Destined for Flames (One Piece Fanfic)

Mission: Infiltrate Enies Lobby (The Start)

Zoro's POV

I can't believe I'm stuck.

Damn Government agents, making me end up head-first in a chimney. And on top of everything, it's raining. This just isn't my day.

Gritting my teeth, I attempt to jerk my arms free (or even one of them), but I'm too tightly packed into the chimney. I scowl. This is getting me nowhere. If I could just reach one of my swords....

"You appear to be in quite the bind."

I narrow my eyes. Who the hell is that? That voice... almost sounds familiar. But I've never heard this girl's voice before, I'm positive.

"You mind helping me get out of it?" I ask grudgingly, raising my voice to make sure she hears above the pounding of the rain.

She chuckles, and my eyes narrow further. That amused laugh.... sounds a little like Raya's. Amused, yet slightly weighted. The laugh of someone who's gone through more hardship than most could bear.

"I'd be honored to help such a famous Swordsman," she says. "Roronoa Zoro of the Three-Sword Style, yes?" When I choose not to answer, she only chuckles again. "Oh I assure you, I mean you no harm. I do not work for the Government or anything along those lines. I just have an interest in you. That is all."

This girl makes my skin crawl. She may have Raya's laugh, but that's all that I find similar about them. "Just help or get the hell out of here," I growl, my patience wearing thin.

"Of course. Try not to move much."

As if I could. Is she making a joke?

"One Sword Style: Demon's Dance!"

Before I'm given the chance to react, I feel the sharp blade of a sword swipe past me, grazing my cheek. Blood trickles from the shallow wound, up into my eye. If I weren't upside-down, this would be much less annoying.

The chimney suddenly breaks apart. The bricks trapping me fall away, and I shoot one arm out as I fall, managing to catch onto the edge of the chimney. The edge is so smooth, shorn off expertly. No jagged edges or indecisive cuts. The skill of a true Swordsman.

I haul myself from the remains of the chimney and jump down to the roof. The stranger greets me with a smile. She's short, barely half an inch taller than Raya, and pale. Her raven hair sweeps over her shoulders, bangs framing her eyes and face. I barely keep myself from flinching when I look into her luminous, piercing yellow eyes.

She sweeps into a slight bow, holding her jet-black sword out dramatically. Even in the rain and the dark, the onyx blade glows with power. "How nice to finally meet you face to face, Roronoa," she says, tilting her head back to meet my eyes.

I cross my arms over my chest. "Who are you?"

"Ah yes, Father said you could be rather blunt," she says, clearly amused, as she straightens up and returns her sword to the sheath on her back. "Well, first impression are everything, correct?" She smiles brightly and extends her hand. "I am Dracule Katana."

My heart pounds against my ribcage. Blood roars in my ears. Did I.... did I hear her wrong?

She frowns after a moment, when I don't take her hand and just continue to stare blankly at her. "Hm, you Straw Hats are not a particularly friendly bunch, are you?" she murmurs thoughtfully. "Why, Raya did the same thing! Blatantly refused to shake my hand in greeting!

I perk up at that. "Raya?" I echo. "When did you meet Raya?"

She gives me a bemused smile. "Ah, I see she didn't tell you. Were you not wondering why she was so injured?"

Another scowl tugs at my lips. "You're the one who hurt Raya?"

"She should really practice blocking more; it's where she tripped up the most. Of course, the worst of her blows came when she was distracted, I believe, by something having to do with you all. She didn't seem very upset about it, though, something that surprised me, I must say."

"....You're really Mihawk's kid?" I'll talk to Raya about this later. Right now, I want answers.

"The one and only," she replies, a closed eye smile on her face.

My hand wraps around Wado's hilt, my knuckles white with tension. Dracule Mihawk's daughter.... is right here in front of me. She's been here for days. Why wouldn't Raya have told me? She knows about my dream, understands the reasons behind it. So why?

The answer is simple, and it hits me like a slap in the face.

She's worried about me.

She broke down the last time I fought Mihawk. She didn't want to see something like that again. And she knew, because she knows me so well, that I would never pass up the chance to test myself against the daughter of that infuriating Warlord.

All the fire of anger that I could muster up drains away, drowned by the rain that's still slicing down on us. Anyone else..... anyone at all, and I wouldn't forgive them for this. But with Raya.... I don't want to hurt her.

"Oh." Katana's voice comes out small, bitter almost. I level an unimpressed glare at her, trying to regain the composure I must have lost while thinking of Raya. "I see. So she told the truth, then. I can see it in your eyes, how much you care for her. Well, that's too bad. I was hoping it was some sort of fling, the kind women are always pushing on my father. But I see it's much more than that." I blink when she's suddenly in my face, peering up at me curiously. I bare my teeth in frustration; I didn't see her move at all.

"As she's my newfound rival, I would like to refrain from hurting her outside of battle," Katana goes on, still staring at me creepily. Rival? What the hell is she talking about? "So perhaps I'll stay away. It was never my intention to cross paths with you, or her, while still on this island. Not again, at least." She sighs softly, dropping back down onto flat feet, turning away from me with a thoughtful frown on her face. "This meeting was by chance, nothing more, I assure you of that. Be sure to tell her that. It might ease her mind."

I'm really lost now. For once, it is me who's completely and utterly lost.

"In any case...." Katana turns her head, eyes widening ever so slightly. She bites her lip, one hand reaching up to brush her fingers over a thin cut on her cheek that looks maybe a day old. "She's close," she murmurs. "And in trouble. She's a Devil Fruit user, yes?" She sounds as though she already knows the answer, so why ask?

"Yeah," I agree warily.

Her flashing yellow eyes flick to me, lids hooded. Rain gathers on her thick, dark lashes, nearly drowning out the vibrant yellow beneath. "Then I suggest you be a good lover and save her."

"What-?!"

"Aqua Laguna." She lifts a hand and points down to the streets below. I curse quietly. The streets are flooded with seawater, and there's a massive wave in the distance.

"Shit," I hiss. "Where is she?"

Katana closes her eyes, a fierce look of concentration coming over her sharp, Dracule features. Damn, it really is creepy how much she resembles her father. "Excuse me, my Haki isn't the best," she says after a moment, frowning apologetically. "Father hasn't had the chance to train me in it quite yet."

Haki?

"Ah! I've got it!" Her eyes flash open, and she smiles at me. "Follow me, Swordsman."

"Would you mind sticking with Roronoa?" I mutter, barely looking at her as she begins leading me down and over rooftops, making agile leaps with ease.

She glances at me from the corner of her narrowed eyes. "An insult?" she guesses. Her dark brows furrow. "Or a nickname, I suppose. Does Raya call you that?"

"Just stick with Roronoa," I reply shortly.

She shrugs. "Simply making conversation." She pauses, then adds, "You and Raya are very alike. Very stubborn. I can see why you'd be together."

I don't respond. We're straying into forbidden territory.

In the wake of my silence, Katana shrugs again, that complacent smile still on her lips. It's infuriating, honestly.

Katana suddenly skids down the side of the slanted roof we've just landed on and drops down to a porch that hangs over the raging water. I jump down beside her, and hide a cringe.

The water's lapping over my boots, and that wave is almost here. The wind's picked up too, to the point where I have to shout to be heard even when Katana is a foot away from me.

"Hey! Where is she?!" I ask. Katana looks around, eventually settling on the building directly across from us. She points again, and I follow her gaze. I groan quietly to myself. Raya always manages to get in the worst situations, doesn't she?

"It looks like she fell," Katana comments, nodding upwards. There's a broken bit of roofing on the building directly above Raya. She herself hangs over a horizontal flagpole, arms and legs dangling. "The storm's only recently turned this horrid," she goes on. "Raya probably took to the roofs so she could continue searching even when the streets were flooded. A brave girl in weather like this."

"She must have been looking for me and Luffy," I mutter, already looking around for a way to get to her. "She wouldn't let a storm stop her, not if it were us or any of the Straw Hats."

"She's a very lovely girl. Not quite the top-notch Swordsman she could be, but a wonderful person all the same. I see now it is you that should count yourself lucky, Roronoa."

"I wouldn't really call myself lucky at this point."

"A shame really. It's obvious she considers herself to be both lucky and undeserving." She looks at me, that same piercing gaze as her father. "Have either of you said it?"

I scowl. "Said what?"

Katana remains silent, allowing the rain and waves to throb in my ears.

"Alright then, Roronoa," she says abruptly. She pulls out her sword in one swift motion. "You're about to become very acquainted with Kuro Kishi."

My hand unconsciously moves for Wado. "Look I'll fight you anytime you want. But right now--"

Katana's laugh cuts me off. "No, no, that is not what I meant. Father was right. Fighting is all you think about. However, this time I meant I'll help you retrieve your love."

I raise a brow. She went from saying lover to love.

Katana holds Kishi out in front of her, slitted eyes scrutinizing the blade. It's darker than the black clouds above us. Then her eyes flick over to me. "I'll assume you're mostly muscle then?"

I narrow my eyes. "Where the hell are you going with this?"

She waves a hand dismissively. "Nowhere," she replies. "I just don't find the idea of putting a hundred and sixty or so pounds of lard on Kishi's blade. If it's muscle it'll have to do."

She takes a stance, feet spread apart, sword held in front of her, knees bent. She nods to her blade, jerking her chin up as a signal.

"Hell no."

Katana sighs. "More and more difficult," she murmurs, though I hear her perfectly fine. "Would you not trust Raya with this?"

"Trust her to throw me with her sword?" I ask. "No. She has weak arms. And her sword is damaged."

"Is it?" Katana inquires thoughtfully. Then she seems to shake off some thought or another and pins me with a sharp glare. "That is not the point. Trust me or not, I see no other way for you to reach her before the main wave of Aqua Laguna hits. Unless you fancy swimming in this?"

Biting back a sharp retort, I take another glance at Raya. She's unmoved, and vulnerable as hell. If the wind picks up more, she might....

"Alright fine," I grumble. "Do it."

Katana smiles, that thin satisfied smile I imagined Mihawk has. If he ever smiles at all. "Good luck, Roronoa." She levels her sword, and I release a heavy sigh.

This has to be better than Luffy slingshotting me into a wall, right?

I step up onto the sword, setting my feet down as lightly as I can. Katana grunts quietly, hisses a curse, but nonetheless holds the blade up.

With one smooth motion, Katana thrusts the sword upward, and I'm sent flying for the other side of the "river".

I land on the flag poll beside Raya. The metal rod bounces up and down under my weight and Raya slides forwards, beginning to fall. I snake an arm around her waist and and jerk her up, simultaneously trying to keep my balance. It isn't exactly easy.

I hold Raya in one arm, the other held out, palm pressed to the building to steady me. "Hey, Aka, you awake?" I ask, trying to hide the worry in my voice.

She's unresponsive for a moment. Her face is pale, and I watch her eyes flicker beneath the lids, like she's dreaming. Bad. That's bad. Raya has never told me of a good dream she's had. As far as I know she only has nightmares.

Sighing, I look around, wanting a way out of the storm, and spot a makeshift ladder formed from window ledges I can use to climb to the roof. From there, maybe I can make it back to re others. They can't be far, not if Raya's here.

I hope, anyway.