Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wild Magic should really be outlawed.

Like, who thinks it's okay to walk around with the embodiment of literal chaos holed up in your soul and you occasionally explode or turn someone into a frog without repercussions? 

Okay, well— to be fair, it’s not like wild magic users chose to be born like that. So maybe not outlawed but like, c’mon man. Her ass does not want to get turned into a toad right now. Not when she was running from the guards like her life depended on it. 

Then of course, because it was just her luck , she ran headfirst into a party, of which had a little unsuspecting gnome leading the pack and bumbling off about this and that. On any other day, she might have cracked a joke about being blinded by the audacious get up the little gnome was wearing and how that sent her tumbling into him thereafter. But that comment was long gone by the time her body tumbled into his and they went collapsing down in a flail of limbs.

The minute he hit the down there was a pop , snap, and something that vaguely resembled the crackling of a firecracker. And in that moment, she knew she was well and truly screwed. 

The subsequent flash of blinding colors that came thereafter made a sort of subdued realization hit her.

Just my luck, is the first thing the Tiefling can really think before the chaotic magic spins and pounces.  

The second thing is, Why is it always Wild Magic? as her vision swarms with the colors and that same pop, snap, whizz(?) sounds right in her ears. And her entire body seems to tear apart molecule by molecule. Her skin sizzling and burning as the magic pours over her. She has half a mind to scream, but it’s gone before she can make a single note.

It isn’t long before her consciousness leaves with it. The last thing she sees is a sunny day in a small dirt road. The third and final thought she has before descending into darkness is Was the ground always dirt?

She’s out like a light. 

Not to brag, but Zoro thought he was doing pretty well for himself 7 days in. A month felt like nothing with the way he was holding up. Honestly he was getting a lot of sleep, more than he’d had in a while, and he appreciated that sentiment. Sure it was boring as shit, but he’s a swordsman, he’s learned patience.

A month would be here in no time at all. Hell he could barely even feel the hunger. 

Still. It was a boring wait. 

Which was why he was a smidgen glad when something happened that afternoon. 

It was a normal day, a day where Zoro would nap away the time or meditate to try and do something to alleviate the boredom, but it was a normal day.

What wasn’t normal was the odd flash of light behind him — pink, green, yellow, and blue in quick succession — followed by a strange pop, snap, shweee sound. This is subsequently chased by a thump, a groan, then silence. The light fades, the odd sound that has accompanied it silences, and just leaves Zoro very confused from where he is held to the pole. 

There is a brief scuffle from near the gates, some shouting and barking of orders before the gates swing open and in marches a slew of marine lackeys. Zoro watches them in a bored sort of way, figuring they were here to investigate the odd noise and rave that occurred behind him. But what he wasn’t banking on were the soldiers faltering and going wide eyed at whatever they saw.

One marine, closer to where Zoro could hear him, whispered, “A demon.”

Zoro rolled his eyes, because really? You would have thought they’d have gotten used to seeing him. Wasn’t the awe and reverie supposed to have faded by now?

Yet, whatever words he could hope to ground out were ignored as the marines didn’t regard him at all. They just hurried past him to the other side of his post and apparently started fretting.

”What is that? What is that?” One marine asked, sounding for all the world like he was having a conniption.

”I thought one demon was enough, but at least his is a title!” Another days, shuffling and making an odd grunting sound. 

There is a noise of something being turned over. Zoro, having been in the business of scuttling around and earning his keep long enough, recognized the sound of a body being turned any day of the week. Zoro frowns from where he is slouched against the mast, head dipping a little to the side as if it will do anything to try and look around him and see what all the fuss was about.

”What should we do with it?” A marine, who has clearly just gotten over a cold if the nasally quality is anything to go by, asks.

There is a muffled curse followed by one marine, likely the leader of the little band, ordering, “Someone get Captain Morgan and-“

”No need!” A voice cut them off, making Zoro and the marines turn to regard the new voice. Zoro just rolled his eyes upon spotting the blond-brat that had him stringed up in the first place. The kid was all crass and pompous poise as he sauntered forward with a lack of grace, “What seems to be— what the hell is that thing?!”

Zoro’s brows raise as he watches the blond — who had stopped his sauntering in favor of going paler than a sheet and stopping right before Zoro could loose sight of him — gawk. The marines behind Zoro shuffled before quietly muttering, “…we are unsure sir.”

”In all my years,” Helmeppo — took a second but Zoro finally remembers the brat’s name — breathes, “I have never seen such a monster as that.”

Quietly, Zoro thinks that it must not have been that many years. 

Yet before anyone can think to do anything, Helmeppo is turning on Zoro with a snarl marring his lips. Zoro just sort of blinks as that anger is turned on him, not really knowing as to what to say. Helmeppo beats him to the punch anyways as he points at Zoro like he’s a disobedient hound and seethes, “ You. You summoned this- this demon didn’t you?”

Zoro just blinks.

”This what?” He asks.

Helmeppo just sort of gives this muffled scream as he rounds back on the marines and points, commandeering the troupe, “String it up with Roronoa!” He cries, then his expression takes this odd sort of tightness as he chokes out, “Tie the- tie the tail too.”

”Of course, sir.” The marines reply, and Zoro is really lost because what was that about a tail?

Then again, because nothing ever came easy to Zoro, Helmeppo turned on him again, pointing and declaring, “Your little witchcraft stunt won’t get you out of this anytime sooner, Roronoa!” And Helmeppo’s face does this weird squirm like he’s thought of something clever but can’t let him know it but has already failed. So Helmeppo puts on a tight smirk and hisses, “We’ll have you burned at the stake by the time a month is up.” He snickers like he’s said something impressive, and Zoro is honestly so lost that he can’t even think to be threatened. 

Then there is shuffling, a body being dragged, and before Zoro can make a comment there is another body being tied to the post. Zoro tried to glance around, but he only spots the marines awkwardly trying to fit whoever was behind him onto the post to share the space. “What the hell is happening?” Zoro can only quietly mutter as he watches the marines struggle a little longer. 

Before he can make another comment and demand answers, he feels something jam into his right arm from where it’s draped on the other side of the pole. He glares at the marine that is fiddling on that side, and when there is another jam, he is half way to snapping something vulgar, when an arm flops onto his side.

Now there are several factors that lead him to the conclusion that this is not his arm.

1. The arm is significantly smaller than his own
2. The hands lack the callouses that come from weilding a sword every day for the last 10+ years of his life
3. There is an odd gold shackle on the wrist that was too big for him to wear without it messing up his sword work

And finally.

     4. The arm was red. 

Okay, well, in the arms defense, it was more of a rust color, but he knew for a fact that he hadn’t been out here that long to sunburn that bad. Plus, with the lack of patchiness, he could rule out the possibility of sunburns.

Which begged the question: 

Why was there a red arm beside him????

As if to jab this point home, a second red arm flops down on his other side, awkwardly jammed and folded over his own in a weird mesh of limbs and rope that the marines struggle to tie. Zoro can’t help but stare gobsmacked as they continue their work, one marine kneeling down to tie a rope near the base of the post, mumbling about how best to tie a tail and Zoro wonders if he’s suffering from heat stroke.

A couple agonizing seconds later, and the marines are staring — likely saluting if Zoro had to hazard a guess — and declaring, “The demon has been tied up, sir!”

“I’m not blind.” The brat says, sneering. Then his sneer is turned on Zoro and that sneer turns cruel, or as cruel as he could get when he was trying to threaten Zoro, “Your days are numbered Roronoa.”

Zoro wants to say something snarky, but all he can think to say is, “What?”

Helmeppo just smiles, all teeth and tight, and declared haughtily, “See you in a months time, swordsman.” He says the name like its an insult, and Zoro just stares at him because that is what he is? 

The marines, giving nervous glances behind them, saunter off after the boy, tails tucked between their legs.

Tails.

Tail. 

Zoro glances down at his post, angling his neck just enough so he can see the bottom and confirms that there is a rope tied at ankle height, and around the bottom of the post was a weird rust-colored tail, hooked near the base, and curled and lying right below his feet.

The words that follow are completely unprompted and without any real meaning.

”What the hell?”

Unfortunately, as it were, his burning need for answers wouldn’t be given anytime soon as it appeared his unwilling post-mate was still unconscious. After an hour of attempts to wake the stranger, Zoro was chagrin to admit defeat, and just decided to doze until they would inevitably wake up. So he waited, people watching the occasional marine that wandered by — bug-eyed because apparently whoever was behind him was a sight to behold — until the sun began to dip below the horizon, coloring the sky pinks and purples.

It was ironic that at the time when the day came to rest, his fellow detainee has apparently elected to wake.

At first, it was a bit unnoticeable, nothing stark that screamed I’m awake! Just a quiet shift. The average man wouldn’t have caught the shift, but Zoro, as close as he was, noted the quiet tension that suddenly tightened in the arms by his sides. The quiet note of waking muscles and pulling nerves. 

The tail beneath him, the tiny sliver able to move beneath where it was tied, slid ever so slightly, pulling the dirt in the ground with it to make a small groove. Zoro’s eyes caught on the movement, and he watched in fascination as it slid a little more before pulling back around the pole to the side where its owner was bound. There was the slightest movement of the pole, the slightest give of the earth that signalled the figure bound was attempting to straighten.

There was a quiet groan then, and Zoro lifted his head just enough as if it would help him hear the person better. Then a stilted breath — like he took the first time he was bound around the waist and realizing he couldn’t breathe as he normally would — and another groan. Not that Zoro blamed them much.

”Ah, what in the Nine Hells…?”

Zoro lifted a brow at that but otherwise said nothing.

There was a brief pause, likely the stranger taking in their surroundings, before a tired groan followed by an exhausted, “Man, wild magic sucks.”

The arms on either side of Zoro attempt to stretch, and of course get caught by both his limbs and the rope binding them still. There is another pause before the stranger is testing the binding again at the elbow. Their fingers stretch achingly for a minute as they dance and stretch where their arms couldn’t.

”I… well that’s dumb, why’d they leave my hands unbound?” The figure asks no one.

Zoro snorts, finally speaking for the first time, “Were the other bindings not enough?”

”Sweet Divine!” Apparently he’d scared her, as their hands arch up in alarm and seem to twitch for a second, and there is an awkward shift from side to side which likely means the stranger is getting a look at their set up. “Who the hells- where the hells am I?”

Again, Zoro snorts, “Welcome to Shell Town, home of the prissy offspring of a marine captain.”

”A marine what now?” The stranger asks, before likely shaking their head and sputtering, “Not important, who are you?” 

Zoro’s face screws up as he can’t help but ask, “What’s your name?” Because he was nothing if not agitating.

”Really? Are we really doing this?” An exhausted sigh followed by a gruff but attempt at civil tone, “My name’s Kari. Now who are you?”

”Kari?” Zoro asks back, both confirming he heard right and just to mess with her. What? He’d gone without entertainment for seven days so far, cut him some slack. “No last name?”

”Answer the question, jackass.”

Well, the stranger was at least proving to be entertaining, Zoro thinks as he attempts to fight a smirk. Instead he lulls his head back to rest against the pole as he greets, “Roronoa Zoro.” 

There is a quiet hum as Kari apparently absorbs that, before muttering, “Listen Roronoa, I’m gonna be blunt with you, I don’t know how I got here, so could you fill in my memory gaps?”

Well, points for politeness, Zoro supposes, but he does admit, “Not sure. I wasn’t able to really look around when you showed up.” Zoro squints at the sky, seeing the slow procession of stars beginning to peak from their heavenly blanket. “It happened a couple hours ago, a little after noon. There were some flashes of light, a weird noise then nothing. Next thing I know marines are charging in and making asses of themselves before they were ordered to tie you to the pole with me.” Zoro pauses to think if that is all, before finishing, “Hope that’s of help.”

”Yes, actually, thank you.” Kari hums, and it sounds genuine, and Zoro figures that hostility they’d first shown must have been a defensive response if nothing else. 

Shuffling his legs a little, Zoro makes a quiet murmur of “no problem” before quieting again. They stay like that for a while, an occasional grunt from Kari who was apparently attempting to do something with their tail if the awkward twisting of the limb was anything to go by. Zoro was at least amused by the efforts before it weathered on a smidgen too long and was starting to grate on his nerves.

Then, Kari apparently decided to forgo whatever tail plan they’d made in favor of trying to stretch their arms. When that was proving nothing and was only serving to further his hackles, Zoro finally hissed, “It’s not gonna work, genius, just wait it out.”

”Oh but c’mon man,” Kari whined, like they were a toddler, serving only to make Zoro more baffled by the turn in character. “It’s uncomfortable!”

Rolling his eyes, Zoro snarks, “You learn to tune out the discomfort by day three.”

”Day th— Day three?!” Kari all but shouts. Zoro winces at the volume. “I— I can’t do more than three days of this! That’s miserable. And I’m hungry. ” As if to punctuate that thought, their stomach gives an attractive gurgle. “See?”

”Well suck it up.” Zoro rolls his eyes, “I only have a couple more weeks then I’m home free.”

”Couple more weeks?!” Kari hisses, sounding for all the world like that was a fate worse than death. “Oh hells nah. I’m getting out of this shithole stat.”

”Good luck.” Zoro shrugs lazily, which only serves to irritate his already abused shoulders. 

Grumbling, Kari snarks, “Thanks for the optimism.” Then it's quiet. Luckily, Kari doesn’t try their shuffling and awkward attempts at movement again, so at least there’s that. Though, after a bit, Kari apparently grows tired of the silence and tries for conversation. “…What got you stuck here?” 

Normally Zoro wasn’t one for small talk, but sue him it’s been days without anything entertaining and he was willing to take whatever he could get in the way of distraction. 

“Killed a wolf that was terrorizing some of the town's people.” Zoro starts, his tone neutral as he recalled the story, “It was about to attack a kid when I stepped in.” A pause, then a haggard sigh, “Unfortunately, turns out the wolf was owned by the captain’s kid.”

”Nepo baby?” Kari cut in.

That at least startles a snort out of Zoro as he nods despite knowing they couldn’t see him. “Nepo baby.” He confirms. “Told me I could be tied to this pole for a month to be granted amnesty for the alleged disgrace I’d caused the marines. And the rest is history.”

”A month?” Kari whispers, sounding vaguely horrified. “That’s—“ She cut themself off quickly before asking, “…what day are you on now?“

”Seven,” Zoro answers blankly, ignoring the spitting that followed. His head nodded from side to side as he added, “Soon to be eight.”

”That— that’s horrible!” Kari sounded offended on his behalf, and Zoro appreciated the sympathy at least. Then, Kari tags on, a little sheepish, “Gee, and I thought I was hungry.”

”It’s fine.” Had he all his faculties, Zoro would have waved them off. “Not like you knew, and you still have a right to feel however you want. It’s a shitty situation.”

”That might be putting it lightly,” Kari says, playing along and taking Zoro’s words into account with a shrug. “Sure is adding to the joke that was my day, at least.”

”Oh?” Zoro prompts.

”Yeah, had quite the morning,” Kari starts, shifting enough to get a better position to regard their tale, “Woke up in an alley glad to find that I wasn’t dragged away by the night watchmen, tried to find food, managed to get an apple from the local priestess’ on their join our service spiel. Ended up wandering for a while till someone cried devil and guards were after my ass. Thought I was about to get away when bam! Some toddling wild magic user just so happened to be in my path. Next thing I know I’m being surrounded with chaos magic and popped out in—did you call it Shell Town?”

”Yea, Shell Town.” Zoro confirms, nodding as if he wasn’t struggling to follow along with the haggard explanation of Kari’s day of events. 

“Then I’m popped out in Shell Town and tied to a post, who, might I add, has another detainee who seems pleasant, if a little snappish.” Kari finishes plainly.

”Oi,” Zoro says, though is at the very least amused.

Kari snorts, “Honestly, I’m just glad they didn’t throw me to the priests. Divine knows I’m tired of the attempts at exorcisms.”

Ah, that does bring to mind a thought.

”Why’re you red?” Zoro blurts.

”Pardon?” Kari asks.

”And why do you have a tail?” Zoro adds on, as if that would help to clarify the situation in which they are in. Then a thought occurs to him that he was embarrassed to say hadn’t occurred to him earlier, “You eat a devil fruit or something?”

There is a quiet that follows that might be best described as awkward. The phrase ‘read the room’ might apply here, but Zoro figures they’re outdoors and subtlety is last season. 

“A what now?”

”A devil fruit.” Zoro says pointedly, “You know those weird fruits that grant people weird abilities?”

”…you’re serious?”

Zoro frowns, “Well, duh, I’ve never met anyone with a tail out in East Blue. Is this normal in the Grand Line or something? Or the other Blues?” Might make sense, at the very least. The East Blue was known for being the calmest of the Blues.

There is another brief pause, though instead of answering his question, Kari asks, “East Blue? Where is that?”

Blinking, and purely wholly baffled, Zoro gapes and says, “Uh, the East ?” Like c’mon man, context clues.

”That doesn’t—“ There is a cut off sigh of frustration before a grumble and silence. It lingers like that for a while before Kari grouches, “No, I didn’t eat a— a devil fruit. I’m a Tiefling. You’ve really never seen a Tiefling?” There is another pause. “We’re kinda hard to miss.”

”I’ve never heard of a Tiefling.” Zoro answers honestly, trying to parse through his memories to see if he’d blocked out some weird history lesson that mentioned such. But alas, nothing comes to mind. Scuffing his feet in the dirt, he asks, “Do all Tieflings have tails and red-skin?”

There is this weird silence that follows. Zoro can almost hear the unsaid “damn you are being serious right now.” Then, there is a quiet muffled laugh as Kari says, “Not all Tieflings have red skin, depends on your lineage. Most have the tails though, yeah. And the horns.”

Zoro’s eyebrows nearly shoot into his hair, “ Horns?” He quiets his voice quickly and tries to get a look over his shoulders, “You have horns?”

”Uh, yeah?” It’s phrased like a question, not necessarily because they are confused by the answer but more so confused by Zoro’s confusion. Then, there is a quiet but quick inhale, “You weren’t kidding about the never meeting a Tiefling thing, were you?”

”No!” Zoro says honestly, “But I can see how the marines earlier were confused and kept mistaking you for a demon.”

That… doesn’t earn quite the response he was hoping for. Kari seems to shuffle, pressing into the pole behind him as a quiet sigh leaves them. The next words sound… tired, not quite defeated but like they were leading to that point. 

“Yeah… that’s normal.” They are quiet with the admittance, like this is a common battle they’ve fought. “The red-skin is normally what does it, but the horns and tail don’t help my case much. It’s pretty annoying.”

Had he the time, Zoro might have dug into that more, but he opted to let it drop with a quiet hum. They stick like that for a while, lingering in the quiet, before Zoro finds his words again. “You should get some rest while you can. It’s likely the brat will try to come by tomorrow to talk.”

”Figured.” Kari murmurs, stifling a yawn, and Zoro was honestly impressed with how she was still tired considering she’d been out for quiet a few hours prior. Then again, he wasn’t really one to talk. “Talk to you tomorrow Roronoa.”

Zoro rolls his eyes.

Zoro doesn’t know when he’d conked out the night prior, but he knows he must have when he is roused awake by the sound of shouting and orders being given. He blinks past the light assaulting him in an attempt to gain his bearings. All of which come rocketing back to him when there is a quiet groan behind him, the arms either side shifting and tensing again in their attempt to wake, before a muffled, “Ah, hells…” finally greets him.

”Morning.” Zoro yawns, smacking his lips a couple times in an attempt to stave off the sleep still wanting to niggle its way back in. He blinks tiredly at the gates opening up and a familiar blond brat strutting in.

”You know,” Kari starts in lieu of proper greeting, “I was really hoping this had been a weird wild magic induced fever dream.”

”You wish,” Zoro snorts, wanting to ask about the concept of wild magic they’d conveniently gleaned over the night prior, but was interrupted by a snobbish voice.

”Greetings Pirate Hunter!” Helmeppo says with all the wherewithal of a boy undeserving of his privilege. “I see you’ve slept well.”

Zoro shrugs. His response is not what Helmeppo was hoping for if the twitching expression was anything to go by. The boy looked seconds away from snapping something, when his eyes darted down and towards the tail that was curiously flickering back and forth in the dirt. 

Eyes boggling, Helmeppo immediately scrambled around the post and peaked around the side. Zoro watched in bafflement as the boy’s face seemed to pale and he muttered a silent prayer. Behind him, Zoro could hear Kari tilt their head, likely looking at their new company.

”Oh,” Kari says, as if something occurs to them. “Nepo baby!”

Zoro snorts, barely able to hide his smirk.

Any horror once painting the spoiled child’s face is brushed aside and replaced with offense. Zoro can hear the smile in Kari’s voice as she greets, “Mind letting me down? I think I’ve learned my lesson.” Whatever lesson that is. Zoro silently thinks.

The scowl on Helmeppo’s face is quickly morphing into something more hostile as he snaps, “We’d be fools to let a demon run amok without supervision!” 

The eye roll could have been heard across the world. “Take another look, sprout. I’m a Tiefling. Not a demon.“

”Sprout?!” Helmeppo sputters.

Zoro stifles a laugh.

Helmeppo turns his scowl onto the bound swordsman, “Not helping!” Then, his expression shutters in an attempt to save face as he mutters, “I don’t know what you did to summon this— this thing, Roronoa, but whatever you did, you can guarantee it won’t get you out of here any faster.”

”Excuse you— thing?” Kari balks, “I just told you what that thing is! And she has a name too!”

She, huh, Zoro silently notes.

Helmeppo holds up— was that a cross?

“Quiet demon!” The brat shouts, his hand shaking as he holds the cross with all the confidence of a sopping wet cat. “Do not speak thy name here, lest you wish to return to the fiery pit from which you came!”

”…Okay, rude.” Kari starts, “And I don’t know if you’d call the mountain town I grew up in a fiery pit, but like— it sure felt like one of the hells. The name’s Kari, by the way.”

The sound that follows sounds like a drowning rat. Zoro snorts again. Kari makes a sound like she swallowed a snicker. 

The brat slouches in defeat, looking put upon as he groans, “I thought that would work.”

“You can try again if it’ll make you feel better.” Kari offers kindly, and at that Zoro outright laughs. Kari’s voice is smiling as she says, “I can even scream a little, writhe and try to make a show.”

”No, no, the moment’s ruined.” Helmeppo murmurs. Though then his entire body twitches and he is rocketing back up with that previous confidence he bore. One hand on hip and the other pointing, Helmeppo gloats, “Nevertheless, you shall burn at the stake with your summoner in three weeks time!”

”Gonna be real, I might die of hunger by then, but you could burn my corpse?” Kari offers, again with Zoro laughing.

Helmeppo looks like any semblance of joy he’d come to suck out of this interaction was now a lost cause. Zoro is grinning brightly, and he silently thanks whatever alleged magic had ended up sending him someone who knew how to put on a show for all it was worth. This was the most entertainment he’d had in days, and watching the brat squirm was the cherry on top of the cake.

”Whatever!” Helmeppo snaps, coming back to himself. “You will soon die anyway! So you’ll be out of our hair by then!”

”Sure, yeah.” Kari shrugs, like she was giving his word as much respect as she would a rogue who claimed to speak the truth. “Whatever makes you happy; by the way, any chance I could get some water?”

”You’re never—“ Helmeppo makes that same odd strangling noise before spinning on heel and marching away, giving one last threatening point to Zoro and crying, “Not a word!”

”Don’t need to, she sure said plenty.” Zoro grinned to which Kari let out a laugh. Zoro was amused to find her tail batting back and forth with her laughter. An odd but frankly kind of adorable quirk.

The brat just made a noise, face going scarlet, as he marched right out the gates with his entourage in tow. As the two came down from their amusement, Zoro couldn’t help but ask, “What brought that on?”

”Little brat tied my tail to the pole and it’s uncomfortable as shit.” Kari answered, and despite the words, her tone sounded amused. “Deserved a good tell-off.”

”I’d say you certainly accomplished it.” Zoro complimented. Then, he recalls something from the night prior. His expression sobers, before he mentions, “Sorry he called you a demon.” This was punctuated by the gates slamming shut, the marines officially gone from the courtyard.

There is this weird pause that follows, Zoro might equate it to surprise, but there was a hint of something else there too he couldn’t put a name to. Though after a few beats there is a shuffle, then a quiet, “It’s alright… thanks though.”

”Of course.” Zoro says. 

They linger in the silence for a while until Kari prompts, “So… a pirate hunter, huh?”

Zoro blinks, trying to recall when she’d heard that but… ah, the brat had greeted him as that, hadn’t he? 

Kicking his feet in the dirt a little, Zoro attempts a shrug, “Not really a title I wanted, just one I was given. Pirate bounties are worth a lot, and a man’s gotta eat somehow.”

”Ah,” Kari says, like she’s following the line of thought. “Fair enough. I can respect a need for cash. But pirate hunter?”

”Pirates are as common as seagulls out here.” Zoro says by way of explanation. Then pauses, seeming coming to some weird realization, “What island could you be from if that isn’t a common thing to hear?”

”Island?” Kari asks. Then there was a pause of confusion as she says, “I’m not from an island.” Another pause, “At least I don’t think.”

”Eh?” Zoro makes a bewildered noise at that, “How would you not know if you were born on an island or not? That’s all there is out here.”

”Shut up, all I know is I was landlocked. Wasn’t a big ass body of water for miles.” Kari snaps, grumbling about useless towns and sheltered upbringings. “Anyways, we’re near the ocean?”

”Was the smell of salt in the air not answer enough?” Zoro asks, honestly boggled as to how there could be a possibility of someone not being raised on an island.

”Shut up.” Kari whines, and it’s honestly baffling how she could go from a sarcastic prick to a bumbling mess with a flip of the right switch. Kari grumbles some more from where she is tied before sighing and saying, “Pirates though… you said they’re common out here?”

”Very.” Zoro answered, figuring he may as well answer her question to pass the time. That and she answered his questions, so go figure. “They’ve always been around, but after Gol Roger died, the amount of pirates out on the grand line increased drastically.”

”Grand line? Gol Roger?” Kari murmured. “Where the hells did that magic spit me out?”

”Where the hell did you come from?” Zoro asked right back.

”…Touche.” Kari mumbled, before sighing and slouching into the pole in defeat. 

Then a burning question is at the back of Zoro’s mind and he’s asking it before he can really think, “You kept mentioning magic?” Kair makes a hum, as if in confirmation, “What’s that about?”

”…Please tell me you’re pulling my tail.”

”Uh, no, now answer the damn question.” 

“What middle of nowhere island did you grow up on if you don’t know what magic is?” Kari sputters, “The Tiefling thing I can excuse because I know that the smaller the town the less likely for different races, but magic? Seriously?” 

Zoro scowls from where he is draped, “I know what magic is, but I don’t know what that has to deal with this whole situation. Magic isn’t real dumbass.”

At first, Zoro thinks that Kari isn’t going to answer based solely on the fact that she’s so baffled she may have gone comatose. But then, she quietly says, “Magic isn’t real.” Zoro grunts, thinking that maybe she’s giving up the bit, but then she repeats herself, “ Magic isn’t real.”

”Yeah, that’s what I said.” Zoro gripes.

The wind blows by and it must catch some of Kari’s hair because Zoro catches sight of some long white strands that billow just barely before dropping. “I’m about to blow your mind.” Kari said, voice barely above a whisper. Then, she orders, “Look to your right.”

Zoro wants to bark something about not ordering him around but pauses when he notes the hand waving for his attention. It’s an awkward angle and certainly not comfortably — Zoro knows from experience — But he watches her fingers waves for his focus. When Kari deems him to be looking she starts waving her hand around in this weird swirly motion. Again, it’s awkward and a little stiff with the angle, but gets the point across. 

Frowning, Zoro starts, “What are you-“

But Kari beats him to the punch with a mutter of a word he does not recognize and the snap of her fingers. There is this weird glowing flash that follows, which then morphs and spirals and Zoro can’t help but gape as he watches these glowing tendrils of light and air shape and spin into magnificent forms, dancing and twirling around each other through Kari’s fingers and up her arm. Then, as if the display wasn’t ethereal enough, Kari gives a brief flick of her wrist, sending the whirling mass of color and shapes right into Zoro’s face. 

Zoro sputters at the gesture, but his expression melts when realizing that nothing had actually hit him, the display only for show as the colorful dancing light fades into glittering dust upon touching his face. The glittering sparks of something disappearing as they twinkle out of existence, as if they had never been there to begin with.

”What…” Zoro starts, still staring at the hand that had caused the display, “…was that?”

” That,” Kari presses, her hands coming up to wave in a poor display of showmanship, “was magic.”

Zoro’s brain ground to a halt. “Nope.” He says, shaking his head tightly and immediately putting up his guard again, “I refuse to believe what you just did was magic. You— you had to have eaten a devil fruit.”

”Oh my— what is with these devil fruits?” Kari grouches. “I’m a warlock you idiot, I think I know when I have magic.”

“The minute we’re out of here I’m throwing your ass into the ocean to prove you wrong.” Zoro griped.

“What the hell does tossing me into the ocean prove?” Kari asked, still utterly baffled. Then, she paused and muttered, “Nevermind, what are you? You a fighter of some kind?”

Shaking off the weird turn in topic, Zoro mutters, “I prefer the term swordsman . But sure.”

“Alright, why not.” Kari shrugs, again the movement signified by the groaning of wood from the pole. “What’s your preferred weapon? Or type of sword I guess?”

“Katanas, though I prefer using the three-sword style.” Zoro answers, and he hears a hum of interest, and the tail beneath him brushes through the dirt again. So he decides to ask back, “Do you use any type of weapon? Besides your devil fruit powers, of course.”

“Magic.” Kari corrects quickly, though answers just as fast, “I occasionally use a quarterstaff, though it’s gifted through the pact I made. I really prefer using my magic at the end of the day.”

“Right, magic.” Zoro says dryly.

“If tossing me into the ocean proves you wrong in whatever weird belief you have, feel free to throw me right in when we’re out of here.” Kari dully. “But that’s it. Not much of a physical brawler over a distant one. Plus I’d rather avoid getting into fights, don’t really have the constitution for it.”

“Hm.” Zoro hums, staring out at the boring scenery before him as he closes his eyes against the harsh sun. He goes quiet after that, and so does Kari, apparently both having the mind to doze and laze away.

And it stayed like that.

Hours passed, the occasional break in conversation, but otherwise quiet. A marine squad might walk by to break the menagerie, resulting in a short burst in energy to converse, but otherwise they stayed silent. They stayed that way until the sun dipped below the horizon and the same quiet that was prominent the day before starts up conversation.

However this time it’s prompted by Zoro, “Where are you headed after you get out of here?”

“Dunno.” Kari yawns, “I’ll figure it out when I get there.”  

“Hm,” Zoro hums, “you’ll need a ship if you wanna get anywhere.” 

“How far is the nearest island?” Kari asks.

“Farther than swimming distance.” Zoro says with a certainty of a man who’s tried it and barely lived to tell the tail. “Not like it’ll matter for you though, you’ll just sink like a rock.”

“Wha- I’m not an invalid.” Kari hisses. “I know how to swim, moron.” 

“Sure ya do.” Zoro says unconvinced. 

“And what?” Kari presses, “You think I’m unable to swim and you were still gonna toss me in the ocean?”

“I’m still planning to.” Zoro corrects, and he openly grins at Kari’s appalled guffaw. “Anyways,” Zoro continues, going back to his original topic, “do you want to catch a ship to the next island with me?”

“Inviting me along so eagerly?” Kari asks, tone surprised despite her tease. “I mean I wouldn’t say no, but are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t sure, tails.” Zoro says.

“Tails?” Kari asks, sounding surprised. “Is that a nickname I hear, Roronoa?” 

“Shut up,” Zoro grouches, though pauses there after before tacking on, “and call me Zoro.”

A brief pause. “Sure thing.” Another bout of silence before a sigh accompanies, “Yea I’ll catch a ship with you.”

Zoro blinks in surprise but leans further back into the pole and asks, “Really?”

“Yeah, not like I know where I am, and it seems like you have a good head on your shoulders.” Zoro hears her scuff her foot into the dirt. “May as well catch a ride with someone who won’t chop my head off, right?” Kari finishes with a short quiet laugh. 

Snorting, Zoro lightly shakes his head, “Unless you’re annoying, your head is still guaranteed to be on your shoulders. That I can promise.”

“How comforting.” Kari snorts. Then after a while where the silence lingers, Kari tacks on, “Thank you though.” 

“Don’t mention it.” Zoro says, though his voice catches with a thought after a moment. “Don’t got anyone looking for you?”

“Unfortunately not.” Kari answers, not quite sounding uncomfortable, but something close to it. “At least no one worth noting.”

Zoro grunts before, in an uncharacteristic attempt at comfort, saying, “In that case, you may as well stick around until you find somewhere that catches your interest.”

“Awe, getting soft on me Zoro?” Kari purrs, teasing as if it were second nature.

Any semblance of softness is gone as Zoro scoffs and mutters, “Get some sleep, horn-head.”

Laughing, Kari teases, “Never heard that one before!”

“Don’t get used to it.” Zoro grouches.

On the 9th day of his imprisonment, Zoro opens his eyes just as usual. The sun was baring down just as always and presenting the usual bout of light that assaulted his vision. Just the usual sort of start to the day. This time, as the contrast the normal he’d been having, there is not a voice that breaks through his usual routine.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty!” Kari purrs when hearing him wake.

”Shut up,” Zoro greets, jaw cracking open on a yawn before shutting with a click of his teeth. “How long have you been awake?”

”Not too long, maybe a half-hour?” Kari guesses, recalling her brief bout of morning. “Dunno, not much has happened. Think I scared some guards that were walking by. Didn’t seem to like my staring.” She snickers to herself at that, like she found the idea of scaring some helpless marines entertaining.

Zoro sort of regrets not waking earlier as he feels he might have also found that entertaining. Instead, he elects to shake his head loosely and say, “What? Your eyes weird too?”

”I don’t think so?” Kari says, though it’s phrased like a question. She says it with the sort of tone that once had confidence but was now being reevaluated upon being given new information. “I think it’s more the whole ensemble thing. I guess no one here has ever seen a Tiefling if the reactions are saying anything.”

Shifting his jaw from side to side to be rid of the ache that threatens to settle in, Zoro responds with a simple, “Could be.” Then he seems to collect his thoughts, “Surprising though, since the marines have easier access to the four blues and grand line. They get moved from base to base often too.”

”Maybe I’m in a different plane?” Kari asks, though it’s more towards herself. And any hope that Zoro could have to give insight on that little tidbit of information would be worthless considering he had no clue what she was talking about. So he just sort of grunts. Kari shakes her head, the sound audible to Zoro, and changes subjects, “So what’s your plans for today, mister swordsman?”

”What is this, comedy hour?” Zoro mutters.

”Well, you gave me a nickname, and I figure I gotta give you one too.” Zoro gets the impression that she shrugs. Though this is interrupted by Kari making a stifled yelping noise in her throat, “Sweet mother of— my shoulders! Ow!”

”Yeah they tend to do that on day three.” 

“And you tell me now, asshole?” 

Zoro rolls his eyes, breathing to speak, but then pausing when his eyes catch on something. Something just barely peeking over the wall before him. He blinks, wondering if the heat stroke was getting to him at long last, but his blinking didn’t erase the hallucinations. So either he was far gone or those were two real people peering over the wall.

”Hey,” He starts slowly, before raising his head more and calling with a bit more confidence, “Hey!”

”Huh?” Kari asks, alarmed at his sudden turn in behavior. “Wha’s happening?” 

“Shut up for a second,” Zoro mutters, before again piping up, “Hey kid!” He puts on a grin that is an attempt at inviting, but likely reads as manic, “Come over here and untie me. I’ve been here for nine days and I can’t take it anymore.”

This does not have the reaction he was hoping for, as Kari lets loose a long snort, snickering, “Weren’t you just talking about how you wanted to power out a month?”

”Shut up, do you want to get out of here sooner than later?” Zoro hisses back at her, to which Kari continues snickering. Rolling his eyes back to the two boys peeking over the wall, he starts, “I’ll make it worth your time-“

”You’re gonna offer to sleep with them?” Kari interrupts, sounding surprised. “Good for you, good for you.”

Zoro twists his head around and barks, “Shut up, that isn’t what I meant!” Twisting back around, Zoro barely catches sight of the strawhat-boy tilting his head to the side, blinking curiously as he mutters something that Zoro thinks translates to ‘there’s two of them?’ Zoro elects to ignore this in favor of trying to continue, “I’ll capture someone with a-“

”Hey!” Kari calls, not at all worried about Zoro’s attempt at luring the two boys in. Her tail twists from side to side in a likely attempt to look around to Zoro’s side. “Let us out and he’ll sleep with you!”

Zoro’s face lights scarlet as he whips around as far as his head will allow him to turn and barks, “No I will not!”

”Yes he will!”

Before the shouting match could devolve into threats, there is a dull thunk of wood meeting stone. Zoro’s words catch on his tongue and his gaze twists around just as fast, and he’s surprised to find another tiny form joining the two boys. A familiar face that lights up recognition. 

“Shit.” Zoro mutters, because as scary a threat as he was, he refused to turn that threat on a little kid. No less a little kid who’d already been traumatized enough by the marines.

”What?” Kari asks, the sound of her attempting to twist around to see what was happening accompanying her words, “What’s happening?”

”Just shut up for a minute okay?” Zoro orders as he watches the tiny girl scale over the wall and into the courtyard. Thankfully, Kari seems to understand the gravity to his words, and elects to go quiet. Raising his chin, he calls, “Get lost kid, this isn’t a place for squirts like you.”

The tiny girl stares at him without any fear, eyes sparkling as she says, “I made these riceballs for you! I thought you might need some food.”

At the word food, Kari apparently forgoes any attempt at being silent. “Food?” She asks. 

Zoro opens his mouth to snap something out, though his tongue catches when he watches the little girl realize that there is someone else tied to the post with Zoro. Her eyes catch onto the tail tied at the base of the pole and she blinks curiously, not really thinking twice about curiously moving around to catch sight of the other detainee. The minute she catches sight, her expression breaks into surprise as she gasps, the little rice balls she made nearly falling out of her hands. 

“You have horns!” Is what the little girl says, looking awed and not as horrified as the marines who’d seen Kari prior. “And you have a tail.”

The swordsman would swear he heard the silent ‘does no one know what a Tiefling is?!’ Being mentally shouted by his fellow prisoner. Instead though, Kari audibly nods, “Yeah, I got horns and a tail.”

”That’s- that’s so cool!” The little girl awes, and if Zoro had to guess, Kari’s heart might have softened at the exclamation. Though after that, a contemplative look comes to the little girl’s face as she looks down at the rice balls she’d made with a concern that only a child could have. “I… I had originally made the rice balls for mister swordsman, but… but maybe he’s okay with sharing?” She looks to Zoro in search of an answer.

And ugh, Zoro may put on the tough guy persona, but he’d rather eat his left foot than tell this kid off when she looks so worried. So he dips his head, gentling his expression to ease, “Yeah, I don’t mind sharing. You can give Kari one too.”

”Kari,” the little girl breathes. She looks at Kari, eyes still sparkling as she holds out on riceball, “I— I don’t know if I can reach you, but I can see about—“

“Kid, I really appreciate it,” Kari cuts off the child quickly, her tone stern and it catches Zoro off guard, “but you need to book it, now.”

Her tone broke for no argument, and the little girl looks alarmed by the fact. Zoro opens his mouth, ready to scold Kari, though his tongue catches when he finally realizes why she’d pressed for the child’s leave. His own eyes widen as he says, “kid you need to leave.”

”But—“

The creaking of the gate swinging open punctuated their reason. And the nasally voice that follows only solidifies the duos press for having the child leave. “Well, well, well,” Helmeppo drawls, all the confidence of a weasel “What have we here?”

”Hey kid,” Kari says gently, catching the little girl’s attention who’d grown wary at the other boy’s entrance, “cover your ears real quick, ‘kay?”

Confused, the child does as asked after awkwardly maneuvering the rice balls into the crooks of her elbows. When Kari was confident in seeing the little girl covering her ears, Kari whipped her head around to Helmeppo, the movement sending some hair flying for Zoro to see, and sucked in a breath.

”Oi shithead! What brings you round to these parts! Did you miss me?” 

The words make Zoro drop his head to his chest in defeat, and there is nearby laughter from one of the boys peeking over the wall. The little girl removes her hands when Kari presumably signals that it's all good now. Zoro supremely doubts that her words were completely muffled, but he could take amusement in the way Helmeppo looked downright miserable now.

”Well I never!” Helmeppo says with an overly dramatic gasp that was in no way ironic. He looks ready to snap something back, though apparently recalls the original reason he’d even made the trek out there. His sneer turns to a conniving grin as he leans over the little girl, snatching one of the rice balls with a wicked glean in his eyes. “Awe, how thoughtful! A treat for yours truly!”

The little girl looks appalled by the display, complaining loudly when the boy took a massive bite, only to immediately choke and throw the riceball to the floor, smashing it down with his heel. The girl looks incredibly stressed as she desperately tries to save her rice balls, only to pull back with every menacing stomp. There are tears budding in her eyes and both Zoro and Kari audibly bristle.

” Quit it.” Kari hissed, body audibly pulling against the pole, making the wood groan. 

“Oh?” Helmeppo asked, eyes darting up as a grin continues to pull at his lips. “Did I strike a nerve, demon?”

”She isn’t a demon, brat.” Zoro hisses. 

Rolling his eyes, Helmeppo leans down to the kid’s level, who was busy trying to muffle her crying at her ruined work. “It’s her own fault, can she not read the sign?” He says pointing to a conveniently placed sign not far from where they were set up. The girl doesn’t look up from where she is pressing her face into the crook of her elbow. “Anyone aiding the prisoners are found guilty of the crime’s he’s— they’ve committed.” 

“I’ve literally committed no crime?” Kari dully puts.

Helmeppo elects to ignore her in favor of leaning closer to the girl, “You’re lucky you aren’t an adult, otherwise you’d be put to death!” The little girl hiccups on a sob, eyes wide with tears and fear.

What follows next startles them all. An audible predatory snarl interrupts the brat’s attempt at fear-mongering. His hand twitches from where it’d been reaching to grab at the girl, stilling as his eyes turn fast to the source. The marines around him have stiffened up as well, hands resting on their rifles out of habit. Even Zoro looks surprised by the sound, twisting his head just enough to barely see the profile of what he assumes to be a horn peaking around the pole.

”That’s enough.” The Tiefling hisses, voice a low warning that borders on a growl. “You’ve made your point.”  

Helmeppo seems to visually hesitate, his eyes lingering on the Tiefling for a long minute before he swallows his fear and twists his head away to glare at one of the nearby marines, “Throw the brat over the fence.”

The marine buckles at the order, “Sir—“

Yet the spoiled brat doesn’t waste a moment as he is then up in the marine’s space, grabbing his collar and shouting about his position as the Captain’s son, how he has more worth than him. There is another audible snarl at that, but Helmeppo only flinches, holding his ground otherwise.

The marine, unfortunately, doesn’t need to be told twice and tosses the girl over the wall, the demolished rice balls all that were left in her wake. Kari is still likely glowering if the marines fidgeting is anything to go by, but Helmeppo brushes his hands, as if he’d been the one who had thrown the girl over the wall.

His eyes dart back to the two detainees and his seems to still himself for a moment when spotting Kari. But then he lifts himself up properly with feigned confidence and says, “I’d watch your tone if I were you.”

”And I’d watch your back if I were you.” Kari hisses back. Zoro takes some satisfaction in watching Helmeppo falter at that, squirming in place before putting the confident mask back on. 

The brat’s eyes slide to Zoro, watching and amused at how quiet he’d been throughout the whole debacle, “At least someone knows how to hold their tongue.”

”I still have three weeks left.” Zoro says dryly, trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice.

”Hm.” Helmeppo hums, staring at the swordsman long and hard, “Then the stake.”

”Sure.” Zoro rolls his eyes.

Helmeppo bristles when seeing his words held no worth to the swordsman, but before he could utter another word, Kari beat him to the punch, “Awe no witty comeback? It’s okay try again, and we’ll react with real gusto.”

Zoro snorts, and Helmeppo seethes. Seeing no way in which he’d further gain something out of the interaction, Helmeppo turns and stalks back out of the courtyard, beckoning the marine accompaniment to follow. By the time the gate was swinging shut, Zoro finally let his hackles fall.

”…Why’d they gotta tie my tail man?” Kari asks rhetorically, “Otherwise I’d be able to reach the rice balls and we’d have something to eat.”

Sighing, Zoro is about to respond, but his voice catches when he sees the strawhat-boy now standing right in front of him. “You’re still here?”

”Huh?” Kari pipes in, attempting to squirm around to catch sight of whatever garnered Zoro’s attention. “Is someone else here?”

”I’m looking for good men to join my pirate crew.” The boy says. 

Zoro stifles a snort, “You think I’d lower myself to that level?”

”Uh, if it gets us out of here, yeah.” Kari cuts him off, earning a squawk of indignation from Zoro. “Who is it though, if it’s a weirdo I gotta admit I may not be as inclined.”

The boy with the strawhat puts on a big smile, teeth and all as he lets out a laugh that twinkles in the air. “I haven’t asked you yet though! I’m still deciding!” It appears he realizes that he hasn’t actually seen Kari though, so he finally wanders around the post to get a proper look.

The way his eyes sparkle is answer enough as to how he feels.

”Whoa!” The boy cries, looking awed as he leans forward, grasping at his hat and lightly tugging on the straw. “You look so cool! Well you gotta join my crew then!”

”…Not even my character? Not the powers? No? Just ‘cause I’m a Tiefling?” Kari asks dryly; then, at Zoro, she asks, “Is this gonna be a thing?”

”Maybe?” Zoro shrugs, though his eyes catch on the sad remains of the rice balls on the ground. “Wait a minute…” The boy’s eyes slide to Zoro, and that twinkle is still there even when the swordsman nods towards the discarded rice balls, “Pick those up for me?”

The boy blinks, eyes darting down before catching sight of the mess that was once rice balls. He leans down to cradle to demolished food, giving them both a look over as he raises his head and asks, “You sure? They’re more dirt that rice now—“

”Just give me the damn rice ball.” Zoro grouches.

”Hells yeah, food! I’ve eaten worse.” Kari reasons, likely doing just as Zoro had and opened her mouth to receive the remnants of the Rice balls.

The boy shrugs, but gives them the rice balls anyway. What follows is an awkward attempt at eating the demolished food, barely even getting it down as they showed past the dirt and rocks and — respectfully — heinous amounts of sugar in the remains of the meal. By the time both were breathing again, Zoro gave a tiny nod. 

“Tell the kid… tell her I said it was delicious.”

The strawhat-boy lit up.

By the time the boy was gone and it was just Zoro and Kari lingering in the courtyard, Kari hesitantly asked, “…Sugar took you out too?”

”Her heart was in the right place.” Zoro rasped.

Kari snorted awake right as Zoro was finished talking to the strawhat boy when he’d returned to visit. Kari made the sound of stifled yawn as she muttered, “What’d I miss?”

”Strawhat kid showed up again,” Zoro answered, before pausing and saying, “said his name’s Luffy. And that he’ll get us out of here if we join his crew. He’s off getting our stuff now.”

”Hells yeah,” Kari said, tail twitching on the ground excitedly from what Zoro could tell.

”Uh, not hells yeah.” Zoro spat back, “We are not joining a pirate crew.”

”Why not?” Kari whines, “Being on a pirate crew sounds fun! We could go on adventures, we could find treasure— wait.“ There is a pause, before Kari makes a contemplative noise, “Does that mean we’re joining an adventuring party?”

“What does partying have to do with this?” Zoro asks, bewildered as ever.

”No. Adventuring party, you blockhead, how did you even—“

”Mister swordsman!” 

Zoro blinked away from the conversation as he looks down at another kid running towards him. Zoro vaguely recalled this brat having been peeking over the wall with Luffy earlier that day. Kid was sure smaller than the other, and more flimsy too boot.

The kid comes tumbling forward, bracing his hands on his knees as he attempted to gain his bearings, “Wh-Where is Luffy? Did he come this way?” 

The swordsman just sort of blinks down at the kid, “He went into the fortress.”

” What?!” The kid cries, alongside, Kari’s muffled ‘really?’ behind them. The kid grabs the hem of his shirt and twists anxiously as he starts to sputter, “Why is he so reckless? ”

”Yeah I’ve noticed, Who is he any- hey!” Zoro looks alarmed when the kid fumbles forward and starts to haphazardly attempt tugging Zoro’s bindings off. The kid only hesitates once when spotting the red arm, but squares his shoulders and powers forward. “Now you’re being reckless! They’ll kill you if they-“

”They imprisoned you unfairly!” The kid barks. “I can’t stand seeing the navy acting so improperly!” He tugs and hurries to unbind the swordsman and Tiefling as he starts rambling out of habit, “I’m going to be a proper marine! Just like Luffy’s going to be King of the Pirates!”

”King of the Pirates?!” Zoro shouts, looking alarmed.

”What’s that?” Kari asks unhelpfully.

They ignore her in favor of the kid putting on a smile and making some more progress with Zoro’s ropes, “I was shocked when he first told me, too. But he’ll succeed or die trying. That’s how he is-“

A crack of a gun went off, and Zoro watched as the kid went down for the count. Zoro could only stare for a beat, before Kari quietly asked, “Zoro, what happened?” Her tone deathly serious. Zoro only barely manages to look over his shoulder to catch sight of the man poised atop the marine building, peering down at them in disdain.

Something ugly reared itself in Zoro’s head—

“I‘m gonna die!”

And the ugly feeling was replaced with relief in an instant. Zoro slouched forward, expression cracking as he mutters, “Good! You’re alive!”

”What the hells is happening?” Kari asks Again, this time a little stronger, and now pulling at the loosened rope.

”Someone took a crack shot at the kid.” Zoro answered Quickly, whipping his head around to strain seeing the marine building. “Now scram! They’re on their way down.”

“B-But— I haven’t— The rope—“

”You loosened it enough!” Kari calls, now pulling at the rope and actually beginning to get some leeway with pulling her arm out of the binding. It wasn’t enough, but Zoro figured if she could get one arm out then she could get the other bindings off. “I can get us out of the rest!”

”Worse comes to worse we’ll wait out the rest of the month.” Zoro says.

”But they’re going to execute you three days from now!” The kid cries, looking frightened.

At that Kari stills and Zoro’s brain goes haywire. “WHAT? I knew he kept throwing out threats of burning us at the stake but I thought he was joking! Plus he said it’d be a month from now!”

”He said after your stunt this morning he moved up the date.” The kid says, hand on his shoulder attempting to stem the blood that pooled from the wound. “But he never intended to keep his promise of letting you go! Luffy ended up punching Helmeppo because he found out your promise was broken!”

Zoro’s expression shutters, and he can’t help sputtering, “What?!” 

“I am not dying in three days, no sirree!” Kari hisses, tugging at her bindings more frantically. “Hells no!” 

Zoro can only stare dumbly at this kid pouring his heart out as he turns over the implications in his head. As he weighs out the meaning behind Luffy’s intentions by him defending his honor. They’d barely talked and the kid threw a punch on his behalf. He only really tunes back in when there is the sound of cocking guns and a cry of marines taking aim,

The kid cries out and Zoro glares daggers at the marines with fury pouring off his person when they took aim and— something slid away at his arm.

” Finally!” Kari cries, and Zoro belatedly realizes that Kari had managed to slip her arm out of the binding. Then, he blinks when there is the strong groan of the poll struggling to hold the weight of the woman behind him, before there is an arm being thrust out beneath her other bound arm.

Sparks swarm around Kari’s hand in a semblance of a weapon firing up. A toxic blood red, much brighter and harsher against her rust-colored skin, glowing brighter and brighter before it seems to be overwhelmingly seething with energy that it makes Zoro’s hair stand on end. Kari shouts right as her fingers stretch further out and up, “Eldritch blast!”

The sparking mass of energy zipped with the snap of her fingers. The sparking red shooting forward faster than a bullet and faster than the marines can pull their triggers. The sparking beam of pure energy went slamming into the closest marine, ricocheting off the soldier’s chest and slamming him with enough force that there is an audible crack suggesting a few ribs are most certainly broken. 

The marine stands there, pushed just barely back to cause grooves in the dirt, before dropping his gun, arms flopping to his side, and collapsing to the ground.

Silence lingers for a few beats in the air as all parties seem to try and figure out what just happened. The kid who’d still been comatose under the weapons’ aims shakily looked over towards the shooter of that wild light. Zoro, gaping, followed his gaze without thinking, his head dipping down to look beneath his own arm.

There, awkwardly folded over in a pose that couldn’t be comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, was Kari. And Zoro finally got a good look at her.

Just as he already knew, her skin was that same rust color that her arms had, not a patch missing the color. Her face wasn’t as alarming as how other marines had been reacting, but he could still see the semblance of terror they’d seen. The horns, just as she mentioned, were on prominent display, though unequal in height, the right taller than the left, a small nub by comparison. Her hair, the same white he’d got brief glances of, had more of an almost pinkish hue when next to her rust-skin. And her eyes—

“I thought you said your eyes were normal?” Zoro blurts.

Those yellow eyes, both sclera and iris a warm gold, dart to Zoro. She stares at him for a beat before her expression morphs into a bewildered expression, “Well you aren’t too normal yourself with hair like that!”

Any semblance of hesitancy and bafflement was promptly kicked out the door. Zoro strained against his restraints leaning down to bark, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

Before they could further devolve into a shouting match, they were interrupted by a shout of “Take aim, men!”

And shit, she’d only taken down one hadn’t she?

Zoro’s head snaps up as he glares at the gathering marines, all gaining their bearings back and taking aim again. He hisses in a breath and hisses, “Any chance you can do that cool trick again?”

”I can only do one at a time!” Kari hisses, though takes aim with her arm sparking again. She grits her teeth as she holds her pose, a clear threat display, “The position isn’t helping anything either!”

”Well either shoot them or get us out of here!” Zoro cries right as the soldiers cock their guns again.

Kari grits her teeth and twists her hand as if twisting a door knob. She is swearing to herself as she continues twisting her wrist, the colors and light in her palms trading for different morphing shapes and lights, each doesn’t seem to be what she wants as she swears loudly.

”FIRE!”

”Shit!” Zoro and Kari cry, bracing themselves for bullets. 

…But nothing comes of it.

Kari peaks open her eyes just as Zoro does, and all she can mutter is an “oh what the hells,” At the sight that greets them.

The straw hat boy was taking the bullets… and his body was stretching with the force behind the pellets. Then, after the stretch proved to be far enough, Luffy sprang up, arms extended and screaming as the bullets shot back at their firers.  

All three behind the boy cry out in bewilderment.

“What are you?!” Zoro cries.

And the boy, because that’s what he was: a boy, twists around with a smile that could put the very sun to shame. “I’m the guy who’s gonna be King of the Pirates!”

In that instant, both parties knew they were won over.

Then, as if he hadn’t just caused hell to break loose, Luffy twists, extending three swords out that hadn’t been seen at first. Kari perks at the sight, eyes darting quickly to Zoro when remembering his preferred fighting style. ”I wasn’t sure which were yours, so I brought all three—“

”They’re all mine,” Zoro says, head dipping, “I practice Santoryu— three-sword style.”

”If you fight with me here and now, you’ll be an enemy in the eyes of the government.” Luffy points out, as if to give them an out. “You could always obey the law and let them kill you though!” He says cheerfully with all the strength of a boy who hadn’t clearly read the room.

”Screw that noise!” Kari shouts from where she is still awkwardly dangling beneath her other arm. “Tried the burning at the stake thing once and I’m not eager to try again!” The she glares at the swordsman with all her might, which is ruined by the fact that Zoro knows she’s a big baby outside of scenarios like this. “If you deny this opportunity to escape I will haunt your ass for the rest of my life.”

”I was gonna agree with him, you idiot!” Zoro barks, then twists his attention back to Luffy, who has the big goofy smile on his face that doesn’t really mech well with the situation they were in, “You must be demon spawn, but I’m not ready to die without a fight! You’ve got yourself a pirate!”

This would have been the time for them to make a great escape, bursting out of their bindings and fighting like all hell to make a nice get away, but apparently their new captain couldn’t read the room for shit , as he threw his arms up in excitement, “Really?! You’ll join my crew?!”

”Just let us out already!” Zoro and Kari shouted in tandem.

Luffy, similar to Kari, deflated and looked annoyed at not being able to celebrate longer. Instead poorly attempting to untie the bindings. “Awe they’re too tight…”

”Hurry up!” Zoro bared right as Kari whipped herself back up to full height and tried tugging on the bindings with Luffy in an effort to get things going faster.

”I’m trying,” Luffy whines with all the instinct of a domesticated housecat. “Just hold on…”

”We’re going to die aren’t we?” Kari mutters miserably.

But then, the rope tugged just right and gave way, and Zoro felt a face splitting wicked grin peel across his face. “Not today we aren’t.” 

In a move that both parties could only call awe-inspiring, Zoro was reaching down for the closest sword, snatching and unsheathing it so quick that both Kari and Luffy barely had time to process it, before swiping at their binds and promptly dragging his other swords out and just barely blocking the attacking marines who’d been charging them.

”The next person who moves dies.” Zoro hisses past the katana clenched between his teeth. The marines shudder, looking terrified by the threat. And a very real threat it was, what with how he was officially off the chain.

”You forgot the tail.” Kari mumbled in annoyance as she has to lean down to awkwardly undo the rob keeping her tail prone. By the time it was loose enough for the limb to slip through, she sighed in relief, the tail flickering back and forth as it experimented with its full mobility. 

“Sorry,” Zoro mumbled because oh right they’d bound her tail. Though that wasn’t the top priority on his mind as he glared daggers into Luffy, who stood blinking at him, “All right, I’m a pirate, I gave you my word, but hear this! I have a dream to fulfill.”

At the word dream, all friendly parties perked up, staring at Zoro curiously. Even Kari draped herself around the pole they’d been stuck on, clinging onto the large log to let her dangle. 

”I’m going to be the world’s greatest swordsman!” Zoro declares. “And though I may now be a pirate, if you force me to abandon my dream for any reason, I will make you suffer a fate worse than death!”

”World’s greatest swordsman…” Luffy trails as if he weren’t just threatened by his new crewmate and then the biggest, widest grin stretches across his face “That’s perfect! The King of the Pirates needs the best of the best! So who better than the world’s greatest swordsman to be at his side!”

Zoro grins, looking like he wants to say more, though is cut off by a furious cry from their captain, “What are you standing around for?! Hack them to pieces—“

”Alright enough out of you.” Kari rolls her eyes, leaning over the post and stretching out her arm, lights swarm and unfurl all up and around her skin as she takes aim at the man who’d been shouting. An alarmed look comes across his face — whether it be due to seeing Kari for the first time or the fact he was being aimed at — and Kari grinned, making both Luffy and Zoro double take when realizing she had the faintest semblance of fangs , “Ray of sickness!”

Then a flashing beam of putrid green shoots out, landing dead center on the captain. The reaction is not what any party is expecting, as instead of being hit by a wave of pure force, the man’s face turns green and he twists around and hurls.

”Get bent, jaws!” Kari grinned leering at the guffawed expressions she received. She cocks her head in warning, “ What?”

Luffy is practically vibrating from where he is standing, shaking and looking like Kari had hung the very stars in the sky, “That was so cool! What devil fruit did you eat?! I’m so happy you’re on my crew—“

”The damn—“ Kari hisses, “I didn’t eat a damn devil fruit! It’s magic! Why is this such a hard concept to understand?!” 

Luffy doesn’t really care that he got chewed out by his new crewmate as he instead elects to grin just as bright and vibrate in his spot. “So cool!” 

Rolling her eyes, Kari lets them slide to Zoro, who is still awkwardly crouched over with the marines hovering around him. She makes a vague gesture towards him and starts, “you need help… or…?”

”Nah, I got this.” Zoro eases, then steals his expression and twists.

The marines shout in alarm as they are sent flying by the man. Though it doesn’t do quite the trick, as a few still linger. Zoro is ready to strike, when his captain shouts, “duck!” Zoro doesn’t need to be told twice and drops down right as an arm goes flying over his head and takes out the remaining marines. Zoro just barely catches Luffy’s finishing shout of “PISTOL!” Before he’s tuning back in and satisfied to see there are no lingering marines hovering around them.

”What the hell was that?!” Zoro asks, still reeling as he watches Luffy’s arm fly back. Kari openly gapes as well, still processing at her own pace.

”I’m a rubber man!” Luffy grins proudly.

The marines explode into sound, declaring themselves unfit to face such a threat. Zoro quietly absorbs that information while Kari slides around the post, walking up on the other side of Zoro and cocking her head to the side as she asks, “Rubber man? Is that your race or something?”

Their captain giggles at that, ignoring the ruckus around them and the subsequent hounding that the captain was giving them. “No stupid, I ate a gum-gum fruit and now I’m made of rubber!” He stretches his cheek as if showing his weird ability would help to drive the point home.

Unfortunately that doesn’t answer literally anything, and Kari makes that audibly known, “That doesn’t answer a damn thing.”

”Uh… guys?” Zoro calls to attention, earning both Kari and Luffy’s focus. Zoro looks alarmed as he stares at the marines that are putting their guns to their heads. “Something’s wrong with those marines!”

”What the hells…” Kari whispers as she crouches a little over, twin spells lighting up in either hand. Zoro braced alongside her, but before either could make a move, their captain was rocketing forward and bringing his arm back for an attack. He swings forward and— “Zoro?”

”Hm?”

”Did he just attack their leader?”

”…yeah, seems so.”

”Dammit.” 

However, at the brief duel in which their captain certainly had the upper hand, Zoro and Kari falter, both sliding into less hostile stances as they watch Luffy beat the shit out of the axe-handed man. 

“Alright, I may have underestimated him.” Kari admits, shaking her wrists out and letting the spells drop. Zoro lets his swords lay low at his sides, his primary katana still clenched tight beneath his teeth as he watches on with passive amusement.

”No kidding,” Zoro musses, sparing a look over at Kari briefly and humming, “at least we know we’ll be joining a crew that can hold their own.”

”No shit.” Kari nods.

They continue watching their captain absolutely pummel the shit at the unbefitting marine. It proves to be mildly entertaining, and the marines even decide to join in on the spectacle, just watching with wide eyes as they watch their abusive officer get his shit rocked. One marine even whoops when Luffy nails the captain in the face.

”Is he wearing something on his face?” Kari asks, raising a hand to put a shadow over her eyes and squinting.

”I think it’s a jaw guard.” Zoro says back.

It was about then that Kari really realized that there was a sword in the guy’s mouth.

”Hot damn, so that’s where the third sword goes!”

Zoro gives her a baffled look, “Where’d you think it went?”

“I was stuck on whether it was between your legs or your ass.” Kari shrugs, ignoring Zoro’s hackles in favor of cupping her mouth and shouting, “Kick his ass, cap!”

Luffy looks over at them with a big smile, but his expression shutters into seriousness when seeing past them. Confused, both turn and promptly tense up when spotting the kid who’d been helping them scared stiff with a pistol aimed to his head, a twitching Helmeppo the one at the trigger.

”S-Stop!” Helmeppo cried, “One false move and he gets it!”

Both Kari and Zoro narrow their eyes at the display, both drawing taught. Kari twists her wrist just so and sparks immediately light up in her palm. Zoro raises his swords just enough with a leering grimace, the duo adding to the others threat display. And it was working if the shivering from the brat was anything to go by.

They share a short look, both widening their stances by a hair. Though they spare a look back at their captain before another word can be said, and their eyes catch on the slow rising lumbering form of the marine Luffy’s just put down. Zoro and Kari quickly meet eyes.

”Dibs on axe-hand.”

”Dibs on Nepo baby.”

And both move. 

Zoro flings himself at the officer with a speed that leaves the watching marines paling. Kari doesn’t pay any attention to this though, as she lets her arm raise, the familiar red light sparking as she takes aim and grins something feral. She catches Helmeppo’s eye for a split second, and by the sheer terror that colors his face, he knows he messed up.

”Eldritch blast!”  

The light brightens for a split moment before shooting forward and landing in the center of the boys chest without further prompt. Helmeppo’s breath is knocked out of him as he makes a choking sound before falling back, a faint waft of smoke billowing from the blast on his chest.

Kari just grins from ear to ear as she stays kneeled for a beat. Right up until she hears a dull thump of a body hitting the ground behind her. She twists her gaze around and finds Zoro frozen over a slumped axe-handed giant. In a smooth motion, Zoro sheathes his swords and spares a wicked grin to both Luffy and Kari. “No sweat.”

That startles a laugh out of Kari as she drops her still extended arm. She dusts off her clothes and jogs closer to join the pair. “No kidding! Had I known it’d be that easy to take the pair down I would have seen about getting out of here soon than later!” Around them the marines mutter and converse about their captain’s defeat.

Zoro gives them a withering book. “Any of you still want to capture us?”

A pause.

Then the marines are shouting and rejoicing. They throw their hats, punch the air, scream and shout and thank anything and everything for their abusive captain finally being knocked down a peg. Zoro and Kari share a look of surprise but end up shrugging. Well, that was where it should have ended, but as it were, Kari watched Zoro’s eyes roll to the back of his head and her own went wide in startlement. 

“Oh shit—“

Zoro went down for the count.

”What happened to Zoro?!” Luffy cried, rushing forward as Kari knelt at the swordsman’s side, hands hovering and unsure whether to touch. 

Swearing, Kari looks at the boy and answers, “He hasn’t eaten in nine days, not to mention he’s probably dehydrated beyond safe parameters. He probably just overexerted himself… Oi, Oi buddy!” Kari starts lightly slapping at Zoro’s face in an effort to rouse him awake.

As it were, luck was on her side, as his eyes fluttered open and he squinted against the sun. “Wha’s happenin’?” He slurred, clearly only barely holding to his sanity.

”Can’t believe you were insistent on doing a month of this shit— we’re getting food and water in you, stat .” Kari says, carefully hauling Zoro up with the aid of Luffy, both quickly slinking under his arms and bracing the man on either side. Kari eyes the discarded swords and is quick to wrap her tail around them and hold as they begin shuffling out of the courtyard.

”Where we goin’?” Zoro asks, still not completely aware yet.

”We’re getting food!” Luffy says, grinning from ear to ear all too happily.

Zoro blinks as awareness wiggles its way into him, “Well damn, why didn’t you say so!”

“Is murder illegal here?” Kari asks blithely.

Luffy just laughs.

About an hour later, they were sitting in the little girl’s house who’d come to give rice balls to Zoro. Everyone was sitting around eating the various meals the little girl’s mother made for them. Kari sat at her own spot, awkwardly perched in her chair as she quietly took up a spoonful of the soup the girl’s mother had given her. Her eyes twisted to Zoro curiously when he leaned back in his chair with a loud sigh of relief. 

Luffy, continuing to chew on his own meal, stared at Kari for a long time. The Tiefling set her eyes head-on and continued drinking spoonfuls of the delicious soup. “What’s up?” Kari asked, tail brushing along the floor with her question.

Luffy subtly tilts his head to the side and stares a beat long. Then, he bluntly asked, “What are you?”

Bristling, Kari leered at Luffy and grouched, “I’m a Tiefling.” 

“Not that.” Luffy said, waving his hand to dismiss the thought, “Like, I’m a rubber man, and Zoro’s a swordsman.” He rolls his wrist in a so-on and so-forth gesture. “So… what’re you?”

Ah, Kari realizes, dropping her spoon into the soup and gently pushing it to the other cleaned off dishes. Zoro curiously watches her as she folds her hands over her knee and rests her chin atop it. Her other leg dangles over the chair, swinging back and forth. “I’m a warlock.”

“Warlock?” Luffy asks, head tilting to the side curiously.

Kari hesitates for a beat before she tilts her head to look at all those present in the tiny kitchen. “...you guys really don’t have magic users here?”

“I’m still convinced you’re a mislead devil fruit user.” Zoro says, leaning his head onto his hand with a bored stare. “But for the sake of playing into your fantasy: no. There aren’t any magic users here.”

Biting back her urge to snap about Zoro eating his words, Kari gives an exhausted sigh before turning and explaining to Luffy, “Where I’m from, there are several different practices and domains in which magic users are based. The primary origins being,” she begins to list them off onto her fingers, “magic through study, magic through gifting, magic through bloodline, magic through nature, and magic through trade.” At the last mention, she waves that finger, “I’d be classified into that area, as warlocks have a patron who gives them magical abilities for some type of trade, whether it be physical, mental, or spiritual. Some trade is made in which the magic user is then able to use spells supplied to them by their patron.”

“So you traded something to use your powers?” The kid -- Koby as both Kari and Zoro had finally come to learn -- asks.

Nodding, Kari leans back into her seat, an arm going back to being wrapped around her leg while her other hands flitted around her head. “Basically.” She flicks her wrist and lets a brief prestidigitation light up her palm with those same swirling colors and light that had awed Zoro the day prior. “It’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s how I’m able to use my magic.”

“Wow,” Luffy awes, admiring the swirling display of magic. He laughs when Kari flicks her wrist towards Zoro, and the swordsman jolts back when the lights and magic are sent spiraling for his face. The magic fades after hitting, and no actual hit is made but Zoro scowls at Kari while she snickers into her hand. “So, like how me being a rubber man caused me to be unable to swim in the ocean!”

Blinking, Kari spares an odd look at Luffy, “Huh?”

“Devil fruit users sink like rocks in the ocean.” Zoro says helpfully.

Kari blinks at Zoro.

Then she is gaping, “ That’s why you wanted to toss my ass into the ocean?!” 

“I’m still planning to.” Zoro corrects.

Luffy is laughing, “Well! There will be a lot of ocean for Zoro to throw you into when we’re on the grandline!”

The table rattles when Koby slams his palms and cries, “That’s suicide! There’s only three of you! You’ll be sailing to your deaths if you go there now! The most bloodthirsty pirates in the world are there!” He looks manic, frightened as he listens to their words.

“I mean,” Zoro starts, scratching at the side of his face, “We kind of have to go there if we want to find the One Piece.”

At that, Kari cocked her head to the side, about to ask what they were talking about, but Koby cut her off and started rambling about all the dangers there were on the Grand Line and how they were going to die and how he’d be concerned and… well Kari had tuned them out by then, instead her attention catches on the nearby window and the apparent crowd piling around attempting to peek inside.

“Uh,” Kari starts at one point, interrupting the rambling of Koby and the other boys. “Not to interrupt the touching display,” everyone looked to Kari and said girl just pointed to the window and muttered, “...but were they there earlier?” 

Everyone turned to where she was pointing and immediately were alarmed at the sight of the faces attempting to peek inside. Everyone openly guffawed at the apparent attention they’d garnered. Kari in particular shifted uncomfortably, frowning and lowering her head with an uncomfortable glower. Zoro silently noted the reaction and felt his lips twitch downwards. 

Then, as if it weren’t odd enough, the door to the small house creaked open and in stepped a marine, another tailing behind him with something held in his arms. “Pardon the intrusion,” the man started, eyes darting to the four gathered around the table. “You four are pirates… is that true?”

Both Kari and Zoro tensed up, sharing a look ready to deny for safety, but their captain beat them to it, “That’s right!” Luffy grinned, “I have two crewmates now! I’m officially a captain!” Kari and Zoro dropped their heads into their hands. 

However, contrary to the normal, the marine thumbed at the brim of his hat, muttering, “We are truly grateful for your help in dethroning captain Morgan, but we are still marines, and we cannot allow you to stay here. I apologize, but we ask that you leave promptly. We won’t chase you or report you, but you must leave. We even brought what remained of your belongings in our storage room.” He made a gesture towards the marine who’d been tailing him. 

While the outside crowd guffawed and shouted in anger, Kari ignored them in favor of perking up in recognition. “My hat!” Kari cried in excitement, scrambling out of her seat and immediately pouncing on the little marine. The poor guy flinched when Kari snatched her hat out of his hands and shoved it over her head. She grinned from ear to ear and adjusted the wide brimmed hat. “I can’t believe I almost forgot about her!”

“Well you’re certainly committed to the magic allegations.” Zoro drawls, grinning teasingly when Kari glares at him. 

Stifling her urge to bark an insult, she twists back around to the quaking marine with a forced grin. “Any chance there was a hair tie in there with it?”

The marine blinks, opens and closes his mouth a couple times, before all around giving up and just shaking his head negative. Kari frowned, about to call it a lost cause, but was drawn from her inner machinations by a gentle hand resting on her arm. Her eyes turned to the source quickly, finding the little girl’s mother smiling at her.

“I have one you can use sweetheart.”

The words surprise her, but she perks up with a happy grin, she is about to say her thanks, but pauses when both Luffy and Zoro move to stand. “Ma’am thank you for the meal,” Luffy says, “but we’ll be leaving now.”

Blinking, Kari watches both men trail for the door, and Kari is only broken from her staring by something being pressed into her hands. She twists around and finds the kind woman smiling at her, nodding her head towards the door with a gentle urge for her to follow. 

Kari doesn’t need to be told twice as she quickly falls into step beside her captain, eyes peering down to her what the kind woman had pressed into her hand, finding a small band. Kari’s lips pull into a gentle smile as she is quick to wrap it around her wrist until she’s able to pull up her hair. 

“You with them?” The marine asks a bewildered Koby.

“...I…” Koby trailed, hands opening and closed in his anxiety, he swallows, “I’m not one of them.”

The man stared. “That true pirates?”

Luffy paused at the door, peering over his shoulder at the small boy they’d befriended, the small boy that had called him a friend. “I know about his past.” Luffy says and Koby has a panicked expression on his face. “There was this big woman--”

And Koby pounced.  

“Shut up!” He cried before punching Luffy.

Kari stiffened out of habit, but was stopped from moving by Zoro, the man grasping her elbow to get her to stop. Kari blinks at him in surprise, giving an alarmed look to where Koby was-- getting beat by Luffy?! Kari jolts again, but Zoro just tightens his hold on her.

Kari watched in alarm, until finally, a marine shouted for this to end. And it was only then that Zoro let go of Kari in favor of grabbing Luffy. He said quickly, “That’s enough captain.” And Luffy stopped as asked. 

“Leave now!” The lead marine ordered, glaring at them as if he hadn’t just admitted his gratitude earlier. As if they were a danger. Kari’s tail twitched and her head cocked to the side curiously, perhaps picking up on her captain’s intentions.

And so Kari and Zoro trailed after their captain, trailing through the streets and grinning at thankful townsfolk and smirking at nervous marines. Kari wouldn’t lie, she doesn’t remember the last she’d felt this light on her feet. She had a hop skip and a jump in her step as she trailed with her small party.

A party,

An adventuring party! 

She didn’t honestly think this would happen, but here she was!

“What’s got you grinning?” Zoro asks, peering at Kari curiously when noting her sunny disposition.

Blinking, Kari spares a glance at Zoro, pausing, before answering in earnest, “Never thought I’d be a part of an adventuring party. Sort of fulfilling a lifelong goal here. Can’t really help smiling about it.” She says this all with said smile on her face. She grins kindly at Zoro and admits, “I didn’t think I’d get something like this.” 

Her words didn’t have the expected reaction, as Zoro had an odd curl to his expression. But it only lasted a couple of moments before smoothing out into something gentler. He dips his head in a nod, and says, “Well, you certainly have it now.” His eyes darted to their captain, still steadily marching for where their alleged ship was set up. “And as far as our captain is concerned, I’m pretty sure we’ll be here as long as Luffy will have us.”

“And that’s forever!” Luffy piped up from where he took a turn towards the docks. He threw his hands up to drape behind his head as he turned and started marching backwards to watch his two new crewmates. “Or as long as it takes for us to die, at least.”

“Sorry, die?” Kari asked, smile disappearing in a moment’s notice as she stared at her captain in alarm.

Luffy grinned, spinning around and throwing her arms up in eagerness. “We’re here!” He said, completely disregarding Kari’s prior concern. He gestures eagerly to the tiny dingy that barely qualified as a boat. “And here’s our ship!”

“Can I rescind my acceptance into your crew?” Kari asked, getting nearer to the edge to peer at the tiny little ship. Her eyes then fell to the water and she winced. 

“Nope!” Luffy grinned.

While Kari was busy looking vaguely miserable, she wasn’t privy to spotting Zoro’s devilish expression. He stepped closer to Kari without second thought and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kari, thinking it sympathy, looks back to assure him she’d be fine, but her tongue caught when she spotted the shit-eating grin on Zoro’s face. Unfortunately, it was only when she caught his expression that she remembered a certain insistence Zoro had been pressing since when they’d first chatted.

“Awe shit.” Kari muttered, succumbing to her fate as Zoro shoved.

With all the grace of a newborn fawn, Kari went screaming over the edge, all flailing limbs and shouting swears. The subsequent splash that followed was like music to Zoro’s ears. So he just folded his arms and stared at the bubbles slinking to the surface. Luffy leaned in closer to Zoro with a curious look, “Why’d you push her into the water?”

“Proving a point.” Zoro answered. “I’m giving her ten seconds then I’m-”

He couldn’t finish the thought as soon Kari came gasping to the surface, treading water like a champ and pushing her sopping wet hat to the back of her head. “Screw you, you prick!” Kari pointed at Zoro, who was boggled by the fact she wasn’t sinking like a rock. “I told you I’m not a devil fruit user or whatever!”

“Oh what the hell.” Zoro muttered.

“Whoa!” Luffy cried, pointing at Kari with all the gusto of a toddler, “You have goat ears!”

“That’s what you’re stuck on?!” Zoro cried, balking at his captain. Unfortunately, as it were, he wasn’t focused on Kari’s growing lecherous grin and her treading closer. He was only aware of his fate when a wet hand grabbed at his ankle. Zoro’s expression melted into subdued acceptance as he muttered, “Ah shit.”

The splash that followed was all too satisfying to Kari.