RIONA LET OUT A SIGH as she took in Zoro's appearance. He wore black trousers that were tucked inside his black boots, a plain white shirt with three undone buttons at the collar and his green haramaki.
"He can get away easy if we untie those ropes!" Luffy said, smiling with his eyes closed as he turned his face to them.
"Don't be stupid!" Koby yelled at him, his sharp teeth showing. "There's no telling what'll happen if we let him loose! I bet he'd try to kill you too, Luffy-san!"
"C'mon, Koby!" Riona chimed, rubbing her brow as she placed her foot on one of the cracks in the brick. "He doesn't even look like much."
"Don't worry! I'm strong." Luffy laughed it off, his hands hanging over the walls, whole Koby's jaw dropped, almost to the ground.
"Hey, you guys." With their head hanging low, a deep voice came from the pirate hunter. "You're an eyesore." He lifts up his head, one eye peeking through, his voice lacing with boredom and annoyance. "Get lost!"
Koby panicked, swinging both of his hands in the air while shrieking, sweat dripping down his face in fear. "There's no way you two could survive with him on your crew!"
While he muttered those words, a wooden ladder was placed beside him by a little girl. Riona, Koby and Luffy snapped their heads towards her with curiosity.
She has black eyes, and dark hair styled in two pigtails. The girl wore a striped one-piece dress with what appeared to be a drawstring hood. The little girl placed her index finger against her lips and shushed them while holding something against her chest.
The girl let down a light brown rope down to the other side of the brick wall, and gripped the cord with one hands, sliding down while holding it tightly.
She ran towards Roronoa Zoro while Koby was screaming at her to come back. He begged for Riona and Luffy to help her since the marines or Zoro himself may kill her.
"Calm down, okay?" Riona assured him, patting his head, and smiled when she noticed him a red hue on his cheeks. "She'll be fine."
"How can you be so sure?" He murmured under his breath, but loud enough for her to hear. "How do you know she won't die?"
"I don't know, I just have a hunch that she'll be alright." She shrugged her shoulders slightly, tugging a strand of her raven hair behind her ear.
"A hunch?" He raised a brow at her, his mouth hanging open. "You're basing it off on how you feel?" Koby look said, his voice a little bit too loud.
"Shhh...!" Riona leaned closer to him, covering his mouth with her hand. Koby's heartbeat quickened, his words getting stuck in his throat as he realized how close they are.
"Shut up." She muttered, glancing over at the little girl and Zoro, oblivious to the fact that Koby was looking at her in adoration.
As he stared at her, Riona heard their conversation begin. "What do you want?" She heard Zoro asked with a cold and careless tone.
"You just be hungry!" The girl said, smiling at the tied up men. "I made you some rice balls!"
"Do you wanna get killed, pipsqueak?" He glared at her, gesturing to go away with his hand that was dangling down. "Scram!"
Still with a grin on her face, she ignored him and unwrapped the cloth. "You haven't eaten anything this whole time."
"Here, have some!" The girl finally opened it, presenting Zoro with two rice balls that she made herself. "This is my first time, but I really worked hard to make them!"
As Riona closed her eyes, she sighed and pressed her forehead on the brick, completely missing the slight appreciative look Zoro gave to the girl for the food.
After a few seconds of not hearing anything, the young woman's hands began hurting and let go of the brick, falling on the ground on her feet.
"God, my fingers are killing me." She said under her breath, bending them multiple times, as if that was gonna get rid of the soreness.
Riona unstrapped the bandages around her hands and wrapped it again, but tighter this time. Her eyes shifted to the ladder, and began to climb it, until her eyes peeked over.
"I ain't hungry." Zoro snapped, his eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance. "You're an eyesore! Get the hell outta here!"
The girl's lips twitched into a small frown, her eyes saddened. "But-" She began, trying to convinced him to accept her gift, but he didn't let her finish her sentence.
"I don't want them!" Zoro chimed in, a hint of anger lacing his voice as he grits his teeth tightly. "Don't make me kick your ass!"
"Asshole..." Riona muttered out, and out of the corner of her eyes, she saw three silhouettes coming their way.
"It's not nice to be a bully!" One of them said with a mocking tone, making everyone's heads turn towards the direction the voice came from.
The one who spoke up was a young man, he wore fancy clothes, has extremely short light blonde hair and has a cleft chin. "You seem surprisingly well, Roronoa Zoro." He added, with an annoying grin tugged on his lips.
"Hey, look!" Luffy said, a little louder than a whisper while Koby smiled a bit, thinking that the girl was going to be saved. "There's another weird guy!"
"Thank goodness!" Koby sighed in relief, his smile never leaving his features. "He must be with the navy! Now that girl will be safe!"
"I disagree with you on that one, Koby." Riona chimed in, pressing her lips together in a thin line as she continued. "With the tone of his voice and the way he looks, I doubt he's one of the good ones."
With a scoff, her eyes narrowed as she said the blonde guy snatched one of the rice balls from the girl and took a bite, immediately spiting it out.
"Too damn sweet!" He gagged, sticking his tongue out, trying to get the horrible taste out
of his mouth. "Those're full of sugar! You're supposed to use salt for rice balls."The little girl's brow creased, as a frown made its way to her lips. "But I thought they might teste better sweet..."
After she said that, he glared at her and threw the last rice ball to the ground. "Take this! And this!" He growled, stomping and rubbing it on the ground.
"Stop!" The girl let go of the cloth and crouch down on her knees, reached out as her eyes got teary. "Stop!" She cried, tears rolling down her face.
Riona, Koby and Luffy stayed put, not moving from their spots. "How horrible!" The pink haired boy murmured, frowning at the scene in front of him.
Riona rolled her eyes and stared down at the blonde man, though, in her opinion, man is too big of a title for him.
~•~
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𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 || ᴏɴᴇ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇ
Aventura𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 Dracule D. Riona, also known Raven, is the only daughter of the strongest swordsman in the world, Hawk Eyes. She wants nothing more than to stand by her cousin's side and become Pirate Queen. Not only because she wants to, b...