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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓𝟑
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"Ow..." (Y/n) hissed quietly as bandages were being wrapped around her torso
"Too tight?" Zoro asked, his rough calloused hands grazing her soft skin as he continued bandaging her up
"Y-Yeah" (Y/n) nodded as she looked down at her lap that had her shirt lying on it, her elbows were raised upwards to give Zoro more access to her and to the wound under her armpit which was slowly healing "You need your bandages changed as well, right?"
"Mhmh, but you'll do that later" He mumbled under his breath as he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as to how to finish bandaging up the ex-Marine
"Need help?" The female laughed while glancing at him from over her shoulder as the Swordsman sat behind her
"I got this..." He whispered while fidgeting with the ends of the bandage but after a bit of hesitation he decided to tie it into a bow "Like this?"
"Let's hope it'll hold" (Y/n) smiled before standing up and stretching her arms upwards to get the full stretch "Mhm, seems good" She whispered before turning around where she had picked up her shirt and put it back over her head and down her body "Your wound is fully healed, right?"
"It did heal" Zoro confirmed while raising his white shirt upwards to show her the scar across his chest "The skin is a bit itchy around the stitches though..."
"No, don't scratch — you'll just irritate it further" The (H/c) warned before quickly walking toward her closet "I think I had something against that... Um, oh, here!" She grinned and picked up a small jar
"..." Zoro looked at her with a raised eyebrow when she sat in front of him and spun open the lid
"It's just a soothing cream" Assured the girl with a quiet chuckle "You do want your wound to heal, right?"
"Just put it on," He said under his breath before reluctantly taking off his shirt
"I-I thought you'd put it on yourself"
"What? Scared of physical touch?" He teased with a smug grin "I thought we were supposed to show that we care for one another"
. . .
"Mhmh? Where's Vivi?" (Y/n) raised an eyebrow in confusion after she exited the cabin with Zoro following behind
"She went with Luffy," Sanji said with a longing sigh as he looked to where Viv, Luffy, and Karoo had run off to just a while ago
"Well, I'm bored too," Zoro said as he tilted his head resulting in a click "I'll go take a walk"
"Take a walk?!" Usopp screeched in shock as he watched the Swordsman nod toward the forest making the ex-Marine let out a sigh, ready to follow
"No!" Nami screamed and latched onto (Y/n) "You're not going with him!"
"Eh, and who are you to decide that?" Zoro crossed his arms as he glared down at the ginger who glared right back at him
"I'm her girl friend, so I get to decide that," She said with a sly smile while wrapping her hand around (Y/n)'s waist to pull her impossibly closer
"Why are you saying it like that?" The (H/c) chuckled nervously "I mean, I can stay..."
"I'm saying it like it is," Nami said while leaning her head against (Y/n)'s neck "Girl... Friend..."
"No, you're not" Zoro mumbled under his breath while his glare sharpened
"I'm not her friend?" Nami raised an eyebrow with an innocent look
'Why am I getting Deja Vu...?' (Y/n) thought to herself as she looked between them
"Then I'm her boy friend!" Usopp announced as he came to stand in between them "O-Or not..." He whispered when the two turned to glare at him making him quickly run backwards and behind a pillar
"So are you going on a walk or not?" Sanji asked while walking toward the group with hands in his pockets "Because if you are I need you to bring back any animals that appear edible, we're short on food" He explained
"Okay, I got it" Zoro mumbled while rubbing the back of his head and turning around to walk toward Merry's white railing "I'll bring back one that you can't possibly capture yourself" He smirked before jumping off the ship and onto the island
"Tch, bastard" Sanji cursed with a click of his tongue "I can't let that remark go unchallenged," He said while stepping his foot on the railing of the ship
"Huh?" Zoro turned around to glare up at the Cook who was looking down at him "Well of course I can bring something bigger than you"
"Then..." Sanji paused as the two stared each other down making Usopp and Nami feel uneasy while (Y/n) looked between them in confusion "...It's a hunting match" He said and jumped off the ship as well "Look, we'll compete over how many kilos of meat we get"
"Didn't you mean to say how many tons?" Zoro asked through gritted teeth
"You can talk cocky once you've brought back some prey" Sanji said while pointing in an unrecognizable direction
"Humph! I'll take you up on that" Zoro grumbled as they started walking in two different directions
"I wonder why they're all like that?" Nami whispered with tears
"Have fun!" (Y/n) smiled with a wave
"I understand how you feel..." Usopp shook his head and patted the ginger's shoulder "...Don't cry, I'm on your side
"Well, while you two sulk around I'll go attend to my duties since I'm staying on the ship" (Y/n) said with a smile and a wave before walking back into the cabin
"..."
"..."
Both Usopp and Nami stared at her as she left with tears rolling down their cheeks before the Sniper turned to look at the female
"We're sitting ducks—"
"I know that!" Nami then paused as realization slowly hit her "Wait..." She thought before quickly standing up and running into the cabin
"N-N-N-Nami! Where are you going?!" Usopp called after her while he scrambled onto his feet before following the ginger
The two ran into the cabin where in the kitchen (Y/n) was calmly sitting with a cup of tea and a notebook in front of her as she counted. The ex-Marine raised an eyebrow while they ran past her and down the ladder where the bunks were stationed
Nami's eyes ran over the bookshelf in her and (Y/n)'s room, her hand twitching as she moved it along the books whose titles she mumbled under her breath
"What are you looking for? Whoa!" Usopp yelped when Nami threw the books onto the ground while searching for the right one "What's wrong?"
"I heard about it before" Nami mumbled while flipping through the books before her eyes widened when they landed on a certain one, it had a brown leather cover and in cursive writing was written the author of the book, Eiichiro Oda.
"This is it..." She mumbled before picking up the book from the shelf and running once again toward the ladder she climbed up it, into the kitchen where she zoomed past a still very confused (H/c) and back onto the deck
"Could you just tell me what's happening?!" Usopp finally snapped as he looked at the ginger while he was out of breath
"Usopp..." She whispered as she looked at the book in her hand, the title was 'Little Graden' and there was also a picture "Look"
"Yeah?" The Sniper was still confused as he noticed how similar the picture was off the island "It's a book about an island — so what?"
"This is bad" Nami looked at him in fear "On this island..."
"THUD"
A loud thud echoed outside making the ground shake and the river tremble to which the Going Merry shook slightly making (Y/n) raise her eyebrow at the commotion
"What's going on?" The ex-Marine set down her pen
"THUD"
Nami's eyes widened while Usopp's jaw dropped to the floor as they stared up, the man was tall, at least three buildings tall but what scared both of them more than his abnormal size was the burning red eyes
"AH!"
"Ba Ba Ba!" The Giant laughed before plopping down to sit on the side of the river with a huge grin "So-" He paused and looked at the two who were smaller than his finger as they shook in fear "-What's the answer?"
"Wh-What was that?" Nami's voice trembled as she forced a smile while her glossy eyes looked up at him "C-Could you repeat that, please?"
The Giant leaned closer making them both flinch "I asked if you have any alcohol"
"Mh-Mh-Mh!" Usopp's whole body was twitching like a nervous wreck while Nami took a step back
"We've got a little..." She said shakily
"So you've got some?" Broggy said with a closed-eyed smile "Sweet!"
"I-It's not for drinking" Nami quickly added "It's for cooking and disinfection — but if you like, w-we'll give it all to you"
"WHHHAAA!" The Giant suddenly screamed in their faces
"Mhmh, what's going on here?" (Y/n) asked as she exited the cabin where she saw Broggy turn around to see a Dinosaur bite into his behind "Oh, are you alright?"
"(Y/n)" Nami whispered with glossy eyes as she quickly ran to stand behind the female
"D-Dino..." Usopp fell down into a sitting position as his eyes widened at the creature "Dinosaur?"
With a loud clank, Broggy took out his sword and turned around before slashing it in an arch motion which sliced off the Dinosaur's head which fell to the ground, and rolled into the river with a loud splash
"AH!"
"AH!"
Both Nami and Usopp cried out as they hugged (Y/n) who didn't move an inch
"So, um" (Y/n) paused in thought when she saw Broggy take the Dinosaur head out of the water "Who are you...?"
"Oh, how rude of me" The Giant laughed and crouched in front of the ship to look at the (H/c) "I'm Broggy, Elbaf's stronger warrior!" He announced with a laugh while raising the cut-off head into the sky "Ba Ba Ba Ba!"
"The... The strongest warrior of Elbaf?" (Y/n) repeated with a raised eyebrow as if trying to make sense of the situation
'He doesn't seem threatening' the ex-Mairne thought 'His armor is at least one hundred years old... And what is he doing all the way out here, at the start of the Grand Line?'
"Now I've got meat too!" He grinned while showing the girl the head of the Dinosaur "I'll treat you, my guests" He said making both Usopp and Nami pass out in shock "Mhm? Are your friends alright, little lady?"
"Huh?" (Y/n) raised an eyebrow and glanced behind her to see the two knocked out on the ground "Oh — they must be hungry" She chuckled while turning back to Broggy
"D-Damn you... (Y/n)..." Usopp and Nami whispered while they both pretended to be knocked out
"I'll go get the alcohol, we got barrels full for such an occasion"
"Wow, how nice of you. Ba Ba Ba!"
. . .
"Yummy, yummy, yummy dinosaur meat" Broggy sang while sitting cross-legged in front of the burning fire which to (Y/n) would be considered a forest fire from how big it was "Yummy in my tummy taste so sweet — grill it on the fire take a big bite, eat all I can, and sleep good tonight!"
(Y/n) smiled to herself, the Giant sang beside her while she swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the piece of wood Broggy had set aside for her
"Yummy in my tummy taste so sweet!" He grinned while turning the stick so the dinosaur meat would cook from all sides "Do you like dinosaur meat, little lady?"
"Mhmh, I don't know — never tasted one" Answered the (H/c) before glancing at the cave behind the Giant where Nami and Usopp laid on a stack of hay, still pretending to be asleep
"Then you're missing out big time, Ba Ba Ba!" He laughed while throwing his head back
"Say... Broggy, why do you have so many human skulls in there?" (Y/n) raised an eyebrow while pointing at the cave behind him
"Mhm?" The Giant hummed in confusion and glanced over his shoulder at the cave which did in fact have quite the collection of human skulls "Oh, those..." He mumbled and turned to look back at the girl "...Those skulls belong to the humans who didn't survive the island or foolishly tried to attack me and Dorry" He explained while continuing to cook the food over the burning fire
"Dorry?" (Y/n) whispered, "Is there another Giant here with you?"
"Yeah, that's right" Broggy nodded with a smile "He's my best friend, Dorry!"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
Faint screams were being heard from the forest not far from the cave, there were also roars of a tiger and the stomping of a dinosaur
"Guess they found their new pray" Broggy mumbled before leaning down to (Y/n)'s height "You wouldn't say you got any more friends who they could be chasing, little lady?"
"I have a few other friends — but they can handle a few animals" The female laughed making the Giant laugh along with her "Wait..." She paused and glanced behind him "Um... Broggy"
"Yeah?" The Giant raised an eyebrow and glanced behind him as well only for his eyes to widen "They're gone?"
Letting out a sigh, the Giant slowly stood up making the ground shake slightly before he glanced down at (Y/n) and offered his big hand to her
"Climb on, little lady, we'll go and find your friends" He assured with a smile when (Y/n) stepped onto his hand and he raised her upwards before putting her on his shoulder "Hold on tight — don't want you falling off, Ba Ba Ba!"
"Thanks, Broggy" (Y/n) smiled while holding onto the collar of his armor so she wouldn't fall off "I just hope they're fine..."
"Don't worry, I still gotta repay for the alcohol" Broggy laughed as he started walking into the forest which ended below his torso "Like the view?" He asked when he noticed the (H/c)'s amazed expression as she looked down
"This is amazing, I can see everything from here!" She whispered in shock and looked around "If we're this high spotting them won't be a problem"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
"Oh, there they are" Broggy smiled as he sat his foot down in front of the running tiger which came to a halt along with Nami, Usopp, and the dinosaur that was chasing them around
"There you are, Nami! Usopp!" (Y/n) called down to them with a wave while the two stared up at her with tears in their eyes and knees shaking while the other animals scattered "Why did you run off like that?"
"In this jungle, no matter what we do our fate will always be the same" Usopp whispered with a sniffle "It's just a matter of whose stomach we end up in..."
"We did everything we could, let's accept our fate" Nami shook her head from side to side with a sniffle of her own
"Oh, you guys are awake?" Broggy smiled while kneeling in front of them "The meat is done, have some! It's in return for the alcohol"
. . .
"Ba Ba Ba!" Broggy laughed as he set down the meat in front of them on a big leaf "Now, eat! Dinosaur meat tastes good"
"I-I have no appetite," Nami said politely while looking up at the Giant
"Don't hold back!" He assured with a grin
"I don't want to eat"
"I don't want to eat"
The two said while looking down with their head bowed
"Mhmh?" Broggy frowned and looked at them sadly "Dinosaur meat tastes good, I'm tellin' ya..."
"Don't worry about them, Broggy" (Y/n) smiled up at him "They'll get hungry eventually" She explained while taking out her naginata and slicing a piece of the leaf before cutting a piece of meat to place on it
"What is that, little lady?" Broggy raised his eyebrow when he noticed the naginata in the (H/c)'s hand
"This? Oh, this is my weapon" She smiled while raising it up for him to see "My friend got it to me, cool, right?"
"It's so tiny..." He whispered while bearly holding it between his fingers "Like a toothpick...!"
"Um, sir Broggy" Nami called up to the Giant who turned to her with a smile "Can I ask you a question?"
"Hmm? What's the matter, young lady?" He asked and took a bite of the meat before carefully handing (Y/n) back her blade
"H-How long will it take for the Log of this island to be stored?" She asked with a shaky voice
Broggy smiled down at her "One year"
"Aug—" (Y/n) choked on the meat with a cough "Au— a year?"
"Ahh..." Usopp fell backwards "I... Definitely can't help eating"
"There's no way we can fast for a year..." Nami thought as her face paled
"Well, make yourselves at home!" Broggy said with a grin like it wasn't a big deal
Suddenly, the volcano not far from the four erupted, lava sprung from it like a waterfall as the ground shook and trembled at the event
"An eruption...?" Usopp uttered while biting on a piece of meat "Huh?" He then turned back to Broggy who stood up
"Broggy?" (Y/n) raised an eyebrow in confusion
"Sorry, I have to head out for a bit," He said with a smile
"What? Head out?" Nami asked also in confusion before taking a bite from (Y/n)'s piece of meat
"Yeah, that was a signal for the duel that I've been in for one hundred years" He explained with a determined smile
"A dual?" Nami tilted her head
"With whom?" Usopp asked and also stood up "Where and for what reason?"
"Reason?" Broggy paused and looked at the volcano "I don't remember, Ba Ba Ba!-"
'How can you not remember a reason for a dual?'
"-I forgot that reason a long time ago!"