Freedom & Fate | One Piece x Reader

Chapter 23 | Threat

I'll leave Kura to you guys.

Your legs carry you as fast as they allow you through the thick forest. Once in a while, you look back to see if the three kids are still keeping up you. Just like you thought, they have no trouble with following your speed. The few times you looked back, you didn't sight Jango anywhere behind you.

"Boys, I'll take Kaya away somewhere safe," you shout between pants. "The moment I disappear you have to go home. Protect yourselves and your village, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Alright, here I go.

Closing your eyes, you envision yourself standing in Kaya's bedroom, focusing on every little detail of her room. The large window, the fluffy bed, the closet and the bare walls. When every piece of information lined up correctly in your mind, you leap forward, your feet leaving the earthy ground, soon to be touching a cold marble floor.

But they didn't.

You appear on a patch of grass, only several meters away from the spot you disappeared on. The jump takes you too far and you end up colliding with a tree, head first. The onset painful throbbing leads you to let Kaya slip down from your back.

"Miss! What happened? You suddenly ran so fast, we couldn't even see where you were going!" one of the three kids says.

"Y/N, is your head alright?" Kaya asks worriedly.

With one head covering your forehead while panting for breath, you could barely prop yourself up. "It's not... as bad... as it looks," you mutter in-between wheezes.

The sound of trees collapsing, shake you out of your exhausted state. A rush of adrenaline makes you grab Kaya's arm and run deeper into the forest, pushing past your limit. Every breath of air burns your throat and you could taste the metal of your blood in your mouth.

Without success, the three children tried to trick or distract Jango, the hypnotist. His unexpectedly sharp tools cut the surrounding trees as if they were warm butter. The closer he gets, the heavier your breathing gets.

"Ah!" Kaya shrieks as she trips over and falls onto the ground, unintentionally pulling you down with her. But before you could do anything, Jango was already towering above the two of you, smirking wickedly.

"Now be a good girl and write the will..."

You shield Kaya from the man, but Jango grabs your throat and locks it with his elbow, seizing your movement. With the sharp edge of his hypnosis tool held dangerously close to your neck, he speaks with a menacing tone of voice.

"Or this one will have to die!"

Scared for your life, she takes a piece of paper and a pen out of Jango's pockets.

"Don't!" you manage to yell.

He grunts as his wrap tightens and you feel the blade digging into your skin. You grit your teeth from the sharp pain, drips of blood trickle down your neck, staining your t-shirt.

"Someone like you who terrorises others' lives is a disgrace," you mumble under your breath.

He pushes the blade deeper into your flesh and you wince. "What did you say, you little–"

"Stop it! I'll write the will, so please stop hurting her!" Kaya cries.

"As soon as she finishes writing it, you'll dispose of her, right? You people have no sense of human dignity!"

Jango's nerves are reaching an endpoint. He raises his blade, prepared to finish you off. "You should have shut your mouth when you had the chance to," he whispers ominously into your ear.

You stopped paying attention to him the moment you noticed Zoro and Usopp approaching from the corner of your eye. You give him a sly smirk before watching his head being hit by a ball of explosive gunpowder. With a boom Jango falls backwards into the dirt, passing out.

"Good job... you guys..." you slowly close your eyes and fall back.

"Y/N!" Kaya's scream is the last thing you are aware of. She shuffles over to you.

"Kaya! Y/N!" Usopp comes running. "Is she alright?!" he yells as he sees your state.

When Zoro heard him, he quickly ran to them. For a moment, he almost panicked when he sees you passed out on the ground like that. But he let out a sigh of relief when your chest falls and rises in a steady rhythm. It seems you just fell asleep from the exhaustion.

Zoro ties his headband around your neck and carefully picks you up bridal-style. "I will take care of her," he says before carrying you away.

ஐ

When he arrives at the slope, he sees both Luffy and Nami resting on the ground. He puts you down, still supporting your head and sits down next to you so your head can rest on his lap. He inspects the cut on your neck. "Heal yourself next time before you fall asleep," he says to himself with a chuckle.

Watching you sleeping so soundly makes him feel calm as well. The mere sight of your peaceful expression could make his heart feel lighter, like a spell directing him to loosen up.

He could have drifted off to sleep right then and there if it wasn't for the fact of him wondering if he would ever get the chance to watch over you like this again.

With his crew expanding at this rate, who knows where your heart will lead you to.

✘