Ch. 52 - Flex
Somewhere not too far ahead, Trafalgar Law let out a curse as an enormous slash nearly slammed into him and his little sailboat. It started to tear part of his sail, but he evaded it in the nick of time by tossing a coin and teleporting both himself and his boat out of reach.
The slash had been tilted, and it slammed into something over a league away. Law heard a boom and a crack as it made contact.
A shockwave reverberated backwards off of whatever it was, inverting Law's sails and almost capsizing the little boat.
With some tricky handling he managed to get himself moving in the right direction again. About half an hour later he finally saw what had happened.
A large island stood between Ryubokuu and Deleanach. Made primarily of bleak, grey stone, the island boasted no inhabitants but seabirds nesting in its tall, jagged cliff log pose, and the wind, had him going straight for it.
In the past one would have to skirt the island, which had no magnetic field of its own, in order to reach Deleanach. Law had passed it going the other direction on his way to Ryubokuu. However, now the island, cleaved in two unequal parts, boasted what appeared to be a large channel that had not been there before. A nice, new shortcut.
The wind seemed eager to help him explore this new possibility. Despite the mildly torn sail, it pushed him between the giant, gray walls, where the water level dropped down for some reason. Even without the wind, the current pulled him onward, always dangerously listing him a little toward the right hand walls.
The sound of rushing water ahead of him made his gut lurch. Soon he saw why the water level had dipped; why the current pulled him so steadily forward. He was in the trough of an enormous wave. A wave headed his way, and as high as the cliff walls around him. That had to be 300 meters of water at least!
The slash that had caused this wave had been on a diagonal. The channel it had formed had a slight slant. And this wave was also caught at an angle. It wouldn't just push Law backward out of the channel; it would crush him and his tiny boat against the cliffs along the way.
He only had two coins left in his pocket. He tossed one upward as high as he could, creating a room and teleporting himself upward, almost, but not quite out of range of the terrible wave. From that vantage he had to think fast. He couldn't throw a coin far enough to take himself back out to sea. Instead he threw it onto the top of the cliff.
Room. Shambles.
He exchanged himself and his boat with the coin once again. The vessel jolted as it hit dry land, then tipped, knocking him out of it. Cursing under his breath, he looked up from where he'd landed to see the top of the wave rush past.
From his new vantage, it might seem like a small wave, peaking a few meters above the cliff wall as it went; but Law could feel it rumbling beneath him, could feel its roar of raw power. The sound and quaking drew further away, and Law got to his feet, jaw clenched as he watched the wave continue in its trajectory back toward the mouth of the channel.
He turned to assess his situation, telling himself it wasn't a disaster. All he had to do was check the boat over to make sure it hadn't been banged up too badly, then collect a pocketful of pebbles, and teleport his way out of his predicament.
Thankfully, Caesar's handiwork actually held up pretty well. Leastways, Law saw no holes or cracks in the boat itself that could spell leaks once he got her back in the water. His sail had torn further though. He'd need to sew it back together if he wanted to make any further progress.
He tuned his haki outward. Though he knew earlier the Straw Hats had been pursuing him, he didn't sense them anywhere close. He had time.
He retrieved a sewing awl and waxed thread from a repair kit, and just as he went to work, the earth started to shake beneath his feet again, hard enough that the many sharp, gray pebbles lying about the clifftop took to dancing.
Law gasped and stared wide-eyed as the wave that had nearly taken him out returned, this time going in the other direction. It was in no danger of hitting him, but the raw power of it kept him momentarily rooted to the spot.
When he managed to get a hold of himself, he couldn't help his curiosity. Grabbing hold of a few of the still quivering pebbles, he used his powers to toss and swap places until he had a decent birds' eye view of the island.
He could see clearly now that the newly created channel wasn't a strait at all. It was a fjord, surrounded on all sides by high cliffs. The slash had stopped short of clearing the edge of the tall, rocky island, leaving a thick, natural rock wall barricading anyone from using the channel as a shortcut.
It also kept the enormous wave from leaving. It crashed into the rock wall, making the whole island reverberate with the impact, then reversed to go back the other way once more.
Because the slash had been on an angle, twisting as it went, the wave moved at an angle as well. It didn't hit the mouth of the fjord on its way back, or it would have escaped out to sea. Instead it hit one of the side walls, jumping right back into the channel and careering back toward the blockage at the far end.
It seemed to take twenty to thirty minutes to go from one end of the island to the other. Law couldn't waste any more time observing it though. Soon he had teleported back to his vessel and turned his steady, surgeon's hands toward repairing the sail. Though he tried to stay focused and work quickly, he couldn't help but notice that the wave never seemed to lose momentum or power as the walls volleyed it back and forth.
Had the Straw Hats done this? Had that slash been meant for him?
Helena beat down her guilt as she laid a newly purchased yoga mat out on the Sunny's lawn. Zoro's censure had been well earned, though the rest of the Straw Hats and Ryubokuuans didn't seem to share his sentiments. They had loudly celebrated the SQ2.0's defeat. Luffy seemed impressed with her speed – that she had managed to land a hit without it absorbing it into the impact dial. It had been because Zoro was distracting it, and she'd aimed lower, but she hadn't felt like discussing her strategy with anyone.
She let the others take care of sailing them out of Ryubokuu's waters, guided by Ramzeez and his bee riderz. Instead she turned her attention on maintenance for the body she was hopefully just borrowing for a while. Zeus, Zoro was stiff.
Naturally, he wasn't as flexible as she was used to, but it was more than that. He had dull aches along his spine, his hips, his knees. Constantly wearing three heavy swords on one side meant his hips were horribly out of alignment. There were tight knots in his back and shoulders. – he probably ignored these seemingly insignificant aches instead of taking care of himself. The man needed a massage and a chiropractor at the very least, but probably a bit of physical therapy to realign himself before he landed a permanent injury.
Tentatively she removed his shoes and swords, and more tentatively his coat and bellyband. Feeling quite exposed with no shirt, but realizing it shouldn't matter in a man's body, she began a simple sun salutation. One stretch at a time she sought to work out the kinks in her man's muscles.
As they'd begun their hasty retreat out of Ryubokuu's waters, Franky had had some of the bee riderz rescue the bit of Sunny's mane that Helena had cut off. He hadn't lectured her at all about damaging the Sunny, and insisted the repairs would be easy enough once they had a moment to breathe.
As he focused on following the bee riders at full speed, he'd left the enormous, jagged spike leaned up against the mast. Its great, polished surface actually made for a decent mirror for her impromptu yoga session.
Helena bit back a chuckle when she both felt, and saw in the reflection just how limited Zoro's range of motion was. The muscle bound man couldn't touch his toes with straight knees for pity's sake.
She modified her routine accordingly, using the reflection to ensure she had the correct posture in a body unfamiliar to her.
Before too long she noticed in the reflection that she had an audience. She glanced Nami's way and smirked.
"I know he has an impeccable physique, but this man is taken," she reminded her.
Nami let out a snort of denial.
"Don't give me that!" Helena chided playfully, "I saw you staring!"
"Can you blame me?" Nami chuffed, but then went on in an unconvincing rush, "Not that I was checking him out or anything. It's just weird to see Zoro doing yoga!"
Helena chuckled. She regarded her reflection for a moment. Maybe downward dog wasn't the most dignified position for Zoro to be in. Nami had definitely been staring.
Helena straightened up and smirked. "Nah, I don't blame you," she said, "He's easy on the eyes." She flexed a bicep for her own benefit and her grin broadened in earnest. "Oo. Very easy on the eyes."
Nami laughed as Helena flexed the other arm as well. She moved through a few muscle man poses, thoroughly enjoying the show reflected back at her.
"You know, I've always wondered…" Helena started, clasping her arms low in front of her. After a moment of concentration she managed to make Zoro's pecs bounce.
Nami busted a gut, but she wasn't the only one. Several of the others couldn't help but notice the display. Luffy and Usopp were applauding by now, and Sanji's teeth shrieked as they ground against one another.
"What's the matter, Sanji-Kun? Not enjoying the gun show?" Helena made sure to punctuate this with a double flex.
"The hell…?!"
Zoro's voice cut through the laughter. He'd just emerged from the bathroom, where Helena had guessed he'd gone to puke. For all his grandstanding during the fight, he had overexerted her pregnant body, and it was making sure he knew it.
Thinking of this, and what a jerk he'd been, Helena didn't spare him a glance as she made another pose to applause and laughter.
"I swear, Helena, if you don't stop you're going to regret it."
"Just showing off your beautiful bod, dear!" she called to him. "You should consider modeling!"
"Last warning," he said, but she gleefully carried on with her antics, egged on by the crew.
Helena barely noticed when he walked away. She couldn't help but notice when he came back.
Her merriment came to a dead stop. The whole crew went quiet. All that could be heard above the waves and distant bees leading them onward, was the sharp, distinctive tapping of high heels against a wood floor.
Zoro had just reappeared, Helena's long limbs and small baby bump on full display in her Amazon Lily bikini and a pair of three inch heels.
With a beach bag in the crook of his arm and zero compunction, Zoro model strutted across the deck while the crew looked on in a stunned silence. Helena finally found her voice when Zoro paused to look over a bare shoulder at them, lowering a pair of sunglasses so he could make eye contact.
"I'm not sure whether to be upset, or just impressed that you're better than me at walking in heels," Helena confessed.
"It's not all that hard," he replied. "Heel to toe, right Robin?" He called this up to his accomplice, who must have supplied the shoes. She leaned on the railing of an upper deck, chortling. She had Kuina on her hip.
"Anyway," Zoro went on, "You should wear heels more often!"
"I can't fight in them!" Helena insisted.
"What, they're open toed!" Zoro shot back, popping a foot to inspect the footwear. "Anyway, they make your legs look amazing," he pivoted twice for good measure, showing them off. "Not to mention your butt…" he stuck this out and made pouty lips, batting eyelashes at them.
Brook and Sanji let out feral howls while the crew burst into more laughter and applause. Sanji collapsed, his palms pressed to his eyes.
"Zoroooh," Helena groaned, blushing from head to toe. "Please stop…"
"Did you know that sunlight is good for a baby's developing eyesight?" he went on, flopping down into one of the lawn chairs and pulling out a tanning foil.
"That is true…" Chopper chimed in.
"Zoro!"
He settled more comfortably into the chair with an overly dramatic sigh: "Ahhhh!"
"ZORO!"
"Oh, I forgot the tanning oil," he sat up and held up a bottle from the beach bag. "Oi, cook! Can you help a lady out?"
Sanji looked up with a start, both tears and a nose bleed running down his confused face. "I've never been so conflicted in my entire life," he blubbered. "I hate you, Marimo."
"I'LL DO IT, YOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"
Brook took a few steps forward before Helena flung out an arm to stop him. "Do it and you're dead," she snarled.
"But Helena-San, I'm already dead!"
Helena facepalmed, then turned to call out to Zoro. "You keep this up and you're sleeping in the boys dorm tonight."
Helena realized the horror of her mistake when Brook let out a yodel of approval while Sanji hid his face in his hands once more and sobbed, "It's New Kama all over…!"
Zoro lowered his sunglasses at Helena. "You started this," he said calmly.
With a huff she grabbed Zoro's coat and quickly put it on.
"Truce," she said. "I'll stop if you stop."
Zoro conceded with a small nod. A moment later he'd retrieved a swimsuit cover up from the bag and put it on. Brook groaned in disappointment while Chopper went to get smelling salts for Sanji, claiming the man was clearly suffering from some form of PTSD.
As the crew dispersed, Helena went to sit by her husband on one of the deck chairs. Both completely covered now, Zoro lounged back with a pair of hands behind the head, a picture of masculine ease, while Helena pulled her knees up to her chest defensively.
"You should lay on your side,," Helena pointed out peevishly. " It's bad for the baby for you to be on your back."
"So many stupid rules," Zoro growled, though he turned on his side anyway. He grimaced in a way that didn't have to do with his comment though.
"Queasy?" Helena asked, recognizing the look.
"I would have thought it would go away. It's not like there's anything left in my stomach anyway."
"Welcome to pregnancy," Helena chuffed. "Though you are in the 'easy trimester' right now. Probably wouldn't be puking if you hadn't overexerted yourself in the fight."
"Not like I had a choice," he pointed out.
"Oh you absolutely did. Show off."
"You seriously can not talk."
Helena glanced askance, "You didn't have to do the bikini you know," she grumbled. "I didn't strip you down to your underwear!"
"Just showing off your beautiful bod, dear," he parroted.
Helena gave him an unamused look. "My out of shape, weakling, pregnant bod you mean?" She grumbled.
Zoro didn't respond. He was grimacing again. More nausea. Case and point.
"You know," she prodded. "The one with the noodle arms?"
"You getting bent out of shape cause I told you the truth in the fight back there?" he drawled after the nausea had apparently eased. "I thought you liked me being honest with you!"
Helena let out a chuff.
"I can't help that your body's weaker than mine," he insisted.
"You can help rubbing it in," she shot back. "And you weren't just taking shots at my body out there either, jerk. I get that I'm weaker than you, both physically and mentally, but…"
"Mentally? When did I say that?"
"Ugh! Nevermind," Helena huffed, throwing her hands in the air. "Just stop, please. With the jabs. I get that they're in good fun, but it's not funny anymore. I married you because you are stronger than me; in every possible way apparently. There's no need to belabor the point."
Zoro sat upright and rubbed his temples. Headache, probably from dehydration. Or maybe from her weak, womanly whining. She clamped her mouth shut, teeth gritted against further useless comments. Even to herself she sounded pathetic.
"Helena…" he reproved. She schooled a stoic expression, determined to face his reproach with better resolve. But his next words made her go slack jawed: "You fought a war. – fought to save Kuina. – fought your way to us. Then you fought that beast, and fought to keep our son alive with sheer will power, and no real understanding of haki. And you did it all while feeling like this."
He gestured to the worn out body he now occupied.
"Your body may be weaker, but you are not weak."
Helena stared at him in surprise.
"In that fight back there? I was trying to see if I could do what you did with the limitations you had. Turns out it's a good thing you stopped me. Even just doing what little I did left me in this state. Who knows if I would have put our son in more danger had I kept that up.
"Physically you aren't the same as me. But woman, walking in your shoes, I'm more impressed with you than ever!"
A small, incredulous smile eased Helena's expression. "Well, I mean…" his praise felt more embarrassing than his censure. She defaulted on deflection rather than proper thanks. "Those aren't exactly my shoes," she joked.
Zoro chuckled, lifting a leg to display one of the borrowed heels. "More's the pity," he joked back. "You could hide an extra blade in the heel. Six sword style?"
"Add one to my teeth and I could go Titan without you!"
"Nah, you were already able to do that with your ceremonial armor, Sun Queen…"
Helena snorted and hid her face as she felt it redden. That stupid armor! Zoro gut-laughed at her reaction, but started to remove the shoes, rubbing his feet.
"In all seriousness, whoever invented heels is on my shortlist."
"Yours and mine both," Helena agreed with a chuckle.
