CHAPTER FIVE.⠀✶⠀Bye Bye Buggy!

✶

⠀⠀⠀⠀Clang, clang, clang.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Knife after knife, after knife, after knife.

⠀⠀⠀⠀The circus wheel of death stops spinning. Cabaji twists the knife in his hand as Zoro's eyes remain closed. "You really don't fear death, do you?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"No. I just don't fear you." Zoro's words hit a nerve, then a knife cuts through the rope at his wrist.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"You know, I'm gonna enjoy this. As soon as Captain Buggy's finished with you, you're mine." Cabaji walks up to Zoro as Asa exchanges a look with Nami, the raven-haired girl silently telling her to hurry up.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Uh, tempting as that sounds, I'm not sticking around."

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Really? Got somewhere else to be?" Asa's eyes search the man's figure, not a single blade remains. In other words, he's harmless now.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Zoro looks to the side, thinking. "Didn't used to think so." After a brief pause, he looks at Cabaji again. "But Luffy changed that." ((And she did too. But he'd never say it out loud.))

⠀⠀⠀⠀Nami finally picks the lock and slips out of the cage, before untying the ropes around Asa's wrists and ankles. Asa's feet meet the ground without a sound, flexing her sore wrists as she and Nami walk behind the circus freak.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"That simpleton in a straw hat. Don't tell me you actually believe in him?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"I don't need to. He believes in himself. It rubs off."

⠀⠀⠀⠀Cabaji can't stop himself from letting out a laugh. From behind him, Asa meets Zoro's eyes.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"And one more thing." His wrist inches forward, no longer bound. A ghost of a smirk on his lips. "Don't turn around."

⠀⠀⠀⠀With a quiet grunt, Asa kicks Cabaji, sending him stumbling into Zoro's iron grip. He struggles for air, attempting to fight Zoro's arm, but he is soon out cold, and Asa has cut Zoro free from the other rope at his wrist. The pirate's body lands on the floor with a light thud.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Thanks," he mutters. She just nods.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Asa walks over to Nami, picking up her sword from beside Zoro's. Her hand feels the smooth scabbard, gazing at the dangling tassels. It feels good to have it back. Her arm falls to her side, her grip tightening slightly around it.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"What's the plan?" He asks, walking over and placing his three swords back into place at his waist. He pauses, looking at Nami. "You do have a plan, right? That's your thing, plans."

⠀⠀⠀⠀"I say," her lips pull up into a grin, "we beat the hell out of every clown we see." Her staff snaps into shape before she heads to the doorway.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Asa and Zoro meet each other's eyes, grins breaking out on both of their faces, and the skin on the corners of their eyes crinkle.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"You heard her, let's go." Asa pats his shoulder, walking past him. He lets out an amused laugh, trailing right behind her as he unsheathes two of his swords.

⸻

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Where are my freaks?!"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"They're not coming."

⠀⠀⠀⠀The glass shatters, and Luffy slides out with the water, knocking the clown off his feet. A cough after another, the map forces itself back up his throat and lands on the floor with a light clank. Both captains crawl their way to their treasure.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Buggy crawls forward. "My map!"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"My hat." Luffy desperately drags his body towards it.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Buggy lips pull into a wide grin, starting to laugh in an almost hysterical way. Victorious, but not for long.

⠀⠀⠀⠀A dagger pierces the air and he groans as the map is flung from his grip. The map rolls until it hits the edge of her captain's foot. Luffy clutches his hat and the map to his chest, still on the ground, soaked. Asa steps out of the shadows. "I thought clowns were supposed to be funny." She spins another dagger in between her fingers. She motions to her nose. "At least you got one thing we can laugh at."

⠀⠀⠀⠀"You want a piece of me?" Now the clown is vexed. "Let's see what you got."

⠀⠀⠀⠀Zoro's blade slices through the air. The blade cuts the clowns head right off━Buggy's head floats in the air. But then it pops right back in place. "What, the, fuck━" Asa watches as Zoro slices at Buggy again, and Buggy's body just pops right back into place again. Her eyes look at Luffy for a brief moment then back at Buggy, and in her eyes, something seems to click.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Asa lets a dagger fly, but it hits nothing as Buggy's arm pops off just to reattach.

⠀⠀⠀⠀The clown let out a laugh, grinning. "Surprise, shithead!"

⠀⠀⠀⠀He continues to laugh, loud and hysterical. His body comes apart piece by piece, floating, whirling around. His body parts fly around, circling them, closing in closer and closer until Asa feels her back press against Zoro's, and her shoulder against Nami's. Her grip on her sword is tight, knuckles going pale, and loose strands of hair fly up against her face.

⠀⠀⠀⠀The swordsman's jaw tenses. "How do I slice a guy who's already in pieces?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀Asa's eyes dart around, searching past the whirling body parts of the clown for something. The tank stands shattered, the pipes are damaged beyond repair. All the seawater is already soaked up in the sand. Without seawater, then how. . .

⠀⠀⠀⠀"This is not part of the plan." Nami looks over her shoulder to meet Asa's eyes.

⠀⠀⠀⠀A faint scoff escapes Asa's lips. "Obviously not."

⠀⠀⠀⠀The three of them break apart, stepping away and swinging their weapons. All they can do is dodge, block and hit all the incoming body parts flying around.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Then, one by one, the three of them all fall down.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Nami tumbles over the edge of the arena's ring, sand sticking to her skin, sand in her tangerine hair. She groans quietly, her staff out of her grasp. Her eyes blink, trying to refocus, trying to rid of the dizziness. Her head might've hit the ground a little too hard.

⠀⠀⠀⠀A hand forcibly tugs at her ponytail and her head jerks back. Asa curses under her breath, swinging her sheathed sword back and hitting the hand away. A body part flies at her, she hits it away. Another, she dodges it. And another, and another, and another, until the clown has driven her over the edge, falling on top of her crew's navigator. The ribbon comes undone and her hair meets the sand, her sword out of reach.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Shit, I'm sorry." Asa pushes herself off of her, rolling onto her back on top of the sand.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Nami's head shakes slightly, glancing at her briefly. The back of Nami's hand pats Asa. "It's fine."

⠀⠀⠀⠀A floating foot causes the Pirate Hunter to slam hard against the broken glass tank, pushing him over the circus ring's edge, the tank's metal scraping against the floor. The rest of the glass tank shatters and Zoro flings off the top of it, hitting the ground inches away from the empty audience stands.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Buggy's body parts pop back into place, his body all back together now. "Ah. Would you look at that? Somebody escaped my Tank of Doom." The grin never left his face. His finger points at Luffy in a circular motion. The boy continues to hold his straw hat to his chest, staring at Buggy as a lone droplet falls from his damp hair. "Well, I'll be back to finish you off. Right after I tear apart your sad excuse for a crew."

⠀⠀⠀⠀Asa pushes herself up, palms pressing against the sand as she looks ahead to see Zoro slowly getting back up. "You okay, Nami?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"No." Asa can't help but let out an amused laugh.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"You can dump seawater on me, and I'll let it slide." Luffy places his hat back onto his head, his stare now a glare. "But don't you ever threaten my friends."

⠀⠀⠀⠀He clenches his fist, knuckles cracking. His arm pulls back before letting it fly forward, striking right through the centre of Buggy's torso. But once again, the piece that detached just comes back and pops right back into place. Buggy clicks his tongue, winking.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Nami, what do we do?" Asa asks, retrieving her sword and handing the girl her staff. Nami glances at her, thinking, as the two of them remain crouched behind the ring's barricade. Her head then turns, looking around, for something, for anything.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"So you want to die first?" The clown raises his hands, a blade between each knuckle. "Be my guest." His limps pop off, then separate into even smaller pieces. The pieces of his legs fly around in a circle as his arms wind around like wheels of death. "Chop-Chop Cannon!"

⠀⠀⠀⠀Luffy jumped, rolled, leaped, dodged all the body parts flying at him like projectiles. The boy flips, his hands grabbing hold of the clown and knocking him down to the ground. Luffy's hold on Buggy doesn't last long as the clown's foot sends the boy flying off. As soon as Luffy hurries back up onto his feet, Buggy's hand shoots forward, stabbing his straw hat into a wooden pillar behind him. Buggy laughs, no signs of stopping (yet).

⠀⠀⠀⠀((Oh, this fucking big red nosed clown.))

⠀⠀⠀⠀His straw hat. Tattered, on the floor, barely a few feet away.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Luffy, watch out!" He hears Asa's voice ring out.

⠀⠀⠀⠀A foot kicks his stomach, hard, and then the other sweeps his leg out from under him. The clown's hand tightens around the boy's throat. The boy grunts, trying to fight it off of him, the air struggling to flow to his lungs.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Asa looks around, eyes darting. Then, her gaze stops abruptly on something. "The crates," she mutters. Her voice grows louder, "Nami, the crates." She hurries over to the bunch of crates, chests and boxes at the other end of the circus ring with Nami trailing right behind her. "Come on!"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Luffy!" Asa shouts, giving him the cue as Nami holds her staff ready.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Luffy flips up and over, back onto his feet, prying off the clown's hand before throwing it towards the girls. Nami sends the hand flying into a crate and Asa shuts it close with her foot. Zoro flings a piece of the clown across the ring, and Asa traps it into a barrel. Luffy throws, Nami hits it, Asa traps it. Another piece of the clown, and another, and another.

⠀⠀⠀⠀His head, his hands, and his feet. That's all that's left of the clown. His remaining pieces stacked on top of one another, like a little, whining child. "What have you done to me?!"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Cut you down to size," Luffy smiles, never faltering, holding his tattered hat to his chest.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"The One Piece will never be yours. You're just a sad, lonely little boy wearing another man's hat!"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"I know exactly who I am." The boy places his straw hat back on his head. "I am Monkey D. Luffy. And I'm going to be King of the Pirates."

⠀⠀⠀⠀Then, "Gum Gum. . ." Luffy's arms stretch back behind him, like a rubber elastic being pulled back. A string of pleas leave Buggy's mouth, what's left of him shaking in place. "Bazooka!"

⠀⠀⠀⠀Luffy shoots the clown up, through the tent and off into the distance, his scream fading until he's far gone. (Bye Bye Buggy!)

⠀⠀⠀⠀Asa looks at the boy for a second longer, she won't get used to seeing that, at least just yet. (But who knows? Maybe she'll stick around long enough to get used to it. (Just maybe.))

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Hey, Asa," Zoro calls out to her, a sudden hint of softness in his voice. It almost caught her off guard. Almost. She turns to look at him, pushing her hair behind her shoulders. He holds his hand out to her, a red ribbon in the centre of his palm.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Her hand takes the ribbon from his palm, the faintest touch of their hands. A smile ghosts her lips. "Thanks, Zoro."

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Don't mention it," Zoro replies simply. Asa wraps the red ribbon around her hair, tying it back up, securing the ribbon into a bow. Her eyes glance back at Zoro, and his eyes look away, as if she almost caught him staring. (But he wasn't, right? (Right?))

⠀⠀⠀⠀"You're giving this to me?" Nami questions as Luffy hands the map to her, she looks at him with a faint glimmer of doubt in her eyes.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"You're the navigator," Luffy smiles in reply.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Let's get out of this clown show." Zoro takes a step, but is stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Still one more thing we have to do." Luffy hits his shoulder lightly before walking over to the audience stands. Luffy pulls the chain anchor off, the lights brightening to light up the tent now. Asa follows suit, heading over to the other stands, approaching them with a small, kind smile on her face.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Are you our new captors?" The white-haired man in front of Luffy spoke, looking at the boy through his glasses. Luffy pauses for a split second, slowly standing back up.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"What?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Well, you're a pirate, aren't you?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"I'm a different kind of pirate." He answers with a smile, both hands on his hips.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Asa notices the way Nami seems to pause at the sound of his words. Although all Asa can see is the back of Nami's head, the shadow can tell. The tangerine-haired girl pauses at the sound of his words like Asa does at the sight of fire.

⠀⠀⠀⠀(Just what secrets lie past her blue eyes? What happened to cause her to harbour such hate against pirates?

⠀⠀⠀⠀(Her anger and Asa's fear is one and the same. And this anger, this fear, someday it'll pass. Someday.

⠀⠀⠀⠀One day.))

YVES'S NOTE! soooo.... hi guys??? my deepest apologies for literally leaving this fic to collect dust for the past 8(????) months, i am so so sorry my lovely people 🙏🏻😭 i can't make any promises since my motivation is an extremely bipolar bitch, but i'll try my best to not leave you guys hanging for a whole 8 months again 🤞🏻

✶ ⸻ also if my writing is a little ass please forgive me bc i'm still trying to get back into the writing groove after literally not writing for this fic for more than half a year 😭 and writing this chapter was hell, i am not good at fight scenes, especially when it is continuous until the end of the episode so 😭

✶ ⸻ and although i haven't updated in forever, happy late (18/5) 8 months to this book!! :)) (9 months in 2 weeks time) in the next update we're finally going to episode 3 🙌🏻🙌🏻 and as always, i hope you all enjoyed this chapter <33

✶ ⸻ and lastly!! enjoy a new manip gif (just below!!) i made for ZoAsa <33 (also i realise it's probably feeling like zoro fell first instead of asa but y'all, whoever fell first, zoro is def falling harder 🤭)

( unedited )

PUBLISHED ⸻ june 4th 2024