Wine for Your Sake [Zoro x OC]

Epilogue

(POV: Juniper)

"Go beat his ass, Jun!" Nami cheers. "I believe in you!"

"Are they going to go all out on each other?" Chopper asks with a quiver in his voice.

Luffy's guffaw pierces the air. "That would be fun to watch!"

With the Sunny parked not too far away, we've managed to find a spot on this calm island for our rematch. I'd prefer for the sun not to be beaming down on me like an oversized heat lamp, but there's no complaining with other nearby islands being complete nightmares. The rest of the crew is sitting quite a distance away.

The Pirate Hunter adjusts his stance just a few meters from me.

As we lock eyes, I'm taken back to the cold evening on Fisherman Island; but the fact is, we've both changed a lot since that time.

"Now that you've gotten comfortable with your new swords, there are no excuses you can make," Zoro says.

"In all the time you've known me, have I ever made an excuse?"

"I suppose not."

"Then I hope you don't blame the three bottles of sake you drank this morning for your loss."

"I'm not gonna lose."

I unsheathe Dionysus and Juzumaru. With the weight training I've been doing these past couple of weeks, the swords have been feeling progressively lighter every time I wield them. My Color of Arms has also significantly strengthened, but so has Zoro's Observation Haki.

"You gonna miss me when I leave, Pirate Hunter?"

He places a sword in between his teeth, still managing a smirk. "You think I'm gonna let you?"

"I won't!" Luffy declares.

I turn to him. "Huh?"

"'Golden Mask' Juniper, worth 320 million beli after defeating CP0 agent Rob Lucci in Petriapolis," Nami recites from the recent newspaper. "You think we're going to let someone like that just leave after waltzing in?"

Zoro lunges at me, fully aware my Observation Haki has already been activated. He trusts me to be prepared.

"Juniper!" Luffy calls. " Join my crew!"