EPISODE 08 : WORST IN THE EAST
( if i had one more second )

THE AIR SMELLED of tangerines, a sweet scent wafting into anjali's nose.

she turned from the side-bed from within the going merry, face still buried into the material.

the auburn haired woman could still smell the tangy scent from coco village, even now that she was in the ship.

"look who's finally up." a smooth voice chuckled softly, and anjali's groggy mind hardly registered the gentle hand brushing away the hair from her face.

she blinked, once, twice. the slightly blurry image of green hair filled her vision before her eyesight cleared and anjali found a pair of big brown eyes staring right back at her.

"morning." she grinned sleepily.

"it's noon." he replied, fiddling with her hair.

"oh." anjali paused, yawning and stretching her limbs that had been curled up in a ball all day. "well, good afternoon, then."

zoro was warm, the day was warm, and anjali's stomach felt warm.

it was their final day in coco village, and everybody was saying their goodbyes. well, mostly nami.

her and nojiko had disappeared into someplace within the tangerine grove. luffy was out on the front porch of their childhood home, eating the orange fruit and awaiting her return. the rest of the crew was waiting upon her return, all huddled up in the kitchen.

anjali smiled to herself, content rising up within her so rapidly that her face muscles just had to mirror the serenity she felt within.

"what are you so happy about?" the green haired man asked.

anjali closed the small distance between them as she switched from laying down to sitting, so that they were shoulder to shoulder.

"nothing. i'm just glad." the woman hummed.

"for?"

"everything." anjali finished, her fingers finding zoro's and gently massaging them as if they were fidget toys.

he turned his hand to face palm-up, and anjali smiled gently and allowed their fingers to intertwine.

"i don't know what i'd do without you." he murmured, so softly that anjali had to pause to make sure she was hearing it correctly.

"get lost, that's for sure." the auburn haired woman laughed, though her cheeks burned crimson.

she had grown up with this man. seen him at his worst, at his best, and even the in betweens. if there was anyone who knew roronoa zoro, it would be kumar anjali.

she'd seen him before he was taller, stronger — just a boy with green hair who cried into her clothes about being made fun of for his unnatural hair color.

anjali knew roronoa zoro when he was childish and young, heart set on winning her over and proclaiming their eternal bonds.

when their knees and elbows and wrists did not yet ache from the pains of growing up, and they were still children living as children should.

yet now, they were adults. the burdens on their shoulders were heavy, and their arguments weighed far more than any childish quarrel. but still, they were roronoa zoro and kumar anjali, and fate (if it even existed) was only fond of the two when they were together; when they were whole.

even as they grew up, there was always a place in each of their hearts, a perfect fit for them to mold into each other.

anjali looked at zoro, and the man she saw before her was so . . . unreal. even when she meant to push him away, he only sunk deeper into her heart.

"you're keeping your promise this time, right?" anjali whispered, hope lining her eyes as she stared at the man.

zoro smiled, his eyes curving with joy. "i swear on it."

anjali yawned, and her head dropped on the man's shoulder. "good, because im going back to sleep."

she felt the man shift beneath her, and soon her head was resting against his chest, feeling the rapid pitter-patter of his heart and the steady up-down of his breaths.

warm arms encased her, and she drifted off to sleep once more, knowing that she finally had friends she could trust. and zoro too, whatever he was to anjali.

‎ ‎

‎ ‎

‎

‎

‎

‎
LUFFY SLAPPED A piece of paper onto the table, his face practically all-grin.

anjali had finally woken up fully, and she and zoro made their way into the kitchen just in time to see what luffy had brought them.

even nami was already on the ship, and the crew was all huddled around the paper.

it was a yellowish piece of paper, and the bold letters 'WANTED' were plastered on the top, followed by a picture of the straw hat pirate and his name and bounty.

anjali whistled lowly. "wow, luff. you finally got your wanted poster."

nami groaned at the sight of the wretched paper. more trouble for the crew.

"ayy, look, i'm famous!" usopp cheered.

"what are you on about? that's luffy's wanted poster." sanji raised an eyebrow.

"not just luffy." the sharpshooter pointed to the image in the left hand corner of his bandana and hair, chuckling to himself.

"sorry guys. maybe if you work a little harder, you'll get a bounty too." he grinned proudly to himself.

"that doesn't count." sanji said.

"it's ok to be jealous." usopp nodded in understanding. "feel what you need to feel."

"um, this is stupid." he shot back.

"this is gonna make things much harder." zoro interrupted, staring at the paper.

anjali wrapped an arm around his shoulder with a grin. "come on, we're the straw hat pirates. we can handle it."

"with that price on your head, every bounty hunter in the east blue will be gunning for you." he continued.

"not just luffy." nami added. "they're gonna be gunning for all of us."

"then it's a good thing we're not staying in the east blue." luffy annnounced.

anjali's eyes grew wide, and they sparkled with joy at his words. "you mean . . .?"

"that's right." he grinned. "we're going to the grand line!"

‎ ‎

‎ ‎

‎

‎

‎

‎
SHE HAD GROWN attached to the sea. anjali couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life on land, and for the first time the ocean didn't look like a vast empty death-trap.

especially not now, standing beside zoro, his warmth pressed to her side.

the crew was standing out on the going merry, either sitting around doing nothing or staring off into the endless blue.

"the grand line." anjali murmured, looking towards the setting sun. "d'you think there's islands in the grand line?"

zoro chuckled softly. "there is, why?"

the auburn haired woman shrugged her shoulder. "i've finally realized what my goal is."

all this time, anjali had simply taken over the goals of the shimotsuki family, never wanting to disappoint a friend she had already let down once. even as a child, there was nothing that ever caught her eye, unable to leave.

but now, anjali was free. and she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

"what do you think?" luffy said loudly, and anjali turned her attention to their captain and the tangerine haired woman, both of whom were staring at the small tangerine trees that he had brought aboard.

"it's a little piece of home to take with you on your journey." he smiled.

"and i can whip up tangerine tarts anytime you want." sanji added with a smile. wow, anjali couldn't believe he was still trying to charm nami.

nami stared between the three trees on the end of the boat, and her eyes grew teary.

"it's perfect." she murmured gratefully. "we actually have something for you too."

anjali grinned.

"usopp, set the main!" nami called, and they all stepped to the middle of the boat.

the aforementioned man was climbing up the mast, eyes glinting with an air of mischief. "setting down the main!"

as the sail slowly unraveled, anjali watched as the smile on their captain's face grew wider each passing second. the straw hat gazed at it in awe, before turning and running down the steps to get a look at the front.

"you think he likes it?" anjali asked jokingly when  luffy began cheering, jumping, and running around.

"i'm not sure." nami replied with a grin, her smile fond as she watched the red-vested man yelling his heart out.

soon, luffy climbed onto the sheep figurehead and continued yelling like a madman while the rest of the crew crowded around the map of the grand line.

"the entrance to the grand line isn't too far off, but i think there's a mistake on the map." nami called to luffy as she put down her magnifying glass.

turning and sliding off the figurehead as if it were a slide, luffy hopped off with a grin, straw hat held up with one of his hands. "what do you mean?"

"well, it looks like a river or a canal or something, but it doesn't make any sense." she explained, angling the map so that luffy could look. "these elevations show a mountain. i mean, how can a river go up a mountain?"

luffy shrugged. "you're our navigator. you'll figure it out."

he gently tapped her on the shoulder playfully.

"wow," anjali gasped as she popped in between the two, resting her head on luffy's shoulder to take a peek at the map. "if the grand line's full of these weird places, i can't wait to see what else there is!"

"crazy." nami muttered, shaking her head with a small smile. "every single person on this crew is crazy."

anjali grinned. "you're stuck with us now."

"luffy, come here!" sanji called out to the straw hat, who turned to look over at the cook. "i've got an idea."

anjali, pretty bored from having nothing to do, followed the two down the steps onto the main deck, where sanji rolled a barrel in the middle.

luffy smiled in understanding. "straw hats! all hands on deck for a cast-off ceremony!"

the six circled around the barrel, zoro finding his place beside anjali with a yawn.

"clogged any other toilets yet?" she smiled teasingly, nudging the man with her elbow.

"hilarious." he replied, smiling as he messed up anjali's hair. her only response was an annoyed grumble as she fixed her hair.

sanji was the first to speak, his blonde hair shining gold in the glow of the dying sunlight.

"i'm gonna find the all blue." he announced, lifting his foot atop the barrel.

luffy followed suit, grunting as he lifted his leg onto the wooden surface. "i'm gonna be king of the pirates.

zoro grinned, and he too brought his foot up to the barrel. "i'm gonna be the world's greatest swordsman."

and for a second, through the glint in his high brown eyes, anjali could see the flash of blue hair and mischievous smile belonging to shimotsuki kuina.

nami's foot landing with a thud on the barrel. "i'm gonna draw a map of the world."

usopp hesitated before he too mimicked the rest, pronouncing his dream with a yell. "i'm gonna become a brave warrior of the sea!"

all eyes were on anjali, and she grinned, feeling blinded by the remaining rays of sunlight stringing her vision.

her foot made contact with the old barrel, and zoro grinned at her.

"i'm going to explore the world!" she announced proudly, because for once,

kumar anjali had a dream.

they all laughed, and anjali felt like the luckiest person in the world.

"this is it, crew." luffy said, smiling as he looked around at all of them. "the grand line."

"nothing's gonna stand in our way! yeah!"

all of them joined in, whooping and yelling and cheering, ignoring the scratch of their throats and dryness crawling through their mouths.

anjali smiled until the apples of her cheeks were sore. she looked over at her crewmates, the wind blowing hair onto her face. she caught sight of their bright expressions through the strands tickling her nose and lips. anjali would forever be grateful that this was more than just a pirate crew she had stumbled upon.

even though she never had believed in fate, her heart would always be filled with happiness that anjali met this more-than crew. that she met what would become family.

if she had one more second, surely anjali would choose to spend it relieving this very moment of her journey.

this was the day that anjali no longer felt as though being an adult was a burden. she was not subservient to the ache in her knees nor did she resent her body for betraying her by leaving what was once childhood.

no, anjali was grateful that she had grown up. there was no pain within a life with these five.

with them, kumar anjali felt as though she was a kid once more.

‎

‎
‎ ‎

‎

‎

‎

‎

‎

‎ ⚔︎ VOLUME I ⚔︎
( THE END )
10.09.23

‎

‎
‎ ‎

‎

‎

‎

‎

‎

‎

‎ ⚔︎ AUTHOR'S NOTE !

i'm crying the first act/volume is overrr 😭 im actually so sad i loved writing this fic 😞

yall gotta lmk if u want me to make a filler vol ab anjali's life in shimotsuki village (a prequel basically from when she became friends with kuina and zoro till the moment she was banished) bc im srsly debating doing it that's how much i love writing this fic😣😣

otherrr than that if i made another one piece fic would yall read it🫣 bc im in love w the live action sm!!!!

plsplsplsss lmk before i lose motivation 😞

also pls lmk if there are any mistakes in the spelling or anything so i can fix it !

also don't b afraid to vote or comment, i will probably (very likely) reply!!!!

happy reads and see you next time !

‎

─── ANNIE