MIDAS TOUCH

12

DELILAH RUTH WAS NERVOUS AS SHE WATCHED RORONOA ZORO approach her with a sword tucked in his belt. "I'm starting to regret asking for your help mosshead." Zoro chuckled at her words as he grabbed his black bandana from his pocket.

Zoro closed the distance between them as he placed the bandana on Delilah's forehead and leaned in towards her, his hands brushing the back of her head as he tied the bandana. His breath tickled against her skin as he used his hand to lift her chin up, making her lips almost brush against his. "Perfect" He whispered as Delilah felt heat spread across her cheeks.

Leaning closer to Zoro, Delilah bit her lip to contain the smirk trying to make its way on her face as she grabbed the sword clasped on Zoro's belt as she pushed him away and pointed the sword at his chest, tilting her head as she looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "Never let your guard down."

Zoro chuckled as he walked closer to her, pushing the sword aside as he grabbed her waist. "Who says I have, princess?" Zoro grabbed the sword from her grasp as his right hand moved higher from her waist to her arm before to her hair.

Delilah felt a tug on her hair as her hair fell onto her shoulders and she felt Zoro grab her hair pin. "No enchanted weapons." Playfully rolling her eyes at his words Delilah watched as Zoro stepped away from her and walked towards a barrel. He reached down and grabbed something before turning around to face her.

The first thing she registered was the hilt of the sword was a dark maroon color with a beautiful maroon stone in the middle of the hilt and the blade as the shape of the sword made Delilah smile, it was a sword for royalty. "Kaya had given it to me, said it belonged to your father and I– – I just thought that maybe you'd want something, a piece of your father to carry with you."

The swordsman's thoughtfulness made Delilah's heart skip a beat as she held out her hand towards him. Zoro grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, slowly turning her around so that her back was pressed against his chest as he placed the sword in her hand with his hand on top of hers, supporting her.

"Rule number 1: The sword must always be treated as your friend. It is this blade that is between you and the attack, you must treat it as your best friend." Zoro's words tickled against her cheek as she felt his right hand tightened around hers.

"Rule number 2: The weapon you are using at the moment, whatever it is, is always your favorite. Whether it is a dagger, a bow and arrow, a sword, an axe or even a frying pan it is your favorite weapon when you're using it because it is protecting you." Delilah nodded as she twirled the sword watching as Zoro's hand pressed against hers, supporting her movements.

"I want you to get used to the weight of the sword, Delilah." The sword almost slipped out of her hand hearing Zoro say her name. Delilah felt Zoro move from behind her, moving his hand off of hers as he walked in front of her.

Slowly Delilah twirled the sword, watching as the hilt of the sword shined under the gaze of the sun. Pointing the sword out towards Zoro, who grabbed his own sword, the archer raised her eyebrows at him as he smirked. "Getting a little confident, are we now?"

Delilah chuckled as she pulled the sword in towards her body and held it upright towards her right side. "I think you've forgotten I've used a dagger before mosshead, it can't be that different to a sword." As soon as she said those words Zoro had taken a step towards her, raising his hand as he swung his sword towards her.

Quickly blocking his attack Delilah kicked towards his feet and raised her sword before taking two strikes at his arms both of which were blocked. "The aim isn't to try to hurt me, princess." Zoro took two steps back as Delilah used the momentum of her sword to swing the sword above her head as Zoro blocked the strike, the muscles in his arms visible as he pushed her away.

Her feet slid backwards against the floor as Delilah took a few steps back.

Breathing hard Delilah placed the sword on the ground as she raised her hands, clenching her fists tightly. Zoro smirked, clipping his sword to his belt as he dusted his hands and motioned for her to attack him. Charging towards the swordsman Delilah raised her fist punching his face as Zoro swept the floor causing her to feel the ground slip from beneath her feet.

Delilah landed on her back as she rolled over and got to her feet. Ducking down Delilah dodged Zoro's punch before getting up, her hips brushing against his due to their closeness, and punching at his stomach. Bringing her knee up Delilah threw a dummy kick before kicking Zoro's chest.

She watched as the swordsman stumbled backwards. "Tired?" Zoro huffed as he charged towards her, blocking her punch as he side-stepped her and grabbed her arm twisting it behind her back. "Give up, princess"

"Never. Someone's got to keep you on your toes, mosshead." Elbowing Zoro in the chest Delilah swept the floor under Zoro's legs watching as he stumbled backwards and hit the floor with a thud. Delilah laughed as she stood in front of Zoro, blocking the sun from his eyes as she gave him a hand.

Placing his hand in hers, Delilah helped Zoro to his feet as he grabbed her arm and pushed her against a pillar. "You won, princess. Would you like your prize?" The two of them were breathing hard as Delilah felt herself grow nervous.

"And what would that be?" Her heart skipped a beat as Zoro leaned forward, his breath brushing her lips as he raised his hand and covered her eyes. "Guess" The word took Delilah by surprise as she thought of the sword he had given her.

"My flower crown?" Zoro still had to give that back to her.

"No," He whispered as Delilah removed his hand from covering her eyes. "I—" Her words got caught in her throat as she looked at Zoro's lips. Zoro placed something in her hair as Delilah raised her hand and realized it was her hair pin.

"Oh, thank you." Her words were a mere whisper as the pair heard footsteps heading towards them. "Lilah!!" Hearing their captain Zoro took a step away from her as the archer noticed the hint of red coating his cheeks. "Come on, Sanji's setting the table."

"The waiter better have made something good." Nodding at her favorite straw hat boy Delilah offered her hand to Zoro who responded by wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her against him as the two of them made their way to the rest of the crew. "He's a chef, mosshead." Delilah corrected as Zoro muttered something along the lines of 'he was a waiter first' under his breath.

"You're still my favorite, mosshead... no need to be jealous" The two of them heard laughter as Delilah thought of the rest of the journey, thinking of the uncharted waters holding secrets untold as she thought of all the challenges they would face.

But one thing was certain, it was the Straw Hat Pirates against the world, and it was that fact that made Delilah feel at ease.

~AUTHOR SPEAKS~

THIS IS IT FOLKS, A WRAP OF SEASON 1!

THANKS FOR ALL THE READS, VOTES, COMMENTS AND LOVE. IT SERIOUSLY MEANS ALOT TO ME AND I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE HAVE ACTUALLY READ THIS STORY AND LOVED IT SO IT THANK U ALL.

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO:

Ichigoswife06 - Thank you for being the first person to comment on this story. It seriously means a lot seeing your comments and reading them, they made my day and they still do.

Nyxlai- - Thank you for being the second person to comment on this story. I loved seeing your comments too and reading them and responding to them, your comments made my day.

^^ Both of your comments made my day and I genuinely wanted to see more comments from you guys on my story because they really helped me realize that this story meant something.

Also please let me know what you guys think of the new cover.

AND I'VE GOT MY ENGLISH EXAM TOMORROW HEHEHE.... BEFORE Y'ALL COME AT ME I'VE STUDIED FOR IT (like I did 6 practices hehe) AND I'M NERVOUS.

Love Kashu11