Hiding the Truth (One Piece)

Chapter 12 - The Davy Back Fight

So much had happened in the last fortnight.

We had a 100 year old ship fall on our heads. Attacked by a crew led by a perverted monkey. Found out about the existence of a Sky Island. Rode this enormous stream that shot us into the sky to the supposed Sky Island after being convinced to by a diamond head Uncle as Luffy had so kindly dubbed him. Explored the sky island to only find a deranged psycho that thought he was god, slapped him silly, before returning back to the blue sea riding an octopus. With our luck, we had managed to land in a marine base before proceeding to run for our lives, and now we were currently on the Merry sailing to the next island on the Grand Line.

I leaned against the railing with a sigh, watching the expanse of sea that surrounded us with no land in sight. I was utterly spent, mentally and physically exhausted at everything we had just experienced. When I'd joined this crew, I knew we were bound to have a number of adventures but I was hoping that we could at least go through a day without something happening. Knowing Luffy though, with his track record and the current rate he was going at, it was probably asking for too much.

I walked to the upper deck, heading to the little tangerine orchid in hopes of getting in a peaceful afternoon nap. Flopping onto a patch of grass, I laid in the shade that the bushes provided, enjoying the cool sea breeze that gently rustled the leaves. 

"Someone seems tired" I opened my eyes to make out a figure hovering over me, the sun lighting the person so all I could see was their outline. The person moved so they were blocking the sun and I could finally make out Zoro's grinning face, his chocolate brown eyes glistening with amusement.

"Ugh, you have no idea" I moaned before closing my eyes again, patting the space beside me for him to take a seat. He moved about, a slight grunt and a shift in the ground hinting that he had taken me up on my offer. I opened one eye, looking over at Zoro to see that he was already watching me, his expression a mixture of amusement and curiosity. 

"What's got you staring so hard. Like what you see?" I joked with an eyebrow wiggle, hoping for a chuckle in response. But I was more than surprised when his cheeks darkened with a dusting of pink, looking away with a huff. 

I had only meant it as a joke, but I thought maybe I had pushed a boundary so I nudged him to look back at me. When he did, I offered a carefree smile, hoping to reassure him that I was just messing around. 

He growled annoyed before looking away again but this time I laughed because I could see his cheeks pulled upwards. He was clearly smiling but still refused to look at me. I turned away, leaning further into the shade as the heat of the rising sun pulled me into a lull, slowly falling into a dreamless sleep.

Zoro's POV

I turned around once Lana had stopped shifting to see she had fallen asleep. As she slept, I though on everything that had happened in the short time she had been with us. She had only been travelling with us from about a month now but was already irreplaceable to the crew. We would have been dead countless times if it weren't for her and her clever plans. 

Sighing away the thoughts, I got up to go and find Nami, curious about our next destination. Trudging below deck, I approached the girl's quarters where I knew I would find her. I found her leaning over her desk, working on what appeared to be a large incomplete map of Sky Island.

"What can I do for you Zoro?" Nami asked without taking her eyes of the map. It always creeped me out how she wouldn't even have to turn to know who was there.

"When are we going to be at the next island?" I questioned and at that she turned her full attention to me.

"That reminds me, I have to talk to the rest about that. Come on, let's go find the others" She got up and I followed after her.