Free Heart

Ch 91 - I am Not Shouldering This Alone

The crowd were chattering with excitement and anticipation as part of the vast grassland on the island was turned into a rectangular field with lines and circles drawn within it. The historian, sniper, navigator, and cook looked carefully while the lines were being drawn, trying to get an idea of what was to come in this next round. The swordsman gave a loud yawn and then stretched out his arms with his back turned, unfazed by the unknown while beside him, the first mate held a similar stance but her hands were in front of her, clasped tightly around the captain as she looked down at their fingers. Their heads were bowed and practically touching the other's as if in prayer.

"Are you sure about this?" Luffy asked under his breath.

Emmy gave a silent nod. "Just..." she whispered, "Just...look after Robin, okay?"

"Okay..." With that, Luffy gave her hands a squeeze and then straightened up to share a silent but solemn glance with the cook and the swordsman. Each gave him a small, almost undetectable nod back, agreeing to his unsaid orders.

"We should go, Emmy-chan," Sanji said as he offered a hand to the first mate, "Seems like we're about to start the second round ready."

The cook was taken aback for a second when the first mate not only ignored his hand but walked right past him with her head still bowed towards the field. This uncharacteristically impolite gesture did not go unnoticed by the swordsman too and he raised an eyebrow.

"Oy, Emmy. What's going on?" he asked but the first mate did not reply at all. The swordsman turned to the captain, who kept his eyes on Emmy, but when the captain also gave him nothing, Zoro rolled his eyes and followed onto the field.

He was already in the mind set that he and Sanji will have to deal with whatever happens. After all, they were the heavy hitters outside of Luffy so whatever it is that Emmy had planned, he will just have to improvise and make sure first that they win and get Chopper back and secondly, keep her safe.

"Our mighty Groggy Ring combatants have taken the field and opposing them is the violent cook who kicked the interference squads' butt in Round #1: Sanji...The pirate hunter with a bounty of 60 million: Roronoa Zoro...and what's this?! The first mate with a bounty of 50 million: Monkey D. Emmy?! Are the rest of the crew that cowardly that he is sending this frail little girl in to battle?!"

"Booo! Booo!" the crowd chanted at the announcer's biased commentary.

"Oy! Emmy isn't frail!" Luffy huffed while Usopp tugged on his sleeve with urgency.

"But Luffy..." Usopp hissed as he pointed at the three Foxy Pirates opposing them, "Look at them! Emmy might die!"

Emmy tightened the leather strap under her chin, securing the ball to her head, and then smoothed her apron. She carefully folded her hands in front of her as she studied the field in front of her. There was Hamburg, who giggled behind his hand. He was already a large man but he paled in comparison to the rest of his team. There was a guy with a hippo like face, clad in green, and with yellow and black metal shoulder pads, who stood about a foot taller than Hamburg. Towering over both of them from behind, loomed a Wotan fishman with greyish brown skin with brown patterns down his long arms and a fierce red beard on his face. The last man cast a shadow across their half of the field. He was not as tall as the Brogy or Dory but he was close. He, too, had a red and white ball strapped to the top of his head and he sneered down at Emmy.

"Hehehehe," the hippo face laughed, "They made her the ball? This will be easier than we had thought. Right, Big Pan?"

The giant man put a hand to his ear. "What?"

Hamburg giggled harder. "Pepepepe! He can't hear you, Pickles."

Sanji took a deep drag of his cigarette as he and Zoro stood a little ways behind her on their side of the field. "Don't worry, Emmy-chan. I will-"