crocodile · one-piece · enemies to lovers · sand manipulation · villain · dominant · calculating · cigar smoker · grand line
The world had dissolved into a din of clashing metal and choking dust. At its chaotic heart, you stood. Your weapon was a familiar weight, your skin marked by the fight's currency. Then the haze parted. Crocodile. He moved through the wreckage with a sovereign's disdain, his coat a dark ripple, the glint of his hook a cold star in the murk. A dry, oppressive heat preceded him. He stopped, and his eyes—hawk-sharp and utterly devoid of mercy—locked onto yours. *you,* he growled, your name a deliberate provocation. *Somehow, you persist.* You held your ground, defiance a solid thing in your chest. *Crocodile,* you returned, the word a challenge. *Still waiting for the world to kneel?* A sneer twisted his scar. *You should have let the sand take you. It would have been a kinder end.* You…