-Chapter One Hundred and Ninety-Nine-
"Crazy monster!" Usopp screamed the second he spotted Zoro who currently looked frustrated as he held his stomach from where I had harshly kicked him away with both my feet.
"You said you were kidding!" Chopper cried as I hastily fixed my sweater and attempted to make myself look decent.
"Aw..." I quietly mumbled, frowning when I realized he had stretched the material out so far that it no longer wanted to return to its normal size as it just fell and kept both the tops of my shoulders and collarbone exposed no matter how many times I pulled it back into place. "I rather liked this sweater..." I grumbled.
"Please don't eat me, Mr. Monster!" Usopp pleaded as he snatched up Chopper. "Eat this delicious raccoon dog instead!" he frantically cried.
"Usopp, don't go offering Chopper as a sacrifice!" I scolded as I stood, ready to march my way over to the sharpshooter...only to instead yelp when an arm suddenly wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. "Uh..." I owlishly blinked as my sword was harshly shoved back into its sheath before I was promptly picked up.
"Oh, it's just the swordsman and Skylar" Usopp realized, relaxing as he lowered Chopper who owlishly blinked.
"Ah! Skylar, you're hurt—are you alright?!" he worriedly cried, frowning as he frantically waved his arms the moment he spotted the bitemark on my collarbone that was no doubt already starting to bruise.
"I'm fine..." I mumbled, blushing as I brought a hand up and attempted to cover the hickey.
"Don't scare us like that, okay?" Usopp scolded the swordsman who seemed rather indifferent toward the two...well, actually, he looked more annoyed with them if anything as if upset by their sudden appearance...
Something wasn't right.
Something felt very off about Zoro, that much was clear based on his odd and unusual his behavior was. He was still himself in a way...just a lot more aggressive than normal as if someone was tampering with his emotions and desires—drawing them out and making them stronger than normal. I...I didn't exactly feel safe in his arms like I usually did and the small growls that emitted from the back of his throat every time I shifted made me almost afraid that he'd lash out any second now.
"So I take it you changed your mind, huh?" Usopp suddenly questioned, seemingly unaware of the swordsman's odd behavior as he grinned and proudly puffed out his chest.
"Usopp..." I mumbled, making a slashing movement with my hand over my neck as if to silently warn him not to get too carried away with whatever he was about to say.
He didn't listen.
"Well, if you agree to straighten up and swear your loyalty to me, I wouldn't mind bringing you on as one of the great Captain Usopp..." he trailed off, frowning as the swordsman simply ignored him and walked right past him. "Hey, don't ignore me! Where are you going?!" he irritably huffed.
"Wait, please! Can you tell us where the others are?" Chopper asked, hastily running after Zoro and me. I harshly bit my lower lip in thought—mouth now opening and closing as if to say something as I found myself struggling to trust my own gut. Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to trust my instincts...yet it felt wrong to think that someone like Zoro would ever be a threat or danger to either me or the rest. He may be aggressive and have an affinity for fighting, but it wasn't in his nature to hurt those he knew or hadn't ever done him wrong. He easily could have killed me back there after winning our fight, but instead he...
I blushed as I mindlessly rubbed the bitemark on my collarbone. That look of familiarity and desire in his eyes earlier told me that he was still himself in some way...yet that doesn't change the fact that there is clearly something wrong with him more than just simple memory loss at this point.
"Whoa! Come back—don't leave me out here all alone!" Usopp panicked as he quickly followed along as well. I felt the knot in my stomach grow the second I spotted the others up ahead—my stomach churned with unease as we started to approach them. "Hey, wait up—look who we found!" the sharpshooter called out to them, waving his arms around in an attempt to catch their attention.
"Hey, Zoro! Skylar!" Luffy brightened as he waved back the second he spotted us.
"Don't come close..." I murmured, voice barely a whisper as a look of worry etched its way onto my face which clearly caught Robin and Sanji's attention.
"Oh great, it's the swordsman again—and what is he doing with my precious angel?" Sanji rolled his eyes before glaring. "Hang on!" he shouted when Luffy immediately started approaching the swordsman and me Gently, Zoro sat me down on my feet—looking down at me with eyes that silently said to stay put as he turned and approached the rubber man coming toward us.
"You decided to rejoin us then?" Luffy grinned, already jumping to conclusions and assuming that the swordsman was here to rejoin the crew.
"Watch out!" Sanji shouted, tensing when he noted the look on the moss-haired man's face.
"Be careful, Captain" Robin warned.
"What's wrong?" Luffy curiously asked, tilting his head in confusion as he finally registered the cold and almost deadly expression on Zoro's face.
"Luffy, don't get any closer!" I shouted the second I spotted the swordsman reaching for his swords before giving a startled gasp when he drew one and suddenly slashed at our captain's head with little to no warning.
"His head!" Nami cried out in horror before sighing in relief along with everyone else when the captain's head suddenly snapped back into place after he had stretched it downward in an attempt to avoid the sudden attack.
"Close one..." Luffy sighed in relief when he saw he was still in one piece. "Hey, Zoro, what the heck did you do that for?" he frowned.
"Stop it right now—both of you!" Robin scowled as Zoro drew another sword.
"Wait, I don't think that's such a good idea" Sanji said, stopping the older woman before she could interfere. "Something's wrong with him—he's acting completely different than he was on the ship yesterday" he noted, quick to point out what I had already noticed.
"Don't tell me..." Robin trailed off as Zoro sprinted toward Luffy—slashing at the rubber man who quickly dodged each of his attacks until he was forced up into a tree as he now tried to put distance between himself and the swordsman. "Swordswoman, can you make him stop?" the raven-haired woman suddenly asked.
"I-I don't think I can..." I shook my head, nervously eyeing the two fighting. "It's as Sanji said, there's something off about him..." I swallowed, unable to really think of a better way to describe the swordsman's bloodlust outside of someone tampering with his emotions and desires.
"That's kind of dangerous, you should stop!" Luffy scolded the swordsman who was now starting to slash at the trunk of the tree he had taken refuge in.
"It's falling this way!" Nami fearfully cried as I winced when the tree finally came crashing down.
"Where's that Straw Hat guy?" Sanji worriedly asked.
"You sure are being reckless" Luffy huffed as he emerged from the tree leaves, unharmed. "So...uh...I guess asking you to stop is a waste of breath, huh?" he questioned when he realized that the swordsman had no intentions of stopping.
"What the heck is up with that guy, he's pissed" Usopp shivered as he and Chopper took refuge behind some trees.
"It looks to me he's under some form of hypnosis, I bet that kid did it" Chopper theorized.
"Hypnosis, huh?" I bit my lower lip...that would explain his odd behavior. Hypnosis was nothing more than the manipulation of one's memories and emotions...his lost memory would have put him in nothing short of a vulnerable state and it'd be so easy to convince him that the people he didn't remember were nothing more than his enemy. Biting the tip of my thumb, I blushed as I thought back to earlier...I could only assume that what saved me after that fight of ours was the fact that he probably still had some memory of me intact from when we were young. It was the only thing that made sense.
"Well, that's a pain..." Sanji irritably grumbled. "Right, well listen up! We all need to work together and stop him—got it?" he asked, looking around to make sure no one had any objections to fighting the swordsman.
"Stay out of it!" Luffy suddenly shouted as he cracked his knuckles. "You guys, go on ahead—I'll take care of him!" he assured us.
"Alright then, let's get going" Robin nodded.
"No way! He's not really going to take on Zoro the Pirate Hunter all by himself!" Usopp gaped.
"In other words, him stopping him isn't going to happen" Sanji frowned.
"Right, capturing that boy is our priority—we'll have to leave this to the captain" Robin nodded. "Swordswoman, come along" she motioned as they started to leave.
"Do not move from that spot—do you hear me?" I froze at the authoritative tone in Zoro's voice, a slight and almost animalistic growl following his words as he turned his attention away from Luffy for just a moment before looking back at the rubber man. Fear instantly took hold of my heart...yet it wasn't because of him, but instead caused by the familiarity in his attitude when compared to him.
"I..." I could barely speak as my body started to tremble at the familiarity. I felt like I was a child once more...a child back home in a cold house that was both too big and too small with parents whose gazes were never warm and whose tones were always sharp. It was an unpleasant feeling.
"You are to stay there and not move a single inch, do I make myself clear?" he sternly asked.
"Yes, sir..." I shakily mumbled, clenching my fist as I violently trembled—vision blurring as my eyes started to sting with unshed tears. How I hated this feeling, hated how natural it felt for my body as I shrunk underneath the weight of his tone in the same way I always shrunk away from his cruel words whenever he'd grow frustrated. Luffy frowned at the interaction, his eyes flickering between Zoro and me before he quickly jumped out of the way when the swordsman suddenly rushed him—returning back to their fight once he was certain I wasn't going to move.
"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy reeled his fist back before shooting it toward Zoro who easily dodged the attack and let the fallen tree behind him take the hit instead—instantly, it broke in half at the force it had been struck with.
"Three Swords Style!" Zoro drew his final sword, placing it in his mouth as Luffy landed on the fallen tree's damaged trunk.
"Luffy, be careful!" I worriedly called out to him before sighing in utter relief when he dodged the attack—letting the tree behind him take the hit instead. With luck, they'll destroy that tree long before they ever actually land a hit on one another.
"Gum Gum Gatling!" punching his fists at a fast pace that gave off the illusion there were more than two, I grew on edge as I watched the swordsman effortlessly dodge the captain's fists. Slowly stalking his way toward the teen with a sense of bloodlust. Luffy hastily dodged the attack that was sent at him...though he wasn't quick enough as he gained a cut on his cheek in the process.
"Luffy!" I gasped when the swordsman finally landed a hit, already rushing forward the instant the captain dropped to his hands and knees. I didn't make it far before sliding to a sudden halt, quickly raising my hands in defense when Zoro pointed one of his swords at me—the tip just barely touching my neck.
"Don't move" he harshly glared before softening his gaze a little when he saw the tears that started to pour down my cheeks—for a minute, he looked guilty and like he wanted to reach out and just wipe them away. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I clenched my jaw as I harshly wiped at my eyes before glaring right back at him.
"Skylar, stay back..." Luffy grunted as he slowly pushed himself up, stopping me before I could open my mouth and snap at the swordsman. "I said I would handle this and I'm going to do it" he huffed, determined to be the one to handle the swordsman without any help or the risk of putting any of his other crewmates in possible danger.
"But..." I muttered before firmly nodding as I took a step back, never breaking eye contact with Zoro until he turned his attention back on Luffy. Instantly, that soft look in his eyes disappeared and hardened as the fight resumed. There wasn't much else I could do besides following and watching as the two attacked and dodged one another—moving deeper into the woods as they did so. Much to my relief, only the trees around them seemed to be taking the brunt of their attacks...I hadn't realized how evenly matched the two of them practically were. I knew they were strong, but to realize that they weren't that far apart strength-wise was a little surprising considering how...different...they both looked appearance-wise.
When they finally came to a halt in the middle of an open field, I made sure to keep my distance as I watched—nervously bouncing my leg as they now faced each other head-on. Luffy stretched his arms back as Zoro placed two of his swords together and began spinning them around. I flinched as both rushed at each other—Luffy's hands colliding with Zoro's spinning swords as they both put all their weight into their attacks until finally, Luffy was thrown back and crushed underneath one half of a boulder that had been split and knocked off balance after being struck by Zoro's attack.
"Shit! Luffy!" I quickly rushed over to the crushed captain, ignoring Zoro as he suddenly wandered off—an oddly dark look on his face as he quietly grumbled to himself in annoyance as if pissed off about something. "Hey, Luffy, you still alive?" I worriedly asked.
"Help! I'm stuck!" came his muffled response as he began to squirm underneath the rock, his fingers painfully digging into the stone as he desperately tried to push the boulder off of him while his limbs which poked out from underneath began to flail around.
"Hang on, I'll get you out!" I frowned, quickly setting to work in trying to help free the captain from underneath the boulder he was now stuck under. I pushed at the rock itself first before eventually pulling at his limbs that were poking out from underneath it when that didn't work. It took a good while and a lot of backwork, but eventually, I was able to get him free. "Finally...you could have helped, you know?" I panted once the boulder was off, my body aching just a little at the exertion I put it through in moving something so heavy and twice my size as I glared down at the squashed captain sprawled on the ground.
"Where's Zoro?" he gasped the second he realized he was free and able to properly breathe as he shot right up. Frantically, he looked around in search of the missing swordsman, before grabbing my arm and dragging me behind him after I weakly pointed in the direction I had seen the moss-haired man disappear off to.
"W-wait, Luffy! Don't you think you should rest for a bit before engaging in another fight with Zoro?" I worriedly asked as I stumbled behind him.
"Nah, I'm good" he brightly smiled, shaking his head as we now made our way uphill.
"Good? You were just crushed under a boulder mere minutes ago" I frowned. I know he's made of rubber and all, but surely such an experience would have been disorientating or something to that effect after being squashed flat like a pancake. "God...you're inhuman..." I shook my head, causing him to giggle.
"Zoro!" I perked up to the sound of Nami's voice not that far ahead.
"Where's Luffy and Skylar?" Chopper worriedly asked.
"Wait! You don't...you don't think that Zoro killed them, do you?" Usopp nervously asked.
"No! It can't be!" Nami gasped in horror at the possible thought.
"What happened to the Captain and Swordswoman?" Robin asked.