EPISODE 03 : TELL NO TALES
( happy birthday kaya )
WHEN KAYA HAD said 'a small gathering' for her birthday party, she really meant it.
other than the staff and the straw hat crew, the only guest was a man resembling a sheep named merry.
anjali had entered the room with compliments from nami, who seemed to be the only person in the room who had acquired taste.
luffy being luffy was chowing down on appetizers with usopp, who was sharing his 'great adventures' on the sea. anjali doubted the man had ever even stepped foot out of syrup village.
with nothing much to do since nami was trying to get merry to spill the secrets on the ship making business, anjali found herself standing by the makeshift bar, a glass of what looked to be some type of liquor in her hand.
footsteps approached her, and anjali turned slightly only to spot zoro.
he was wearing a dark orange, almost brown, silk shirt with a black suit over.
"why are you wearing a shirt that's the same color as my hair? now we look like a damn couple." anjali snapped quietly as he took a glass from the table.
pausing, he looked back down at his shirt before racking his eyes over anjali.
"didn't even notice." the green haired man shrugged, taking a sip. "besides, your dress matches my hair. who's fault is that?"
anjali rolled her eyes. "touché."
she turned away to swipe an appetizer from one of the staff's trays, leaving zoro's eyes to linger on her for just a little while longer.
her light green dress complimented her copper hair just as nami had previously mentioned. the eggshell colored sword was tied to her waist by a small string the same color as the dress. her outfit paired with her tan skin and pretty face, anjali looked breathtaking. so much so that zoro had trouble keeping his gaze off of her, having to resort to chugging drink after drink to shake away his wandering thoughts.
"mm, this is good." anjali commented, mindlessly raising the half-bitten appetizer to the green haired man's lips. "try it."
he hesitantly leaned down to take a bite, only to have the whole thing shoved into his mouth. the auburn haired woman erupted in a fit of giggles at the look of shock on his face.
"sorry," she choked in between laughter. "you looked so stupid."
zoro allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he stared down at her, laughing softly.
"i take this as you're accepting my apology?" he asked, bringing a hand to wipe away the crumbs against anjali's face.
she raised an eyebrow, humming slightly. "i'll think about it, pirate hunter."
their lighthearted conversation was interrupted by the clinking of a glass, announcing the arrival of the birthday girl.
anjali clapped loudly as kaya, wearing a beautiful yellow dress, walked down the stairs slowly, merry leaving nami's side to help her down.
the copper haired woman tugged zoro by the arm, dragging him over to greet kaya once more out of courtesy.
kaya beamed as she saw nami and anjali. "nami, anjali. you both look beautiful."
anjali smiled back. "not as beautiful as the birthday girl, i'm afraid. you look stunning."
"thank you." she giggled. "those belonged to my mother. they were both one of her favorites."
anjali's smile dropped slightly, and nami also began to apologize.
"oh no, should i change? does it make you uncomfortable?" she asked, her eyebrows creasing.
"oh, no." kaya chuckled softly. "i'm sure she would be glad that someone is using it well."
"you're too sweet." anjali smiled gently at the woman, wishing to just crush her in a hug but thinking better of it. "if you'll excuse me,"
she sighed softly, gesturing to zoro who had begun to walk back to the drinks table. "i've got babysitting duty."
nami and kaya both chuckled, and anjali took her leave.
"jeez, can't even say hello to the birthday girl?" anjali muttered under her breath, snatching the glass in zoro's hand and taking a sip.
he watched her quietly.
"doesn't that butler look familiar to you?" the pirate hunter asked, snatching back his glass with narrowed eyes.
anjali shrugged. "it's my first time off the island in . . . well, ever. so, no."
zoro blinked. "right."
"i'm starving." she switched the topic. "when do you think they'll announce dinner?"
taking the drink out of the green haired man's hands and downing it, anjali grinned and handed it back to him before walking away in order to find someone who might tell her when it was time to eat.
leaving behind a warm-eared zoro who could only stare blankly at the slight coral imprint of anjali's lipstick on his glass.
DINNER BEGAN SHORT after anjali's small excursion, klahadore (the butler) announcing the meal at last during kaya and merry's very serious talk over the shipyard.
there was a delicious array of food on the table, and a bowl of blue soup in front of the birthday girl. anjali felt sorry for her as she watched kaya's eyes longingly stare at the fish on everybody else's plates.
"i'd love to try the fish tonight." she said wistfully, turning to her main butler.
"i'm sorry, miss kaya, but that is not possible." he refused, not looking entirely sorry.
"maybe just a small piece?" she suggested, her eyes pleading.
klahadore shook his head. "now, you know that certain foods can affect your constitution. here,"
he handed the blonde a spoon.
"buchi has prepared your special soup."
kaya looked at the bowl sadly.
"i heard that fish is actually good for your health." anjali proclaimed, taking a bite of her meal.
"i'm sure just a bite won't kill her."
"miss kaya's medical condition necessitates that i closely monitor her dietary needs." klahadore rudely interrupted.
"oh yeah?" anjali raised a challenging brow. "and what is miss kaya's condition, exactly? since you seem to be infinitely knowledgeable on what she can and cannot eat."
the black haired man gave her a nasty glare. "that is none of your concern."
"it is, if you're feeding her gloop everyday." she crossed her arms.
zoro gently placed a hand on her shoulder as a warning to not make a scene.
"that's quite enough." klahadore said loudly.
kaya looked frightened. anjali sent her a wink and mouthed, "i'll sneak you a bit of fish after dinner."
she managed a small smile in thanks.
"what happened to having manners?" zoro muttered under his breath as anjali made herself comfortable once more in her chair.
"shut it." she grumbled, stuffing another bite of fish into her mouth.
in the silence that the small argument left behind, usopp cleared his throat and took the opportunity to present what the crew had come here for in the first place.
"luffy, isn't there something that you wanted to talk about with kaya?" he said nonchalantly, gesturing with his eyes.
luffy thought for a second before his expression brightened. "oh, yes! usopp told me that you own the whole shipyard."
kaya smiled bashfully. "well, actually my parents founded the shipyard, and merry's been running the business since . . ."
she trailed off.
"well, since they passed. but all that's about to change." her eyes twinkled gently. "tonight, at midnight, i will become the sole owner."
luffy grinned. "ah, well, that's great! because we want to buy a ship from you."
he took a sip of his drink (anjali was sure it had to be some type of juice) as kaya smiled.
"i see. usopp mentioned that you're sailors."
"nope, not sailors." anjali motioned for the straw hat to shut up, but he didn't heed her warning. "we're pirates."
usopp's drink sprayed half the table. anjali forbade softly and zoro took a sip of his drink, muttering under his breath, "this ought to be good."
kaya looked from luffy to usopp, shock written all over her tired face.
"pirates?" she repeated, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.
luffy nodded. "yup! we haven't sailed together for long, but we've already defeated an evil clown, raided a marine base, and taken down a captain with an axe for a hand."
anjali sighed deeply. of course the guy who never knew when to keep his mouth shut didn't know when to not disclose certain information.
"these sound a lot like your adventures, usopp." kaya commented, turning to look at the man.
he laughed nervously. "yeah, that's. . . that's crazy."
"oh yeah, and we're just getting started." luffy laughed, suddenly standing on the dining table.
anjali bit back a shout, even though all she wished was to get luffy the hell off where their food was at and back into his chair.
"what are you doing?" klahadore scolded. "get down from there at once!"
luffy ignored him and began his life story.
"being a pirate has been my dream for as long as i can remember. and im finally making it a reality. we're heading out to the grand line, where even more adventures await us."
"and at the end of the journey, i'm gonna find the ultimate treasure, the one piece, and become king of the pirates!"
"you're serious?" kaya asked him.
luffy handed the glass in his hand to the butler, who growled under his breath but took the drink anyway.
he placed his hands on kaya's shoulders, looking her dead in the eye.
"kaya. you have a beautiful ship out there. a caravel with a sheep figurehead. it spoke to me. that's the ship we need to follow our dreams. i promise you, we'll take care of it, maintain it, treat it like any other member of our crew."
"because a ship is also a home."
"that will be quite enough!" klahadore interrupted. "i should've known usopp would bring riffraff to our doorstop."
"wow," anjali mused to herself. "never thought i'd hear anyone actually say the word 'riffraff'."
zoro shook his head, eyes attent on the captain.
kaya tried to dismiss the butler's worries, but only ended up erupting into a coughing fit.
"now look what you've done." klahadore sneered. "you've upset miss kaya. all of you, out of this house at once!"
the blonde woman shook her head, gasping out through her coughs. "no — it's late. let them spend the night."
klahadore's eye twitched, but he replied in a professional manner. "as you wish, miss kaya. but they are out first thing in the morning."
she and klahadore exited the dining room. luffy smiled proudly to himself.
"that went well!"
anjali threw her spoon at him so it hit him gently on the head. "you're an idiot, luff."
THE ROOM ONE of the staff had shown her to have anjali a weird feeling, and she was out of there by midnight, kuina's sword looped into her belt.
she had changed back into her old (now washed) clothes, not being able to properly walk around in a tight dress and heels.
with her back turned to the hallways, anjali creeped around in hopes of finding something to keep her occupied, not wanting to stay a second longer in a drafty room that gave her the creeps.
something brushed against her arm and collided with her back, making the woman jump and turn, her blade extended.
zoro and luffy were walking in the opposite direction and bumped into her. anjali clutched her heart.
"i almost had a heart attack." she sighed in relief, breathing deeply.
"anjali, hey!" luffy whisper-yelled. "what are you doing out here?"
"couldn't sleep." she shrugged honestly. "my room gave me the creeps."
"still afraid of the dark, pearl?" zoro said softly, his tone teasing.
anjali rolled her eyes. "that was when we were kids. everyone's afraid of the dark at that age."
the green haired bounty hunter raised an eyebrow. "at 13? i don't think so."
the copper haired woman shushed him.
"why are you two up anyway?" she changed the topic, looking between her crewmates.
"midnight snack." luffy said as zoro muttered, "needed a drink."
anjali snickered to herself. "of course, what else would it be?"
"come on. i can locate the kitchen with my nose."
luffy grinned.
"you better hope there's something in there worth all this trouble." anjali mused, motioning for zoro to follow.
"you coming, big boy?" she smirked.
"yeah, yeah." the moss headed man shook his head with a small smile and followed behind the two.
there was never a dull moment for the straw hat crew.
⚔︎ AUTHOR'S NOTE !
sixth chapter and still haven't broken my daily updating streak omg?!?!
sorry guys i kinda lied they weren't even flirting as much as i planned them too sorry 😭
honestly i need to further their relationship from the slight friends phase to the in-love one bc i feel like im writing them flirty but also weirdly platonic and i don't like it😣
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