7#4 – Alternative Universe
Well I'm writing in english because I don't know if brazilians are in this 1st ZoRobin Week, so, I hope you enjoy this little one and don't mind about my english mistakes ^_^
This is the forth in a set of 7, this one is the longest one, maybe with 3 chapters… ^_^
Special thanks for my boyfriend, how inspires me and reads all my fail fics and are a big part of this one…
Staying in the cell, in a dark room, with arms in an uncomfortable handcuff was not the end of the day he expected.
Felt that they had left the island and just hoping that the ship with his nakama were soon behind, but I knew I still took a few days before the LogPose be able to guide them to another island.
How had ended up in that navy base? He had gone for a walk and find a bar where he could drink, but had arrested and was being taken to the gates of Enies Lobby, where he was sentenced to death.
With a reward of more than one hundred million beries, it certainly was an achievement for the Navy that was so shaken lately by the pirates.
They lived in an Era ruled by the rules of the seas, violent and vengeful men, where there was no room for forgiveness or sensitivity. It was a place where women were not allowed, were regarded as cursed women were easily killed by the Navy. A silly rule, it would say the crew of the Mugiwara.
Among his friends, a key member of the crew was a woman. And they sailed smoothly for months together and no curse had befallen them. And who said that Nami, the navigator, was a witch ... He had painful memories of when he mentioned the fact that women are cursed.
How long it would take to Luffy invade that fucking ship?
Boredom... boiled down his days. It had nine counted meals, or three days. Meals delivered while they may believe that he slept.
If he was so scary so why arrest him?
He was called the devil, was not entirely a lie, had executed pirates and sailors in a cruel way, cutting them with his three cursed swords, each one cursed in its way.
He figured it was time for lunch, then hear the sounds of cowards who would make sure he was asleep and bring a plate of food cold and sticky.
He pretended to be asleep, the door was opened, steps softer than he was accustomed, he heard the metal plate to be placed close to the bars of the cell and lightly pushed carefully.
He opened his eyes and looked curiously at the figure before him.
It was a little sailor with a thick coat, hat looked off in the head, long hair caught in a high ponytail, seemed to be quite young and skinny.
He didn't seemed scared to be near the infamous Roronoa Zoro actually, seemed more freaked to get out that room. The sailor remained there until Zoro ate and took the plate. It had never happened.
The swordsman remained curious until dinner time, as there was much to be done, he could evaluate the behavior of the boy.
Once again, he entered the room, bringing a new plate of food, Zoro was awake and alert, watching every step, every movement of that cautious sailor.
It was there that he realized that was not normal behavior, he avoided touching the bars, carefully placed the platter and a glass of water, gently took his hands.
"You're a user ... You ate a Devil Fruit ..."
The boy was startled by the speech of Zoro's voice, was rough from lack of use, but it seemed that the sailor wasn't scared about him, but about him noticed that he had avoided the cage. It was made by Kairosek, of course.
He nodded and walked to the door, reaching out to the lock.
"Wait ... this is unbearable, you could stay a little longer? I'm tired of this silence, my crew is a bit noisy ..."
He noticed that the boy had stopped. Maybe he could negotiate and get out.
"You are very young, enlisted not long ago, don't ya?"
Another nod, he began to suspect that the boy did not speak.
"You can talk?" another nod "and why not say anything?"
The boy turned and the light revealed frightened and delicate eyes.
"They told me to keep my mouth shut, my voice is too feminine."
"Your voice is your voice, no one has the commitment to have a deep voice at your age. How old are you?"
"17, sir ..."
"And now holed up in a ship, the parents do not even have more imagination ... who sent you?"
"I have no parents, sir, I came for lack of choice."
The boy avoided looking at Zoro, little hands out of the sleeves that huge coat, clearly a size larger than it should, the brim of the cap hiding his face.
Zoro felt an instant sympathy for the boy, if I could take him when he would leave there, give him options, he knew it was a lonely life.
"What's your name, boy?"
"Nico Hagar ..."
Zoro realized that he had some discomfort to pronounce his own name, but would not raise the issue right now, he needed to gain the confidence of the guy before.
"You should eat, will cool and cold gets worse."
He knew well. That food was washing, there was nothing good there. Hagar sat on his knees, halfway between the door and the cell, perhaps to say that he would even finish eating.
"What do you usually do on the ship?" the swordsman asked between one and another spoonful.
"They will not let me do anything, say I'm weak and clumsy, but it's better that way. When the ship dock in some island I think I go out, they will send me away. Sooner or later."
"You can come with us, when my nakama arrive, they will attack the ship, and you can come with us until have a place you like."
"Traveling with pirates?" He seemed to consider a crazy idea. "They won't accept me, and you're only saying that because you want to find a way out of here ... I better go before I got in trouble."
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The dish was there until the next day, not Hagar returned for the dishes or another sailor.
When morning came, Zoro waited another soldier came, and again pretended to be asleep, but the boy's light steps into the room made him lift his gaze.
"Good morning, Hagar. Thought about what I offered?"
"You do not know who I am and if I'm a spy, intending to find out about your crew?"
"You're not ... If you were, you would have been more outgoing, would have talked more, trying to figure out more things."
"If you really know who I am, you will not want me to go with you. I'm not what you think."
"And who are you? Maybe I accept better than you think."
"I cannot trust you now, eat .. I need to go faster this time, they asked questions last night."
"When everyone is asleep, you could come back and we'd talk. Maybe you can trust me more."
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That night, when the guards thought he was fast asleep, and left the door of the room, he realized to be more eager to hear again the soft footsteps of the boy.
He had spent the afternoon and evening analyzing all the information he had received. The fact that he did not remove his coat for anything, even the heat increasing significantly, delicate hands, the light steps, eyes bright. The difficulty in pronouncing his own name, everything indicated that indeed, Nico Hagar was not who he claimed to be or seem.
As soon he entered the room, looking around, approaching the cell with light steps, still avoiding the bars, sat next to Zoro, took off his cap and opened few buttons of his coat, he was sweating profusely.
"Why do not you get that jacket? Is hot like hell!"
"I can't ... I have my reasons"
"And those reasons would be the fact you will not be Nico Hagar and not be who you say?" His eyes widened, fear, shallow breathing. Zoro had hit. "I will not tell anyone, do not worry, I will not change my mind about taking you out of here, even being a woman ..."
"But ... your fellows ... they ..."
"We have a woman in the group, is our navigator, as competent or more than any man. Makes no difference."
The woman was still so shocked she could hardly speak, finished unbuttoning her coat, throwing it back to the body. Underneath the uniform, Zoro could understand why shallow breathing, tracks squeezed her breasts, but it wasn't hard to know that she was a woman.
"I think you better loosen the bands, here you do not have to hide who you are."
"You could look the other way?" He closed his eyes and turned to the opposite wall, waiting for her consent.
"What's your real name?"
"Nico Robin, Hagar was my father."
"And what was the real reason you did this madness?"
"My father died when I was very small, not even remember his face. My mother died two months ago, but I could not stay on that island."
"Why not? Have a job, do something by yourself?"
"I ate the Devil Fruit at five years old. Since then, I have been called a devil girl. No one accepted me in the village, my mother suffered a lot because of me. She had lost her job as a researcher. She was an archaeologist, like me. We lived on the edge of society for twelve years, she has been sick many times before ... There was no food for both of us, she gave me what we had, we worked very hard on several things but there was plenty to do on the island."
Zoro turned around looking at the woman in front of him. She had already been through so much. The tracks were loose around her waist. She had her hair loose and they fall on her shoulders, black and glossy.
"When the Navy ship docked, I prepared my cover. At the time they were about to depart, I took my dad's old clothes, did my best to hide who I was, I modified the documents and ran to the ship, the port was empty and I asked to join the Navy. These days I'm feeling more trapped than ever. I'm afraid they discover. When you offered me go..."
Robin started to cry, tears rolling down her thin face, too thin.
"You have not eaten, have not showered, have not slept. How long do you think you can endure before you get sick and they discover through cruel? If you are seen by the doctor, he will not be so complacent about your secret."
"I cannot sleep in a room with so many men, I can not bathe without taking the tracks and the shower is collective and the food does not go down, it's too much for me ..." she said between sobs.
"I know .. it'll be fine ... You'd better you sleep now, while you can, I will wake you up before dawn."
She said nothing, just shrugged on the jacket, closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep.
Zoro cannot help wishing that his nakama hurry. The more time she spent there, the greater the risk of being discovered.
He needed to get her out of there as fast as possible.
UHU! I finished the first chapter soon .. are still 1:39 am in Brazil and finished! But this is only the first chapter. We still have two more (probably).
About their personality, as an alternate universe, I had to think about how they would be living in a different world, especially Robin, who did not live those twenty years of solitude. In fact, I played a bit with age, you will know better about what happened with the Mugiwara the next chapters ...
Thank you to those who read ... If you've read this far, leave a review, please ...