One Piece x child!Reader

Chapter VI

A troop of Marines walked at the same pace. The sounds of their feet hitting the ground was at the rhythm of one of them repeating 'hut, hut, hut'.

The tangerine-haired woman had put on the unconscious Marine' uniform on, her hair tied in pigtails. She discreetly joined the walking troop when they turned a corner, her figure stiff. Just like that, she entered the Marine base without anyone knowing.

The Marines were now walking one behind the other, the intruder at the back. She stopped, looked around and entered a room secretly.

In the yard, the odd duo was still attached to the wooden cross. Boar had found a way to climb up to the ties that restrained (y/n's) arms, but he couldn't set her free since, well, he doesn't have hands.

However, he still found a way to help the young girl. The bear had found a bucket with some water still in it. (Y/n) could stay hydrated in this burning temperature but, even if she insisted again and again, Zoro wouldn't take any, under the  pretext that she needed it more.

(Y/n) had decided to mimic Zoro by taking a nap to pass time. That way she didn't notice how the man's breathing was difficult and how sweat rolled down his forehead to his brow.

Zoro slowly opened his dark eyes after hearing the sound of metal clanging and a person humming.

Fingers passed through the holes of a square manhole cover. The person grunted, pushing the cover up and opening it like a trapdoor. A head peaked out, the one of Luffy.

The boy in the straw hat tossed the metallic cover on the side, the thud waking (y/n) up. Luffy got out and stood up, his eyes scanning the surrounding area until he turned around to see the two.

"Oh, hey. You're the ones from the bar", he noticed. (Y/n) was blinking rapidly, trying to get her pupils adjusted to the light. Zoro shook his head slightly and closed his eyes again. "Get lost."

"I am lost", Luffy confirmed confusedly as he looked around again. "I'm trying to get inside the base", he gestured to the tall beige walls. "Hey, I saw the way you fight. How did they even arrest you?", Luffy pointed out.

"They didn't", Zoro corrected. "I gave myself up", he added. "Interesting choice", Luffy commented. "I'm sure you had your reasons."

"You don't know anything about me", Zoro retorted. "I know that you protected those two little girls from those Marines last night, even if one is attached to a post right there", Luffy shot an intrigued glance at (y/n) who simply shrugged. It's not like she was a dangerous criminal, she didn't even hurt that Marine that bad.

"You're a good guy", Luffy finally added once he was close enough to have a proper conversation. "I'm Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter", the green haired man explained, trying to make a point.

"Well, I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I will be the King of the Pirates", he assured. "And I think you two should join my crew."

Zoro laughed, mostly at him. "What makes you think I'd wanna play pirates with you?"

(Y/n) was staring at Luffy with wide eyes. That proposition, and the person himself, remembered her of some that, too, offered her a chance like this one. Then, the same question she asked the first time popped up again.  "But why? Why would you want me to follow you?"

"Because I'm sure you have a talent of some sort, I just know it. Plus, I saw that bunny move by itself and now it's the bear. You must be the one behind it", Luffy replied. "And you, you're a good fighter. I'd say that together, we'd make a pretty good team."

"I kill your kind for a living", Zoro clarified his point earlier that the pirate obviously didn't understand. "Pirate. hunter."

"You keep saying that", Luffy noticed, his smile not budging. "But is that all you are?" Zoro looked away, exhaling sharply through his nose. "Is that all you want?"