Unconventional Mates (Werewolf! Roronoa Zoro X Reader)

Cracker's Second Play

Four days passed and each day you felt your hope slip away from you slowly.

Cracker had managed to make appearances at least once each day and, although you didn't admit it to everyone, it was soul crushing.

First, it was with Nami and you told everyone about it that day you had the talk, but then, they got more personal and hurting as the days went by.

His second intervention took the shape and voice of Chopper, the sweet little reindeer turning into a ball of fury and shouting at you about how much danger and pain you were bringing to the pack.  It hurt. Still, you stayed strong.

"I know it's you." Your voice sounded strained. "You're pathetic." Your words were laced with venom, but there was no denying the pain your heart felt when hearing Chopper treat you like you were some cancer inside his pack. "Leave me alone!" You finally said, turning from the fake Chopper and heading back into the main cabin, hoping to find some of the crew.

There was Robin and Brook to comfort you, telling you Chopper was away gathering ingredients and that what you saw wasn't real. They couldn't hide the shock however of having had the appearance be this close to them and not be able to catch it. Cracker's interventions were getting too refined and they didn't know how to stop him.

It sure did feel real. Although Chopper hadn't been exactly the person to say all of that, the words resonated with you. You were hurting the pack.

The next day, it was Brook. The skeleton came, towering over you as he repeated how much of a useless addition you had been to the crew. This time, he managed to hit you, a huge red mark on your face being the proof of it as you told the pack. They even checked the mark with Brook's hand and it was eerily the exact same size and shape, proving, yet again, that there was no way of telling the real ones from the fake ones.

That day, you finally told them you wanted to learn how to fight. It was a wish you had been holding back ever since you told Nami, who turned out to be a fake Nami.

"I agree." Jinbei said. "I can help you train martial arts, if you'd like. With a proper technique you can get very strong very fast."

You nodded as you turned to look at Zoro, hoping for his approval. His jaw was tense, body frozen as he fought his body to not show how much he disliked this. If you wanted to learn how to fight for yourself it was fine, but if you wanted to learn how to fight because you felt unsafe, it wrecked his heart. He should be the one to defend you.

"Fine." He grunted. Not another word left his lips as he stared at the wall, eyes gleaming with anger. Not at you, of course, but at the situation.

You caressed his arm softly in attempts to calm him down. It worked a little bit, the situation leaving your mate a complete stiff mess.

"We'll start tomorrow." The fishman said.

Just like that, the first day of training began and you quickly got the hang of it. Although weak and out of shape, you nailed the techniques he taught you and had to stop as your body got exhausted. It had been a good start.

That was when Cracker intervened, once again.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)!" Luffy jumped up and down. "Spar with me! Come on! It will be fun!" He smiled excitedly.

Jinbei was off to take a shower and the rest of the pack were busy. You had nothing to do and, although you felt exhausted, you'd love to put your newly learnt skills to the test.

He shook your hand, beaming happily and set out a couple of ground rules, telling you to attack him first and that he would try and counter them, not taking the fight further than that. It seemed reasonable given your exhaustion and inexperience.