No Regrets, Right?

Chapter 8

Straw Hat and I were currently running through the forest, in pursuit of Moria, as Oars was hunting us all down, like we were playing some kind of game of hide and seek.

Let's replay the recent events shall we?

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"Their bounties are over a hundred million, so they won't fall apart after a few punches, even from you. So don't hold back! I want to see every ounce of your power! Understand?" Moria shouted to Oars.

"Kay. You got it master." Oars replied, looking from the Straw Hat's bounties on his arm to Straw Hat. "Oh. Found one. It's Straw Hat."

Moria began to run away. "So long. Straw Hat! Oh, and Oars... Make sure you kill the girl, (Y/N)."

I hissed in annoyance of now having a monster chasing me to death, literally. It's one thing to be captured, but no... Moria will stop at nothing to have me dead.

"What? You're running away?" Stay Hat yelled back at Moria. "Get back here!"

"Gum-Gum..." The both of us looked over to Oars as he brought his head forward. "...Bell!"

I was pulled away and into the hall before being hit by the attack. "Whew, that was a close one."

"Uh... thanks..." I whispered out, trying to snap out of my daze of almost being crushed.

Straw Hat, looked down the hall. "Now where'd Moria run off to, jerk..." He started taking off down the hall shouting for Moria.

I stood up running ahead after him, not wanting to be left behind with the monster called Oars. "Hey- wait up!"

———

Straw Hat was adamant on catching up and fighting Moria. No matter how many times I tried reasoning with him saying it would be best to gather his crew together first, he wouldn't listen.

"Get back here! You big, dumb onion! Stop running away from me!" He yelled, once again.

"Can't you tell that he wants you to follow him? I'm not sure why but he's planning something..." I informed him, only for it to go in one ear and out the other.

"At least give me a chance to kick your ass! If you're so tough, why do you have to run, huh?" I payed attention to Moria as Straw Hat kept yelling at him.

Somethings off... the fact that Moria has been running, not taunting us or laughing. I quickly stopped my thoughts as a big chunk of rubble flew over our heads crashing to the ground in front of us.

"Man." Straw Hat placed a hand against his head, looking at the boulder in our way. "Great. Now I lost him." That didn't last long as he stretched his leg out...

Wait- he stretched?! What the hell!

"Gum-Gum... whip!" He swung his leg around, cutting the trees around us down in the process. "Don't think I'm giving up that easy, damn it!"

He kept swinging his leg, yelling. "Gum-Gum Whip!" We started running again, when he suddenly stopped, stretching his arm towards a tree. "Found you!" He started leaping after Moria. "Not so fast!"

"Hey- ughhhhh!" I groaned, following to catch up to the man. "Damn it, where'd they go?" I stopped, looking around in hopes to find Straw Hat.

"Straw Hat! Where'd you go?! Damn it, what is it with this crew and running off...?" I sighed at the question. They must be notorious if their captain has a bounty of 300 million... But how reckless can they be?

"Whatever. I'll just go find the others, not like I'd be much help here... I can't even find a trace of where they went." I turned around and ran back towards the mansion.

Once I reached the mansion, I stopped to regain my breath. "If I am thinking right they were looking for their crew mate, Nami." I know Usopp was facing off Perona and the other two met up with the skeleton. Then there is their captain, who chased after Moria in the woods. That should leave the reindeer and Robin, but where would they have gone?

Deciding to just find the first person I could find, I ran off down the corridor. "Damn, this might take a while. With that monster stomping around outside, it's hard to tell the difference between him and a fight nearby." I grumbled as I could hear Oars stomping around outside.

I groaned at the thought of facing that monster. No way in hell! I have no weapons or fighting experience, what could I possibly do? I decided that if I could find a weapon of some kind laying around, I would grab it. "Even if I don't know how to fight, I can at least try to do something to help."

———

Not sure how long I was running, but I glanced out one of the windows I passed, seeing the fog clearing up. "The fog is disappearing?" One day, I overheard a few zombies talking about how we were stationed in the Florian Triangle.

"We left the Florian Triangle, huh. I remember my mom telling me it was a place covered in fog and most ships that would enter, never came back out." Mother... I wonder if she is alive... if she is, will I be able to find her?

I focused my attention out the window again, seeing what looked like Moria's shadow flying into one of the windows ahead of where I was running.

"If that is Moria's shadow, then that means Moria is here... Then what the hell happened to Straw Hat? Wasn't he chasing Moria, or was it his shadow all along..."

After saying that, I realized it. We were never chasing Moria in the first place. He must've switched places at some point in the forest. He tricked us!

"Master Moria! We've got some serious trouble!" I heard voices from the room I was coming up on. I leaned my ear against it to hear the door to hear the conversation.

"Thriller Bark has come unmoored again! We're on the move and we've broken out of the fog!"

"And it's all Oars' fault!"

It must be the three zombies that always run around. "Master Moria!"

"So what, stop screaming! Who cares! It's not the end of the world, you idiots." Moria. I propped open the door slightly, looking through the crack and into the room. I glanced around the room until my eyes landed on him. "We're pirates, aren't we? The whole ocean is our home, no matter where our ship ends up."

The three stopped in their tracks. "Yeah, but uh..."

"Time to shut your mouths. I have the unexpected pleasure of an important guest and you're rudely interrupting it." Moria demanded.

A guest? I looked to where Moria was looking, noticing someone else was in the room. Who the hell is that? I've never seen them before...

"So, 'Tyrant' Kuma." Moria started off. "What can I do for the only member of the Seven Warlords who chooses to obey the government like a dog?"

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Published: 04/26/2022
Updated: 06/04/2023