One Piece: Grand Endeavours

Chapter Twenty-Four: Twists and Turns

Kuro
I have never liked mazes. Ironic, really, as I'm fine with cave systems that are both more dangerous and more hard to navigate, but mazes truly are despicable. It is probably the fact that you can often see your location which is rather infuriating that you can't just get to it. I don't complain though and just examine the all too familiar thorns twisting around like black eels. They're insanely thick, the smallest the size of an average human arm in thickness, the smallest thorns the size of my hand. The inky substance dripping from them rings a bell and I know, whatever it is, is a piece of integral information.
"How are we going to find the centre?" Nova asks with his eyebrows furrowed in thought.
"Luffy could always spring to the top," Nami suggests. Luffy nods cheerfully and is about to when the thorns name and abilities ring in my mind with the alert of a siren just in time.
"Don't," I warn just in time and Luffy freezes. "You'll end up touching those." I glance at the still twisting plant, swallowing down the memories of how I know them. It isn't like swallowing water, more of a thick grainy liquid which is hard to get down,
"I'll just avoid the sharp bits," Luffy replies.
"Just the moving part is already nearly lethal," I say matter of factly, glancing at them pulsing like a distorted heart made of tar. "It can crush the bones the way we would crumple paper. Just the arm or leg would be bad but they can also collapse the entire ribcage."
"What about the sharp bits?" Luffy asks.
"Moonshade," I reply. "Incredibly lethal and incredibly agonizing." Luffy clearly is no longer sticking to that plan which is incredibly relieving.

"Let me guess, you've used these against people before," Usopp mutters and I bite the urge to snap back at him because this is becoming vary wearing.
"No," I say. "We had them on the island I grew up on. Apparently they're only on three islands in total. And as for knowing the depth of the poison? There was a reason everyone there carried a small vial of antidote..." I don't mention the time when carrying the antidote saved my life. It was still a painful and near lethal experience. I was thrown against the wall of thorns and thankfully missed the pulsing ones but the sharp barbs sliced my back deeply, blood running down my shirt, the fiery stinging making me fall to the floor. I could barely move, barely breathe and my vision spun. It would take hours to kill an adult but a child? Given I was small and scrawny at the time I likely had maximum half an hour.
"Do you still have it?" Chopper asks with a hopeful expression, breaking me out of the memory. "It would be a nice precaution to take."
"Afraid not," I say. "I haven't been there in over a decade and so it long since broke. If they have these on this island, if it is a friendly island, they will likely have it either for free or every affordable."

"Do we have to go through this?" Usopp asks. "If the walls of the maze itself are this dangerous then who knows what else will be in here?" He makes a valid point.
"We need more supplies," Sanji says. "Besides. I'll burn this place to the ground before I let you guys be taken down by some stupid pla- Kuro, they are destroyed by fire right?"
"Mhm," I confirm. "Fire is one of the two weaknesses it has. The other is ice which is why they are only are on hot islands."
"So slicing them is out of the question?" Zoro asks with his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Yup," I say. "It would release excessive poison right at you." Morbid yes. And in that way it is more painful because it sprays further, likely burning the flesh. Similar to what happened to me. Yes, I got the antidote in time but my back was covered in cuts covered with cuts, surrounded by burns. The blood loss made me dizzy and I doubted anyone would care if I had died. I got home and got bandages and was harshly punished when infection set in.

After all helping me was a waste of money but a necessary one at least for the short time.

We go into the maze, sticking to the middle, and I decide to not go near Usopp in case he 'accidently' trips me or shoves me into the thorns. These are larger than the ones at home with more twisting so it would almost certainly be a lethal experience. Quick from all the bones shattering at once or slow from the poison with blood staining the ground. Neither sounds nice. I notice Usopp seems to also be avoiding me and I figure that he probably thinks I am going to do the same thing to him. The thought causes a pain in my chest, remembering the monster that I was, and the self loathing is almost nauseating. I notice one of the large thorns is snaking across the left path and Usopp nearly steps right on it. I catch his wrist before he goes putting his leg in it and ending up with the limb completely shattered.
"What is your problem?!" he snaps at me, the anger blazing in his eyes. As an answer I just point at what nearly was an issue. "Oh. Thanks." The thank you is clearly forced out but I don't comment because it is an improvement above death glares and threats. "So not this way?"
"Not this way," Nami agrees. We head left instead, heading through the warmth, where there does seem to be a small amount of life besides us and the foreboding plants.

A chirp fills the air.
"Some type of bird?" Luffy guesses.
"Or cheetahs," I suggest. "It is the right weather for them and they do chirp..." As we turn a corner my theory is confirmed as we encounter a mother with two cubs. Okay I may be a heartless jerk but I resist the urge 'aw' because it is so adorable. Especially the smallest cub. The mother's eyes lock on us and her expression, as much as I don't understand animal expressions, there is an element of fear.
"She doesn't want us to hurt her cubs," Chopper tells us.
"Aw don't worry, we won't," Danni says which Chopper translates back. The cheetah considers and neither attacks nor approaches. One of the cubs does come over though and rubs its head against my leg. Okay...too cute. So cute. Much too cute.
"He likes you," Chopper says. "And the mama won't claw you if you stroke him." That cheers me up so I gently stroke the small cubs head, being careful not to hurt him. It gives a small chirp and really all of this is all so adorable.

"Can we eat them?" Zoro asks and the small cub clearly tenses up.
"No!" Danni exclaims. "There will be food when we get to the town!"
"Yeah but these are already here," Zoro retorts. They scamper off quickly, not looking back, a clever way not to get eaten.
"Great going, Mosshead," Sanji mutters, glaring at him. "You had to go scare them."
"Oh shut it, Curly Brow," Zoro snaps. It is lucky that they don't choose now to start fighting. It would probably end with one of them hitting the wall, which would suck.

We walk for an incredibly long time.
"Are we nearly there yet?" Chopper murmurs. "It is getting way too hot."
"Hopefully," Usopp replies. "It is getting a bit much." A slight smell hangs in the air and I sniff.
"I think we're almost there," I say matter of factly. "I smell barbeque." Luffy sniffs.
"He's right!" the enthusiasm is almost childlike but it isn't annoying. In fact it is very endearing and a nice light contrast from the darkness always lingering in me. Surprising really, people with a similar personality to Luffy have been annoying to me most of my life, but Luffy isn't even a bit annoying. I feel like most people wouldn't agree with me there but I don't care. Luffy is nice company.

We turn a few more corners and we're there, a barbeque being held in several restaurants with the sign reading 'Free'. Well some of us will be happy at least, meaning Luffy. Luffy will be very happy.