Warrior Bond- WetWet Fruit Ch6

Previously...
    "Took you long enough," said Zoro. You handed him the glass and sat on the step beside him.
    "You're welcome."
    "Thanks, (Name)."
    "Sure thing, Zoro." Ugh, nice things. Zoro chugged half the glass, wiped his mouth with a swipe of his wrist and looked at you. His silver eyes sent out a piercing gaze under his angled brow.
    "Don't stress being nice if you don't want to." Am I really that transparent? Well, perhaps when it comes to playing nice...
    "I'm no good at it anyway. Alright, I won't."
    "Well, you tried..." You had a comeback for his pithy remark, but something caught your and his attention. Iceboat goons were walking up the path to your isolated house.
    "Lookee heah boys! The Shadow is havin' a sit on the porch with his boyfriend! Seems we interrupted a lovely little brunch." The group laughed for their boss.

Now...

    There were a lot of them, a few goons short of an angry mob. The Iceboat Gang must be angry about all their goons that came here on a one-way trip. You stood and raised your arms, reaching for the water all around you to become your personal army. As you tested your own strength, you could feel the sickness, the wrath of the devil inside you clawing at your gut. The training session used up your strength, you prayed this would not be a long fight. The whole gang raised their high-dollar flintlocks, aiming for your head.
    "You must be eager to join your friends buried in my swamp. You all realize those won't do a thing to me? I'd rather you didn't shoot up my house." Most of them shook in their boots but kept their guns up. The leader laughed it off while adjusting his tacky yellow tie.
    "Not so fast, (Name) Shadow. We got special bullets from the New World. They'll mess you up like anyone else."
    "What's he talking about, sea stone bullets?" said the swordsman.
    "No way, the government controls it all." It must be armament Haki. "But it might as well be," you told him.
    "You two loveboids look pretty chummy. Dontcha know dat da Shadow is not ta be trusted?"
    "What are you talking about?" Zoro demanded. "He took me in for the night, gave me food and sake. I may not know much about this Shadow person, but we have a bond made in battle, a warrior bond! I would defend (Name) as if he were a part of my crew!" Zoro had drawn two swords while he was talking, ready to fight. He's serious?? What's with this guy? What's his angle?? TRUST NO ONE, TRUST NO ONE. You were baffled, but the only answer that made sense is that he was telling the truth... You recalled the old saying about all good things. Zoro would abandon you without giving you a chance, like all the others. Even though you enjoyed his company, you prefer your solitude. You don't have to trust anyone but yourself alone. Except...
    "Is dat so? His crew didn't get to see dat side of him, and no one in this island ever has," said the leader.
    "Get to the point already," grumbled Zoro. 
    Some people claim they have monsters inside them. Demons that are a dark part of them, responsible for negative feelings and actions. The devil fruit has that covered for your sake, but the truth is, you're the monster.
    "He slaughtahed 'em, captain and all. Dat island is still red with dere blood!"
    Somewhere inside is a person, normal, happy. You imagine it to be an oblivious, smiling child. This is you, swallowed up by the monster you have become, growing like long shadows as the sunlight fades behind the horizon.
    "Da guy didn't even bury 'em, just left 'em out foah da gulls ta pick at!"
    Whatever form it had has swelled and twisted beyond recognition. The light shows a face, a person like any other. But the shadow remains on the other side, just out of sight. People think you're just a weirdo, but you know you are so much worse.
    "Some even say he did it foah all da bounty on his entire crew! Da Felix Pirates were worth millions."
    "(Name)..." Zoro's fists were shaking with rage, you thought for sure the handles would break from his strength. "Is this moron telling the truth??" You wanted to lie. The truth was you didn't do it for the money, but... would he even believe you? No one else did.
    "...Y..." you swallowed, "Yes... I killed them. I killed my own pirate crew..." He looked away, disgusted. He sees what I really am now... He'll try to kill me, he'll hate me, he'll abandon me like everyone else has, trust-no-one, trust-no-one-trust-no-one!!
    "What you did is disgraceful... shameful among even the worst Pirates..." Captain Felix... I'm so sorry I... Zoro turned to you.
    "But... I will still protect you." Zoro pointed a sword at your face. "Just know that I will protect my own crew first." Your eyes widened in shock.
    WHAT IS WITH THIS GUY?? He knows about what I did... He knows I'm a monster...
    WHY DOES HE STILL WANT TO PROTECT ME? Containing this confusion struck you with utter silence. Your mind was shrieking your mantra "TRUST NO ONE, TRUST NO ONE," over and over. However, you saw a unique honesty in those steel silver eyes, another alien feeling: loyalty. And not the kind that has to be paid for.
    "Hey, if you two loveboids are through oggling each other, we got some revenge ta take care of. We IceBoats..." the leader continued to ramble on about how great he was while you tuned him out. Well, they're not leaving on their own. Only one thing to do... Let this crazy swordsman help you. Ignoring the leader completely, you walked over to your open front door and grabbed your ragged coat from inside. You peeked down at the Felix Pirates jolly roger, slipped on the coat and faced your enemy. That's better. You pushed your glasses up and leered at the leader once more. Zoro took the bandana he's had tied around his arm this whole time and tied it onto his head. His gaze was severe and deadly just under the front edge of the bandana. If only he didn't look so ridiculous with a sword in his mouth, you would find him intimidating. "...we're about to unleash the power in the IceBoats- Hey, ah you two even listening ta me??"
    "I'm an assassin," you retorted, "I have nothing to say to people I'm going to kill." You waved your hand flippantly at the gun-wielding group. The leader was giving orders to take aim, or whatever. You raised your hands once more. "Shall we?" you asked Zoro.
    "You take the right side, I'll take the left," grumbled the swordsman. He raised his swords and stepped in front of you. Eyeing his muscular back, open to attack, you sighed internally.
    For some reason, he's going to help me... Okay, eyes sharp. I have to take care of those bullets. I may not be able to dodge fast enough. You looked around at the guns they were using. They must've had to use imported guns for these Haki-powered bullets, that's why they came today. It's been raining for months, but guns made on this island are mostly waterproofed. You summoned water from all around your house. Small muddy globes flew through the air and gathered above the group of IceBoats. They winked and glimmered harmlessly in the sunlight. Far above it looked like an exploding firework, frozen in time. You clenched your fists and gravity took hold.
    Wet Wet Downpour. 
    The droplets fell like a sudden torrent of rain. The goons winced at the moisture, confused by the sudden change in weather while the sun was shining.
    "What ah you guys waitin' foah? Shoot him!!!"
    "Demon Slash!" Zoro yelled. For some reason. Why would he give away his plan like that? Several at the front-left fell flat in the mud. The leader had ducked away and shouted from the back, "FIAH!". Those who weren't being sliced up by Zoro pulled their triggers. 
    Click! Click! Click! As you had hoped, the rain moistened the gunpowder. But the effort to change the local weather for a minute drained your energy more than you bargained for. One knee started knocking, and you teetered to one side. I'll have to just use my waterman body, outside sources make me sick twice as fast. You ignored the sickness, the spite of the gods and taunted your enemy.
    "It doesn't matter if you bought fancy bullets, I'm just smarter than you goons!"
    "Don't get too cocky!" yelled Zoro through his teeth. You nodded, but he was preoccupied with a swordsman in a tuxedo among the goons. 
    Bang! TING! A flintlock blast rang out, but Zoro blocked it with his sword. Better be careful, my plan didn't work perfectly. You morphed your arm into your Wet Wet Whip and rushed the goons, lashing at the right side. A few grabbed their swords but didn't know what to do with them. Three found a water throwing knife lodged in their eyes. I never miss.
    Bang! A sharp pain penetrated your left shoulder. Tendrils of dark red trailed down your transparent Wet Wet Whip arm. Your whip lost its cohesion as you clutched your bullet wound. That hit something important... The downpour stopped as soon as it had started. You stumbled, grimacing in pain. Your eyes hunted the group for the one with the working gun.
    A look of victory transforming into mortal dread gave the man away. You raised your uninjured arm and blasted a forceful Wet Wet Jet at the goon's face. His head was blasted clean off his shoulders. The barrel of his gun blasted apart, and everyone behind the goon was impaled or knocked on their backs.
    "Hey stay on your side, (Name)!" said Zoro. 
    "Then kill them faster!" you teased. Zoro then swirled around, slashing eight goons that had encircled him. All of them were thrown back by his strength and speed and they didn't get back up.
    "Fast enough for you?" said Zoro, smirking around his mouth sword. You rolled your eyes and flung your Wet Wet Whip into another cluster of goons. One tried to run away, so you wrapped the end of the whip around his foot and used him to bludgeon his remaining comrades. Still screaming as he sailed thru the air, you flung him into a nearby tree. A loud crack and the goon lay silent.
    Zoro had slain the last of them and was cleaning his swords on a nearby patch of grass. You gritted your teeth, holding back a wave of nausea. Your coat was covered in blood, mostly your own. You absorbed it so it wouldn't stain, but you were only rehydrating your body. You were still feeling faint. Blood loss made a bad pairing with the sickness. Wait... You looked around at the well-dressed bodies laying in the mud, trying to find the leader with the yellow tie, but he was nowhere to be found.
    "Zoro, what happened to their leader?"
    "I thought you killed him?" he grumbled.
    "No, I haven't seen him since he ran off." Zoro suddenly looked at your house.
    "(Name)!" as he spoke, you heard a whoosh of flame. You turned toward it.
    Your jaw dropped. Your house was ablaze. The leader with the yellow tie stood in front of it, laughing like a madman in front of the orange glow.
    "What was dat about you bein' smahtah?? If we can't have your books, den you can't neidah!!!" You clenched your fists, outraged. No one burns my house and gets away with it... Lucky for you, he was standing in a puddle. With just a squeeze of a fist, a sheet of water rocketed from the puddle and split him in half from his crotch to his shoulder. His laughing turned into a horrible choking noise before he slumped to the ground, spasming on each side of the puddle.
    Another wave of nausea punched you in the gut and you doubled over. Your vision was blurring...
    "(Name), are you alright??" Zoro said. He put his arm on your right shoulder. 
    "Yeah... just reaching the limit of my powers. Long fights are the worst..."
    "What are we gonna do about your house? I could cut off the burning parts." You gave him a look, straightening up.
    "Zoro, half of it is burning already, that's a terrible idea." He crossed his arms and defended his twisted thought process.
    "Well, half a house is better than no house." You rolled your eyes. "Wait, maybe I can create a whirlwind with my swords to blow it out."
    "Better, but nothing burns out here unless it was covered in something flammable. No wind will blow it out." You sighed and ignored all the painful warnings your body was screaming at you. Your shoulder was still leaking blood way too fast. "(Name), you're bleeding." Was that concern? For someone like you? This swordsman is actually worried about you. Thunder boomed overhead, a storm was on its way. The sun was fading fast high in the sky. You looked at him, speckled with blood. A shallow gash on his leg oozed slightly.
    "So are you. It's not important right now. I have to make one last wave..." You raised your arms and took hold of a deep pit of water below the burning side of your house. Your stomach felt like it was full of corkscrews. Spots blurred the burning bright light, but you didn't need your usual precision. With your last ounce of strength, you willed the water to tower over your roof. Wet Wet Wall. You pushed it over at the fire, making a mess of steam and hissing. That was the last thing you heard before you collapsed in the mud. Someone was shouting your name, but then it all faded to black.