Justice and Piracy (a Zoro love story)

Justice and Piracy (a Zoro love story) : Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen,
"Whispers."

It was gone midnight when I unzipped my bag upon plain white sheets of small single bed. Franky had spent the remainder of the day showing me his creations. The Sunny harboured many of his works, from bikes and tanks to a fast paced jet ski and submarine. One of which caught my attention, she was a small boat, only enough to hold four men, but her craftsmanship was sublime, it was also out of place amongst this gaudy array.

This was Merry, the keepsake of their last ship, and the second figure I'd seen wander her halls, a ghostly reminder of a sunken caravel. The room I was now standing in had been designed by Franky to be the captain's quarters. It was large and modestly decorated but gone to waste since Luffy preferred to sleep below deck with the crew.

It was still filled with cardboard boxes from where it had been used as storage, every surface was covered in a thin layer of dust. I struggled out of my clothes and lay them on the wooden floorboards beside the bed, digging through the contents of my bag for something comfortable and produced a long sleeve shirt that fell toward my thighs. It was loose around my waist and navy blue, the collar hung open around my neck. I think there was a number on the back in the same stylised fashion Nami would wear but I couldn't quite see in the dim light, it was dark outside.

I grabbed a towel and made for the bathroom, I hadn't washed my hair in some time and I dared not look in a mirror for I feared it's disarray. I hoped Robin wouldn't mind me borrowing her toiletries, I'd forgotten to buy my own in town.

The bathroom was spacious and a deep tub was set into the floor, within a few minutes the room was thick with steam and I'd filled the water to about two thirds. It was eerie how quiet it could be aboard the Sunny when everyone was sleeping. I pulled the hem of my panties down and to my ankles and then the thick cotton of my sweater up above my head. It was no secret I didn't wear a bra, my usual attire wouldn't have allowed it.

I stepped into the hot water and felt my bones begin to ache. There were light bruises that were yellowing over my skin and I stretched my legs out to touch them. I was a fast healer by nature, I'm sure my arm would be fine in a matter of days, with each passing hour I seemed to gain more and more strength and I wondered if I'd truly forgotten the extent of my powers.

I hissed in through my teeth as I touched the pink upon my wrists and found that they were still sore. The burn-like similarity had faded into a more sunburnt look. The bandages on my arm were safely above the waterline though were dampened slightly from the steam and where my hair had dripped. I heard the whispers of the Klabautermann then and turned quickly in the water. I sloshed around and saw shadows pass the frosted glass of the door.

"Hello?" My voice was gentle, serine.

Soft laughter like a child's drifted up the hallways and I stood, climbing carefully out of the steamy bath. The Klabautermann had always taken a liking to me. As a child I would sneak away to the docks to play with them, my mother would always catch me, but she never scolded me. She said it made me special, that the water spirits were in my favour.

I dried myself down and stepped into fresh briefs, the white lace painting my cream skin a few shades darker underneath. White made my skin appear less pallid. I went to reach for my navy shirt but found it missing. The playful voices were close and whistled gently as they circled and then opened the bathroom door, slamming it behind them a second later.

"Naughty little things." I huffed, sounding almost motherly to my ears.

I wrapped the towel around me and leant out into the corridor, I saw their glowing faces grin back and they beckoned me, sweater in ghostly hands, like a matador and a bull. I giggled and ran toward them. Though my footsteps were light and noiseless. They scattered out onto the deck and I was welcomed by the frigid night and the thick blanket of fog that hung suffocatingly in the air. The moonlight filtered through and the ship was cast through a milky filter.

They laughed at my surprise and ran about my legs. They had an unnatural glow to them, and reached the height of my waist. I knelt to speak hushed words, they were delighted, entranced by my face. They touched my cheeks as I spoke to them.

"You must be Sunny," I said to the taller of the two, he was brighter and I could feel the familiarity in his hands, "And you would be Merry." I set my palm stop the head of the second and it giggled joyfully in my ears.

"I'll look after you both from now on," I promised, "So? Will you give me back my sweater?"

They chattered at me with a high echoing tone. It sounded distant although they stood here before me within arms reach. It was hard to understand sometimes. They could be straight forward in their speech, or talk in strange riddles I could not decipher. One thing had not changed since the time I was a child. They called me by name, as if this was not our first introduction, it made me feel cold when they whispered and my thoughts became muggy, like wading through old forgotten memories.

"Who's there?!" Called a deep earthy voice, it was fierce. I was too slow to react, it took me a second to even recognise.

"Zoro?" My voice was too quiet for him to hear. I saw him advance through the fog and I stood quickly as the ghostly spirits vanished from my side.

His katana cut the fog.