- Chapter 5 - Hidden Intentions
He wasn't too sure how he got roped into escorting Kagome to someone's house when it had nothing to do with him. Sure, he was the first to meet this girl, but why was he suddenly acting like her babysitter? That was what he was originally thinking before she suddenly started apologizing to him the way she did. He could feel that she was being sincere, if even if more than a little self-deprecating, due to inadvertently making him accompany her on this errand of hers. So now he decided to just bite the bullet and finish whatever this delivery of hers was so they could get back to the ship and have dinner.
They approached the entrance to a residential area, Kagome making a right turn while Zoro absentmindedly continued forward. However, he wasn't able to walk off more than a couple feet before the girl grabbed his arm, not even bothering to turn her head in his direction, and dragged him behind her in the proper direction. When he realized he had nearly veered off course again, he looked down at the smaller woman. Just how did she seem to know? Maybe she just noticed before he did? He shrugged. At least she didn't comment on it this time.
They made their way down the street, passing by one house after another. Each one shared a similar structure, almost like it was cut from the same stencil. Yet even while sharing the same type of framework, he could tell each home had its own unique flair that made it distinguishable from the other. Some of the homeowners and their families were sitting on their stoops enjoying the evening breeze, while others were already cooped inside for the night, warm lights glowing through dingy window panes.
They all somehow felt cozy just by looking at them. Weird.
Soon, they stood at the bottom of a small hill which atop sat a decently sized home, located a little ways away from the other buildings they had seen on their way. It was clear that whoever built this home decided to use another blueprint compared to the others they had come across, but it didn't make it appear any less inviting.
"Well, here we are…" Kagome said, her voice falling as she forced an uncomfortable smile on her visage. Taking a deep breath, she turned on her heel to face him directly, her eyes piercing and demanding attention. It caught him slightly off guard. For a tiny girl, she wasn't one to be taken lightly, it seemed, "Alright, from here I need you to listen to everything I tell you and do not– I repeat, do not– fight with him," she emphasized the pronoun as she subtly pointed towards to the large main window where a young man stood. From this distance it would be hard for anyone else to tell, but Zoro could practically feel the deathly glare on his person coming from the dark-haired man inside. Was this why he was told to go with her? Was this guy dangerous? Why would she willingly go to this guy's place if he was a threat to her? Even if it was because of who he worked for?
"Hello? Zoro?" A small hand waved in front of his face and he tore his own glare away from the glowering man to look at the noirette. "Did you hear what I just told you? Need me to repeat it?"
"Huh? Oh," Zoro blinked and looked away, his arms crossed over his chest in his usual fashion, "Nah, I got it. Let's go," he said absently as he started up the hill towards the front door. The clasp of a small hand around his wrist stopped him in his tracks and he heard a resigned sigh behind him.
"I guess I do need to repeat myself," she shook her head and began walking beside him up the hill, keeping their pace sedated as she spoke, hand still wrapped around his wrist, "Like I had just said, follow my lead. Let me do the talking unless I need you to interject, okay? This guy is… Let's just say, he considers himself to be a 'nice guy', if you know what I mean," she finished, as though whatever the 'term' she used would explain everything.
It in fact, did not.
But he wasn't about to argue with her. He knew Nami could be a little wrathful demon when she wanted to be, and he wasn't so sure he wanted to test the waters with Kagome too. He had after all already witnessed her while in one of her defensive-modes back at the river; he didn't need to rile her up more and see just how far she'd go. Not yet at least. Now, if Sanji triggered her though… Zoro snickered to himself at the thought.
Well, that would be a hilarious scene to see for himself.
As they crested the last few steps to the porch, the large front door flew open and the young man– whom he'd unknowingly had a stare-down with only moments ago– was now smiling jovially at Kagome, completely disregarding Zoro's presence behind her.
"Miss Kagome! I'm so delighted you came. Please, come in," The man said, sweeping his arm in a polite gesture for her to enter. Grip still firm on his wrist, Kagome kept silent and nodded in greeting, her waning smile still in place as she tugged him inside behind her. Soon after he had stepped through the threshold, the door was slammed behind him with more force than should have been necessary. Clearly, his presence irked the man. He was beginning to see what the girls were talking about when they said they didn't like the idea of Kagome coming here on her own. He knew he may be slow on the uptake when it came to some social cues, but he had certainly caught on to this guy's snake-like attention on the girl beside him.
If he considered the bruising hold Kagome's slim hand had on his arm, she herself was more than aware of this guy's intentions.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you would be… with company when you arrived. Did you forget our date tonight? I have dinner going right now; it should be ready shortly. It is unfortunate however," the man coughed into his hand, sending a coy sneer at the green-haired man, "since I wasn't previously informed, I did not make enough for your… friend here."
Zoro narrowed his eyes at the man. What little he's seen of this guy was already more than enough to make him want to knock his teeth in. He'd never been a big fan of people who acted all high and mighty over others when they really had no position or power to hold them up. This guy was of average height and still he was of smaller frame, yet the bastard looked down on him? He just wanted to slice him up and be done with it. A single blade would be enough to carve this stupid ass of a man up like a holiday turkey. The thought was mildly amusing as he actively pictured it in his head.
The clearing of a throat brought him out of his death-inclined imagination, "That's alright, Macron; that just means more food for you and Halli. I'm not here for dinner," Kagome easily deflected his attempt at getting her to stay, "You do remember I'm only here to see your sister, right?" She glanced at Zoro and gave him a genuine smile. The other man, Macron, seemed to notice the small exchange and his face went beat red to the point Zoro could practically see steam coming out of his ears. To the other man's credit, he immediately took on a cool demeanor when she turned to face him once more, "Oh, and this is my special friend, Zoro," she introduced, making both men flush for opposite reasons, "Zoro, this is Macron. He's the older brother of my patient, Halli. She unfortunately suffers from an auto-immune disease that makes it difficult for her to venture outside often, so I come here to help nurse her when I can so she has some company."
Zoro's mind halted when she called him a 'special' friend, wondering what she meant by that before he realized she was using him as a barrier between herself and the weirdo. It started to make more sense when she completely distanced herself verbally from the man by stating their association, rather than relationship. She was making very distinct boundaries that this guy couldn't seem to comprehend, or maybe he simply refused to. He was leaning heavily towards the latter.
"I… see. Well, we can discuss this once more after you have attended to Halli then. She has been waiting for you. The payment for the service and medications is on the table in the main hallway. Do you need me to accompany you–"
"Nope!" Kagome squeaked out quickly, finally releasing Zoro's wrist from its deathgrip as she turned tail towards where he assumed was the sister's room, "I can manage on my own just fine, thank you. Zoro,"she turned her head to look over her shoulder at him, ignoring the brunette man completely to his amusement, "would you mind sticking around here in the meantime? I shouldn't be more than thirty minutes, give or take."
He nodded without a word, having no intention to leave her to this bastard's whims as she quickly made her way down the hall and disappeared from sight. Silence fell between both men for a few long, awkward moments before the homeowner spoke up, "So just who do you think you are, exactly?"
Flicking his eyes towards the smaller man, Zoro narrowed his gaze, his voice hard, "What was that?"
Macron straightened up, his once pleasant expression became baleful as he grimaced, "What do you mean, 'what'? I asked you– who do you think you are, speaking to my Kagome and touching her body like she's already yours?"
The swordsman's eyes bugged at the man incredulously, what the hell is he going on about? "I think you've got a few screws loose, considering you're only seeing what you want to see," he said, lifting his chin and looking down at the brunette with a glare of his own, "You're acting like she's not a human being; she's not property, you sick bastard. Get that through your thick skull while I'm asking nicely."
The brunette man unflinchingly glowered at Zoro, to which the swordsman had to begrudgingly give him credit for. However, the longer the man stared, the more flickers of something like recognition seemed to stir in his eyes. Eyebrow twitching, Zoro was about to say something before he was beaten to it.
"She said your name is Zoro, is it?"
Wondering where he was going with this, Zoro nodded apprehensively, his gaze trained on the man but his other senses screaming and listening around them for any kind of disturbance. He decided he definitely did not like the look on the other man's face. His hand slowly drifted to sit on the hilts of his swords, bracing himself if the dark-haired man tried anything.
Macron finally tore his gaze from Zoro's face after much too long and eyed the swords strapped to his side, seeing only two of them instead of his usual three. Was he catching on to his identity…? It wouldn't be the first, nor would it be the last time; especially after Enies Lobby. Now all his crewmates had bounties on their heads and were at risk of being noticed. Well, maybe except for the stupid cook. The portrait for his bounty was just laughable.
"It couldn't be, could it…" The other man muttered to himself, just loud enough to break Zoro from his distracted thoughts. Damned perverted cook and his stupid face.
Unable to help himself, Zoro leaned back against the wall of the foyer, arms crossed over his shirt clad chest and a small smirk graced his features, "It couldn't be, what? Huh?"
Hearing the green-haired man's voice seemed to startle Macron out of his own thoughts as he looked the swordsman up and down again, this time much more on edge by the way his eyes kept jumping back and forth rather than scanning like he had before. Silence stretched between them once more, the tension so thick he could slice it with his blade. Fortunately for them, the woman of the hour had emerged from around the corner of the hallway and approached them with a grin on her face, her gaze zeroing in on Zoro immediately.
"Alright, everything seems to be in order here. Halli does seem a bit stressed, so take it easy on her and see if you can get her on the porch for about an hour a day for fresh air, at least for a week's duration. Hopefully that bears some positive results, "Kagome glanced at Macron as she spoke yet kept her face towards Zoro, stepping closer to the green-haired man as she spoke, "It's all up to her on how she receives it, however being there to aid her will show her she has support and care from her family. I gave her a dose of her medicine and changed her sheets as well, the rest of the two weeks' doses are in the cabinet by the dresser in her room. Make sure to give them to her everyday; they are already pre-portioned so you don't need to worry about measuring them yourself. Have I forgotten anything?" She tipped her head up and looked upwards in thought, her finger tapping her chin, "I believe that covers everything. Maybe get her a few more reading materials to keep her occupied, but that should be it."
Without missing a beat, Kagome grabbed Zoro's hand and opened the front door, dragging him out quickly. She only briefly paused in her step to turn to and bow at the other man who looked stupefied at her actions, his eyes locked on their conjoined hands, "Have a good evening, mister Macron. Take care now," she quickly faced her back to him and tugged Zoro down the porch steps and down the hill, her hold on his hand firm as they walked off. Said man was unsure how to process the last few minutes and was completely oblivious to the fact that she had grabbed his hand and was still holding it halfway down the street as they continued to make distance between themselves and the man on the hill.
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By the time they had made it back to the hidden bay, the others had been eagerly awaiting for their arrival on the ship. They could hear Luffy's voice loud and clear from his perch atop the figurehead, "Is that them? Wahoo! Finally, we can eat!" Followed by a loud thunking sound and Nami screaming at him to be quiet. Shaking his head, Zoro followed behind Kagome at a leisurely pace as they made it to the shore and climbed onto the Thousand Sunny, Sanji greeting them to the swordsman's surprise and ire.
"Welcome back Mademoiselle, I have prepared a meal befitting your beautiful and generous self! Come, dinner is served," the cook bowed, holding out a hand in offering. Kagome smiled and patted the blond's shoulder instead, thanking him for the offer of food. Before she could try and refuse once again, Luffy piped up again, "Come on! Sanji wouldn't let anyone eat until you guys came back' I'm starving! Let's eat!"
Zoro looked at curly brow in disbelief, "You waited for us before serving dinner? That's unlike you, ."
Sanji whirled on the spot and yelled in response, "I wasn't waiting for you, you damn muscle head! I was waiting for Kagome-chwan!" That earned a disgusted look from the swordsman and the two began to bicker once again, much to the rest of the crew's chagrin. Within moments, their ears were held in a vice grip and yanked down, making both grown men groan in pain as they looked at the culprit. Kagome looked down her nose at them, able to do so considering how low she had tugged their ears, and tutted at them like they were petulant children.
"Come one you guys, the food that Sanji oh so graciously cooked for us will get cold. Enough of your childish bantering; let's go and eat before I have to get going." As she finished, she released her pinching hold on their ears and they stood up straight, saluted her with a synchronized 'yes ma'am!' and bolted towards the galley, much to the others' astonishment.
Nami came up to her side, eyes sparkling with mirth, "You need to teach me how to get them to listen so quickly. Normally, I have to yell and pound their heads together before they start to listen to me. Well, Zoro anyway. Sanji is another story altogether, he gets into his own little world when he's with women," she rolled her eyes, recalling the perverted cook's constant antics and praises.
Kagome shrugged, linking arms with the orange-haired girl as they made their way towards the galley themselves after the rest of the crew, "Eh, it's nothing really. Comes with the territory of having a little brother and friends always finding ways of annoying each other for fun. It's nothing special."
"Brother?" Brown eyes bore into cerulean at the mention of a sibling, "You've never mentioned you had a little brother before; how old is he?" Nami asked innocently, imagining a smaller, more boyish version of the girl beside her.
The noirette nodded, her eyes downcast as she replied, "Yeah, I have a brother five years my junior. He can be a little twerp, but I love him dearly. His name is Higurashi, Souta. He's really into sports and vid–" Kagome caught herself, remembering that they didn't really have video games in this world. Or televisions for that matter. Not that she has seen, at least, "– er, very into games. You know, typical thirteen-year old stuff." A small smile pulled at her lips as she remembered her brother fondly, "We'd tease each other all the time, but we still had a good relationship overall."
Nami nodded along as they entered the galley, dallying at the door for a moment in contemplation. She hadn't missed the dual usage of both present and past tense when she spoke of her brother, but opted to overlook it for now, "That's really nice, Kagome. I kind of wish I had a relationship with my sister like you do your brother. For myself…" The short haired girl's lips screwed together a moment before she sighed and huffed, "For me, I had some circumstances that took people away from me. I had a mother-like figure who was dear to me. Her name was Bell-mere…"
The orange-haired girl began to tell her tale about her home island, the mother she had both gained and lost, the sister who stood by her, and how her captain had saved her. As she told her story, they sat themselves down side-by-side at the table as Luffy was already happily gorging himself with food. Predictably, Sanji was yelling at their captain to wait until he dished out the women's servings, only for his efforts to fall on deaf ears. Loud conversation and the sounds of slurping echoed around the room and despite the chaos, Kagome felt more at home than she had in a very long time.
If only it wouldn't end so soon.
x . ~ . x . ~ . x
Just like that, a few days had passed in a blur for the Straw Hat's as they spent their time in town and on their ship. It was going on day five and they hadn't heard much in regards to any Marine ships docking at the port, much less sailing towards the island. On the surface, it was relieving to know that they could go about freely without having to watch out for Marine soldiers. The underlying issue was knowing that they were due to arrive at some point and not knowing when, how many, who, from where, and more.
Usopp was the one to voice these concerns the loudest. He had a bad feeling something was going to happen, something in the back of his mind was just screaming at him. He didn't know what it was or if he was just overthinking things as per usual. Could it be like a sort of premonition? He has had moments like these before, these feelings of unease, of dread. It was like he could sense some kind of ominous aura before something was to befall the crew; then again, with their luck it wasn't surprising for something like that to happen almost everyday. There was no real opportunity for him to be able to decipher if it was simply a constant sense of deja vu or something else was happening.
Nonetheless, these uncertainties did not stop him from announcing his suspicions. They could be more prepared if something did occur thanks to his input, right? He was the Great Captain Usopp after all. He just hoped it was enough.
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Knock knock knock.
Knuckles rapped on the closed door as a middle-aged man with copper-colored hair waited for authorization to enter. He heard a loud grunt through the solid metal in response and Castro took it as received permission, opening the large door to the darkness of the captain's quarters. The man stepped inside, closing the door behind him before he trepidly walked up to a solid wide desk of glowing white, saluting.
"What is it, Castro?" A low grumble spoke beyond the desk in the darkness, making the man in question clear his throat in apprehension. The open shutter blinds allowed trickles of moonlight to filter into the room, only catching the lower arm of the figure across from him.
"Sir! We just received confirmation that we are due to arrive at Truffle Island in two days," Lieutenant-Commander Castro informed, standing at attention.
The low rumbling of his Commander''s voice growled in the silent room, "I see. And what of the inhabitants? Are they still planning to be stubborn?"
Gulping, Castro's body stiffened as he answered, "That appears to be the case, sir. Despite all of your generous offers, they continue to refuse."
A chuckle rang out around the room as the man leaned his elbows on top of his desk, the lower half of his grin visible in the filtrated night's glow, "Huh, is that right? As I expected of them. Too bad it has been brought to this," the Commander stood, one hand bracing the surface of the white wood as he straightend to his full height, "It's a good thing I decided to introduce myself finally. Perhaps a face-to-face approach is required to… sway their resolutions."
x . ~ . x . ~ . x
Happy New Year guys! Sorry for the late update again, but I swear I have a good excuse lol. Since last Wednesday I've been sick as a dog. and only finally could breath in my room after getting a humidifyer and antibiotics, so my holidays have been a little rough. This is my opening to a new year instead of the closing of one! Hope you enjoyed!