A Long Lost Roronoa [One Piece]

10: Confidential

Back in the forest, the thick cloud of black smoke and dust slowly dispersed. The pirates coughed in their hand while attempting to clear their depth of vision with the other. It took several minutes for the particles to settle down, but once their air was opaque enough to see they noticed the disaster zone.

Trees were severely bent and broken from the force of the explosion. The luscious ground was covered in the black particles of ash and debris. The cabin no longer stood in place, but was left with burnt planks scattered around the area. Scraps of the leftover burnt drawings drifted in the air until they crumbled into dust. Several small patches of bushes were lit aflame. The three were in better shape than their environment, but none remained unscathed. They were covered in cuts slowly seeping blood and bruises that would eventually turn into a black mess.

"Kekekeke," a voice echoed, "The big bad wolf blew down the house."

"Brother, do you think our client would approve?"

"It was our assignment to destroy everything if It wasn't there."

"Our job is done. Let's go."

Silence followed, leaving the Straw Hats dumbfounded. They came searching for Mei, only to find her house and watch it explode. Sanji didn't know how to break it to Mei. He hated bringing bad news to the ladies.

Robin walked over the broken trees and picked up several badly burnt papers. The drawings were indistinguishable and not worth saving. She placed it back down and turned toward the other two.

"We should check if Mei returned to the ship," she stated, "There's a possibility she went in circles."

"That's true..." Brook agreed.

Ω•º•º•Ω•º•º•Ω

"This way!" Chopper scampered through the bushes, "I can smell Sanji over here. Robin and Brook too!"

The Roronoa siblings followed after him, somehow not getting lost. Mei stayed silent ever since they spotted the explosion. Her actions worried her brother, making him think she somehow entwined herself with the wrong crowd. Zoro constantly glanced back at Mei walking slower than the other two. She refused to make eye contact each time and kept on staring at the ground in front of her.

By the time Chopper successfully led them to the other group the air was still and all fires were put out. Sanji had sprung up in joy that Mei was found, but quickly settled down when he realized where her eyes laid. He looked at the ground in shame and took a breath before apologizing. However, he was cut short.

"Was anyone else here?" Mei mumbled with a blank face.

Sanji blinked, double checking in his mind that he heard her correctly before replying, "Yeah.."

Her head whipped towards him with frantic eyes staring into him. She grabbed his collar and demanded, "Who?!"

"Mei-San," Brook attempted to calm her with his thin hand placed gently on her shoulder, "If it's about your house or supplies... We can always help you."

The collar was released from her tight grip and her head dropped down which was followed by her hair. The thick green strands created shade to hide her trembling lips, "It's not that," she finally muttered all too quiet for the pirates to hear.

Zoro's brow furrowed, he was right, there was something else.

"This probably isn't the right time to ask," Robin spoke up, "but the people here said something about an item rivaling the ancient weapon."

At the mention of the ancient weapons the Roronoa girl's body stiffened and her hands tightened into fists at we sides. Robin read her actions and nodded to Brook. It was easier for him to talk to Mei due to the level of her obvious stress. For some reason Brook had a way of calming people down. It could possibly have been the musical talent he had and incorporated that sense of rhythm and tone.

"Mei-san, you don't need to tell us the details," he said soothingly, "We just want to make sure if you're being targeted."

Her eyes rose to meet his sockets then slowly nodded, "It's true. I'm involved in the making of the weapon."

Luffy and Chopper gawked but was quickly silenced by Sanji and Zoro, both knowing it wasn't the correct attitude for them to express.

"Why?" Robin wondered, "What's the reason?"

Mei's eyes lowered once more to the ground, "I... That I cannot say..."

She was ashamed of herself. Ashamed for starting the project... For accidentally telling one person which spreaded the information... For getting her brother and friends involved... She hated herself for that and now she'll have to see the consequences for her actions. Tears started forming in the corner of her eyes and she was about to apologize until Luffy interjected.

"Don't worry!"

Mei looked at him and saw his goofy grin and caring eyes.

"We'll protect you, no matter what happens."

A small smug rested of Zoro's face as his arms crossed in front of his chest. Sanji lit a brand new cigarette with a smile curled to one side. Robin had a slight smile on her relaxed face. Brook laughed his signature laugh. And Chopper had a big smile along his his glistening wide eyes full of happiness.

That one statement took a heavy burden off the weaponsmith's shoulders. It was almost like they were the ones she was looking for.

"So it is real," a deep voice strongly stated, "the informant was right."

The group turned to face the new person entering the area from the forest.

Mei slid down to the ground with her limbs trembling, "N-no.. W-what are you doing here.. Why?"

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I feel terrible not posting as often as I did in the beginning, but here it is. Chapter 10... Few more to go 'til the end... I wonder what I should work on next.

I do have a Fairy Tail x SAO planned, but I'm not sure if I should do that or one from my list (Possible FanFictions).

Please do check those out and vote on what sounds best. I'm awful at making decisions where there's so many choices!