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EPISODE 04 : THE PIRATES ARE COMING ( The Going Merry )
"PUT SOME MUSCLE into it, Roronoa!" Estrella says the words with ease, despite making no effort to help the obviously struggling man.
Even beneath her breezy façade, the name given to him at birth strays no further than the corners of Estrella's dry mouth, swallowed back with the moist countenance of her tongue poking to wet her lips.
His fingers are curled beneath the thick metal shutters blocking the trio ( Zoro, Luffy, and Estrella ) from the rest of the crew, doing his best to heave the barrier open with what strength he had left in his aching biceps.
"Shut up and lift," The green-haired man growls under his breath, large eyes impaling the brunette with a narrowed glare. His voice strains with the force his core exerts, steadying the thick metal above him.
"Alright, alright." Estrella squats down, her fingers hooking on the metal, and the two pull upwards.
It isn't too hard to give in to their silent pleas as it was before. Estrella knew too much the lines on Roronoa Zoro's and Monkey D. Luffy's faces, far so that her lack of interest became light-hearted jabs of minuscule forces pulling her closer in their general presence.
The shutter lifts with the grating squeal of metal on metal, and Estrella winces as she ducks under and into the dimly lit house.
A few dozen candles are lit, the flames dancing around the room, casting shadows on Estrella's face.
With Zoro at her side, the two walk in sync behind Luffy, eyes scanning the empty foyer.
"Let's split up." The straw hat says into the silence.
Estrella nods to show her accordance with his idea, eyes flickering to the hall before her legs follow suit.
"I thought we were supposed to split up," Estrella comments dully when she hears an almost silent pair of footsteps behind her own.
She knows they're not footsteps belonging to a pirate — but a pirate hunter isn't too far off the target.
"There's only one hall." Zoro replies, equally — if not more — dully, two of his three blades in his stony grip.
The third, glossy eggshell white in color, lays unsheathed within the loops of his belt, an unsaid and unused object only Zoro could hold.
Estrella takes that as her sign to unsheathe her weapon, her fingers curling around the familiar hilt ( It feels like home ) and situating her blade to point upward.
The brunette chooses to ignore the man's words in favor of throwing another jab at his pride.
"What's with all the swords? Making up for something?" She grins tauntingly, her eyes glinting in half-hidden mischief.
