EPISODE 04 : THE PIRATES ARE COMING
( kuro of the thousand plans )
SHE DIDN'T KNOW how exactly she ended up knocked out and covered in dirt at the bottom of the well, nor how zoro had ended up in there with her, only that she had a pounding headache and a chunk of memories missing from last night.
also, anjali wasn't a big fan of cramped spaces that were nearly impossible to get out of.
breathing heavily, the copper haired woman gently shook her companion awake.
"wake up." she hissed under her breath. part of her didn't want to admit that she was scared being in such a small place and she needed someone's reassurance. "zoro, wake up!"
the bounty hunter's eyes fluttered upon, meeting anjali's alert eyes in the semi-darkness. their only light was the small sliver of moon positioned right in the middle of the well's exit.
zoro dusted himself off from the floor and clutched at his head. anjali remembered someone had hit both of them over the head, but she didn't remember who or why.
looking down at the dirt floor, anjali gasped in fear and almost fell over, only barely being caught by the man standing next to her.
merry's dead body lay a few feet away, his eerie lifeless eyes staring blankly up into the sky. anjali's trembling fingers reached over to cover her mouth, not allowing any more fearful whimpers leave her body.
this was the first time anjali had ever seen a dead body. her village had sheltered her from growing up palms-bloody and shoulders heavy with regret. now, anjali could see the truth behind every book she'd ever read.
pirates — not luffy's kind. real, everyday pirates — were plunderers who not only stole what they could get their hands on, but also stole lives away from the innocent.
"pearl, breathe." zoro's warm hand was on anjali's shoulder, bringing her back to the cold and dark well.
she choked out a breath, backing up from the motionless body lying at her feet.
"what happened?" she managed to ask, training her eyes away from the haunting reminder of a departed soul.
"the butler." zoro explained, holding anjali steady with his hands. "he's a pirate. kuro of the black cat pirates."
anjali did not back away from his touch, this time leaning in and allowing the man to cage her in his arms. he soothingly patted her back.
"we'll be fine, pearl."
anjali hoped that his words were genuine, because she found herself slowly seeking comfort from someone she was meant to leave behind.
"we need to get out of here." anjali said suddenly, looking up at the green haired pirate hunter. it was all she could do to stop feeling so suffocated in that tiny little well.
she thought for a moment, ignoring their close proximity. maybe that way her ears would go back to their normal golden brown, instead of their unnatural reddish flush.
"give me a boost." anjali said at last, motioning to the well. "i'll try to climb up."
zoro nodded, lending the woman his entwined fingers as a stepping stool, propelling anjali upward a few feet.
she latched onto the slippery stone blocks, digging into the small crevices to guide herself upwards.
"if you don't catch me, i'll kill you!" anjali looked over her shoulder, gulping slightly.
"i've got you." zoro replied with a small roll of his eyes, arms outstretched as if to be her safety net.
anjali breathed deeply through her nose, her shaky hands scaling the stone wall of the well, until she finally felt a curve above her and emerged out of the circle-shaped prison.
cheering in victory, anjali peered down into the semi-darkness. zoro's golden earrings glinted back from within the well.
feeling much more relaxed now that she was away from the limp body and small space, anjali stretched out her hand for the man.
"your turn, big boy." she smiled slightly as zoro began to climb up the well.
it took him a lot longer than it had taken her, what with his wrong choices. his fingers constantly grazed the wrong stone, sending him tumbling down.
anjali felt bad for him, already having sustained one head injury.
"come on, we have to warn the others!" anjali said, more impatience than urgency in her tone as zoro finally reached halfway up the well.
"i'm trying." he grumbled, steadily moving from one stone to the next.
finally, he reached anjali's hand and she pulled him out of the well using all her remaining strength.
"wait," anjali stopped zoro from running off to fight the pirate. "stand right here. i need to check for injuries."
the green haired man stood still, allowing the moon to pool at his skin and illuminate his big brown eyes.
anjali leaned in closely, eyes squinting as she patted and ran her fingers through his hair, which was slightly matted on one side with blood.
when her fingers came back dry, she paused and nodded contentedly. "ok, let's go."
zoro ran a hand through his hair, dazed, before running after her.
neither of them seemed to notice the house in the background, too focused on the redness of their ears at the contact.
THE TWO FOUND themselves encountering luffy, who was standing who knows where with his marine friend and the blonde marine with the bad haircut.
the blonde had a gun pointed at luffy, which zoro easily fixed by knocking the man out.
"guys!" luffy grinned. "how'd you know where to find me?"
"no time! the others are in danger, we've gotta go now!" anjali helped the straw hat up, beginning to run back to the house.
"hold it right there!" the pink haired cadet yelled. anjali groaned and stopped in her tracks. "by order of the marines, i'm placing you under arrest."
"look, kid. we don't have time." the copper haired woman's eyes grew dark as she stared at him. "so take your friend over there and leave."
the marine's body slackened, and he wordlessly obeyed, eyes blank as he helped his fellow marine up.
"c'mon, let's go!" she beckoned to the two men who were staring at the pink haired man with surprise.
"wow!" luffy said as he ran alongside her. "i didn't know you could control people?"
"i can't. not exactly." she shrugged.
"since when could you do that?" zoro asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
"dunno. i only found out a few years ago." the copper haired woman replied. "chief said i was forbidden to use it, so i never really learned how it works."
"what's it called?" luffy asked.
anjali thought for a moment.
"conqueror's haki." she said quietly, more to herself than to either of the guys.
luffy didn't think much of it. "cool!" he chuckled.
"yeah, i guess." anjali shrugged, and nobody said another word on the way back to the house.
there was a thick metal enclosure blocking the front door, about an inch thick and extremely heavy.
it took the three of them lifting at max capacity to be able to bring it high enough for them to crouch through.
just as the trio thought they were finally in the clear, a loud, almost cat-like yell erupted from the staircase, and two of kaya's butlers emerged from the shadows.
zoro wrapped a bandana around his head and prepared his stance. anjali gazed from the eggshell white sword in her belt to the small daggers still hidden away, then towards the pirate hunter.
perhaps, now was the time to give back what now rightfully belonged to him. even though anjali would always see it as her sword, the dawning reality that it was now meant to be weld by him had finally begun to set.
"hey, moss head." anjali grinned towards the man.
he took his attention off the oncoming pirates to gaze back at her. anjali tossed him the sword.
"use it well." she said approvingly, before lining her knuckles with her daggers and getting ready to fight.
"you're giving it back to me?" the bounty hunter asked incredulously.
"never should've taken it." anjali said. "if kuina left it to you, then that means it's yours now."
zoro's lips settled in a grin. "though you'd never come around."
"i know when to give up." anjali rolled her eyes. the pirates were closing in, and the two were pushed back-to-back.
they made eye contact and nodded.
"don't embarrass me, big boy." anjali smirked.
"could say the same to you, pearl." he shot back.
AFTER A LONG, drawn out battle with two staff members who thought they were animals, anjali and zoro found luffy victorious against the so called 'kuro of the thousand plans'.
it was a very anticlimactic battle, what with their captain's strange rubber ability as well as the black cats pirate captain's lack of power usage throughout the years he spent attending kaya.
anjali frowned slightly, sad to see she had missed the chance to whack kuro around a bit before somebody (not her, though) finished him off.
after a long time spent checking for injuries of the three normal people in the house, anjali felt more at ease.
"too bad we can't collect their bounty." zoro said offhandedly as he stared down the two tied up pirates.
"no, no." nami said at once, exasperation and exhaustion in her tone. "the marines already know where we are. we have to get out of here."
luffy stared at her dumbly. "where are we gonna go? we don't even have a ship."
kaya looked between the straw hat crew. indecision painted her features, but soon it turned to a small smile.
"yes, you do."
luffy and nami shared a glance; one's face much more enthusiastic than the other's. the straw hat pirate had won the bet — what they were betting was still undecided.
the boat was still the same grand beauty it had been when they first saw it. a true ship, not like the barely afloat dingy anjali had first traveled in, or the slightly upgraded fishing-boat-turned-pirate-ship.
the group of six stood and admired the creation, some boredom and others in awe.
"wow." luffy breathed out.
the ship's figurehead seemed to agree, the sheep head's open mouth bleating its excitement.
"that looks just like your lawyer friend." he added to kaya.
kaya nodded, hands clasped at her stomach from underneath a thick beige coat.
"merry ran the shipyard after my parents passed. he was their dearest colleague." with a small mistake of breath, kaya continued more gently. "my oldest companion."
luffy smiled. "then his memory will live on. i hereby name this ship the going merry!"
anjali clapped softly. kaya smiled through her teary eyes. "it's yours now. your new home."
"thank you, kaya." the straw hat said genuinely before raising his hands to the sky and cheering loudly.
"we did it!" he catapulted himself onto his 3 crewmates, half of who awkwardly stood there. anjali cheered alongside with him, although not as loudly.
"usopp!" luffy announced, walking over to the man who was wistfully staring at the ship. "what are you waiting for? get your stuff."
the man looked confused. "what stuff?"
"you're coming with us, right?"
"what?" usopp looked between luffy and kaya. "uh . . .no, i couldn't."
anjali grinned knowingly, elbowing zoro. "he's in looovee." she snickered.
"just come on already." zoro added in, making anjali look at him in surprise.
she didn't think he'd be the type to want more people around.
"i'm gonna need a great sharp-shooter." luffy said, looking usopp dead in the eye. "just like yasopp. and i saw what you did back there. sticking up for your friends. that's exactly the kind of guy i need on my crew."
usopp looked conflicted. "but. . .i couldn't leave syrup village. what about kaya? she needs me to take care of her."
as if on cue, the blonde walked up to him and took his hands in her own clammy ones.
"usopp, you've been a great friend, but i think it's time i start taking care of myself."
"but i said id never leave you." he replied. "and don't you need help with the shipyard?"
kaya smiled softly. "the shipyard was my parent's dream. i think i might do something. . . different. like, study to become a doctor."
usopp contemplated her words for a moment. "so . . . i guess this is goodbye."
kaya nodded. "i'll see you again someday. and when i do, i expect to hear all about the real adventures of captain usopp."
as kaya began leaning in, anjali looked away, kicking the shin of green haired man behind her gently.
"they do know i'm that captain, right?" luffy asked, and anjali kicked him behind the knee to get him to be quiet.
"just let 'em have this one, luff." anjali said with a small smile, her gaze to the sky and the gaze of one pirate hunter on her.
⚔︎ AUTHOR'S NOTE !
thank you guys sosososo much for all the love and support this book has received so far i love you guys so much !!!!!!🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼
originally titled the chapter 'well, well, well' but i don't know if anyone would get it so i just changed it to something basic 😭
my babies are bonding at last!!!!! also yes anjali finally gave back the sword (she wasn't gonna keep it forever since it's part of their storyline)
cut a lot of scenes out bc this episode had a lot of marine + garp scenes as well as other scenes where it wouldn't make sense to add in anjali so that's why it only took one chapter to finish ep 4 😣
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