I don't own One Piece or it's characters :)
Zoro's POV
Well... for being alone in this dark cavern, where i couldn't even see my hand in front of my face and believe me i tried, i was actually kind of comfortable, despite the dank and mushy air, condensation forming on my forehead. Goosebumps traveled up my arms, and i rubbed them to drive away the chills. I wasn't sure if my eyes were open or closed. My back was pressed against something cold and rough, worn away like someone else had leaned on this very spot.
Having found myself in this darkness alone, i somehow managed not to go insane. Man goes insane when confined in a dark space for extended periods of time, but i wasn't going to fall for it. My instincts told me to keep up my guard, but maybe i was already insane, and it was just the madness talking. I wasn't sure where the instinct came from, though. Or these numbers on my arm. They glowed green and ticked steadily. I pass the time by watching them, when i first discovered them, they were 03:52:29. Now it only had about an hour left. I didn't know what they were for, but i had a feeling in my gut that i wouldn't like it whatever happens when those numbers hit zero.
I felt my way toward the sound of trickling water, the only noise besides my own labored breathing. I cupped my hands and lowered them into the cool liquid, the sensation sending waves of tingles up my arms as if reminding me of my existence. I longed to drink water, but i didn't, for some reason i knew i shouldn't, because it was poisonous? because it wasn't really water but a river of blood? because it was salt water? whatever the reason, it was dangerous.
"Damn it!" I sighed aloud to myself, my voice reverberating around the hollow cave. I allowed the liquid to drip between my fingers and return to the stream until nothing remained. I felt my way back to the rock i had claimed, my only source of light the glowing integers on my forearm. I resumed my usual time killer by watching the numbers slowly tick by.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 59...
Making myself comfortable as possible on the rocky ground. My eyes drooped, the trickling water driving out the silent ringing in my ears. The lullaby was soft and pretty, my eyes felt heavy so i closed them.
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5996... 5997... 5998... 6000...
"Excellent work, Kenshi-san."
I put down my weights, looking over my shoulder with narrowed eyes. "it's nothing."
She smiled flicking her deep ebony hair from her blue oculars as she approached. "Sometimes i think you do it on purpose."
"Do what?"
"Six thousand curls every day on the deck in plain sight of Miss navigator and i." she specified with a light smirk on her lips, sitting in her usual deck chair casually. She crossed her legs at the knee and selected a book from the diverse stack on the table next to her. "Showing off."
"That's none of your business," i grumbled, rubbing a towel over my skin to cleanse it of sweat. "I can't let my body get weak, and there's not enough room on this ship for privacy."
Her cerulean orbs studied me coyly like i was some sort of exotic specimen under a microscope. "Do you have any weakness under those rippling pectorals?" she queried.
"What?"
She didn't repeat herself, knowing full well i had heard her clearly. I found the question a bit offensive, and i pondered on how to answer her. She had only just joined the group, and by our leader's way of life we were officially Nakama, but that didn't stop me from not trusting her in the slightest, which means i didn't have to tell her anything.
"No." I finally replied, settling on the simplest and most concise choice.
"No trick knees whatsoever? no sudden discs?"
"No!! I repeated sharply, ending the interview firmly and quitting the place, my destination the men's room for a shower. I could hear her light giggling behind me, and i grimaced tightly. Damn woman trying to loosen me up. Gonna get under my skin and kill me from the inside like an incurable virus. I knew we shouldn't have let her join us.
The water ran over my skin, washing away any residue the towel had neglected to remove. I sat in the narrow tub, closing my eyes and letting myself drift into meditation. My mind cleared of any thought, my breathing slowing in sync with my heart. My wet hair tickled my forehead a bit. Water stuck in my eyelashes.
Barely a minute seemed to pass before a violent rocking shook the room, soapy water sloshing over the sides of the tub.
"Who the hell is causing such a ruckus?" I growled, dressing myself and opening the door. "Hey!" i yelled. "Can't you morons...?"
"Watch out!"
My reflexes took over, leaping into a forward barrel roll to avoid a foot flying out of nowhere to repel the black iron sphere that was about to blast the bathroom. The cannonball went flying back to it's source, yells of men reaching my ears as it shattered the main hull of the enemy ship that has anchored next to us.
"Oi shit cook!" i yelled angrily, whirling around to face the owner of the foot. "What the fuck are you doing!?"
He tapped his black toed boot on the deck, lifting his lighter to the fresh cigarette dangling from his lips. "The world wouldn't miss you if i killed you."
"Say that again bastard!"
He stuffed his hands in his pockets, putting his face right up close to mine. "The world wouldn't miss you if i killed you, shitty Marimo!"
"This is not the time for fighting!" A female voice screeched. "Take your frustrations out on those guys over there."
"HAAAi!" He noodled away.
"Tch." I scoffed, drawing two of my Katanas, the blade hummed in my hands, thirsty for battle. I was itching for a fight anyway. My meditation had been interrupted, and that wasn't the best thing to do. Not to mention ero cook's pathetic attempts at insults had soured my mood further, and i needed something or someone to take it out on.
They'll do nicely, i reasoned with a maniacal grin.
Men fell beneath my swords, their screams of pain like music in my ears. A little demented i reasoned, but my Katana thrived in my hands, and i would not deny them. They whirled and slashed and cut in a complex dance, moving in time with each other and my body to vent their restlessness on the victims. The soft side of me felt sorry for the poor bastards. The cold side wanted to bathe in their blood.
I turned to attack the next victim, only to find there were none. They had been annihilated. I sheathed my protesting swords as a flash of red suddenly entered my vision. Someone began to pound on my back obnoxiously, a wild grin curling his lips. A tic mark appeared on my forehead.
"Oi! We kicked their asses, didn't we?"
"We did." I said dangerously, a warning for the raven haired boy to stop hitting me on the back. He didn't, so i elbowed him in the gut. He finally ceased hitting me on my back and instead went to the blonde. I smirked.
"Hey, where's...?" was all Nami had to say before Blondie erupted into shrieks, our raven haired leader jumping back at the cook's sudden movement.
"Gyah! where's my lovely goddess!?" He screamed, hands grabbing at his hair as his one visible eye scanned the piles of bodies around us. I did a headcount, groaning inwardly. The damn woman was missing. Long nose, witch, ero cook, doctor and the straw hat were all accounted for. Did she finally betray us? i wouldn't be surprised if she had, but considering we had just fought off Marines, i doubted she had switched alliances quite so quickly.
That's when something bonked against the side of the boat. It was only a small think, but it was enough for me to hear, i peered over the edge and noticed a small lavender shoe. A woman's, maybe size eight, had we fought any female Marines?
Wait, hadn't she been wearing those shoes?
With a curse, i unstrapped my Katanas and put them on the deck, ignoring the shouts of my companions, i dove into the water, the salt stinging my eyes. If she had fallen or been pushed didn't matter to me. Her body hitting the water had been camouflaged among those of the enemies, and who knows how long ago it was.
Why should i even care about this woman? she had practically taken a spot among us without the consent of the rest of us, but his word was the only thing she needed. She would betray us someday, so why the hell should i even save her if she's danger to us? because dartboard would never let me live it down? because our leader would flip off on me? or was it something else?
I was beginning to run out of air when i finally spotted the bright colors of her tank top. Her hair blended with the darkness of the ocean, rippling gracefully with the light currents. Bubbles escaped her slightly parted lips. I grabbed at her outstretched hand, pulling her limp body to mine before kicking for the surface, my lungs burning. My instincts told me to leave her to die and save myself but my hands wouldn't let go of her, like the way her body folded into my chest was perfect. I grit my teeth and continue kicking.
With a gasp, i broke the surface, spluttering excess water from my eyes and nose. her head was on my shoulder, her hair plastered to her face and sticking my own skin. I was shifting her body to my shoulder as a ladder hit the water next to me. I scaled ti easily, coming up on the deck of our ship and turning over the woman to the reindeer. He wasted no time performing chest compression.
It wasn't long before she coughed, the expelled water from her lungs trickling down her chin. The entire crew collectively sighed with relief. She opened her eyes, those mysterious orbs finding the only other person soaked to the skin. Namely me, off to the side wringing out my shirt.
"Thank you, Kenshi-san." she whispered, her voice a bit hoarse
I dipped my head. "Don't mention it, and my name is Zoro."
"Thank you... Zoro"
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"ZORO! ZORO!"
My eyes cracked open. Casting a quick glance at my forearm. "Holy shit!" i whispered. "Since when has it been down to ten minutes?"
"ZORO!"
The yell came again, faint, distorted, somewhere to my left. I looked to where the word was coming from, moving on my hands and knees. I could somewhat distinguish the voice as feminine, but i hadn't heard any other voice besides my own so it was difficult to tell.
"Zoro, if you're there, please answer!"
Oh! so Zoro was a name. Was it mine? I crawled toward the source, feeling my way across the craggy floor. I stopped when my fingers jammed against the wall. Wincing slightly, i placed my palm against the rock that encompassed my prison. I was sure the voice had come from here. It was so frantic, so anxious, that i compared it to an employee, already on probation, being probation, being late for work. But i also detected a hint of desperation.
"Stand back!" Another voice put in, this one deeper than the first. A man? "I'll have to break the rock!"
"Please hurry!"
My mind may be scrambled, but i could at least figure out that 'stand back' also applied to me. My feet moved quickly, running backward and carrying me away from the source. A pounding not coming from me echoed in the chamber. Cracks of light appeared through the darkness like lightning bolts against a stormy sky.
I suddenly tripped on a loose stone below my feet and falling on my rear with a crash, the back of my head cracking against the compact rock. Stars danced across my vision, and i rolled onto my stomach as a tremendous crash roared in my ears, blinding while light streaming into the cave and rendering my burning eyes sightless.
"ZORO!"
The first voice was much more distinct, definitely female. I cloud see her silhouette through my fingers as she raced towards me. I groaned as the light murdered my eyes that hadn't observed daylight in hours or even days. She skidded to a halt, her breathing heavy like she'd run a marathon. Through my half blinded eyes i looked up toward her, still unable to distinguish her features.
"Adonis-kun? Did Venus say he would be back in his body?"
"How would i know, you're the one that talked to her."
"She just said he'd be waiting for me."
"Who cares if he's in his body, fact is that it's saved you the trouble of figuring it out."
The woman seemed to agree with his statement and knelt next to me, and pulled me into a hug, her arms wrapping around my neck i could see tears started to roll down her face, she didn't let go of me for a few moments as if she were afraid i would disappear the moment she let go. She blocked the streaming light with her body to help my eyes adjust.
"How do you feel?"
It took me a moment to register she had been talking to me. I blinked, squinting at up at her features. Damn, she was beautiful. Coal black hair framed her elegant face, and bright knowledgeable blue eyes stared me down like she didn't actually believe i was here in the flesh. Her hands were slender, long fingers clenched around my shoulders. Her boobs were enormous, but respectfully concealed behind a white sheet.
She looked exactly like the woman from the dream i had just woken up from, but the mischievous look from the dream was replaced by one of love and championship. I felt like i knew her, but...
"Who are you?"
She blinked, a look of confusion on her radiant features. "What? Don't you recognize me?"
"Should i?"
"Maybe i should mention..." said the other male voice from before. He appeared behind the woman, only wearing a loincloth around his hips. His dark eyes were framed by a shock of shaggy brown hair, arms crossed over a muscular chest.
"What's wrong, Adonis-kun?"
"If this is the guy, and Venus is the one that sent him here..."
"Then what?"
The man's eyes grew distant. "Then he probably won't remember who he is."
The hurt that appeared on her face stabbed me right through the heart. But why? Her gaze locked on mine. "Is that true?
I avoided her eyes, crossing my legs beneath me right through. The fabric of my pants itched against my skin. "Yes." I confirmed quietly.
"I don't know who you are, where this place is or who i am. I'm sorry."