A Long Lost Roronoa [One Piece]

03: Roronoa

Hours after the incident with Mei and Zoro, the crew went back to their usual routine. Sanji entered the kitchen to whip up something nutritious for the child. Nami continued to work on her maps. Usopp tended to his Pop Green garden. Franky climbed downstairs to work on his newest inventions. Brook sipped a cup of tea with Robin as she read her history novels. Zoro managed to evade Mei and left to exercise in the Crow's Nest.

Wandering around deck, Mei wondered what she should do. Then she heard two voices and saw Luffy pushing Chopper on the wooden swing. The captain noticed her glancing in their direction and smiled. He stopped what he was doing and ran to the storage room. Chopper looked in his direction and grinned when he noticed what Luffy held in his hands as he ran out.

"Oi Mei," Luffy called, holding up a red ball, "Let's play."

Nodding at him, Mei ran over and caught the ball Luffy tossed to her. Soon Usopp joined their game once he finished. It was a hectic game, due to the fact that Luffy constantly stretcheh his arms grabbing the ball in midair. Eventually, they teamed up against the rubberman, but were only able to keep the ball away for a few seconds until he snatched it back. Even with Chopper switching between his forms they were at a disadvantage.

"Mei," Chopper shouted, running away from the rubber arms, "Catch!"

"Got it!" she yelled back, jumping up, "Ah..."

Ω•º•º•Ω•º•º•Ω

Up in the Crow's Nest the swordsman muttered to himself as he stood upside down on one hand pushing himself up and down.

'Damn, that kid.'

The poor green-haired man still didn't know what to think about the mysterious child.

She first appeared trying to kill him, then announced about the 'marriage.' Something was up and he needed to figure it out before the crew ended up in danger. But he couldn't shake off the feeling that she was extremely familiar. Shaking the thought out of his head, he stood back on his feet.

'I'll do an easy five hundred sit ups, then back to the weights.'

All of a sudden, he heard a scream followed by a splash. Zoro's first thought was Luffy falling overboard, but then he heard his captain yelling something along with Usopp and Chopper. So, he decided to head down to see what the commotion was all about. When Zoro reached the foot of the ladder, the three rushed over to him, speaking all at once.

"Shut up and tell me what's wrong," he growled.

"MEI," they cried, pointing to the water.

Zoro leaned over the edge and saw the bubbles rising and popping at the surface. Cursing to himself, he tossed his swords aside and quickly dove in.

Swimming deep into the dark water, he searched for the little girl. He felt the water pressure increase, which reminded him to find Mei before she sank any deeper. Then he spotted her limp body sinking head first. Her eyes were rolled back that the whites were shown and bubbled escaping her open mouth.

Zoro had no clue what happened to cause her to fall into the water and lose consciousness. Nevertheless, he grabbed her under his arm and begun swimming to the surface. As he kicked the water he realized how heavy Mei was; she was equally as heavy as Luffy's. Then his mind clicked, there was only one possibility.

Quickly he took her up, ignoring the popping in his ears and entered the Dock System that Franky opened up. Setting her down, Mei weakly rolled over hacking and coughing the water from her lungs.

"What the hell happened?" Sanji demanded.

With a straight face Robin replied, "Mei-chan fell overboard while playing catch."

Nami automatically hits Usopp and Luffy, "This is your fault right?!" she screamed.

Usopp and Luffy were bent over holding the lump on their heads. Chopper hid behind Robin with frightened eyes.

"Robin," the sniper asked, "If you knew, why didn't you do anything?"

She chuckled, "I knew swordsman-san would get her."

Mei sat up slowly, feeling the lingering effects of the sea water. Sanji dashed to her side, helping her to stay balanced. Strangely, the cook didn't feel any water on her. Then Brook walked over and kneeled down to her level.

"Mei-chan," he said, "Do you have Devil fruit abilities?"

With her eyes locked on his socket holes, she responded with a simple, "Yes."

Ω•º•º•Ω•º•º•Ω

Before Mei explained her fruit properties, they migrated to the upper deck, so Sanji could easily bring her a warm drink after her unintentional swim. She sipped her sweet tea while the rest silently waited for her to begin.

"I ate the Genso Genso no mi," Mei begun, "I have the abilities to create illusions that can perceive as reality."

"SUGEEeee~~" Luffy beamed with stars in his eyes, "Show us some."

Setting down her empty cup, Mei stood and spread her arms wide, and smiled, "I already did and still am."

She glanced around at the confused expressions and chuckled. Slowly she undid her illusion and returned to her original body proportions. Her face lost the extra fat and became thinner. Her eyes were no longer wide and innocent, but a slightly almond shaped and filled with knowledge. Muscles appeared on her arms and legs, showing she exercised regularly. Her bust grew slightly, but was no match for Nami's, who was twice her size. Scars were also revealed, but mostly on her tan arms and hands. Her black tank top became a forest green sports bra, a black fingerless glove rested on her left hand, and her once bare feet wore black combat boots. Her deep green hair grew longer and once her illusion was lifted, remaining sea water dripped off the ends. Just as sudden as Mei's transformation, Sanji's eyes changed to hearts and he spun around singing mellorine. The rest of the crew stood gasped in amazement.

Turning to Zoro, Mei placed her hands on her hips hoping for a reply.

Sighing she questioned, "Do you recognize me now?"

Her only reply was a blank stare accompanied by his head slowly shaking side to side.

"Mei, you haven't told us your surname yet," Robin mentioned, hoping it would solve the mystery.

Taking a quick glance at Zoro, Mei said, "I have one," she watched Zoro in the corner of her eye, "Its Roronoa. My name in Roronoa Mei."

"Isn't that name..." the cyborg pointed at Mei and slowly moved his finger to the swordsman.

"Mei?" Zoro repeated, his eyes grown wide. 

Striding over to the swordsman, the Roronoa girl looked up at him, who was six inches taller than her. His hands shook and his eyes were unsure. She watched his expression change from hesitation to positive. His hands steadied and went around her in a strong embrace. Mei smiled and returned the hug with a satisfied sigh. Everyone else around them was shocked to a higher degree to see their swordsman showing signs of affection.

A/N: It's been a good number of years since I wrote this and even I don't know what I was doing. Apparently the sea water doesn't affect her like other transformations?? But I guess I was thinking of how Luffy is also still elastic in water.