ʀᴜʙɪᴇꜱ - ᴏɴᴇ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇ

『4』

⤿ Ami came to an abrupt halt as the sound of an explosion reached his ears. It unmistakably resembled the detonation of a bomb.

Without wasting a moment, Ami carefully concealed the precious treasure in a narrow alleyway and set off in search of his sister, who was meant to serve as a diversion.

Following the direction from which the explosion had emanated, Ami fervently hoped that his sister had escaped unscathed.

As he navigated a maze of twists and turns, Ami's journey was unexpectedly interrupted when he stumbled upon a remarkably solid chest, causing him to lose his balance and tumble backward.

Before plummeting to the ground, Ami's fall was arrested by a firm grip on his wrist. He gazed upward and found himself face to face with a tall, robust man sporting emerald hair and a black bandana tightly wound around his left bicep.

Ami's heart raced at the sight of this striking figure. The man possessed a rugged handsomeness, with deep black eyes and a faint, enigmatic smirk gracing his lips. Clad in a simple white shirt and black pants, he bore three swords hanging from his left hip.

"Sorry!" Ami blurted out. "I wasn't paying attention."

The man emitted a gruff response. "It's fine," he replied curtly. "Watch where you're going next time."

With that, he turned and strolled away, leaving Ami rooted to the spot, utterly awestruck. It was almost too incredible to believe that he had just collided with none other than Roronoa Zoro, the infamous pirate hunter.

Ami snapped out of his daze and reached out towards Zoro, urgently saying, "Wait-"

However, before he could make contact, Zoro swiftly unsheathed one of his swords and pressed it against Ami's throat, his expression tense. "Are you working with the clown?" Zoro demanded.

Ami stared at the blade, then cautiously pushed it aside with his finger. "Firstly, let's not point that thing at me," he said, his voice steady. "And secondly, Buggy The Clown? Absolutely not."

Zoro sheathed his sword, his demeanor relaxing. "Alright," he grumbled and began to walk away.

Ami couldn't help but call after him, "You're heading in the wrong direction!"

Zoro scoffed, turning back to face Ami. "I knew that," he retorted, before changing courses.

Ami glanced at his nails casually and couldn't help but shake his head. "You're still heading in the wrong direction!" he called out, frustration creeping into his voice.

Zoro turned back yet again, a wry grin on his face. "I knew that too. Just testing you."

Ami let out an exasperated sigh and took matters into his own hands, quite literally. He reached out and firmly grabbed Zoro's hand. "You literally just came from this way, you idiot," he said, his patience wearing thin.

Zoro tried to pull away, but Ami stood his ground. "Hey, let go!" Zoro protested.

Ami shook his head, determination in his eyes. "No," he replied, and with a firm grip, he began to guide Zoro in the right direction, no longer willing to trust the pirate hunter's sense of direction.

-----

After what felt like an eternity of detours, Zoro and Ami finally reached their destination, the building they had been searching for.

Zoro couldn't help but comment, "You didn't have to hold my hand the whole way here."

Ami, with a mischievous glint in his eye, retorted, "Well, you could've pulled away, couldn't you, with all these muscles?" He teasingly poked Zoro's bicep.