126 Chapter 120: Mistakes and Feelings

This chapter right here is probably my favorite chapter so far. This chapter marks a sharp deviation from the up-to-now mostly-Canon run through. I'll explain why I did it in the postscript, but I mostly wanted a change.

There is another note I would like to make. I've had more than one review or PM about how I should've given the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to Luffy instead of Gin, making this a Two-Fruit Luffy story. Why? The Canon explanation says that anyone who eats two Devil Fruits dies (or explodes) and I'm sticking to that. I'm going to follow the Canon laws for how Devil Fruits work, as unbalanced as they may be, so Luffy will not be getting another power.

Chapter 124:

Mistakes and Feelings

"Haven't I been here before?" Zoro wondered, striding through one of the many crisscrossing roads of the archipelago, booze in hand. The grove above read 28, not that that would have helped the poor, directionally-challenged swordsman. He blinked, whispers and noise ahead of him catching his attention.

"Please, someone!" a woman's voice cried. "Someone help him! He's going to die!"

"Wonder what that's about?" the green-haired man muttered, stepping into the scene. Civilians and pirates of all kinds watched, kneeling, as a tall blond man in a suit restrained a dark-haired woman in a pink nurse outfit. She was crying, staring in shock at a man folded over in the road, blood pooling beneath him. Beside the woman was a short, fat, ugly man with a stupid hairstyle and a bubble helmet, smoking gun in hand. Off to the side, between two armored knights, stood a pair of women dressed in skimpy dancer costumes, with metal collars around their necks, and chains around their wrists. These collars and chains connected them to a beaten man on all fours with a plush chair strapped to his back like a mount.

"You dare to question me?" the fat man demanded with a small lisp, waving the gun. "That's what the bastard commoner gets for not kneeling before me!"

"The Dragons are as bad as the rumors say," a large man with wings muttered, Zoro just barely hearing him as the angel talked to his crewmates.

Normally, Zoro wouldn't have cared—it wasn't his business—but he couldn't have trained his student for so long without understanding both his ideals and his viewpoint. That and Coby would be pissed if he heard his teacher walked into a situation like this and didn't do anything. Besides, Hachi didn't say anything about not dealing with assholes, right?

"Hey, pal," Zoro called, tossing his empty bottle over his shoulder as he took a few steps toward the man with the gun. "I don't know what's going on, but something ain't right here."

The entire street gasped at the sheer audacity of the pirate swordsman wearing yellow. Perhaps the Celestial Dragon bore the most confused expression. Never had anyone called out to him in such a disrespectful manner, but more than that, something about the swordsman tickled something in the back of his memory.

"My Lord," the suit began, "this appears to be the swordsman your father contacted us about several minutes ago."

"The swordsman in yellow," a woman hissed, remembering the gossip.

"Who is he?" her friend asked.

"The rumors say he freed a slave 15 minutes ago before its collar could blow up. There's a bounty of 50 million out for him from the Celestial Dragons."

"Y-You're him!" the fat man yelled, pointing his gun at the Straw Hat first mate. "You're the swordsman in yellow!"

"I don't know what the Hell you're screaming about," Zoro waved off. "I'm just here to tell you to lay off these people."

Again, the street gasped.

"Die!" the Celestial Dragon screamed, firing his pistol twice. Zoro smirked, dodging both bullets and the running girl that tried to tackle him before Kitetsu III sliced open the man's white outfit, literally and metaphorically bursting his bubble. The noble screamed as blood burst from the wound, staining his clothing. "I'm dying! Oh Goda, I'm dying!"

"You won't die," Zoro sighed, flinging blood from the weapon and sheathing his blade. In the absolute quiet of the street, it sounded far louder than normal, steel scraping against the inside of the scabbard. "My captain doesn't like killing without a reason. You'll be fine." Zoro ducked, avoiding the Finger Pistol the suit tried to kill him with before giving him a similar injury to his master, putting both out of commission. The knights charged with dual battle cries, but their swords and armor were no match for the Pirate Hunter, two pommel strikes shattering their breastplates.

Rather than gasping, the people screamed, running for their lives.

"What the absolute fuck?!" a pink-haired woman demanded, stomping up to the Pirate Hunter amidst the chaos and shoving a finger against his chest. Her outfit consisted of a white shirt, suspenders connected to shorts, and a green hat. "Are you out of your Godadamned mind? You just injured a fucking Celestial Dragon! There'll be an Admiral here within the hour! Who the Hell do you think you are?"

"What the Hell is a Celestial Dragon?" Zoro asked, the woman paling. Zoro remembered Hachi mentioning something about dragons, but he couldn't recall what. He had been too tired at that point to care.

"I don't have the damn time to explain it to you," the woman growled, grabbing his wrist. "Just come with me if you want to live." She ran, dragging Zoro behind her through the chaos of screaming people. Two different pirate crews fell in beside them, one led by the muscular angel from before.

"Gotta admit, Pirate Hunter," the angel chuckled. He was dressed in sackcloth and carried a massive pillar of black-painted steel. Sleek black hair fell into sideburns that blended into a moderate beard covering his square jawline. "That was ballsy. None of us had the guts to do it."

"I just cut a guy," Zoro groused. "What's the big deal?"

"The deal," the woman snarled, turning a corner, "is that guy you cut has the entire fucking government in his pocket! Freeing a slave wasn't enough for you, huh?"

"I didn't free anyone!" Zoro denied.

"Who the Hell cares? That's small shit compared to this. If I was smart, I'd kill you here and hand you to the Navy on a silver platter."

"Then why aren't you?" Zoro yanked his arm free, hopping back and falling into a ready stance. The captains—he assumed they were captains—stared at him.

"You don't know us, do you?" the angel laughed. "They call me 'Mad Monk' Urouge. My bounty is worth 108-million. This is Jewelry Bonney, 'The Glutton', worth 140-million last I checked. Nice to make your acquaintance, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah," the woman waved off.

"We and you, Pirate Hunter, are part of the Supernovas," Urouge finished.

"I don't know what weird cult these Super-guys are," Zoro frowned, "but you can count me out."

"Long story short," Bonney began, "if we take you in, we'd get arrested, too. But having you around might give us a chance to survive when that Admiral gets here and all the shit hits all the fans."

"Whatever," Zoro sighed. "It's not like you could have taken me in anyway. I'll join up with my crew later. We're docked at Grove 1."

"There's someone out there with a higher bounty than Luffy?!" Chopper panicked. "And he's here?! On the island?!"

"Not an island!" Merry corrected.

"Yes," Shakky confirmed. "Kid's bounty is higher because he has shone no concern for civilian lives. Including him and the three on your crew, there are 12 pirates with bounties at or over 100-million. You lot are much better than the others in my opinion. I'll be cheering for you all the way."

"I'm with Chopper on this," Usopp noted. "We need to split fast. Where is that mechanic you mentioned?"

"I really don't know," Shakky shrugged. "He's somewhere around, but I haven't seen him in a while."

"How long is a while?" Robin questioned.

"Oh, half a year or so."

"HALF A YEAR?!" the pirates and fishmen yelled.

"He's probably shacked up with some woman he met in bar," Shakky said, blowing smoke from her lips. "I'm not surprised. Old pirates wander around and take their time coming back. That's how it goes."

"This old guy was a pirate?" Merry asked. "Who with?"

"That's not my story to tell," Shakky replied, tapping her nose secretively, "but I can give you his name. It's Rayleigh."

Robin's cup slipped from her grasp, hitting the counter with a thump and spilling the remains of her coffee.

"He typically spends his time between Groves 1 through 29," the barmaid continued as if nothing happened. "If you can't find him there, he may be in Sabaody Park. He likes it there."

"Let's go to the Park!" Usopp, Merry, Chopper, Brook, and Camie cheered.

"You mean he's-?"

BADA-BADA-BADUP... BADA-BADA-BADUP... BADA-BA- ca-lick

"Hello?" Shakky answered, the ringing of the snail cutting off Robin's question. As the pirates and takoyaki-stand workers watched, the bartender's eyes widened, her cigarette falling from her hands. "You're serious? Shit. Yeah. Yeah. Alright, be careful, Junior." She hung up.

"Nyuu~ What was that?" Hachi asked.

"A contact. The same one who told me you all were here, actually. He told me a swordsman in yellow just attacked a Celestial Dragon on Grove 28. The whole archipelago is going into a panic."

"You don't think...?" Usopp trailed off.

"With our luck, yes," Merry sighed. "Damn mosshead."

"La-a-a-angua-age," the sniper weeped.

"I suppose that is our cue," Brook commented, placing his teacup and enough Beris to cover their tab on the counter. "That is likely one of our crewmates making mischief. We must find our crew and that mechanic quickly."

"I-I think I'm coming down with Don'tLeaveTheSafeBar Disease."

"Come on, Uncle Usopp!"

"Merry, don't drag me by Kabuto!"

"Thanks for having us, Shakky," Hachi muttered through gritted teeth as the pirates began making their way to the door. "Sorry about the sudden leave. We need to go deal with that idiot."

"Yeah, sure," the owner waved. "Be careful and come back soon, Hachi! Don't be a stranger! Oh, wait!"

Hachi paused, turning toward his friend. She rifled through the counter before pulling out a folded sheet of paper she tore in half and handed to the octopus fishman. "That's Rayleigh's vivre card. Split it up and give everyone on that crew a piece, no matter what."

"Right," the Fishman nodded, taking the offered half and making his exit. As the door shut behind them, Hachi rounded on the pirates. Before he could go on a tirade, however, Merry cut him off.

"We had no idea Zoro would do something like this. Assuming it's him, anyway. Coby wasn't wearing yellow. That being said, we need to find that ship-coater and hightail it toward Fishman Island."

"We can maximize our time by calling as we return to the Sunny," Robin offered. "We need a plan before we search the Lawless Zone. Luffy and the others can comb the Park since they're already there." The rest of the pirates nodded along, though Camie looked put out that she wouldn't get a chance to visit the Park herself. More concerned with their safety, Usopp ordered Merry to call the rest of the crew as they hurried down the stairs to their bubble bikes. The snail rung for several seconds before Sanji answered.

"Hello?" the chef asked. "Please don't tell me something happened."

"Is Zoro there with you?" Usopp demanded.

"No, he went for a walk. Why?"

"You let him go for a walk?!" Usopp, Merry, and Chopper yelled.

"He thought it through, surprisingly," Sanji admitted. "Also Franky was yelling at us that we were putting too many cuts and burns into the grass."

"Well, you'll be happy to know Zoro caused a scene," Robin said, her own snail open. "He attacked a Celestial Dragon."

"...That stupid marimo."

Ca-lick

"You called?" Coby's voice sighed, palpable annoyance echoing from the snails. Music and laughter drifted from his background. "What happened? If this is about that slave I freed-"

"Your teacher one-upped you," Hachi growled as Camie ripped the paper Shakky had given them. "He went and actually attacked a Dragon. The archipelago is falling into chaos."

There was a moment of silence as the background noise on Coby's end fizzled.

"Godadamn it," Grace hissed.

"There's the screaming," Coby muttered. "At least we know what it's about. What can we do? We're in the Ferris wheel right now."

"We need to find the mechanic I mentioned!" Hachi called, panting a little from peddling the bubblebike as hard as he could. "Tall guy with grey hair and a beard with a scar over his right eye! Name's Rayleigh! He's been gone about six months, but Shakky says that's normal! He hangs out in the Lawless Zone or Sabaody Park!"

"We'll look around. Keep us updated." The snail gave a soft "ca-cha" but did not go to sleep.

"Still there, Sanji?" Merry asked.

"Of course," the chef answered. "I heard everything. What can we do?"

"Make sure Big Bro Franky has everything ready double-time and send Billy to find Mrs. Nami. I have a feeling things are going to get ugly."

"You got it."

Ca-cha!

"Well this is just perfect," Usopp groused. "Does every pirate crew have to face off against all these big names?"

"Yohoho! Maybe," Brook chuckled. "There wasn't a Warlord system when I became a pirate, but my crew fought several Vice-Admirals and rival pirates."

"That doesn't help us right now," Chopper panicked. "Go Usopp go!"

Several minutes earlier

Sabaody Park lived up to its reputation, the six pirates having the time of their lives. Sure, there was a little destruction when Luffy, Coby, and Gin got into one spinning teacup and didn't stop each other from going too fast, but Nami somehow spun it so that the park payed them for having such "flimsy and dangerous attractions". She netted a refund for their entrance fees and a cool 100,000 on top of that.

The others weren't quite sure how that worked either.

Finally, however, they made their way to the main attraction: Sabaody's Ferris wheel. It was massive, as tall as a Marine warship with pods made of the archipelago's natural bubbles. The painter of the group had run ahead to talk to the conductor, claiming he said each bubble could only hold two people, so they split into pairs. Grace all but dragged Coby in to the first pod with her while Nami and Luffy took the second. That left Amy and Gin to shuffle awkwardly alone with the third pod.

"Nami!" Luffy laughed, his face nearly pressed against the bubble frame as they reached the top of the arc. "You can see everything from up here!"

"It is beautiful," his wife commented, but her words were subdued and distracted. "Hey, Luffy? There's something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?" he asked, his mind running tens of miles a minute. "Shiki didn't do anything to you, did he? He better not have, that bastard!"

"No no," Nami smiled. "He didn't do anything to me."

"All the Daft is gone?"

"All the Daft is gone," the navigator promised. "Chopper gave me a full checkup while we were docked with Takoyaki 8 and declared me clear of Daft."

"Good," the rubberman sighed, leaning over to wrap his wife in a hug. "I was worried about that, you know."

"You were worried?" Nami's eyes widened. Luffy never worried about anything! "Who are you and what have to done to Luffy?"

"What?" The captain blinked as he let go, his head tilting. "I haven't done anything to me. Are you sure you're ok?"

"No. I mean yes. I..." Nami wrinkled her nose in the way that told Luffy she was thinking about what to say. It was cute. "You never worry."

"I worry about you," he admitted, leaning against the bubble wall with his arms crossed. "I know the crew can handle themselves. And I know you can take care of yourself. And when you can't, I've got your back, just like Cocoyashi and Shiki's palace. I'm not afraid of any of that."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

"I don't know," he answered, staring out the clear borders of the pod and toward the archipelago below. "Things are getting more dangerous. We're stronger. Way stronger than we were before and I know we'll pull through. I will be the King of the Pirates, you will draw a map of the world, and Zoro will be the World's Greatest Swordsman. I don't doubt any of that or any of the rest of the crew's dreams, but there's this feeling in my gut. It first appeared on Little Garden when I saw you trapped in that wax guy's trap, slowly turning into a statue. It happened again in Alabasta when I found you injured after your fight. It showed up on Skypia when we found you all on that shrine thing, knowing that lightning bastard could have killed you if he wanted. After that it appeared before I beat the crap out of Moria's giant zombie. Each time it showed up, it disappeared after everything passed."

"Then what's wrong?" Nami whispered, taking Luffy's hand in her own and intertwining their fingers. The snails on their wrists starting ringing quietly, but neither noticed.

"I've had that feeling ever sense Shiki took you. That whole week it ate at me. It got better when we found you by the Sunny and got worse when he took you again, but it hasn't gone away. I don't know what this mystery feeling means, but..." He trailed off, unsure. Nami raised one of her hands, turning his face.

"Look at me, Luffy," she whispered. "I'm right here. I'm safe. We've pulled through every obstacle the Grand Line has thrown at us for the past year, and we'll do it again when we get past the Red Line." She paused. "I've had that feeling, too, you know. I get it whenever you're out there on your own, beating those assholes down and coming back covered in blood. I get it, but Luffy, that's normal."

She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Instinctively, Luffy's arms wrapped around her, the captain relishing in the warmth of his wife. He smiled down at her but didn't interrupt.

"We can't let that feeling control us, though. If we do, it'll make us give up or make a mistake that will cost us our lives. The pirates' life is dangerous, we knew that going in, but we need to trust each other that, no matter what, we will come back to the Sunny and smile. Ok?"

"Ok." Luffy leaned down, catching Nami's lips in a deep, long kiss. They parted as their lungs demanded air, panting. "I love you, Nami."

"I love you too, Luffy."

"Hey, was there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh, that!" Nami pulled away, her face crimson. "I, ah... How should I put this? Chopper checked while you ate at Hachi's stand. It turns out-"

Nami didn't finish, the people below screaming at the top of their lungs. The two pirates hurried to the side, watching the chaos below unfold. They weren't sure what, but something happened.

Meanwhile

"Gin, we need to talk," Amy insisted, glaring a hole in the back of the Electric Devil's head.

"No we don't," he argued quickly, staring out of the bubble they found themselves in. It was an awkward air between the two of them, as it had been every time they were alone since Little East Blue.

"Yes, we do," she stated. "You've been ignoring me, Gin. Avoiding me."

"I have not," he ground out. Amy gave him a flat stare as ineffective as his argument since he still wouldn't turn to look at her.

"If you don't want to talk, then just shut up and listen." The blonde waited a moment, the other passenger remaining silent. "We need to work out what happened in Little Virgio and why you haven't answered. Do you just not remember what happened? Do you not want that sort of-?"

"Amy. Stop." Gin turned, the natural bags under his eyes pronounced by the look in his eyes. "I really don't want to go into this. You didn't mean to do that. You didn't even know it was a thing. Unless you're serious about it, which I doubt you are, please let it go."

"So that's why you haven't given me an answer?"

"Amy, please-"

"Gin-"

"I'm not talking about this, but you won't give it a rest, will you? How about this?" He raised a finger. "You and me, one arm wrestling match, all powers allowed. If you win, we'll have this talk. If I win, we won't."

"You know what? Fine." Amy dropped to her knees, placing one elbow on the seat. The Logia looked surprised by her willingness. "Come on, Gin. You put in the challenge. Afraid of a girl kicking your ass?"

"You know that's not true," Gin rebuffed, getting down on his knees as well. He raised his arm, a visible electric charge running across his skin. "I come from a matriarchal island. The question is if you can handle me."

Amy felt a smirk grow on her lips as the mass of her arm increased, grabbing her opponent's hand. "Ready? Go."

Also Meanwhile

"Coby, we need to talk," Grace muttered, looking out the "window". Their hands were still connected from when she had dragged him into the Ferris wheel several minutes ago and they had been silent since.

"I don't have much experience with stuff outside of pirating," the Zoan admitted, "but I'm pretty sure that's not a good thing. 'Needing to talk' on the first ship I sailed on typically ended with dead crewmembers."

"I don't know if it's a bad thing," Grace admitted quietly, "but I'm not going to kill you. I've been having this... dream, I guess?"

"I thought your dream was to become a world-famous painter?"

"Not that dream, you moron!" Grace huffed. "I thought you were one of the smart ones. I mean a sleeping dream, but it doesn't feel like a dream."

"Why are you telling me this?" Coby asked, unsure where this conversation was heading. "You aren't making any sense, Grace."

"It... This dream I've had over the past couple nights, it feels like a memory I'd forgotten."

"...Ok?" Coby really wasn't good at these emotional talks. "Tell me about it."

"In the dream, I think I'm in a room on Thriller Bark, but it's not that same greyscale like the rest of the mansion was. It's this darker bright pink. Almost mountbatten pink, I think, but I can't tell between the shadows and how fuzzy everything is. Well, I wake up and everything is dark, but then you shift next to me."

"Me?" Coby questioned. His eyes squinted, unsure why that sounded familiar.

"Yes, you. I'd recognize your hair color anywhere. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's Thriller Bark because that ghost girl, Perona, shows up and starts asking us about 'those two cute pirates with the horns'."

"Merry and Chopper?"

"Yeah. It's slightly different every time, but the conversation always ends the same way. We don't say anything so she throws Negative Hollows at each of us when we refuse, but neither of us give in."

"I remember that," Coby nodded slowly. "She caught us in the forest and took us back to her room. It's weird, though. I know she tortured us, as much as playing with our emotions counts, but I don't remember how we got out."

"W-Well, that's the rest of the d-dream," Grace stammered. "She gets fed up w-with us and puts us both under Negative Hollows at the same time. F-From there, I-I complain about my art and y-you complain about..." She swallowed, turning away and blushing. "You complain about g-getting her to like you."

Coby could feel his face burning, suddenly overtly aware of their hands still connected. Emotions he didn't know how to understand that he had buried months ago started bubbling inside him, a turbulent storm of hormones and butterflies he couldn't make heads or tails of. In the back of his mind, images of the scene she described whispered.

"D-Does anything happen a-after that?" He couldn't stop the stutter because his mind was filling the blanks.

"W-Well..." Grace reached for the words, hiding her face behind her hat. "I... uh... I tell you th-that you're worthy of the crew. A-And I hit you, I think. A-And then... w-we..."

She stopped, turning away from the Zoan.

"Grace, you don't have to-"

"And then we try to kiss!"

Coby reeled back from the sudden shout, thankful that the bubble should dampen the sound somewhat. Grace panted, though he couldn't tell why. She let go of his hand and grabbed her hat, pulling it low over her face, muttering.

"This was a bad idea. I shouldn't've told you. Now you're not going to want to talk to me. Damn Robin and her unhelpful advice. And damn my mood swings. And damn those girls that were feeling you up. Damn the female body in general."

"Grace?" Coby questioned, reaching forward. The painter shied away, but he hesitated only a second before grabbing her hand. She tried to pull away, but Coby held firm. His other hand came up, stealing her hat to show the girl's red face. His blush matched hers shade for shade. "Grace, listen to me."

"I'm sorry," she apologized, looking away. "This was a stupid idea."

"Grace, you're the 'her' I was talking about," Coby muttered, his voice low. The redhead jerked, almost coming loose from his hold. "I don't know why I didn't remember, though there's something about an explosion, I think. And Chopper said concussions can cause memory loss or something. But Grace, now that you've told me, I remember. That wasn't a dream. Or a d-daydream I thought I'd had. That happened to us on Thriller Bark. I tried... We tried... t-to kiss..."

"W-Where does that leave us?" she whispered.

"...I don't know." The two sat there in silence, holding hands, faces red, wide eyes staring into slitted pupils. The two blinked, slowly leaning in...

BADA-BADA-BADUP... BADA-BADA-BADUP... BADA-BADA-...

...only to crack their foreheads together in surprise.

"Dammit!"

"Shit!"

The two cursed as their snails rang, shattering their moment. They pulled away from each other, cradling their abused heads and nursing building headaches. The snails stopped ringing, the two teens trying to burn through their shells with a pair of scathing glares, but whatever had been happening between them had lost its magic.

"When I find out who caused a commotion, I swear to Goda and his Holy Editors..." Coby let the threat hang for a moment before sighing and opening the snail on his wrist. "You called? If this is about that slave I freed-"

"Your teacher one-upped you," Hachi's voice growled. "He went and actually attacked a Dragon. The archipelago is falling into chaos."

Even as Hachi talked, the sounds around the two began to fizzle, screaming filling the void left behind.

"Goda damn it," Grace hissed.

"There's the screaming," Coby sighed. "At least we know what it's about. What can we do? We're in the Ferris wheel right now."

"We need to find the mechanic I mentioned!" Hachi panted. "Tall guy with grey hair and a beard with a scar over his right eye! Name's Rayleigh! He's been gone about six months, but Shakky says that's normal! He hangs out in the Lawless Zone or Sabaody Park!"

"We'll look around," Coby nodded. "Keep us updated." The Zoan closed the snail before punching the bubble. It distended, warping around his fist in a way that did not alleviate his frustration in any way. "Shit!"

"Coby?" Grace muttered, her hand slowly resting on the taller teen's shoulder. "You ok?"

"I'll be fine," he sighed through a deep breath as their pod neared the end of the ride. "Come on. Let's go clean up Zoro-sensei's mess so I can punch him."

End of Chapter 124

Yes, all the shit is about to hit all the fans. I decided that since you learn more by teaching than you do by practicing, I think Zoro is good enough to avoid Bonney like he didn't in Canon. With the attack on a Dragon this early, a good portion of the Sabaody storyline is out the window at this point and I can't wait for y'all to see what I have in store for you. We'll get into that next week.

That being said, today marks the first day of my summer job, so I'll be shifting my updates to Saturday. I'm back at camp, so that's why.

In other news, I have a story suggestion for any Harry Potter fans that support the Canon pairings: Elemental Harry by hermyd. It's an older story that's been Complete for a long time, but it's still worth a read. I just reread it myself.

Beta suggestions for this chapter by ViceroyIcarus

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods