Sword

Chapter 18

I'll have to find an appropriate way to thank Ripper.

"He's the one who told me about this," Shoko said.

"How did you get off duty to come here?"

Shoko shifted her eyes to the ground. "Ripper pulled some strings to get me here for a 'special mission.' My superiors don't know what I'm really doing," she admitted.

"Tsk, if you get in trouble for me..." his voice was a growl, but he didn't really sound angry. He paused. "They say they'll execute anyone who helps me. They even threatened to execute Rika when she brought me food."

"Rika was here?" Shoko asked. No one told me that.

Zoro huffed in affirmation. "She made some rice balls. She used sugar instead of salt, heh, but they were good."

Shoko gave a breathy laugh.

"I'm glad you're here," he said softly. She felt butterflies in her chest and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on his forehead.

There was the sound of whistling behind her. Shoko turned around in alarm and blushed furiously when she saw Luffy standing there, trying to look as if he were casually observing the courtyard's nonexistent décor, whistling with his cheeks puffed out.

I completely forgot he was here.

"You again?" Zoro asked, leaning to the side to see over Shoko's shoulder at who else was there. Luffy turned to face Zoro, happy to finally be acknowledged. "You sure have a lot of free time," Zoro muttered.

"I'll untie you, so join my crew!" Luffy said.

Shoko deadpanned. He sure gets straight to the point. No 'hello' or nothin'.

"Ehh?" Zoro was clearly not expecting this.

"I'm looking for people to join my pirate crew!" Luffy said, stepping toward Zoro. Shoko moved out of the way, letting them talk without her influence.

"Forget that," Zoro spat. "I won't stoop to a criminal's level." Shoko couldn't help but feel relieved. He sounded more opposed to Luffy's proposal than she expected.

"Aren't you known as an evil bounty hunter already? The 'demon man'?" Luffy pressed.

"People say whatever they want," Zoro said, looking Luffy hard in the eyes. "I have my own standards. I'm going to live through this and get out my own way."

I had a feeling this would happen. I should tell him Helmeppo changed his mind, Shoko thought. "Zoro-" she began aloud, but Luffy cut her off.

"Yeah? But I've already decided you're gonna join my crew. I'm gonna untie you." He crossed his arms.

"You can't decide that on your own!" Zoro shouted, pulling against his restraints like he wanted to fight the boy.

"Don't you use swords?" Luffy asked instead of responding.

"Eh? Yeah, but that stupid blond guy took them."

"What if I get them for you?" Luffy asked. Shoko and Zoro both looked at him with wide eyes. Really? "If you want your swords, you have to join my crew!"

Zoro turned to Shoko with a pleading look. She responded with an apologetic frown. "I'm already pushing my limits by being here," she said, hating the words that came from her mouth. "If your swords are in marine custody, I'd be stealing from them. I'd be kicked out for sure."

Zoro huffed and turned his attention back to Luffy, trying to decide what to do. But before he could come up with a response, Luffy was running away.

"Is he planning to break in all by himself?" Zoro asked Shoko incredulously.

She just shrugged. "He's pretty impulsive."

"Hey! The base is the other way!" Zoro shouted after Luffy. This guy was breaking in no matter what, so Zoro figured he might as well tell him the right way to go.

He is pretty good at directions, after all.

Luffy skidded to a stop. "Gum-gum rocket!" he shouted suddenly, and his arms stretched all the way across the courtyard, even longer than what Shoko had seen before. Then he was flying in the air towards the marine base.

Well shit, how am I supposed to get out of here now? Shoko thought.

"Where did you find that guy?" Zoro asked.

Shoko shrugged, "he was with Rika at my family's restaurant. But it sounds like you met him before I did. You said he's been here before?"

"Yeah, he came by earlier after Rika got thrown out for helping me."

"He's frickin' weird," Shoko observed.

They stared in silence in the direction Luffy shot off to.

Shoko then turned back to face Zoro, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip as she decided how to say what she wanted to tell him. "You should know, Helmeppo told us earlier that he doesn't intend to keep his deal with you." Her voice low, as if someone was listening in. "He's planning to have you executed tomorrow."

Zoro's brows knitted together. "That piece of shit."

"We have to get you out of here, today."

Zoro nodded. But at that moment, there was a thunderous crash from the direction of the base.

"What the hell is that guy doing?" Zoro asked.

Shoko's eyes widened. "He just broke that statue they've been making of Morgan," she realized. "He's been having that made for over a year! If they weren't planning to kill him already, they sure are now."

She turned around at the sound of running footsteps behind her. "Coby?" The boy had climbed over the wall and was now running towards the two of them.

"We have to go now!" he panted, reaching up to untie Zoro's restraints. "Luffy-san is causing so much chaos, they're sure to send guards here any minute now!" Shoko noticed him give her a glance from the corner of his eye. "If I'm going to die helping you, at least I'll die doing something honorable!"

"Why would they send guards here if he's making problems somewhere else?" Zoro asked.

"Luffy punched Helmeppo earlier when he said he was going to have you executed tomorrow. They associate him with you now," Shoko explained.

Zoro stared back towards the marine base, looking surprised.

Coby nodded his head earnestly. "I won't ask you to be a pirate," he added, "But please, help Luffy-san!"

***(A/N) I'm actually very interested to know what y'all think of Coby in canon and in this book so far. I personally adore him, but I know that especially in the beginning he can be annoying.

I try to stay true to his personality in this book, but I may just slightly change up the character eventually. Not totally sure yet! It's also hard to know what to do with him since his character in canon still has LOTS of unanswered questions.