Chapter Text
CHAPTER: 8
Zoro
One step in front of the other, he kept repeating the process in his head to make sure he didn't stumble, to make sure there were no mishaps as he went. He had one thing on his mind and one things only. Getting the both of them out of here with as little damage as possible. Though, looking down at the man in his arms, he feared it was already too late for that. Almost immediately, the blond had ceased his complaints, given into the persistence of the other and allowed himself to be hauled as he were. Every now and then, the chef flinched or groaned as he tried to bury himself further against the other. And, Zoro knew, had he been in his normal state of mind, he would not have been caught dead doing such things, especially not with him.
"As soon as we get some distance, we can take a break," he promised, fully aware that all this running had to have been jarring and painful for the other, but there was no helping it. He had to put him through this temporary hell for his own well-being. "Just a little bit longer," he lied. He'd continue going until he was sure they were far enough away, no matter how far that was.
Sanji hissed between clenched teeth as the running got a little more intense, his breath hot and quick against the other. "T-Think Frankie...realized something is...up yet?" he asked after a moment, needing a distraction, anything to take his mind off the flaming agony.
That was right, he was still working on repairs on the Sunny while they went ahead...there still was a way out of this mess. With all that was going on, it kind of slipped his mind, and his chest eased just a little at the remembrance of that. "If he hasn't by now, then he probably will soon enough. It's been what, two days? Three, since we left? Something that was only supposed to take a day or two at the most. Yeah, I'm sure he's noticed something by now," he agreed, unable to stop the satisfied smile from slipping onto his features.
"Whatever he's...doing, he needs'a hurry the...hell up," the cook ground out, instantly clamping his mouth shut again to keep a pained whimper from escaping. "Been here...long enough as it...dammit!" The swordsman couldn't tell if that last swear was from his impatience or discomfort. But, whichever it was, it was emphasized as he squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face away once again.
"Before that...we need to find the others," he replied, mostly to himself as his expression tightened. More importantly, they needed to find chopper more so than the others...if they were even here. But, where else could they be? He held on securely and quickened his pace, no longer keeping the cook's comfort into consideration, that could wait. "Where the hell are you gu-" he started to ask silently, but his foot caught onto something, effectively cutting him off as he lurched forward from the momentum.
"Shit!" he blurted out, finding only enough time to be able to twist his body in order to take the brunt of the fall. However, it wasn't quite enough, and before he could stop either one of them, they were rolling, rather swiftly down a hill, a hill that must have been hidden from view thanks to all the foliage. In the background, the hisses and groans didn't go unnoticed as the other man was tossed from his grasp. Gritting his teeth, Zoro reached out for the first thing he could find to grab onto and held on for dear life, and almost instantly, he came to a sudden stop. He hardly took a moment to catch his breath and gather his wits before he was searching for his crew mate.
"Sanji!" he cried out, instantly spotting the blond a few yards away, barely moving. "Son of a…" he muttered scrambling to his feet and nearly tripping again in his haste to get to the other man's side. "Hey, you alright," he asked without hesitation, dropping to his knees next to him.
For a moment, there was no response, but form the uneven rise and fall of his chest and the occasional whimper, it's clear that he's still conscious at the very least. "Hey, talk to me, would ya?" he asked, trying as he might to mask his growing worry.
"Shuddup," the other groaned, his eyes still closed. Now that Zoro really paid attention, the blond appeared a few shades paler, his breathing quickening up as a sheen of sweat covered his brow. Concerned, he went to help him sit up, but the green-haired man was immediately shoved away without hesitation as the chef tried to crawl a few feet away.
"What the hell are you doin-?" Zoro tried to ask, but his question was answered before he could ask it when the foul sounds of retching reached his ears. "Oh," he added, softly. Even so, and despite the awkwardness of it all, he inched closer and assisted the other in not falling over on the spot, supporting him as his body convulsed. "Let it all out," he muttered, not used to this whole bedside manner thing, but he had to try.
After about twenty seconds of this, the only thing that wracked the smaller man's body were slight tremors from his exhaustion. "I...I'm fine now," he assured, giving a weak thumbs up. But, looking to his face, he appeared anything but. Fresh sweat trickled down the sides of his face and his features were absolutely ashen by now. "I jus...jus need'ta…" he let out a shuddering breath, lacking the energy to finish that sentence. And, in the next second, he was listing to the side, barely giving Zoro enough time to catch him.
"Yeah...fine," he scoffed, gently lifting the blond back into his arms. His brow was knit in displeasure, a sign that this was not at all a restful slumber at all. He took a quick moment to check the other over. Just like all the other times, he knew it would do nothing but remind him how useless he was, and how there was nothing he could do, but he still felt obliged to do so. Taking a deep breath, he used his free hand to again expose the injury to take another look at it. At least Sanji was fortunate enough to be out for it this time. After his strong reactions last time, he could only imagine what it would have been like this time.
His breath caught in his throat as he glanced over the festering wound; and, to say it appeared terrible was an understatement. That fall didn't help either as fresh blood spilled over along with clear pus. And that smell, if he didn't have such a strong stomach… Shaking his head, he quickly covered it back up, desperately not wanting to have to view it for even longer.
"Let's get you out of here," he uttered, standing with the other in his hold with surprising ease and gentleness. Sanji's exhales continued to come out hectically, his lips parted as they huffed out and his head lolled to the side. He was completely out of it this time, so much more so than the other two times. During those, he would back up almost instantly, but now, there was no sign of him coming to anytime soon.
Glancing behind him, he cringed at noticing how far they had actually fallen, and it was a miracle that the wound reopening was the worse thing that happened. But, it was safe to say they were a good distance away now, and it probably wouldn't hurt to take things a little bit slower form here on out. If nothing else, he needed to do it for the cook's sake, there was no telling if he could take another tumble like that one.
This process was beginning to wear his motivation now...they just shouldn't seem to catch a break, no matter what. Yet, he couldn't give up. If it were just him, he would have sat down and taken a rest ages ago, but he didn't have that luxury this time around. Not when someone else depended on him pushing forward. "You better appreciate this, you piece of shit," he mumbled strolling on without another second of reluctance.
Nami
Hope was finally starting to rise between the five of them as they drew closer, the scent trail grew stronger, and stronger...at an oddly fast rate. With the way Chopper sped up, all of them could only assume that he had picked up on a more potent trail. "They're close," he announced, unable to hide his swelling excitement. "Really close," he added, slightly changing course.
"How close?" Ussop asked instantly, ready for a break, but also equally ready to get the others back and make sure they were alright. Though, guess that second wish was already taken off the table the moment they found the bloodied bandanna. His own hands balled up at his sides.
Their doctor went on, assuming that all the others were still around him as he refused to slow down or wait on to make sure they were all keeping up. The smells were hitting like a truck now, and now there was a new one...a foul smell that came out of nowhere, and he instantly recognized it as vomit. "Not good," he mothed to himself, keeping that new information to himself to prevent the others from worrying even more.
"Zoro!" he called out without warning. "Sanji! Where are you guys?" he asked, desperation in his tone. "Guuuuuuys!" he cried out again, hooves raised around his mouth, stopping just for a moment as the last echoes of his cry dwindled away. And, as the last voice died away, he lowered his arms, his heart sinking at the lack of a response. But, as he went to take the next step, his ear twitched at the smallest hint of another voice. "D-Did you guys hear that?" he asked, eyes lit with new determination.
"Here what?" Nami asked, brow raised in confusion. Other than the deer's screams for the others and the normal sounds of wildlife, there was nothing.
"Heeeeeeeey!" The both of them turned to see Luffy now following the doctor's example, calling out without a word of warning in hopes of getting a reply or some sort of sign. "Sanji! Zoro!" He continued to call out, his voice louder and carrying much farther than their much smaller companions. He didn't stop either, not until Chopper raised a hand in silencing gesture. "What is it?" he questioned, hands still cupped in preparation for a another call if need be.
The doctor bounded forward, "They're really close now," he announced, and not a moment later, even the others caught the subtle reply in the distance. It sounded pretty far still, but with all the plant life and barriers between them, it was most likely due to the voice being muffled. They all followed closely, their relief and anticipation being the main thing that drove them forward. Just a few more minutes, and they would all be reunited, they would all be together and they could finally start thinking of a way to get out of this mess.
Chopper, now bound ahead of the others, only with his captain close behind, suddenly stopped in his tracks, his posture stiff with fear as the others soon caught up. "Something wrong?" Nami questioned upon finding him like that, but with a quick glance past him, it didn't take long for her own gaze to widen and her jaw to drop. "S...Sanji," she uttered. Her wavering gaze landed on the chef, held delicately, like he was so fragile, in the arms of the swordsman...unmoving. "W...What happened?" she asked, stumbling forward.
Saying nothing, Zoro looked straight to Chopper, ignoring all others as if they weren't even there. The shock of finding the others this soon hadn't even seemed to process yet. "He needs help," he said simply, skipping everything else, failing to mention anything they went through, brushing their findings off as if they were of no importance. "It's bad," he added, eyes drifting down to the man's leg, and the other immediately understood.
"Right," the doctor replied, "we need to find somewhere out of the elements. Anywhere to keep us sheltered," he explained before clapping his hooves together. "Of course!" he blurted. "The cave, the one you guys were in before, we can go back there."
"Wait..how did you?" Zoro asked, confused, he didn't remember telling him anything. But, the much smaller companion just pointed to his nose with a sly grin. Of course, how could he have let that slip his mind. And, Chopper even took it upon himself to start leading the way back while the trail was still fresh. "It shouldn't be too far, and we should be able to reach it within a couple hours," he assured with a glance back at the blond. "I...Is he alright enough to wait that long, you think?" he asked, willing to take care of things right here if not.
The swordsman deeply considered it for a moment before answering honestly. "I really have no idea, but like I said, it's pretty bad." He looked down at the distraught features as he spoke, the pale appearance of his skin causing the brightness of the flush to look more intense. "His fever is pretty high too, and it's only getting worse."
Chopper soaked that all in for a bit, then nodded. "Alright, place him down then," he instructed, slipping his bag off his back. There was no need to ask where the injury was, it would take a blind man not to see it.
"There are others here," Zoro informed the rest of them, cutting his eyes over his shoulder and in the direction of the village. "They aren't exactly welcoming either," he added, vehemence in his tone. "Their leader, she's the reason we crashed, by the way, she's the one that caused all this. That storm was supposed to kill us," he fumed, fist clenched and arm shaking from the force of it. Next, his hand drifted to his hip, the air that resided there causing his eyes to narrow again. "I have to go back," he muttered, not forgetting that his swords were still there, one in particular. They could have the others for all he cared, but that one could not be replaced.
As Chopper worked, the rest stood around, all aside from Zoro, who couldn't keep himself from constantly scanning around them. The reindeer carefully pulled all obstructions away from the wound, hissing as he finally got to see the full extent of it. And, the other was right, it wasn't pretty at all. "Alright, not to worry, this can be taken care of," he rambled nervously as he dug through his bag for his antiseptic.
Muttering a quick apology in advance under his breath, he poured a decent amount into the injury, and the reaction he received was both unexpected and extreme. The once unconscious chef was instantly writhing on the spot, immediately eliciting both Robin and Nami to forcefully keep him still before he could hurt himself further. The irony of this was missed by all of them in the moment, but deep down, they knew this would have been a dream come true had it been under less severe circumstances.
"I'm going as fast as I can," Chopper promised, guilt clawing at his insides for having to cause more pain, but it couldn't be helped.
Eventually, the blond managed to wear himself back out and soon went limp under their hold. But, they stayed where they were, ready to restrain him again if need be. "I can't stand seeing him like this," Nami muttered to herself. This was all too much to accept at once. They finally found the others again, it was supposed to be a happy moment, there was supposed to be celebrating, but no. The first thing they had to do was hold one of their own down while he was clearly in pain in order to save his life. It was far too much.
"He's strong," Robin reminded, offering the other a warm smile as she covered the other's trembling hand with her own. "I'm sure he'll come back from this no problem. Besides, he has our trusty doctor taking care of him now," she added, looking over to said comrade with a look of total trust.
Normally, he would have been over the moon at such a compliment, but he was barely aware of the flattery as he worked. He was too focused, too concentrated on getting this wound as clean as he could. The sooner he was able to finish this and get Sanji on the road to recovery, the better. He washed it out one more time just for assurance that it was as clean as he was going to get it, not wanting to miss any part of it.
Putting that bottle aside, he grabbed for the gauze and set himself to wrapping the leg, wanting to cover it up before there was a chance for anything else to enter. "There," he announced, swiping an arm over his brow. "I did all I could for now. The rest is up to him. And, as soon as he wakes up, I need to get him to take some medicine. But, as long as he's asleep, I won't be able to get him to take anything."
"He'll be fine though, right?" Nami asked, clearly worried.
Without giving the other a chance to answer, Luffy replied instead. "Of course he will, this is Sanji we're talking about. He's strong, I have no doubt he'll come back from this no problem. Besides, it would take a lot more than this to take him down."
"Right!" Chopper agreed, though there was still that inkling of doubt in the back of his head. It was true, mostly. But he didn't have all of his equipment with him, only enough for first aid. All of his better stuff was still on the ship in his room. He mentally slapped himself, why didn't he ever bring more with him. By now, he should know better than to bring the bare minimum when they go out like this. "He just needs to rest, and his body needs a chance to heal itself, and I'm sure he'll be fine."
"See?" Luffy beamed. "Everything will be fin-" he didn't get to finish that statement, being interrupted by what sounded like a horn...almost like a war horn. They all froze at the sound, and all their heads swiveled back towards the village. Whatever it was, it was dangerously close.
CHAPTER: 9
Sanji
Everything was so damn hot, and it was impossible to pinpoint the exact location it was originating from. He could have sworn it was bursting from every inch of his body. And darkness, it was everywhere, it encompassed him, plagung his mind and warping it of direction. If he could just pry his eyes open, but why was that so damn hard? No matter how hard he tried, the refused to budge. The last thing Sanji remembered...that was right, he was with Zoro, the damn idiot, and they fell.
Somehow, just the image of that bastard's face served in providing him with a few ounces of much needed energy, though, it still wasn't quite enough. Then he was sure something brushed against his forehead, and the touch was far too delicate to belong to a brute like the swordsman...it was like a woman's touch, and he found himself instinctively leaning into it, his body acting on its own.
"...anji?" his finger twitched at the mention of his name, the pain flaring up with it. And, damn did it hurt, almost enough to make him wanna return back to the abyss. "Sanji." That was definitely a lady calling his name, there was no mistaking it now, it was far too clear, the uplifting beauty of it lulling him closer into the arms of his angel. "Can you hear me?" she asked, the touch returning as it stroked a few strands of hair from his face. He was finally able to put a face with those miraculous tones.
He forced his eye open, the red strands acted like a beacon in his moments of darkness. "N-Nami?" he stuttered, the name rolling from his tongue in a croak, cracking as it warped that greeting.
The navigator sighed in relief at seeing the blue orb finally reveal itself. "Finally," she breathed out, her shoulders relaxing as she sat back. "How are you feeling?" she asked immediately after, never giving the blond enough time to fully come to his senses. Still, he pieced together what she was trying to say and answered with a pained moan and slight wince as everything started to come back at once.
Yet, to his surprise, it wasn't quite as bad as it had been. It was still there, for sure, but it was far more tolerable that it had been. As his eye searched around a little more, his bleary sight made out a few more figures, one of them was unmistakable. "Chop-" he went to say, throat instantly scraping and throwing him into a minor fit of coughing. "Sonuva…" he muttered, clenching his eyes shut again as he rode out the waves of agony.
"S-Sanji!" the doctor exclaimed, hooves flailing over the man's body uselessly until the episode was over. "Please, take it easy," he instructed. "You are still very sick, I could only clean and wrap the wound, but you need to take medicine now," he explained, already fishing around in his bag to fetch the capsules. "Think you can take these?"
The nausea in him told him 'no', but everything else screamed at him to say yes. After all, without it, that sick feeling was only bound to get worse and worse until something was done about it. "Y-Yeah," he muttered, sitting up with the help of Nami. Even with the assistance of another, it was a struggle.
"Try taking a few sips of water first," the reindeer suggested, wanting to make sure he could swallow alright without complications. Nodding, the blond took the offered water bottle and tilted it back, letting a few sips of water slide down. Until that moment, he hadn't realized just how thirsty he really was. He was surprised he could even speak earlier with how dry his mouth and throat were. Not to mention how refreshing the liquid was. Sure, it wasn't exactly cool anymore, but it still felt like heaven.
Before he could drink too much, Chopper was eager to stop him. "Not too much," he warned, practically snatching it away. "Alright, here, take these," he nearly ordered, procuring the medicine for the other to take. "This should help with the fever too."
"Right," the cook muttered, accepting the offered tablets, eyeing them for just a moment before tossing them both into his mouth at the same time, and quickly washed them down. Once that was taken care of, he was eased back down, giving him a chance to glance back around, and he saw no one else...just the two of them. "Zoro?" he questioned, gaze darting around in search of the man, but he was nowhere.
"He's with the others," Nami explained, something in her eyes tolling the alarm bells in the other's head. The others? So the others were here, and alright?
He looked between the two of them, finding them both to be wearing the same expression. "Well?" he questions. "Where are they?" he clarified when he didn't get an answer. "Where are the others?" he pressed, trying to sit up on his own. But a wince and a small pressure on his chest was enough to push him back into place on the ground.
"They went back," Nami spoke lowly.
"Back?" he repeated, gaze widening. "You don't mean…?" But, there was no need to go on, that was enough. Were they all freaking idiots? After they just got out of there, he wanted to go back, and others went with him? "W-What the hell...are they...thinking?" he wondered aloud between heavy pants. His heart was pounding, and he knew it was due more to his ailing body than it was his festering apprehension.
The others exchanged a questioning look before the navigator continued. "Yeah, they have Zoro's swords, he couldn't leave those behind," she filled in, knowing the chef would understand the need to retrieve them. And, of course, his demeanor softened. "But, there's four of them, and they have Luffy and Robin as well, so I think there is no need to worry about them," she added with a confident smile. Though, he knew her better than that, and he could see plainly the concern fighting in her eyes.
"And...you two let them go?" he asked breathlessly.
"You know once that man's set on something, there's no stopping him," Chopper sighed. And from the look on his face, he could gather that he must have done what he could to prevent it from happening. "But, like Nami, I believe they'll be fine," he added with a warm smile.
Zoro
They were right outside the village, a few people could be seen strolling about, all of them looking to the ground intently. Zoro narrowed his gaze as he watched on, the expressions they bore, the pure rage and frustration adorning them. They were looking for him and Sanji...that much was obvious. "Stay low," he mumbled to the others, "I have no idea what any of them are capable of...none of them other than their leader. But, from what I can tell, there's nothing special about them."
"I-I'll stay back here, and, ya'know, provide backup if you need it," the sniper suggested, standing a few feet back, his legs shaking a decent amount. But, he gave them a half-confident thumbs up. "You guys got this!" he encouraged.
"I'll leave it in your hands," the swordsman played along, leaving him to it. Besides, if he went in there a nervous mess, he'd probably do nothing but get in the way. Yeah, it was probably better this way. "Though, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd much rather we avoid conflict altogether if we can help it," he whispered, eyes darting around for a way in that would draw the least amount of attention.
Robin did the same, only her gaze was more focused on the residents. He was right, they really didn't look like much, it probably wouldn't take much to fight them head on. Hell, she was probably more than certified to take on half of them single handedly. Though, if what she heard about their leader was anything to go by, then she was the one they wanted to avoid. And, as soon as any of them caught their presence, she would be the first to know. Unless,
"We need a diversion," she suggested, keeping her voice low. "Something just long enough to get their attention for us to sneak in and grab your weapons," she elaborated, in thought. "Luff-" she went to ask, cutting her eyes over, only to be greeted by empty space. "Luffy?" she asked, locating him an instant later...almost on the other side.
"What the hell is he doing!?" the swordsman questioned in shock, eyes wide. "Is he trying to get himsel-"
"HEY!" they heard their captain's booming voice, echoing over the village without restraint. "OVER HERE!" he went on, waving his hands like a mad man. "IF YOU WANT ME, COME AND GET ME!"
The other three could only stare...blankly with their jaws slightly hanging as they were stunned. "He is…" Ussop muttered. "He's trying to get us all killed," he said, dropping his head. This was it, this was the end. Who would've thought, that he, was doomed to perish in a place like this. He had so many dreams and fantasies about how he'd go out: saving his friends, freeing some poor souls, anything as heroic as though. But, never in a place like this, an island in the middle of nowhere where no one would find his body. He visibly paled at the idea of such things.
Zoro scoffed to himself as he witnessed the foolish behavior of his captain, but, he supposed it would do well enough. "Well, may as well take advantage of the situation," he muttered, finally moving forward, albeit slowly and cautiously. "You can stay back here if you want, I won't make you go any farther. This is my business, after all," the swordsman reminded, not wanting to make any one go against their will if they weren't feeling up to it.
Ussop only nodded, his hand unconsciously tightened around his weapon as he took a knee. This was alright, he would wait here, and if...if he was needed, he would at least have the element of surprise. He took a deep breath and swallowed thickly and nervously; he just prayed it wouldn't have to come to that.
The other man waved the historian along as they rounded towards the side of everything. Along the way, he tossed anxious glances towards Luffy, and the way so many of the others ran after him. Luckily, he doubted he'd have any trouble getting away if need be, he was fast enough, that was for sure. 'Just, don't get yourself caught,' he thought to himself before turning back to watch where he was going. The two of them moved carefully, their footfalls hardly making a sound as they went. So far, so good. Only issue was, he had no idea where they put his weapons. They could be anywhere, and his teeth ground at the frustration of that. They could be searching forever.
Still, his eyes kept drifting to the main structure, the one that had their chief in it. He couldn't quite shake the feeling that if there were here, that was the most likely place they would be. There was probably no way to get them without being noticed then. But, Zoro looked back to Robin, his gaze narrowing. Though, maybe there was a possibility.
Before they could take another step, he halted in his tracks and gestured for her to do the same. "Wait," he uttered, crouching back down, eliciting her to follow suit. "I have an idea," he uttered, pulling in her interest with just that short statement. This was going to be interesting…
"Hmm," the historian hummed in thought, "It has its flaws, but it's the best we have, I suppose." It really wasn't the best, or impressive for that matter. But, if they really were where they thought, then there was nothing better. It was impossible to sneak in unnoticed. "I'm ready when you are," she offered him a small grin and a nod.
Returning the gesture, Zoro eased his way back into a standing position and scanned around. The coast was still clear. They already wasted a few minutes here, there was no more time to waste, they had to keep going, and fast.
"I'll go ahead and draw her attention," he informed, casting her one last look before taking off in his own direction. As he left her behind, he couldn't stop the whisperings of guilt from drifting through his mind. They were back in this place for his sake, none of them had to come along with him, yet, here they were. His fists clenched at his sides; and he swore, if any of them got themselves hurt because of this… He shook his head as he got closer to the main structure. To be honest, he was pretty surprised at the lack of people around. Either this was a small gathering of people, or Luffy did one hell of a job getting most of them out of there.
He pressed himself against the outside of the building...there was no more delaying this. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself to round that corner. Finally, he took one step. "Look who decided to come back," the feminine and teasing voice slithered down his spine.
Out of instinct, he jumped back, managing to put a few feet between himself and Tonitrua, who was leaning against the wall next to where he just was. "Hey," he greeted once his heart calmed down. He knew he'd get noticed, but not this soon. "Hate to intrude, but I think ya got something of mine," he said, narrowing his gaze, watching her closely for any subtle movements. A twitch of her finger, and he naturally stepped back.
"Why so jumpy?" she chuckled, folding her arms. "You act like I could strike you down with just a wave of my hand," she muttered, raising her right to look it over. "Hate to let you down, but that's not quite how this works…" she mumbled to herself as shadows slowly surrounded them. Glancing up, Zoro watched as clouds drifted in, covering the sun until they were covered in vague darkness. A moment later, a drop of moisture struck his nose, followed by another, and then a few more.
He held out his palm as a few drops struck it. "What, a little rain?" he mocked, trying as he might to hide his unease. But, he kept reminding himself where they were, there was no way she'd bring out the big storms in the midst of her home. She may have been irrational, but even that was too far. At that thought, a smirk slipped onto his features. This was fine, all he had to do was keep her occupied long enough for Robin to do her own thing.
Robin
She peered around as the conversation between Zoro and their leader picked up, and so far, her presence seemed to be unknown. Perfect. Carefully, she crept around the other side, taking one step at a time and placed each one with extreme care. She was so close, she just had to sneak around, a few more feet; she could see the entrance now, and if she was fast enough…
There was no thought put into her movements, she just darted for it while the woman had her back turned. And, shockingly, she was quick enough as to not alert anyone. But, the moment she was in, she was forced to hide behind the nearest thing she could, which happened to be a few crates, filled with who knew what. It didn't matter, she just thanked all the stars that they were there. She crouched down, hidden from view as a couple, rather large, figures strolled by. And, not a moment later, 'patters' could be heard striking the roof.
'Rain?' she thought to herself confused. It was bright just a moment ago. Of course, she couldn't believe she had almost forgotten, that was this woman's power...the power of storms and weather. She was actually getting serious about this. Either that, or it was an act of intimidation.
The moment the coast was clear she moved on, The thought that Zoro now had at least three people out there with him now serving to speed her up. From the looks of it, this structure wasn't too big, and was probably split up into only a few rooms at the most. If the swords were here, they'd have to be towards the back. So, as quietly as she could, and keeping close to the wall, she shimmied along, making sure not to let her guard down despite the fact that she was seemingly along in here.
So close, just a few more feet. Again, she froze on the spot, catching sight of another, but he wasn't moving. It didn't take much longer for her to realize he was guarding something, a room to be exact. Glancing just by him, she caught the twinkle of a blade, a rather familiar one at that.
That was it, it had to be. Staying right where she was, she concentrated as a single hand sprouted from the wall behind the blade and grabbed hold of the weapon. Once it was securely in the grip, another grew next to it, then another. It was a slow process, but this was something that couldn't be rushed. Slowly and tediously, the sword was passed from hand to hand, gradually handing it closer to herself. It was about halfway to her, and in the most precarious spot now...right next to the guard. Her lips tightened into a straight line and a bead of anxious sweat ticked down the side of her neck.
It was so close to the back of his leg, if she just took her ti- He shuffled back to reposition himself, the back of his leg brushing against the sword. This was it, the moment it made contact with him, he spun around to seek out the source.
CHAPTER: 10
Robin
She held her breath, swearing in her head as the sword bumped into the man's leg. There was no time to react, she couldn't back out of this before he could catch sight of her or her ability. She was left with only one option. Without giving him the opportunity to do anything about it, a few more hands shot from the ground and grabbed hold of his legs, then a couple more for his arms, and on more to cover his mouth to stop him from crying out.
"I apologize, but I can't let you interfere," she explained as she stepped closer. She watched as his eyes widened, but a moment later, they slid closed as her fingers jabbed against his neck. At that, all her hands dissipated, allowing his limp form to slump to the floor in a heap. She let out a relieved sigh; maybe she should have just taken that approach from the beginning, it would have saved her a bunch of time and trouble if she had. Oh well, there was no going back now. Brushing her hands together, she strolled over to his sword and picked it up, and glancing back, she was easily able to pinpoint his other two as well. All there was to do now, was to get these back to Zoro.
Robin held the katanas close and made her way towards the exit, no longer taking caution to the amount of noise she was making. The only one that was left in here was now on the floor unconscious, and everyone else was either after Luffy or aware of the swordsman by now. 'I'm coming,' she promised, using her free hand to shield her face when it was assaulted by wind and rain, striking her out of nowhere.
The historian peeked over the top of her arm, the sight of straining trees and cascades of water plummeting to the earth filling her vision. This was a lot more intense than she had anticipated. Where was he…
It didn't take long to locate the other four...Zoro, surrounded by the other three, the leader standing in front of him. From all the noise, she couldn't make out what was being said, but whatever it was, none of them were too keen on it. "Zoro!" she called out over the rain, afraid her voice was getting lost in the frenzy. But, to her surprise, he met her gaze, his eyes instantly looking to his weapons.
She had to get these over to him. But, it didn't look as though they were going to allow him the chance to slip by, not any time soon anyway. Her attention darted between the three of them as her heart pounded. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have been a big deal, but when they were facing someone that could literally control the weather, there was no telling how things could go. Just as she took a deep breath, it caught in her chest, and she wasn't sure if she was seeing right, but there was no mistaking it as she watched one of the large men list to the side, an unmistakable mark marring the side of his head. She smiled to herself, knowing exactly what had happened, and she cast a knowing look towards the edge of the forest.
"Nice shot," she muttered to herself with a sly grin. Zoro took that moment to break through the remaining of the two as he darted in her direction. The second he was within range, the weapons were passed over, and it took only a fraction of a moment for him to get situated and prepare himself for a fight. Two of his swords in either hand and his third at his side.
This time, there was no catching him off guard. And without the risk of putting the chef into further harm, there was no holding back. His hands twitched with the anticipation of it; this was something they had coming. The memory and images of the way they had shoved the blond along when he was clearly suffering only fueled his impatience. He turned the blade over in his right hand, watching the others intently. The moment they moved, there was going to be no hesitation.
Then, to his horror and confusion, she didn't come towards him. Instead, she looked to the side...towards where Ussop was. "Hey!" he called out after her. "Don't turn your back on your opponent!" he warned, instantly pushing off with his left foot and charging towards her. Before he could reach his target, he was stopped in his tracks, another blade ground with his own, his teeth echoed the action. "The hell out of my way," he growled lowly, raising the blade in his other hand and brought it down without delay.
As it bit into the man's shoulder, it was now clear that these lot weren't very experienced when it came to fighting other people. Though, now that he thought about it, that made sense, being the only ones here, there wasn't much need to be. That was it, they really had nothing to worry about, other than her ability to control storms, they had nothing. Even that alone showed their cowardice; the need to take people out before they had the chance to get to them, it was the best chance they had, and even herhestitaiton to fight one on one backed that theory up.
"You know, we don't have to do this," he explained. "We never wanted to fight, trust me, we want to leave as much as you want us to. We can all put this behind us," he went on. "It's you two against us three, and we already took out one in the blink of an eye," he said, nodding to the guy still knocked out on the ground.
"Don't patronize me," Tonitrua warned, her tone dark as the wind picked up and the rain crashed down harder. "I don't need your ramblings. If you really didn't want to be here, then you and that half-dead companion of yours should have never wandered towards us; it was you guys that came into our territory."
"Like we would have if we knew how insane you lot were," Zoro scoffed, rolling his eyes. "We didn't even know this damn place was here!" he exclaimed, anger rising by the second. She was just so intent on pushing his buttons right now. He took an instinctive step forward.
As his heel dug into the softening dirt, ready to bolt the moment he needed to, something else entered his range of hearing...it sounded like screaming. His face instantly fell at the familiarity of the tone, and he felt every fiber of his being tense from the frustration of it. "Guuuuuys!" Luffy called out to them, his voice panicked as it drew closer. He didn't even need to look voer to know he was running back towards them; what the hell was he up to now? "We need to go!" he warned. And, now, the swordsman spared him a glance, his brows knitting in annoyance to see his captain still had the lot of them right behind him. After all that, he couldn't manage to shake them.
"Are you serious?" he muttered in annoyance. There was no time to ask questions; this is exactly the mess they wanted to avoid in the first place. It wouldn't have been any problem to take them out, but or some reason, the idea of that didn't sit right with him. Taking them out was almost the equivalent of taking candy from a baby. It was borderline bullying as far as he was concerned.
He turned to tell Robin as well, but she was already ahead of him, not wasting any time the moment she saw the crowd of people. He was right behind her, their captain a few yards behind now with the group still in pursuit. Even the storm was picking up, but with a glance back, he found that their leader hadn't taken another step as she watched them flee. They took off in the direction of their sniper, picking up their pace the closer they got. Once they were within a few yards of the other, he was on his feet as well, quick to read the situation and follow their example. Yet, surprisingly, he somehow managed to get to stay in front of all of them.
"W-What happened?" Usopp asked, voice trembling with fear and panic.
"Ask your captain," Zoro grit out, shooting said man a glare. "It doesn't matter, point is, we got what we came for, now we need to get the others and get as far as we can. I have no doubt Franky realized we haven't come back yet, so he should go looking for us. If we're lucky, he'll see the wreckage or something. If not that, then we can just build a fire to get his attention," he blurted out, the words rolling out before he could stop any of them.
"Oh, is that all there is to it?" the sniper asked back.
"It is unless you know of anything better." Well, he couldn't argue with that; they had nothing else, no other way off this island. Their mechanic was their only hope at this point. And he was a capable guy when he had to, wouldn't let them down in a pinch. "We're counting on you," he muttered to himself, switching his concentration back to running and praying for the best.
Sanji
"How long have they been gone?" the chef asked, lifting a hand to run down his face, damn, he still felt awful. But, at least whatever Chopper gave him seemed to help a little bit. Only issue was he was still insanely tired, even more so now. "It's been a while," he added, wincing as he tried to look around some more as if the rest of them would magically appear.
The small doctor was fast to put a stop to that. "Quit moving so much," he chastised. "I told you not to worry about them." Though, he had a point, it was taking longer than he had anticipated. "It shouldn't be too much longer," he muttered, casting a nervous glance out the cave. "Any way, there's nothing we can do until they get back anyway," he said, turning back. "We just have to wait here and believe they got it covered, right Nami?"
She was quick to agree. "Yeah, besides, it is pretty far off and all, so it would take some time to get there and back. Maybe a few hours at the least. Though, they have been gone for at least two...and we did split ways back there," she added quieter as she now started to really think it over. Sanji merely sighed heavily at that. It really didn't matter either way. With him the way he was, there was no way he could go to back them up. That also meant Chopper was stuck there too with his raging doctor pride tying the two of them together until he was better. And then there as Nami, there was no way he was ok with her going back there at all, let alone by herself.
"They need to hurry the hell up, this isn't a vacation," he muttered. "But no, that shithead had to go sightseeing some more." He grunted as he shifted a bit, lying on the stone surface like this was beginning to get extremely uncomfortable.
Nami let out a heavy breath as she looked the other over, he still looked terrible, but he was lucid now at least. Of course, there was no way she would ever let him know just how worried she was when she first saw him, on the verge of death pretty much, in Zoro's arms. Even he was concerned for his life, which was saying a lot.
When Chopper perked up, it caught them both off guard, both of them jolting when he perked up and tensed. "They're back!" he blurted out, hopping to his feet in excitement, pausing the moment he was up. "They're coming quick though," he added, a mask of seriousness sliding over his features. Were they running from something? He peeked out just as the four of then were within sight.
"Choppppeerrrrrr!" he heard Luffy shout out. "We need to get out of here!" he informed by the time he reached them, stopping to lean over and catch his breath. It wasn't until then that he looked behind him to see that the coast was clear. Maybe they lost them after all. Letting out a sigh of relief, he straightened back up and let out an amused laugh. "Oh, they're gone," he stated the obvious, all concern draining from him.
"Still, I think it's best we go," Zoro spoke up, his eyes instantly seeked out the cook, lying a few yards away, but finally away. "Finally decided to wake up, did ya?" he scoffed. Hiding his worry with an irritated over tone.
Sanji returned the mood. "Only because I smelled you coming back. That shitty scent can wake the dead." It's like just being near the man pumped some life and fight back into him as he sat up, much to the reindeer's disapproval, but he somehow managed from stubbornness alone. "And, that's all you had to say, I'm more than ready to haul it out of this hell hole," he ground out, trying to ride out another wave of pain, one which forced him to lie back down.
"Talking about getting out of here when you can't even get up," the swordsman shot back, this time voice lacking its usual bite. Without being asked, and with more than a few protests from Chopper, he strolled over and lifted the blond with ease, doing so before the other man could complain about it.
"Wha-" Sanji went to ask, but didn't finish his own gripe. To be fair, he saw this coming from a mile away, knowing full well he wouldn't be walking on his own for a little while, let alone running. "Don't think I'm not gonna get you back for this," he grumbled, giving in it.
"Yeah, yeah," Zoro replied. "Alright, let's get going now, we've already stayed here long enough, and I think we're starting to overstay our welcome."
At that, their sharpshooter released an anxious laugh. "I-I think that's putting it lightly," he stuttered, itching to get running again. As far as he was concerned, they were nowhere near far enough. Hell, he wouldn't be comfortable until they were completely off this island with the ocean between them. "Is everyone ready now? I don't know if they're still coming after us or not, but I don't care to stick around and find out.
"I second that," Robin chimed in, casting a few looks behind her. There was still nothing, but the wind was starting to pick up. Where ever they were, they were still trying to take them out, one way or another.
"Right, to the shore then!" Luffy commanded, ready to take the lead, the others were close behind. "Franky, we're counting on you," he added, running faster.
They were sure they had been running forever, all of them were growing weary from the nonstop movement. And, if they were being pursued, then they either gave up by now or collapsed. There was no way anyone could still be on their trail. The breeze blew in from the shore, tempting them and teasing them with how close they were. They were sure it would have been so much farther away, but with how fast they were traveling, of course it took them no time to reach it.
Luffy still carried out in the lead, his teeth pressed firmly together at knowing how close they were...just a little bit closer. The moment he broke through the foliage, it was like an overbearing weight had been lifted. "Yes!" he cheered as his feet sank into soft sand, the others close behind, all breathing too heavily to celebrate just yet.
Inhaling deeply, the captain straightened up, the breath ceasing half way in his lungs. "Haha!" he jumped up, waving one hand excitedly. "I knew he wouldn't let us down," he called back to the others, urging the rest of them to follow his gaze.
"Well, I'll be damned," Zoro muttered, hoping he would have been right, but still shocked to see he was actually right about it.
"Frankyyyy!" Chopper practically sobbed, waving both hooves. He was still a distance out, but surely he was close enough to see them. From this distance, they were sure to be out of here within a few minutes...they were actually saved, they were actually going to get out of this. All of them moved closer to the shore, ready to get on the moment he arrived. And, as they did so, the face of the Sunny turned in their direction, as if it was moving on its own free will, ready to pick up its crew.
Even Sanji, who had been almost sulking the whole way here had an expression of ease on his features. Though, it was mostly masked by his sheen of pain and discomfort. "You know," he muttered, looking to the swordsman, "you could at least let me stand on my own."
"Why? So Chopper can yell at me later? I think I'll pass." With that, he tightened his hold, getting rid of any slick to prevent the cook from slipping out if he were to try. "Just quit your bitchin', will ya? You've done nothing but whined this whole time, startin' to give me a headache."
The other muttered incoherently under his breath, but didn't push the matter further. It was already obvious he wasn't getting his way. His eyes began to slip shut as he tried to relax a bit more; the throbbing in his leg really starting to get to him now that he had the chance to focus on it. With his vision blocked off, he let out a breath at the way the wind ruffled through his hair, a bit stronger than it was when they got here. His eyes snapped back open as it clicked. "Shit," he swore under his breath.
"What now," Zoro groaned, glancing down to see the sincerity on the in the other.
"I think a storm's coming," he replied, his own pulse beginning to race. "If Franky doesn't put his ass in gear, we're about to have a bad day...a worse day," he corrected.
Looking back to the sea, his chest clenched with how close they were now. If they could just get on board, they'd be out of here. The one storm may have been able to take out that one boat, but this one was different, the Sunny was built to withstand worse than that. "Come on," he uttered, unaware that his grasp was tightening until Sanji let out a gasp of displeasure.
"You trying to kill me!?"
"Come on, Franky," Nami muttered to herself, fingers crossed, refraining herself from swimming out there to meet it halfway.
Not a moment later, the hull of it connected with land. There was not another second wasted as one by one, they got themselves on board, waves crashing against the side of the ship, threatening to take them out before they had the chance to leave. As soon as Zoro got the cook on board, he carried him to lean against one of the sides for the time being. "Try not to get yourself into anymore trouble," he ordered before running off, not giving the man the chance to reply.
"We need to get going, now!" the green-haired man shouted as he stepped up next to Nami, who took over the steering for the time being.
"What do you think I'm doing?!" she yelled back over the roar of the waters. They finally pulled their way away from the sand, but the rain and wind were still assaulting with everything they had. "Franky!" she called over, who was instantly ready for whatever order she had. "Get Sanji and get him inside would you?" she asked. "He's already in bad enough shape as it is, he can't afford getting caught in this as well.
"Right," the mechanic obliged, taking off a second later. It took him no time to get to the blond's side, his eyes widened at the sight of him. "Well, you've seen better days," he joked lightly, instantly lifting the man back up, who was getting more than a little tired of being hauled around like this. All it took was one glance at him, and Franky already knew to be carefully of his leg. If nothing, the way Sanji had it drawn closer in than the other was enough to tell him that something was wrong with it.
He drew in a sharp breath as he was hoisted up. "Wait," he said, stopping the other in his tracks. "What about the others? I'm sure they need your help more. If I need to, I can drag myself inside," he informed, hoping he'd take the bait and let him handle this himself. Besides, with what was going on right now, he could wait.
"Sorry, bro, orders from the navigator," he said with a slight grin. "I've seen Nami angry, and that's one thing I don't want to experience that again." He shuddered with the thought of it. He'd much rather face both Sanji and Zoro than her wrath, that was something else.
There was no fighting it then. "Fine, just be quick with it and get back out here to help the others. Alright?"
"You don't have to tell me twice."
While being whisked away, he cast another few looks to the others, all of them were doing everything they could to get out of here, and there he was, rendered absolutely useless. And, not only that, but now one of them were having to take care of him before helping with what was really important.
"Nami, can't you go a little faster?" Luffy asked, his hands gripped the rail, only to be pulled back by Ussop as another monstrous wave attacked them from the side, narrowly missing him, only by a few inches.
"I can't go any faster than this," she replied. "Don't worry about it though, we can take the abuse. And there's no way they can get to us now, they have no way of doing so," she reminded, serving to put his mind a little at ease. Besides, none of them could be seen on the shore. It was likely they didn't even know where they were. Her storms were just being thrown around in the hopes of hitting them.
They were managing though, slowly, the winds were dying away, the waves were calming down as the island slowly distanced itself. But, she didn't stop, and she wouldn't slow down, not until the place was completely out of sight. Though, it was safe to take a breather and relax a bit. "We made it…" she uttered in disbelief, "...we actually made it." She couldn't stifle the laugh of relief that slipped out, it just seemed like too much to be true. All that...it was finally over.
Zoro let out a heavy breath of his own, his eyes drifting to where he had left the blond, and his heart sinking when he no longer saw him there. "W-Where's Sanji?" he asked, hating that he was putting his worry out on display so easily. But, he couldn't help it, he had left him right there.
"Don't worry about him," their mechanic assured, clapping a large and heavy hand on his shoulder. "I took him inside, he's safe," he assured, giving a thumbs up with his other hand.
His body eased at that, his shoulders slumping slightly. Dammit, this whole getting worried over that man was really starting to get old, and he couldn't wait until he was over it. Couldn't have people thinking he was actually worried about him or anything...because he wasn't. "I'm gonna go check and make sure he didn't keel over on us," he said, brushing the touch of him and strolling off.
He sauntered off, keeping his head ducked, for some reason this was a little awkward for him. All he was doing was going to check on someone, it wasn't that big of a deal. Holding his breath, he swung the door open, finding the man himself lying on the bed, his eyes open and staring upward, only flicking away for a moment to see who had entered.
"What do you want?" he asked, rather casually.
"What's it look like, having to make sure you're still alive. It'd suck for you to get through all then then kick the bucket," he scoffed.
The other man rolled his eyes. "Well, ya see, I'm fine," he replied, going to turn over, but stopping when the movement sent fire up his leg. "What do you really want?" he asked, knowing damn well that's not what this drop in was all about.
"That's actually all I wanted," Zoro confirmed. "Hell, for a while out there, I really thought that wound was gonna do you in, so yeah, I wanted to check in," he admitted, his attention dropped to hide it from view. "So, I'd appreciate a straight answer, how're ya holding up?" he asked, still looking away.
"Better," Sanji answered honestly. "Still feel like shit, but not like death," he clarified, clearing his throat. That much was obvious, he still looked like it too. His features were pale, the dark circles under his eyes standing out. And there was still that sheen of sweat that never seemed to go away.
Zoro nodded once. "There, was that so hard?" he rolled his eyes. "And, don't you dare tell anyone I said this, or I really will kill you," he threatened, hesitating before going on. "But, you're actually a lot stronger than I give you credit for," he said, keeping his voice low, wanting to avoid others overhearing.
"As if I don't know that already," Sanji replied, light-heartedly. A second later, their little moment was interrupted as Chopper charged in, taking a deep breath.
"Alright, out you go," he said, fruitless trying to usher the swordsman out. "I have work to do...now that I have my good equipment," he said, urging the other to go already. "I just need to clean the wound again and get the more powerful antibiotics," he explained. Really, Zoro didn't have to leave for that, but it still felt odd having someone watch him while he worked. Earlier was an exception, there wasn't a choice in the matter.
The man put both hands up in surrender. "Calm down, will ya? I'm going," he assured, looking to the blond and nodding one last time. He had no idea what did it; if it was the near death, or the being stuck with the man for that amount of time, but whatever it was, he was sure he had a deeper respect for the man. Still, that was something that would have to be kept to himself.