There's many things you regretted doing in your life. Riding the back of a painting dragon who was climbing the leg of an elephant, for example. Your grip on the mythical beast was probably stronger than its will to bring you all at the top in one go.
Nothing to make you enjoy the ride, too. Clouds, fog, the sea below you meters away...The stupid swordsman's giant rear constantly in your face since the alignment and the angle made you all bent forward. Plus Usopp who was clinging to you for dear life.
"It's so high - I'm scared!" Usopp wailed. "My arms are exhausted! It's too much!"
"Don't say that, Usopp. He's giving it all he's got" smiled Luffy, turning to look at his friend for reassurance.
Cue the dragon to start sliding off from the leg, causing the sniper to let out a scream that pierced your ears. Usopp was pulling you down, causing you to nearly trip from the dragon.
Right eye flashing, you crossed your arms in front of you and formed your hands into claws, yelling:
"Hungry Ghosts Realm: Leviathan's Claw!"
Immediately, the spectral entity appeared right behind the beast and slammed it against the elephant's leg. This stopped you in your fall, eliciting a sigh of relief from your comrades.
"Good reflex, (y/n)" breathed Usopp, energy spent from all the screaming.
"It's a chance that it could hold off while I was summoning" you mused, staring at the dizzy face of the dragon.
"A-Attaboy, Dragon...No, your name is Ryunosuke from now on! Our friend, Ryunosuke!" the sniper smiled, which earned a grin from the artwork.
"Ryu!"
"He's scared the crap out of me" grunted Law at the back.
"I wish he could fly" added Franky behind.
"Is this dragon okay?" you could hear the sweatdrop in Kin'emon's voice.
"Alright, you can do it, Ryunosuke! Go!" fist-pumped Luffy.
Ryunosuke began to move again, and this time the dragon put more determination in it, climbing the leg with vigor. You hoped you would reach the top before the powers of Kanjuro wore off. Even if it has been a few hours already, you couldn't see the top yet.
"I wonder how Sanji and the others climbed this" said Luffy. "Kin'emon, Kanjuro. Come to think of it, why do you wanna go to Zou?"
"We owe you people a lot so we must tell you everything eventually. But first, we need to feel safe" responded the samurai.
"Zou was always our destination since leaving the Land of Wano" told the other. "We want to see if Momonosuke is okay and if another friend we were separated from at sea - Raizo, a ninja, has arrived here safely"
The reaction was immediate. All men on board whipped their heads toward both samurais, eyes wide like saucers with their interest piqued. You and Robin, on the other hand, tilted to the side to gaze upward. You ignored the ninjas fanboys, because for a moment, you thought you saw something falling in your direction.
"A ninja...I wanna meet him!" said Luffy with stars in his eyes.
"I wanna see a shuriken" enriched Zoro in all his seriousness.
"Will he sit under a waterfall?" inquired Usopp.
"Can he really use supernatural ninja powers?" Law asked, truly uncharacteristic coming from him.
"Can he disappear in an instant like they say?" said Franky.
"What are you guys..." began Robin, gazing at the guys
"How about you focus on the task at end?" you gave them the stink eye.
"Indeed!" Kin'emon answered their questions with a smile.
"Tell us! What kind of powers does he use?!" inquired Luffy.
"For example, being able to see far away" told Kanjuro. "Ninpo - Telescopic Technique!"
It was beyond clear the samurai was fooling around, bringing his hands in front of Kanjuro to act like some kind of binoculars. The guys' level of excitement seems to lower a little at the revelation.
"Luffy, look up!" warned Robin, pointing to an unknown object that was quickly falling in your direction.
"What is that?!" It looked like a small monkey, yelling loud and clear 'Etetetete'.
"Raizo runs with that kind of rhythm. I think he has this kind of power. Ninpo - Blindfold Technique! Guess who!" the samurai completely ignored the situation, blinding Kin'emon's eyes.
"I-Is it Kanjuro? I mean I know you're the only person there" the other played around.
You all dodged by standing aside to avoid getting hit by the monkey. However, the samurais were too preoccupied in their stupid little games. As Kanjuro removed his hands, the animal headbutted Kin'emon and sent the two samurais falling back toward the sea.
You blinked a few times as the others panicked, seeing the two disappears into the fog.
"What was that thing that fell on us out of the blue?!" cried out Usopp.
"I don't know. I think it was a bloody person with knives stuck all over his body..." said Robin heavily, earning a shocked look from the guys. "...Or just a small monkey"
"THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM" you snarled at her as you whipped your head back.
"YOU'RE SCARING ME! WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT?!" added in the sniper behind you.
"Kin'emon! Kanjuro!" yelled Luffy, his voice echoing all the way down. He received no response from the two samurais that fell down.
"Did they fall into the water?" sweated Franky, taking a look over his shoulder to the ocean below you.
"Let's go save them!" your captain insisted, and you wouldn't be surprised if he decided to turn the dragon around and go back all the way down once more.
"Luffy-dono! We're both okay!" the voice of Kin'emon yelled behind the clouds, which relieved everyone. "Go ahead! We'll catch up soon!"
"What is he talking about? No way! Let's go back down!" Luffy told.
"Oi, dragon! Turn around!" the swordsman ordered the poor creature who looked beyond exhausted.
"I think it would best for everyone here if we continue..." you spoke as you eyed the teary, dark dots of Ryunosuke. "There's no way it will be able to climb the elephant for a third time"
"(y/n)'s right. The poor guy is suffering. Let's go" said Usopp.
"Okay, then. See you at the top!" your captain yelled to the two samurais to hear.
"Understood!"
"Hey! I won't allow you to enter the country!" snapped an unknown voice.
There was no telling who it could be, but it mostly made you question the reason why they didn't want you to reach the top. You had a bad feeling about it, but the others weren't really preoccupied. The rest of the crew was supposed to be there, so there was no room left to oppose the original plan.
"I spy with my little eye something grey..."
"The elephant"
"You guessed it right again"
You were borderline going crazy at this very moment with Franky and Usopp playing this dumb game since the moment Kanjuro and Kin'emon were propelled off the dragon. Luffy would sometime buzz in a stupid answer on his own, like at the response : "I spy with my little eye something big", and he answered the watermelons under your clothes. This earned a hard smack behind the head while Zoro had to bend down to avoid the hit that could have cost him his life.
"I spy with my little eye something red" spoke Usopp in a bored tone.
"Luffy's bleeding nose?" mused Zoro.
"You got it"
"Can you stop with this dumb game?" you growled.
"You have something better in mind? If I leave my mind to wander I'm going to have a panic attack by how far from the ground we are!" the sniper said with a shiver down his spine.
"How about a spelling game?" smiled Robin, earning a look from the others. "The first person has to say a word, and the next has to say another word that sounds the same at the end..."
"OHH! I want to start!" shouted Luffy eagerly.
"You're the first, Luffy..." sweatdropped Usopp.
"I won't play that stupid game" grunted Law, and flinched when Franky slapped his shoulder.
"Come on! We will have a good time!" the cyborg told.
"Let me think....hmm.....Oh! Cat!" the energetic young man started.
"Fat" Zoro followed.
"Brat" you growled next.
"Hat!" said Usopp after you.
"Aristocrat" spoke Robin,
"THAT'S A LONG ASS WORD"
"Bat..." the doctor pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Stat!" Franky finished.
Rounds after rounds, you wouldn't be surprised if everyone ended dumber than they were before. Of course, you wouldn't deny that it passed the time, and some answers were quite entertaining.
"Hunt!" → Luffy
"Cunt" → Zoro
"Runt" → You
"Blunt" → Usopp
"Waterfront" → Robin
"TOO LONG AGAIN" → Usopp
"Grunt" → Law
"Stunt" → Franky
"Meat!"
"Gleat"
"Sweet"
"Beat"
"Blastomycete"
"What the Realm of Hell is that, Robin?"
"A fungal infection found in humans and animals"
"Okay, I have enough of this stupid game!"
Again with the silence among all of you, with the occasional grunts and huffs of Ryunosuke that would sometime break it. At some point, the fog has disappeared around you to see the sun already setting at the distance. The top wasn't too far as you gazed up. And it was a relief to you all that you won't endure much longer this stressing situation.
"A little more to go, Ryunosuke!!" cheered Usopp.
"TOP?! ALRIGHT! Way to go, Ryunosuke!!" cried out Luffy, lifting himself from his sitting position at the front.
However, gravity soon pulled him back and he fell over Zoro, the huge bag he was carrying headbutting into you. You groaned in pain at the collision, back arching toward the sniper who quickly steadied you.
"Watch out! That was close!" huffed Usopp with a sigh, but a sudden scream made him stop.
"That dumbass fell!!!" you snarled, removing the bag from your face to glare at the falling figure of Luffy.
"What are you guys doing?!!" snapped Zoro, earning a pissed off expression from you.
"You're the one who should have caught him, you dumb Moss Head!!! You were too stupidly preoccupied in getting enough chlorophyll for your grass hair that you weren't paying attention to anything else!!!"
"What did you say?!"
"We have no time for this!!" Usopp cut both you and Zoro in your ranting, whipping his head to face Luffy: "Do something, Luffy!"
Your captain stretched his arms, and grabbed the horns of Ryunosuke. You deadpanned as you soon guessed that it was a bad idea once Luffy started to pull himself up, the dragon leaning dangerously backward.
"LUFFY, YOU BLOODY MORON! DON'T!!" you shouted angrily. "WE'RE GOING TO FALL IF YOU CONTINUE!"
"HANG ON, RYUNOSUKE!!!"
While the painted art of the dragon struggled to stick itself to the elephant, with its back arching to the point your heads were upside-down, your shouts turned into a competition of how loud could someone get before you fell to your imminent deaths.
"Robin, I'm gonna fall! Help me!" pleaded Usopp, arms shot in the air.
"Good luck" she merely said with a shrug.
"WHAT?!" the sniper let out an outraged yell as Luffy finally came back to his original spot.
"Okay, I'm back!" the idiot grinned.
"SHUT UP! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT THIS?!"
"Hang tough, Ryunosuke!"
"Don't tell him to hang tough! It's your fault!!"
"Oh. We are starting to fall"
"IDIOT!"
When Ryunosuke finally reached the top of Zou, you flung yourself off the dragon and almost kissed the ground/skin of the elephant. The art collapsed once everyone got off its back, but it still wore a content smile on its lips. The tail started to fade, announcing it was time for the dragon to revert back into a drawing.
The others were crying their eyes out at this heart wrenching goodbye between them and Ryunosuke. Even Robin couldn't stop the teary eyes. You, on the hand, couldn't comprehend why they were sobbing over a drawing.
"Ryunosuke!" sobbed in unison Franky and Luffy.
"Wait! We haven't really thanked you yet!!!" the sniper exclaimed as the smiling face of the dragon slowly disappeared in thin air, the drawing now marked on the ground.
"Ryunosuke!!!!"
"..."
You swore you could actually picture Ryunosuke with the same smiling expression in the sky, watching over you all. It was so sweet you wanted to gag badly, even more so with the crybabies sniffing loudly beside you.
"This is absurd..." grunted Law.
"It's just a bad drawing" added Zoro, the two men already moving forward.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU BASTARDS!!!" snarled Usopp. "Is that how you thank him for bringing you up here!!!?"
"We're in unknown territory. We shouldn't look back"
"You're right, but..." the sniper trailed, following after the swordsman.
"Look ahead. That must be a gate into the country" said Law, pointing to a wall with an entrance and a tower.
"COOL!!" cheered Luffy, already over Ryunosuke's departure.
Your eyes traveled to the watchtower, seeing that no guards were surveying the area. It's not security befitting a country, and you were wondering if that small monkey from before was its guardian. Strange trees sorted in spherical formations adorned the gates and the whole back of the elephant.
Even after you passed through the entrance, there was no signs of life beyond them. Climbing the tower, you examined your surroundings in great details. The fog dissipated to reveal a city that certainly looked thousands of years old. Unfortunately, a few buildings were completely ruined from an unknown cause. At the far back stood a huge tree whose trunk resembled a whale.
Something pulsed inside of you, and you grabbed your forehead in pain. What was that feeling?
-...tel...!....
"...What?..." you murmured. Someone was saying something.
-...en....tel!...
"What are you saying?...I can't hear you..."
"Who are you talking to?"
You nearly jumped out of your skin as you heard Robin's voice behind you. You frowned back at her, blinking a few times. Thinking that you were going mad, you shook your head:
"No...It's nothing" you said.
"Earlier the Three Poisons said they would come with us...But I don't recall them even quitting the ship" the archaeologist spoke.
"They are already here. But they won't manifest unless needed" you stated. "They cannot show themselves to others"
"(y/n)...Are you sure you don't want to talk?" Robin asked softly, and you glared at her. "Luffy told me about what happened...This isn't you, (y/n)"
"And what do you know about it?" you brought your face closer, confronting her. "What I decide to do is none of your business. I'm a fucking adult, I can do my own decisions"
"You're acting more like a child right now. Shutting out everyone else just because you don't want to hear the opinion of someone that isn't yourself" she said tightly. "You cannot do this alone. You will stay in your own illusions and irrational thoughts-"
Robin stopped herself when you suddenly slammed a fist beside her head, the watchtower shaking under your attack. The archaeologist stared wide eyed at you, not believing for a second that if she didn't dodge, you wouldn't have missed your target. Your dark eyes didn't seem human anymore, a scorned look upon your expression that gave shivers down her back.
You leaned closer, lips brushing close against hers, but not touching. No warmth. Only the cold.
"Illusions...huh?" you scoffed. "Then what about yours?"
"I think I have figured this out already, (y/n)" Robin answered, yet a bit trembly.
"We should head down" you continued quietly. "People are now staring"
Indeed, the others had stopped whatever they were doing to gaze up at the tower inquisitively. Both Luffy and Zoro had a stern look, while the others seem confused. You removed yourself from the woman, and walked to the staircase that would lead you out. But before you were gone, you turned to stare back at Robin, emotionless:
"We will have another time to speak about those things. A time only for that"