EPISODE 02 : THE MAN
IN THE STRAW HAT
( spin the wheel )
THE NOW TRIO, consisting of anjali, nami, and zoro were escorted to the 'green room'.
which was actually not even green.
nami was the luckiest, getting. stuffed into an oversized golden birdcage. zoro was once again tied with a rope to a wheel, one most likely used for knife tricks.
anjali had it rough. she was suspended by her boots, thick ropes binding her hands behind her back and her feet to the thick metal hanger on the roof.
the blood was rushing to her head, making her dizzy.
"give it a rest." nami was the first to break the silence, her dull and tired voice directed towards the green haired man, who was twisting in every direction trying to get the ropes around his wrists to loosen.
"those ropes are too strong, even for you."
zoro continued to flex his arms in an attempt to loosen the thick material. "i've got out of worse."
"guys, i think my brain is going to explode." anjali whined, feeling her temple throb painfully. she was sure that her face was beet red, maybe even purple, from all those minutes hanging upside down.
zoro gave a small, stifled chuckle. "hang in there, pearl."
nami also cracked a smile, though she did feel bad for the copper haired woman.
"you asshole." anjali grumbled. "as soon as i get out of here i'm going to beat the shit out of you."
"when i ran out of the tent, i saw a town or . . . what was left of one after buggy destroyed it." nami changed the topic, making anjali and zoro's bickering quiet down.
"you mean, when you tried to run off and leave us for dead?" the swordsman corrected.
"we were surrounded and unarmed! you were picking a fight you couldn't win." she shot back.
"girls, girls." anjali spoke up sarcastically before zoro could say something. "let's save the arguing for when we get outta here. maybe even collect the bounty on that clown guy and make some berry on the side."
"shut up, pearl." zoro grunted.
"is that actually your name?" nami asked, now ignoring the green haired pirate hunter.
"no." the copper haired woman grumbled. "it's what an old friend used to call me, so it's what i go by now."
"oh." the tangerine haired woman said nothing in response. "well, let's get out of here. can you trust me?"
"i don't trust thiefs." zoro snarled.
anjali only nodded. "sure, if you can get me the hell off of this thing."
nami smiled and pulled something from out of her boot. a metal piece. a lock pick.
"you had a lock pick this whole time?" zoro asked, staring at the orange haired woman incredulously.
"i have four lock picks. and you might've found out sooner if you hadn't been doing whatever it was you were doing trying to get out of those ropes like a fool." nami smirked.
their not-so friendly conversation was interrupted by the sound of a certain straw hat pirate screaming.
"that kinda sounds like our cue to get out of here, don't cha think?" anjali asked, shaking the strands of her hair away from her eyes and mouth.
"no, i think he's having a grand time." zoro replied, rolling his eyes.
"oh, i'm sorry. is the big boy feeling upset because he can't escape on his own?" anjali pulled her lips into a pout, staring mockingly at the pirate hunter.
"shut it." he growled, turning his head away from her direction to face the opposite way.
anjali only grinned in victory.
IN SEMI SILENCE, nami worked on picking the lock on her bird cage while zoro still refused to give up and continued struggling against his bonds.
anjali had long given up, staring blankly at the floor of the green room in hopes that time would pass by quicker, or at least that the throbbing headache would go away.
"i thought that hanging upside down sends oxygen to your brain." she commented to no one in particular.
nobody answered, both too busy doing their own things.
suddenly the soft patter of approaching footsteps filled the copper haired woman's ears.
"someone's coming." she whispered, and nami quickly turned to look back at her. "i need more time."
anjali nodded. "got it. zoro, bore them to death with your words."
the man in question glared at her, ceasing his struggle against the ropes.
"i don't talk, i hit things."
"trust me, we've noticed." anjali commented sourly just as a man walked into the room.
oh wait, no. that was just anjali's adjusting vision mistaking a unicycle for his legs. the man pedaled in, a long striped scarf blowing behind him.
anjali snickered to herself. what a loser.
"remember me?" he asked as he approached zoro, wearing a vest with no shirt underneath.
"where's the rest of your clothes?" anjali asked quietly.
"no." zoro answered his question. "must be some other homicidal, unicycle-riding clown."
anjali gasped softly as the man punched zoro square in the gut.
"i've been thinking about you for years." he said, gritting his teeth.
"woah, okay. this just got weird." anjali said with an open mouth. nami had to hold back her laugh, focusing on getting free.
"you killed my brother." he elaborated. anjali let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.
"i've killed a lot of pirates."
kill. zoro killed and slaughtered to make money. a fact that differed from the boy anjali used to know. there were many things she thought she knew about him, but maybe that didn't apply any more.
"my name is cabaji. a couple of years ago, you hunted us across the goa kingdom." he pulled two karambit knives from their guards. "followed us for weeks through the swamp lands, day and night, never relenting, like some kind of demon."
"still not ringing a bell." the bounty hunter said with uninterest.
cabaji took a step back, and flung a karambit towards the wheel zoro was tied to. he missed his face by a few inches.
"you cut off his head and you stuffed it in a bag, all for a few berry."
zoro hummed. "okay, that does sound like me."
"let's see if you can keep your head." he smiled wryly, chuckling to himself.
"hey, cabbage or whatever, can you untie me now?" anjali interrupted.
"it's cabaji." the skunk haired man said through gritted teeth.
he walked over to her, watching her with narrowed eyes. with one swift movement, he kicked the copper haired girl right in the stomach.
"hey!" zoro yelled, curling his fist into a tight ball.
anjali gasped, choking on the spit that had risen from her throat. that really fucking hurt.
"the captain told me to shut you up if you said a word." his eyes glittered in amusement. "but it seems that you're rather important to the ruthless pirate hunter zoro."
"don't touch her, you dirty scum." the green haired bounty hunter snarled.
"i deserve a meal after that brutal hit." anjali chuckled to herself, spitting the remaining liquid out of her mouth.
cabaji laughed to himself, grabbing the wheel and spinning it with all his strength. backing up, he held up a fistful of new karambits, aiming one at the rotating wooden circle.
time after time he missed, and anjali began to wonder whether he was doing it on purpose or if he really was a bad aim.
nevertheless, it gave nami enough time to free herself, and his foolishness also allowed a knife to find itself situated exactly where zoro needed it.
"as soon as captain buggy's finished with you, you're mine."
"uh, as tempting as that sounds, i'm not sticking around." zoro said, a small smile pulling at his lips.
"really? got somewhere else to be?" the skunk haired man asked, grinning evilly.
"didn't used to think so." he said quietly, his eyes wandering over to anjali. "but someone changed that."
the man scoffed.
"oh, and one more thing." zoro smirked. "don't turn around."
like an idiot, cabaji swiveled around only to be met with nami's foot in his face. he tumbled into zoro, who trapped him in a headlock until he passed out.
"nice job team!" anjali said weakly. "now could someone free me?"
nami grabbed a knife from the now unconscious cabaji's stash and cut through the ropes around her hands, then the ones at her feet.
anjali was sent tumbling down into the orange haired woman, who helped her up.
blinking a few times, the swordsmaster tried regaining her vision but it was too blurry to make out anything.
"i'll take her." zoro told nami, grabbing her hand and hoisting it over his shoulder. anjali grumbled in protest, but being unable to see clearly, accepted his help anyway.
"don't get to comfortable. this is never gonna happen ever again." she warned him.
his only response was a gentle hum as he placed an eggshell colored sword into her palm from the stash of their belongings in the green room.
NAMI, UNLIKE THAT skunk haired cabaji, had great aim. all it took was her staff being catapulted into a glass cage filled with water for luffy to be freed from the watery jaws of death.
anjali, still holding onto the green haired pirate hunter for balance, grinned as the staff bounced back right into her hands.
"fucking awesome!" she cheered, only for the orange haired woman to grin slyly in return.
"where are my freaks?!" buggy yelled, eyes widening.
zoro smirked triumphantly. "they're not coming."
the glass began to crack faster, until it all came crashing down, water spilling in every direction. luffy washed by their feet, coughing and spluttering.
suddenly, he gagged and anjali had to turn away in disgust as the gold cylinder carrying the map made its way out of luffy's mouth.
"i wish i could erase that from my memory." anjali shuddered, not daring to look back.
with a small gesture, the swordsmaster tapped zoro's chest with her hand.
"let go. i have a bone to pick with this big-nosed freak." she said suddenly, remembering that it was him who gave her the punishment of being suspended in the air.
the three unharmed members of the not-really crew spread out, surrounding the clown pirate. their gazes were all set on the map in his hands.
"you want a piece of me?" he grinned. "let's see what you got."
zoro attacked first, using his two remaining swords to slice at the clown. to no avail, his body seemed to detach and reattach.
"surprise, shithead!" he laughed, a manic sound echoing through the tent.
suddenly his body began floating, detaching itself until all of his body was flying across the room, attacking them at breakneck speed.
nami whispered something to anjali, and they both nodded, grabbing whatever body parts they could catch and stuffing them into chests and barrels.
zoro and luffy caught on quickly, mimicking them until all that was left of buggy the clown was his ugly head.
"good work guys." luffy grinned, picking up and dusting off his straw hat.
"what've you done to me?!" buggy wailed, his head falling to the floor and rolling on the dirt pitifully before connecting with what was left of him; his feet and hands.
"cut ya down to size." the straw hat pirate responded.
"you look like a dwarf." anjali snickered, and her and luffy shared a high five.
"the one piece will never be yours!" buggy screamed. "you're just a sad, lonely little boy wearing another man's hat!"
"i know exactly who i am." he grinned. "i'm monkey d. luffy. and im gonna be king of the pirates."
his eyes glinted playfully. "gum gum—!"
buggy began shuffling back, waving his hands in surrender. "no, wait, wait, wait—!"
"bazooka!"
and he was sent flying, ripping a hole into the tent and landing who knows where. luffy's picked up the map and handed it to nami.
she looked puzzled. "you're giving this to me?"
he smiled and nodded. "you're the navigator."
in the midst of the battle, zoro had once more put on his bandana. when he had time for that or how it managed to go unnoticed for the entirety of the battle, anjali never knew.
"let's get out of this clown show." he sighed.
"woah, slow down big boy." anjali raised a hand, gesturing to all the people in the stands. "we gotta free these people first."
luffy nodded in agreement, and the four quickly went around unchaining the townspeople.
"are you our new captors?" one of them asked.
"what?" luffy responded, confused.
"well, you're a pirate, aren't you?"
"i'm a different kind of pirate." he shrugged.
"no need to be alarmed." anjali informed them. "we're only freeing you."
"well, better be off." she sighed contentedly once all the townspeople had been freed.
"wait!" the mayor stopped the group, a platter of food in his hands. "please accept this token of gratitude."
"we'll leave that to you, luff." anjali patted his shoulder. "the rest of us will get the ship ready. so long!"
she waved at the townspeople, who awkwardly waved back.
zoro upped his pace so they were walking side by side.
"so." he began.
"so . . .?" anjali waited for him to elaborate.
"am i forgiven yet?" the pirate hunter asked, only to be met with a harsh shove from the copper haired woman.
"ugh, you idiot." rolling her eyes to hide her small smile, anjali sped up in order to get onto the boat.
this adventure had left her with a headache and a need for a well-deserved nap.
⚔︎ AUTHOR'S NOTE !
double update to finish off episode 2!!!!
i love anjali sm she's one of my favorite original characters 🫂
starting to move forward with their relationship (slowly, but surely) but then again it's only the 4th chapter so i don't want to rush anything 😭
pls lmk if there are any mistakes in the spelling or anything so i can fix it !
also don't b afraid to vote or comment, i will probably (very likely) reply!!!!
happy reads!
─── ANNIE