Wine for Your Sake [Zoro x OC]

5. Six Kilometers

(POV: Juniper)

That geezer is dying from the inside out. Yet, he still has the strength to throw me all the way here. The back of my head slams into something solid - probably wood - and my back aches from the floor it crashes into.

He threw me to the West port, so I must be on a ship.

"Damn that old man!" I snarl.

A foreign voice cuts in. "Eh?"

"Huh?" I look around to find myself surrounded by people - no - pirates.

They're all odd people; that's for sure. I spot a long-nosed man aiming a slingshot at me, a dark-haired woman raising her hands up, a ginger-haired girl raising a stick, a blue Fishman, a baby deer, and...

"Roronoa Zoro!" I shout.

The others brace themselves for battle, but before I can even get to my feet, a heavy weight on my back keeps me anchored to the floor. I yank the bag off me and transition to a full sprint to the swordsman.

"Stay back, everyone," he commands, unsheathing his swords.

Before we get the chance to attack each other, we lose our footing from an abrupt rumbling.

"Shoot!" The orange-haired woman says. "We're within Navy firing range. Franky!"

She points to a man with nothing on but his underwear and mechanical limbs.

"Everyone, prepare for a Coup de Burst," he calls.

My gaze flickers between the green-haired swordsman and the dock. I have to go back there to save the old man, but I need to defeat the swordsman at all costs.

My train of thought is cut off when a sudden force sends the ship flying high in the sky.

Have I seriously flown through the sky two times in a row now?!

I grab onto some railing as I'm almost sent over the edge of the ship. I close my eyes and hold on for dear life until we land with a rough crash.

The ship rocks back and forth until it gains a steady pace. Now, we are far ahead of the Navy fleet, and the Fisherman island I have been living on for the past year is nothing but a dot of light on the vast sea.

I collapse onto the floor and stare at the black velvet sky. While I'm getting settled, a maelstrom of violent thoughts rain turmoil in my mind. I can't decide what to think of first, so I just don't think at all.

A man wearing a straw hat pokes his head into my vision. "Who are you? Why did you try to attack Zoro?"

"Straw Hat Luffy," I recite. "1.5 billion beli."

That's right. This is the Straw Hat crew. Then, if my memory serves...

I spot a blond man with curly eyebrows, who seems to be swooning over me for some reason. "Black Leg Sanji. 330 million beli."

"Cat Burglar Nami," I turn to the orange-haired woman. "66 million beli."

I continue going through each crew member, stating their name and bounty, catching each of them by surprise. I stop at this baby deer.

"Not sure I remember you," I mutter.

"Huh?! I'm Chopper! Worth..." He plops onto the floor, suddenly depressed. "100 beli..."

"Is that so?"

"Be careful," Zoro warns. "She's a bounty hunter. She tried going for my head not too long ago."

Suddenly, Luffy is on high alert. "Then, do I need to beat her up?"

I ignore the rest of them and point my sword at Roronoa Zoro. "Answer me. Did you plan this? Did you lure me out so that someone else could attack the Discolgrov mansion?"