Fair Winds // One Piece

six !!!!!!

Sham hissed as Zoro tightened the knot, he stood up to his full height, moving to the front door and pushing it open to allow more light into the foyer. Thumping footsteps could be heard nearing the foyer as Nami and Luffy shot down the stairs. Usopp and Kaya followed, their arms intertwined. He waited for another moment expecting Midori to appear at the staircase herself, his muscles tensed again when she didn't.

He had taken care of Sham and Buchi, leaving what should have been Kuro and the gardener. Since the captain had been the most interested in Kaya, he imagined that Luffy had dispatched him. That left Midori with the gardener, the one that she had risked her life to get away from. Luffy walked over to him and raised his arm patting him a couple of times on the shoulder.

"Where's Midori?" Luffy's answer came in the form of an unbothered shrug.

"We separated at the top of the stairs. She headed back towards the guest rooms. I haven't seen her since." Zoro's jaw feathered. Nami tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowed on the strawhat pirate.

"And that doesn't concern you?" Luffy looked between the two of them with a small shake of his head. Zoro was only a few steps closer to the staircase when a rumble sounded, vibrating the floor beneath his feet.

"Wow!" Luffy smiled, "Do you think that was her?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a spew of coughs that echoed from up the stairs and down the hall, then Midori herself emerged from around the corner. Soot covered her nose, dried blood crusted on her neck where she'd been nicked, and there was a glint of fear in her eyes until her gaze traveled around the room, realizing everyone was safe.

Zoro let out a breath of relief, and the tension faded as Midori skipped down the stairs. Her hands were picking out small pieces of the debris that had landed on the fabric of her dress. When she finally reached the foyer she let out her own deep breath. They had done it. Kaya was safe, and the threat of the Black Cat Pirates was gone.

Midori glanced over to see Zoro wiping at his nose while looking at her. She furrowed her brows, using her thumb to wipe at her nose only for it to come back black. Her cheeks started to heat as she used her sleeve to wipe the rest of the soot off.

"Sorry about the mess. You probably need some new staff." Zoro said, but Kaya shook her head as she glanced at Sham and Buchi who looked back at her with disdain.

"I think I'm done with staff for a bit." Another shuddering explosion went off deep in the house and Midori grimaced. It seemed that one of the jacks hadn't been a dud after all.

"You might want to rethink that. There's gonna be some damage to the guest bedroom. It's my fault, I could stay and help." Nami immediately shut down the idea and Kaya was quickly agreeing with her, claiming that it wouldn't be hard to find someone in the village that would help her with repairs.

"We can't stay. The Marines already know where we are. We have to get out of here." At the mention of Marines, Midori couldn't agree more. In fact, she was ready to be the one to lead them straight out the door. She had already started to move in the direction of the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. When she looked over she saw that it was Luffy, his eyes still on Nami.

"Where are we gonna go? We don't even have a ship." The thought hadn't even crossed Midori's mind when faced with the thoughts of Marines hunting them down. She hadn't even had a plan. Her only thoughts were 'fight or flight' and she'd done enough fighting already for one day.

"Yes. You do." The entire crew turned to Kaya, a serious look on her face. The statement filled Midori with more relief than she had been expecting.

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