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CHAPTER THIRTEEN,
after dark
THERE WERE some things she dreamed of as a child. The little girl Jie once thought of always wanted to be close enough to touch the clouds, run across the land, and go on fun adventures. These were once just a dream, something to yearn for.
Now it was plain in front of her eyes: a crew by her side, and a captain.
"Are you afraid?"
Sanji's voice brought her out of her thoughts, reminding Jie that grand adventures were never done alone and not in fear. His hand slowly reached over to grab hers, as if he didn't want to frighten her, and squeezed it reassuringly.
"My heart wants to say yes, but no, I'm not afraid."
Jie let out a deep breath, attempting to hide her true feelings and the nerves dancing inside her body. She wasn't a fighter, especially not against fishmen—but she learned to be strong with friends at her side. Strength could lie within her, and giving up wasn't a part of it.
"Good. If you ever find yourself needing help," Sanji said, watching as the crew arrived at the front of the park. "Call me over. I won't be far."
Nami took notice of her unease and did not miss Sanji's words. "Jie, take this. You're gonna need it."
"Isn't this yours?" Jie said, unsure of the staff that Nami had placed in her hands.
"Don't worry, I'll handle myself."
Seeing her navigator's smile made Jie's trembling heart calm. Nami, in her eyes, was brave, courageous, no matter what. She'd sacrificed so much to get where she was, and now she was a part of Luffy's crew.
From a high point above, Usopp set off a couple of smoke bombs to disorient the fishmen inside. Their shouts and groans were heard from the gates as the smoke billowed and obscured the air. The Straw-Hats barged through their locked gates, unafraid to confront the fishmen with Luffy in front.
"Fishmen! Stand by to repel boarders!"
Luffy did not waver. "Where's Arlong?"
"He's probably in the map room," Nami answered.
"Then that's where we're going."
With a nod, Nami and Luffy set off and separated from the crew. The rest of them were left to clean up Arlong's henchmen, who were now angered at the sight of the pirates' arrival. The number of fishmen outnumbered them greatly, which was enough to make Jie tremble. How could she even compete against one?
"Jie! Watch my back!"
Usopp's shouts brought her out of her nerves. Jumping on top of the rocks, he took the level advantage to shoot his smoke bombs directly at them. Waving the staff in her hands to block any close attacks, the duo was able to take down the fishmen with ease, despite their strengths lacking.
Sanji and Zoro were able to take down the rest of the fishmen with their own, whipping out multiple swords and Sanji with his swift kicks. One of the fishmen went straight for their captain, but Zoro didn't miss a beat and swung his sword straight into the man's knees. His swordsmanship skills were on full display, dodging each attack with ease. Even if his chest heaved with heavy breaths.
Launching another smoke bomb from his slingshot, Usopp went straight for the blue-toned fishman's face. His pink, plump lips contorted to a grimace, angered by the direct shot.
"Not the face!"
"Shit!" Usopp shouted, backing away. In a moment of quick thinking, he shoved Jie aside and ran while the enraged fishman chased him. "Jie, I'll hold him off!"
"But—?" Jie replied, watching him disappear past the gates without even waiting for her answer.
"Never mind."
Whether it was one or ten of them, the crew tried their best to hold off the fishmen while Luffy and Nami searched for the map. The sound of fishmen could be heard, grunting and groaning before falling into the waters. Sanji's kicks were the loudest, slamming against their tough skin.
"Hey! Don't just stay still!" Zoro warned her, his voice booming as he took down two fishmen heading his way. His double swords slashed through their chests, piercing deeply through.
"What about Usopp?" Jie yelled back, dodging attacks with nothing but her stick.
"Don't worry about him!"
"Protecting Jie is your job too," Sanji cut in between their conversation, clearly irked by Zoro's words as he sent the fishmen behind his crewmate flying. "Don't you forget!"
Zoro let out a huff. "Yeah, okay. It sure is. Hey. I had that one."
"If you had him, I wouldn't have got him." Sanji said with a smirk.
The swordsman had nothing else to say to his words. Their attention turned to the backup arriving for the first group of fishmen, the rest of them diving into the waters in a chance to grab both Sanji and Zoro. With a leap, Sanji avoided the grasp of an eager fishman and kicked him out of the way.
Knowing that the men were the biggest threat in the park, the fishmen were determined to take them both down and left Jie on her own. She slipped under their radar, hopping above the rocks to see where the pair had ended up. Right near the carnival game wall.
Watching the two felt more like a competition, a petty rivalry forming in the middle of battle. Zoro's hands were quick to cut the fishmen out of his way, but his previous injury never fully healed, and it was evident by his pale complexion.
"You look tired," Sanji said as he swung his foot back to get rid of the fishmen coming for him. "Maybe you should take a break."
Stopping now seemed to be the last thing Zoro wanted to do. He was stubborn enough to do so. His sword pierced through another, without even having to glance back.
"You ought to get back into the kitchen."
"Quit screwing around!" Sanji grunted, pushing away more of his attackers. "Luffy needs us!"
"You just got here. You don't know what Luffy needs."
Sanji turned back to the swordsman. "I know he needs my cooking."
"Putting two slices of bread together?"
Buggy, being stuck inside Sanji's bag, did not miss his opportunity to annoy them. "Someone's feeling threatened."
"Shut up!" They shouted simultaneously.
"Then get me back to my body!" Buggy said with a muffled voice. "We're close. I can feel my toes. Trust me. I can help you guys win this thing."
"I swear, clown, if you screw us over..." Zoro muttered, his tone serious as Sanji let Buggy's head drop to the ground without a care. Devil Fruits must be magic; it especially seemed so to a girl who never knew they were a true power and not just some story that had been retold.
Jie watched as his head, still groaning, rolled all the way to the game board where his body had been tied to. It popped right back onto his body, his gloved hands writhing with the sensation of his body all connected again.
"Yes! Yes! Oh, it's so much better than I remembered," Buggy exclaimed in joy, before dropping his smile at the crew's wary looks. "Hey, so, um...I'm gonna get out of here."
With two middle fingers, Buggy backed away and immediately went back on his promises. Nobody should've expected a clown to keep his word.
"Hey!" Zoro warned.
"Sorry, kiddos. I'd love to make things right, but it's time to exit stage left!"
Buggy left the park without hesitation, leaving an angry swordsman and cook.
"Fucking clown," Zoo muttered under his breath.
"Just let him leave," Jie said as she jumped down from the rocks. "I think we have something more important to deal with."
Her eyes darted to the stocky fishman entering the park. He sported a pair of black antennas on top of his head, as if he were resembling some sort of bug. His entire being screamed of a strong, powerful fishman, but Jie did not want to flee. Usopp was trying hard on his own, so were Zoro and Sanji. Luffy needed all of them.
"How dare you strike down my brothers?" The fishman roared, his eyes narrowing on the group. "You won't be so lucky against the might of my fishman karate."
"Jie, you can run," Sanji whispered, his lips close to her ear. "Nobody will blame you."
Shaking her head, Jie did not falter. "I won't leave you guys. I'm not that weak anymore."
The large fishman clutched his fingers together in a tight fist before diving straight into the waters. His immense speed would have been missed if she'd blinked for a second. Jie stepped back before the fishman tackled Sanji to the ground, leaving his perfect suit drenched with splashes of water.
With the end of the staff, Jie rammed the weapon into the back of the fishman. The fishman took hold of the staff, launching the young girl with a powerful throw away from him. Her back collided with the floor, and she let out a cry. She couldn't bear to just watch them both fight on their own. Everyone was fighting for Nami.
It was enough of a distraction that it gave enough time for Zoro to sweep in with a flash of his sword. The sharp blade didn't even sink into the fishman's dull skin. The blade flung away by a strong hand, cluttering against the ground.
"No, Jie!" Sanji scrambled back to his feet, panicking at the sight of her thrown onto the ground. He hadn't expected her to thrown herself straight into a fight, nonetheless to try and help him.
The staff remained tightly in her hands. Jie was not at her end yet. "I'm fine, keep going!"
Sanji turned to the fishman, glaring at him with a glint of anger in his eye. Imagining one of their women getting hurt was his worst fear and it clearly displeased him to see her even the slightest bit hurt.
"Don't you dare do that again!"
With a groan, Sanji swung his foot towards the fishman's head—it hadn't been long before his foot was grabbed and the cook swiftly back onto the floor. Both of the men were sent tumbling, too weakened to face their large opponent.
"You're no match for me. My kicks can break a ship's keel." The bug fishman said proudly while reveling in the sight of the defeated crew.
"That's nothing," Sanji groaned, clutching onto his sore body. "You should have seen Zeff's kicks when he found an eggshell in the crème brûlée."
"I get it. Zeff was mean to you," Zoro grunted through his pain, rising back to his feet. "Boo-hoo."
"Nami is a fool to have her faith in such weak compatriots." The bug fishman scoffed.
Jie rose to her feet, attempting to hide her shaky hands and knees. Her knees were trembling enough that it felt like collapsing any moment, but she could not back away. Being weak now would inflate the fishmen's ideas of them. Nami did not make the wrong decision, nor was being her friend the wrong choice.
"You don't ever badmouth Nami," Sanji fumed. He slipped off his suit jacket, revealing the shirt that clung tightly to his figure.
Zoro's expression told her that he'd expected the exact moment Sanji would snap. He nearly seemed like he was going to roll his eyes at the cook. "Now you've done it."
"Côtelette!"
The word left Sanji's lips was something that powered him to push forward. Simply, it was just a dish. Something he must have made thousands of times, yet, he must have known it well. The strength pushed into his foot and his kick stroked the chest of the fishman hard.
"Collier!"
Another punt to the chest that knocked the fishman away.
"Êpaule!" Sanji's kicks were relentless and it had only brought Jie back to the times she'd spent in the Baratie. He had fought in the restaurant rarely. It was something that he'd tried to avoid if he could. Fighting wasn't gentlemanly, he said.
The times he did fight were to kick out rowdy customers, or any male customers that bothered Jie too much for his liking. Sanji never enjoyed being violent in front of a woman, but to protect her, he never hesitated.
She'd never seen anything like his strength.
"Poitrine! Mouton shot!"
With a spinning kick, Sanji set the bug fishman flying straight into the carnival games board. It had been so hard that the board crumbled underneath the power and weight of it all.
"Mouton shot?" Zoro questioned, unimpressed by the sight.
"All great fighters call out their finishing moves."
Zoro sighed. "Yeah, you're gonna fit in just fine."
"Never fear, the Great Captain Usopp is..."
Running in with a battle cry, Usopp trailed off his words as he was met with an empty park with the rest of his crew mates. Bodies of fishmen piled in the water and the ground, yet Usopp had ran off to get only one. One was better than none, though.
"Is...oh. You guys did pretty good in here. Good job guys."
author's note
this is really bad bc
1. I have no motivation to write this but I just wanna finish it
2. It's basically a draft
3. I will edit later later lol