nami.
"Your swordsman?" she curiously questioned, lips curling upward as she suddenly dropped to her knees and grabbed hold of my shoulders with a gentle squeeze. "Don't tell me...are you both…?" she cut herself off with a squeal the second I slowly nodded, my blush darkening with every passing second as I averted my gaze.
"I was hoping to hold off in telling you for many, many reasons..." I mumbled, mentally cursing myself out for making such a reckless slip-up. "Stop looking at me like that..." I felt my lips twitch a little at the sight of the ginger's expression and ever-growing grin as the pain in my chest lightened in response to this sudden distraction.
"Get up, Zoro! Come on, Sanji!" Luffy suddenly urged, catching our attention and bitterly reminding us that this stupid game wasn't over just yet.
"Both balls are still in play, but it looks like team Straw Hat is down for the count!" Itomimizu announced.
"I wish he would just shut up..." I grumbled, crossing my arms as I looked down when the crowd started to cheer—irritated by the sudden reminder of what was happening. "I wish they would all just shut up..." I frowned, fingers curling until my nails started to bite into the flesh of my arms. I clenched my jaw at the sudden whisper of a familiar voice, one that bitterly reminded me that such behavior like the crowds was perfectly natural since they were nothing more than mere pirates. They lived off of such malicious violence and no doubt found more enjoyment in witnessing their crewmates beat on our friends than watching them play the actual game.
"In fact, you may say they're groggy!" Itomimizu shouted, rolling his r's as he did so "Now, all that's left is to stuff the Ball Man in his coffin—I mean goal, and it will be two wins in a row for the Foxy Pirates!" he grinned. "It just goes to show, you can't keep a good monster down."
"Looks like we win again!" someone in the crowd cockily boasted.
"Hey…let's work together…for ten seconds..." Zoro weakly muttered, causing my head to perk up as I forced myself to look toward the two badly beaten-up men sprawled out on the ground.
"Okay, fine...but no longer..." Sanji grunted in agreement.
"The second match of our Davy Back Fight has come to a dramatic conclusion as another win for our Groggy Monsters—and while the Straw Hats put up a good fight, they were simply no match for our reigning champions!" Itomimizu boasted. "So with two wins in a row for the Foxy Pirates and one adorable doctor on the crew, we must wonder who Captain Foxy will choose next" he pondered.
"Hey, wait! Look!" someone in the crowd shouted as I kept my eyes trained on the two men who were starting to stand back up once again.
"They're up! Against all odds, the Straw Hats are back on their feet!" Itomimizu gawked. "Even after a demoralizing beat down, the swordsman without his swords and the savage chef kept calm in the face of diversity once more!"
"You guys, why'd you scare me like that?!" Usopp sobbed as I felt my body shoot up off the ground, cheers now slipping past my lips as I jumped alongside our captain in a burst of excitement upon witnessing them stand back up.
"Well, she recovered quickly" Nami chuckled as she slowly stood back up.
"The question is, even if they can stand, do they have enough strength to fight?" Itomimizu inquired.
"I have a little request" Foxy suddenly spoke up, catching the three Groggy Monsters' attention. "One Monster Burger, please" he requested, causing lightning to suddenly rain from the sky out of nowhere as the crowd fell eerily silent.
"Now what could that mean?" Robin asked.
"Something that probably isn't good" I frowned.
"Huh? Did someone say burgers?" Luffy curiously asked as he looked around. "Because I could go for one" he admitted.
"Is that all you think about?!" Usopp snapped, hitting the captain's chest with the back of his hand.
"Uh-oh! Did you hear that?" Itomimizu dramatically asked. "Our boss has just ordered the famous Monster Burger!" he proclaimed as Hamburg and Pickles pulled out their respective weapons—a club and swords—and now began to smash and spin them around.
"I get that you guys are cheaters and all, but can you at least try and hide it?" Nami sweat dropped.
"Grind them all up, that's burger meat!" Hamburg giggled.
"Slice them like a pickle—sour or sweet!" Pickles grinned.
"What are the toppings?" the crowd asked.
"There's a head of cream lettuce and some fine yellow cheese!" the two Groggy Monsters sang as Big Pan started to smash two giant pans together he had suddenly pulled out of nowhere.
"A Monster Burger for me to eat!" the crowd sang back.
"Here it comes! The most terrifying triple event attack—the most horrifying hamburger!" Itomimizu exclaimed, causing Foxy to laugh. "It seems hopeless for the Straw Hats, but I can't help but think that the Groggy Monsters might get handed a red card for such a clear violation of the rules—but look at that!" he gasped. "What a coincidence, the referee just happens to be doing some stretches right now! Oh well, he can't catch everything!" he laughed.
"I'm going to make you turn around!" Luffy threateningly growled.
"Luffy, no!" Usopp frantically cried as he tried to stop the rubber man from going anywhere near the referee.
"Why not?" Luffy huffed.
A/N: Enjoy
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