"You guys didn't wanna go into town?" Sanji turned to the three of us as we filled up the wooden barrels with more Cola.
"We used up all our Cola in our last fight and maintenance stuff like this is my job!" Franky grinned proudly as he threw another empty bottle into the pile of discarded bottles.
Usopp smiled as well pouring another bottle in as he looked up at Sanji, "I'm here cause I wanted to help out of course! But once we're done us four can go out together! This island seems so cool!"
Sanji denied Usopp's request saying that he was staying here till someone else came back because Nami needed a knight in shining armor to guard the ship since there was a lot of treasure on the ship. In response, Usopp and I gave him a blank expression as we looked at each other before shaking our heads in shame. All of a sudden, Zoro caught all of our attention by jumping out of the boat and continuing to walk off.
"Hey! Hey! Where are you going?!" Usopp called out to him in a frantic state as he jumped up.
The swordsman stopped in his tracks before turning around with a nonchalant look, "Going for a walk."
Sanji and Usopp began freaking out about how he needed someone to go with him or how he was gonna get lost to which Zoro told them the trees were numbered. They seemed to relax a little at that, but still seemed uneasy so I got up and grabbed my bag that was leaning against the railings and told them I'd go with him.
"Are you sure, Y/n?" Usopp turned to me with an almost guilty look, probably feeling like he pressured me or forced me in some way to go with him.
I smiled at him and Sanji reassuringly as I waved my hand in dismissal, "I want to explore the island so that I can journal it anyways. It's like killing two birds with one stone." The two of them nodded their heads before thanking me and then I jumped off the ship and walked over to Zoro.
He didn't wait for me to catch up to him, instead he continued walking in a random direction. I could tell he was irritated by how tense his hands and arms were and the expression he held on his face before he turned around, "What a bunch of bull crap. I don't know what those idiots were on about."
I chuckle, but decide not say anything as to not get him angrier though it backfired since he whipped his head around to look at me.
"What are you laughing at, Nightmare?!" He glared down at me with a malicious expression.
The smile remained on my face as I calmly put my hands up, "Nothing, nothing."
His eyes narrowed at me for a second before aggressively sighing as he turned away and basically stomped off. I followed behind him with a smile as I adjusted my bad since it was slipping off. We walked together for a little in silence before my mind had recalled my conversation with Nami and my lips had allowed my voice box to ask him the same question.
"It doesn't matter," Was his answer.
"It matters to me," I retorted as I looked up at him, our feet slowly becoming in sync as we walked, "I want to know more about you Zoro. Plus, you already know my story."
His eyes were dead set on the path in front of him as he didn't look at me. He shifted his hands to let his forearms rest on his swords and he took a barley noticeable sigh before explaining his past. He told me about the dojo and a girl named Kuina who had died at an early age. Like Nami, Zoro was never one to show emotions like sadness, but when talking about this girl it was evident he was in pain. He still hadn't gotten over it and it seemed like he pushed those feelings down every time they tried to resurface.
After he was done we walked for a little longer in silence as I processed everything. I felt an impressed feeling after hearing that he started at a Dojo at a young age—which meant that he was passionate about swordsmanship from the start and has been working towards that same goal for years. Afterwards, his explained about the Kuina situation and her old sword that he now carries with him along with why his dream is to become the world's greatest swordsman.
I won't lie. It gave me a melancholy feeling watching him talk about her. The adoring look in his eyes and the softness of his voice. The way his body slowly relaxed the more her name lingered on his lips and complimented by the small smile that crept onto them as well.
I don't think it was jealousy. It wasn't like I felt jealous that he had been talking about another girl like that. It was something else.
It was envy.
It didn't matter if it was Zoro or not. I want—no—I crave for someone to talk about me like that. I long for someone to love me like that.
A small, sad smile sprawled itself onto my lips as I gripped the straps of my bag to try and seek comfort in the inanimate object, "You must've really loved her."
I could see his ears and a little bit of his cheeks become red as he scoffed and looked to the side, "She was a pain in my ass."
I let out an empty chuckle as I rolled my eyes at his dismissive behavior, "Whatever you say, Zoro."
"What about you?" He kept his head forward, but his eyes were placed on me.
I looked up at him with a confused look, "What do you mean? You already know my story."
He shook his head as he closed his eyes for a second, "No. I know there's more to you than just the story about your father."
I smiled at his words before leaning closer to him in a teasing way, "Is this you showing that you care?"
The swordsman grabbed the back of my head gently and pushed me lightly so that I was a little in front of him, "In your dreams, Nightmare."
I laughed slightly before rolling my eyes affectionately, "I was just kidding, Zoro." Only thing was that he didn't say anything afterwards—in fact—I don't think I heard him behind me at all. There was a reason for that. When I turned around he was gone and when I looked around he was walking in the other direction except he was too far away from me for him to hear my shouts.
I sighed and decided that he'll be fine since the trees are numbered. After all, all he would have to do is go back to tree #41.
~•~
The island had so many things to visit and see. I was also able to buy some new writing equipment for Nami and I along with a few more journals for the journeys ahead. It wasn't until I saw a crowd and heard a man yelling that I stopped my shopping trip.
"Just give me an axe or something! I've given up on the New World! I have a wife and kid back home!" The man's desperate voice bellowed and when I shimmied my way into the center of the crowd he was holding a crying girl by the neck.
My eyebrows furrowed immediately, but before I sprung into action my eyes caught sight of a familiar device on his neck.
•~~~•
I laid down sprawled on my aunt's and uncle's couch in the living room as they talked to my parents about adult stuff. I huffed, bored out of my mind as my eyes travel all across the large room.
"Y/n!" My uncle calls from the other side of the room, "You must be hungry! Would you like something to eat?"
I sat up, excited for something to keep me occupied, "Yes! May I go look in the kitchen?"
He only laughed at my question and told me I didn't have to move a muscle and that his "servant" will get it for me, "Go play outside in the garden and I'll have one of them bring a sandwich and a soda!"
My mother taught me not to try and argue with my aunt and uncle, especially my uncle, for their temper was short and they were quite entitled. She told me my aunt wasn't always like that, but she lucked out with the man she married and his entitled tendencies ended up rubbing off on her.
"Yes, Uncle Kaoi," I nodded my head down with a small bow before walking off to the garden. It was a fairly large garden though not as big as the one in the front. To Celestial Dragons, showing off their wealth and beauty was always the top priority so anything that wasn't seen by the public wasn't as extravagant as the ones that were.
I was laying down on the grass, admiring some orchids when someone had walked up to me and kneeled down with a sandwich and a Shirley temple on a tray. It was a tall man with muscles that seemed to be turning into fat. He had bags under his eyes and his beard and mustache were grown out and messy. The lack of color in his skin proved that he was malnourished although as a kid I couldn't have known that. At the time he just looked sick.
"Oh," Was all I said as he kept his eyes closed and his head bowed down. I sat up and grabbed the food and drink from him while offering him a kind smile even though he couldn't see it, "Thank you."
A phrase the man evidently wasn't used to since his eyes shot open and his head lifted as he looked at me in shock. I took a bite out my sandwich and tilted my head in confusion. I swallowed the food before asking him what he was so surprised about.
He went to open his mouth only to realize he couldn't speak and I was able to see why. His tongue had been cut off.
My hands immediately shot over my mouth in shock as I looked at him with sympathy, "Oh no! What happened?!"
He shut his mouth and smiled at me sadly, a twinkle in his eyes reminding me of the look my dad gave me. He seemed like he really wanted to say something as his eyes became glossy. I told him to stay there as I ran to get pen and paper for him to write with. When I got back he was tidying up the garden and watering the plants.
"I'm back!" I ran to him with a smile before sitting down where I originally was. He smiled at me before looking past me and scanning the area, probably looking for my aunt and uncle, "Don't worry! They're in the living room still! They're talking about money and stuff like that!"
He seemed a little unsure, but one more glance at me and he sat down in front of me with a small smile. He took the pen and paper from me gently and started writing before showing me what he wrote, 'You are very kind, Little one.'
My smile widened at the unique handwriting of the old man before I asked him with a worried look, "What happened to your tongue?"
He looked at me for a little before writing down on the paper once more, 'Did you like the sandwich I made for you? I hope I didn't put too much peanut butter.'
I giggled innocently at the last part telling him that it was absolutely delicious and thanking him for the extra cherries in the Shirley Temple. My eyes caught him adjusting a metal thing on his neck. He was a pretty meaty man still so the collar was a bit tight, I could see his neck getting a little red. I titled my head as I watched him grimace in pain, "That looks like it hurts. Do you need help taking it off?"
There was a sudden fear that sparked in his eyes at the question. He immediately wrote, 'No' on the paper I gave him which made me a little upset.
My new friend, who seemed like an overall nice guy, had something on him that was hurting him so why would he not want to take it off? When I tried to take it off of him by force he held me by my forehead with ease, keeping me away from him. When I looked up to him with a pout I saw him laughing silently, the corners of his eyes creasing and wrinkling.
"Fine!" I huffed in frustration and stood up before walking towards the living room, "I'll just ask Auntie Jen!"
The man grabbed my wrist and stopped me, making sure not to hurt me. He shook his head and patted the grass where I was sitting, gesturing me to sit back down.
I did—reluctantly—and watched as he wrote something down before showing me. What he showed me installed fear in me though. I stared at the paper with wide eyes and my heart seemed to sink deeper into my chest.
'If you take it off, it'll explode.'
•~~~•
At the time I didn't understand why he would be wearing such a dangerous thing. I didn't understand why my Aunt and Uncle didn't do something about it. But when I got older and I visited, I asked where the man had went and my uncle had said something that became engraved in my memory.
"Don't worry. He's gone now dear. We didn't want him bothering our guests anymore with his foolishness."
I was old enough at the time for my mother to tell me the true story. That was when I realized that the rest of the Celestial Dragons were not like my mother. They were cruel. They held no morals. They were entitled. They were monsters.
I pulled out my scythe and asked a bystander to hold my bought items for me. I walked towards the tall man that held a wild look in his eyes. He had probably just escaped from whoever had held him as a slave. I held up my scythe to the collar on his neck catching his attention, "You let her go and I promise I will try and help."
He looked at the scythe before letting her go, not seeing any other better option. I watched the girl run to a boy who seemed like her boyfriend, making sure she was safe before turning back to the man, "Alright, you know what might happen if this goes bad, correct?"
The man grabbed my scythe tightly as his eyes bore into me, begging me to free him, "I don't care. I just want to go home."
I nodded my head with an empathetic look, "I know. We don't have much time." I looked around and asked everyone to get back just in case the collar did explode. I turned back to him, "You're gonna have to trust me, okay? I'm going to try and cut it open so that means you can't move. Otherwise I'll end up cutting you."
He nodded his head, tears running down his cheeks, but he was shaking too much. It was too risky to try it. I had to come up with a way to try and calm him down.
"You said you had a child, correct?" I asked, getting ready to have a try at the collar. He nodded his head, the thought of his kid making him cry harder. "What I need you to do is close your eyes and think about going back home to him. What will his reaction be? How will your wife react? What will you do after that? Think about that and take some deep breaths."
Once he had done that he had evidently calmed down, his body becoming more still making it easier for me to aim for only the collar. I swung my scythe back and threw it down on the collar, thankfully not hitting any flesh. It sent him a few feet back, but he got up quickly to check if it was off.
He was devastated at the fact that it wasn't off, but he immediately regained his relief when he saw there was a crack in it, "It's working! Do it again! Oh god! Thank you so much!"
I pursed my lips, too frightened at how much could go wrong as I got ready to go again. Right before I revved up, there was a beeping noise coming from the collar. I froze for a moment, my fear coming true as he and the other people around me realized.
"We almost have it! Come on! A few more times! We can do it!" The ex-pirate pleaded to me and I went to go along with him, but a bystander tried to pull me back.
"You won't have time, lady! You're gonna get caught in the explosion!" The bystander tried to warn me, for good reason too, as he pulled me back away from the ex-pirate.
"Please! I just want to see my family!" The ex-pirate began to claw at the collar in an angry haze, cursing it as if it had a mind of its own.
I shove my way out of the bystander's hold as the old man from my Aunt and Uncle's house flashed in my mind.
I can help him. This is my fault. I have to help him.
I ran towards the ex-pirate as well, but the beeping kept getting faster and faster. It was almost time.
The ex-pirate seemed to realize this and he looked at me before looking at the color and back at me again, "Thank you for being the only one who would help me. Tell Kylie and Bug that I love them." Before I could get any closer he kicked me aside and fell on his knees holding the collar with tears strolling down his face.
Then...the collar exploded.