Okay this chapter is kind of Law-centred. But I couldn't let him off the Sunny without doing something, hehehe.... It's the law lover in me peeking out a lil, but don't worry, your hubby Zoro will take back the spotlight!
//Your POV//
"How many hands have touched you, little girl?"
"....."
"I want to be the only one who does, from now onwards."
It was terrible. Their eyes, hands and absolutely dirty mind was all over me. It felt as if every single pore on my body had a tiny insect crawling into it, and their touch left a sweaty indent on my nervous skin. It was all too familiar to me: the unwanted attention, and the desire for men to want to claim me as theirs. Closing my eyes shut, I gathered all of my strength and broke myself free from his grip for a moment. The chains that were around me were made of sea prism; I could recognise the material by its unique look.
As I was about to try and get up from that position, I heard a soft, calm voice call out his powers.
"Room, shambles."
I immediately landed on the floor of the ship I called home, and looked around in fear. Many thoughts raced through my head— How was I so easily and quickly caught? Who are they? I'm at a safe place now, right? In the midst of my internal panic, Law was looking down at me with a serious look on his face, and I could do nothing but fall onto the floor like some deflated doll. He noticed that I was bound by sea prism, and sighed slightly, his eyes looking around for assistance.
"Can you walk?"
I tried getting up with my hands tied behind my back, which was surprisingly possible, but very taxing on the body. Seeing that I've gotten up by myself, he held onto my shirt, dragging me down the stairs. He told me to stay inside till reinforcement came, and I nodded, eyes threatening to water. I was naive to think that I wouldn't have to cry anymore—
//
It was only a matter of minutes ago that this happened.
Everyone was fast blacked out, from the drinking and partying that went on for the entire night. I had too much to drink as well, from the shots they were "forcing" down on me. I mean, Zoro did take a lot of them for me whenever I hesitated, which was a super sweet gesture, but my vision was blurry by the time I fell asleep. Basically, I drank enough to regret it the next day.
I opened my eyes earlier than everyone else, with the exception of Law who was sitting quietly by himself, seemingly deep in thought. Not bothering to greet him, I looked down at my outfit again. A wedding dress, huh... it's not the first time I wore one, but this was the first time I wore it and belonged in it. Thinking back to last night made me blush to myself, and I adjusted the boat-neck collar of the dress, getting up to hold onto the pillar.
It was a still night, almost too quiet that it felt empty in contrast to last night's grandness. Despite the nausea I felt, I couldn't stop smiling to myself. To have even one person care for me genuinely was a miracle for me, and to have all these big names gather just to surprise me and promise a better future felt like a dream still. The headache said otherwise— walking to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, I tripped over a few plates that were left on the floor. Quickly gathering myself, I had a glass of water, getting back out to sit a few feet away from Law.
He did not acknowledge my presence, nor say a word. I guess he wants to be alone, I thought, as I purposely shifted my body to face the other way.
"How... what happened to you?"
Law's voice was gentle and soft to the ears. Without looking at him, I looked once at everyone sound asleep, particularly at Zoro whose shirt buttons were all undone and snoring like he wanted to imitate an alarm clock.
"I was cursed. By a witch, to be desired by all men. Is this what you're asking?"
He didn't say another word. I heard him mumbling lowly, affirming he had heard what I had said. I wonder what's going on in his head... Turning my neck to see his expression, I questioned his motives.
"Why?"
"No. It's just..."
Nevermind, he concluded, smiling a little. I frowned at that unsatisfactory answer. I turned my entire body around, to face the man who had his sword leaning against his body. He seemed a little startled at that, his eyes widening the slightest bit.
"Why?"
I asked again, determined to get an answer. I'm quite sure I saw his cheeks a little flushed, but decided it was my hungover self seeing things, and observed the misty fog that was dawning upon us. I have a bad feeling... Should I wake them up?
"It was highly unusual for anyone on your crew to get married. And..."
My crew, he says. Smiling a little at that, I waited for Law to finish his explanation, but was disturbed by Robin who woke up next, and in turn got the rest to slowly open their eyes. Law turned his head away from me, and walked off without another word. Frowning, I felt the need to poke Zoro awake, but he looked as if he wasn't going to react. Bepo was up, however, and rubbed his eyes groggily.
"Hey, you're their navigator right?"
His adorable and sleepy eyes turned towards me, as I gave his back a few pats to aid him. Bepo nodded his head, before looking out into the sea. He suddenly got up and ran towards where Law was, gifting me with a huge gust of wind.
"Captain! We're reaching an island. Must be the place the rest of us are waiting at."
At Bepo's declaration, the rest of the crew mates and guests began to sit up from the floor, their eyes barely able to open.
// Original (3rd person) POV //
After everyone had gotten up to say their goodbyes and the Strawhats had cleared up the place, it was only left with the Strawhats, Law and Bepo. Sanji came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a cloth. Lighting a cigarette in his mouth, he commented on how there was no more food left in the storage, and instructed everyone to split themselves into two teams.
"One team stays here to watch over the Sunny. The other, go to the island and buy some food. Okay, captain?"
"Okay... anything for breakfast!"
"Can't believe you're still hungry.... Anyway, I'll go, and we need to carry quite a bit of stuff.... So."
Sanji then took volunteers to head down the new island, and realised everyone wanted to go down for a refresher, except for the hungover bride, who was still in the dress, staring out into the sea. Zoro gave her head a pat, stretching his upper body after standing back up.
"We ran out of sake too, yeah? Let's go buy some."
Zoro had but one purpose— chuckling at that, she gave his hand a squeeze, getting up to bid farewell. Sanij peaked over to see Law getting ready to leave the ship to meet his other crew mates, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Actually, Law, could you stay here till we're back? We don't want her alone."
"... Okay. But don't take long. And Bepo, let the rest know I'm here."
Bepo's 'Aye Captain!' echoed throughout the Sunny, as Sanji gave him a short thanks and wiggled away at the sight of her in the dress. Zoro tried to convince her to come with him, but she shook her head, feeling really tired from crying so much last night.
"It's okay. Law is here."
"Okay... Well, thank you."
After a short greeting of appreciation, Zoro hopped off the Sunny with the rest, leaving the two behind. She's gotten up to get changed and freshen up a little, while Law frowned to himself, not really wanting to feel an attraction towards a female he just witnessed the wedding of. I wonder how the rest of the crew handles it, he thought.
After some considerable time had passed, she was back out on the deck, wanting to interrogate Law on what he had just said, although he was sure he was not going to answer her honestly. She made her presence known by stomping out to where Law was, but soon felt a weird aura around her, as she tried her best to stand on her two feet. However, her attempts were futile. She was suddenly brought onto another ship in a matter of seconds, and landed in the hands of a middle-aged man who held her in his arms.
"Finally... I've found you."
"What?"
"I've been wanting you for so long."
"Get your hands off me!"
This was a familiar situation to her, but the thing that has changed was her fighting spirit. Wiggling in his rough and strong arms, she tried her best to get out of his grp, but had her hands tied behind her instead, as if mocking her efforts. Feeling disgusted, scared and angry, she got up to try running away, but was held by the man again, his arms tightly wrapped around her shoulders.
"What do you want?"
"Your skin is so soft...."
"You're going to regret this. Stop!"
His hands running down her arms, she felt an immediate wave of goosebumps forming, her eyes blurring at her tears. Where are you Zoro, where are you at? You said you'll help me no matter what. Her silent cries went unheard, and she bit onto her lips, not wanting to cry in front of him.
"Regret it? Oh, because of Zoro?"
"Stop..."
"Well, he's not here now, is he?"
"Shut up!"
"How many hands have touched you, little girl?"
"....."
"I want to be the only one who does, from now onwards."
That was when Law noticed she did not initiate any conversation with him despite hearing her footsteps, and turned around to look for the girl he was supposed to protect. His eyes averted to the other ship nearby, and by pure instincts and skills, he found out her location and got her back onto the Sunny. It only took him a second, but the few moments before that made his heart pound hard against his ribcage, not wanting to go back on his words of keeping an eye on her. She was someone that needed, and deserved protection and respect after all.
Her ruffled up hair, wrinkled clothes and eyes full of hurt wrenched his heart. Life where everyone is against you at such a young age; he knew it all too well. Feeling slightly ridiculed that Zoro is willingly attracting all these trouble to himself, Law took steps to keep her safe first and foremost.
"Can you walk?"
After Law secured her in the basement, he looked around intently for Zoro to be back. He knew whom she needed the most was her own husband, and no one else. He heard some ruffling and metal clashing sound from nearby, and saw that Zoro was finishing off everyone at the ship that had taken her away. He instructed Zoro to stay where he was by shouting across the ship, and teleported him back as well, deeming that to be the best for her.
"...Law."
"She's downstairs."
Zoro's brows furrowed— he knew that he was not there for her, despite the promises he had made. He knew that another male, whom everyone knows likes her inevitably, has helped her. He trusted him a lot, but he also knew that Law was somewhat similar to how he was like, and felt a discomfort at that fact. He liked people with a use, and she was definitely one of a kind, a bargaining chip for anyone who overlooked the value of human dignity. Swallowing that discomfort, Zoro thanked Law before heading down to check on her.
"Hey!"
"Zoro!"
Her voice carried an air of desperation. Upon seeing the face of someone she trusted, she could not help but sound childlike, almost whiny to the ears. Engulfing her in a hug, he hurried to use his swords to break open her handcuffs, and gently massaged her wrists to help her relax.
"Hey... you okay?"
"Yeah... I'm fine. Luckily Law helped me and now you're here."
"Yeah. They are all gone. I made sure to get back at them. Sorry I couldn't be any faster."
"It's okay. Thank you Zoro."
Pulling herself together, she gave him a grin, going forward to hug him once more. His embrace was what she felt safe in— slightly damp from the fight from before, arms firmly wrapped around her, and a body that was rooted firmly, unwavering in her shock.
"Let's get out of here."
Gently putting his arm around her, Zoro led her out onto the deck, when they both noticed Law was long gone and the Strawhats were back, concerned about Zoro suddenly running off on his own.
"You good?"
Nami questioned the girl with swollen wrists and reddened arms, and she nodded slowly, forcing a smile out.
"What happened?"
"It's settled. Someone was after her."
Zoro replied on behalf, earning angry mumbles from the crew mates. Luffy flashed a grin that blew all the negative air out into the sea, demanding for breakfast. It was only then that his crew mates all softened their tensed shoulders, and began their day.
To be continued!!!