"I would have found it soon, anyway," said Zoro, acknowledging the sign of the tavern he'd been seeking for the last two hours. The man who'd led him there didn't contradict the statement, though he highly doubted it was true.

The scent of smoke permeated the indoor atmosphere, and Solis wrinkled his nose at it, cringing deeply. The swordsman noticed the other man's reaction and thought it unnecessary, but did not speak up about it; the strange individual was free to disfavor what he wished to disfavor. Zoro did raise his voice about something else, however.

"That's right," he said, his mouth twisting, "You don't drink..."

The young man could hear the disdain in Zoro's voice. "Look around. Do you think any of these people are better off for their alcohol?"

"Certainly," he said, glancing around at the drunk and laughing people. Overall, he felt, everyone was happier and friendlier, even if some of them did ridiculous things whilst under the influence. "They're bonding. Nothing wrong with that."

Solis didn't respond; he knew words were unlikely to convince any drinker that their actions were harmful to them. The familiar lure of alcohol was far stronger than the disjointed sentences of a stranger.

"You got anything non-alcoholic?" he asked the barkeeper. In the end he seated himself alone at the bar with a sarsaparilla drink, and turned himself sideways on the stool to watch the people about him. It's a social lubricant, he grumbled to himself, and they rely on it because they are incapable of socializing without it. They are afraid to be near to others without being a little out of their minds. They can even use the alcohol as an excuse, should they make a social mistake.

Maybe I ought to practice my own social skills, thought the man, conscious of his hypocrisy. This is a good opportunity, since I'm unlikely to come across these people again.

Zoro had gone to stand with a group of people near the wall. Solis hopped down from his seat, heading towards the group.

A familiar voice filled his mind as he arrived at Zoro's right side. "Go," it directed. He froze; his body became alert, and he listened. The sounds of his surroundings had faded. They were unimportant. "Fifteen paces from the wall. Now."

"Move!" he yelled, suddenly immersed once more in the noises of the bar, with living entities surrounding him. They were his responsibility too, he'd realized. "The wall- is coming- down!"

He punctuated his words by shoving the people near him towards the center of the room; it only served to make them confused and angry, however.

"Fifteen paces. This moment. Now!" It resounded in the confines of his head.

"Zoro, help me!" he pleaded.

In an instant, Zoro became aware. "Move!" he roared, extending his arms and bodily propelling the group of people forward. Solis joined him, and together they drove the folks from the wall.

Everything fell apart in an instant. Fragments of rock whipped through the air, accompanied by dust and a sound like the crash of rolling thunder. For the first few seconds, nobody could see what had happened, and it was completely hushed except for the sound of falling debris.

Some people, hit by pieces of the stonework, began to cry in pain. Others raised their voices in fear- who was hurt, was anyone buried, where could they find medical supplies, were there any doctors present?- and in no time the room was in a flurry. Few noticed the two strangers amidst the rubble as they stirred, struggling to their feet. The pair lunged at one another. Almost as quickly as they had come, the two individuals were gone from the ruined bar, to continue their fight elsewhere.

Solis, who'd been nearest the falling wall, had seen them, albeit with difficulty. The two women had been the cause of the destruction.

"They were ability users," remarked Zoro. "And you're injured."

He was; the pellets of rock had pummeled him, and he was bleeding from his back and right calf. "Yow," he said, settling himself atop the wreckage. "I suppose you're right."

"I'll get someone to help," said Zoro, leaving the man's side.

Solis didn't want to sit and wait to be taken care of. He looked around himself, wondering if he could do anything helpful in the meanwhile, when he spotted, through the settling dust, a piece of cloth on the ground. Curiously enough, it was on top of the destruction, instead of beneath it. It must have belonged to one of those women, he thought to himself as he picked it up.

It was a simple mantle of plum-colored cotton. The man had started shredding the bottom few inches off of the article, with the intention of bandaging up his leg with the fabric, when something new caught his eye. A bright hue shone amidst the grey layer of debris. Curious as to what would produce such a color, Solis nimbly reached out and plucked the tiny object from the ground.

Brushing off the grime that had accumulated on the entity, the man discovered that it was a cherry. This confused him. Where could such an object have come from? Perhaps it had been dropped with the mantle, in all the preceding ruckus. Examining the item more closely, he realized that it was not light orange, as he'd believed at first glance, but that its flesh was made up of minuscule writhing bands of rose-pink and yellow.

The magnitude of his discovery dawned on him. He'd recognized the object for what it was, on account of the strange coloring. The man glanced around hurriedly; nobody was looking at him, nobody had seen him pick it up. He pocketed it posthaste. It was not his intention to become involved in any fights on account of the object.

I'll return it to that woman if I see her, he said to himself, it's only honorable.

He resumed bandaging his leg.

After Zoro had reappeared with a doctor, and Solis's wounds were tended to, the hubbub around the incident had died down. Many people from the town had come to see what had occurred. The redheaded lady who Solis had seen fighting was not among them. Zoro seemed contemplative; soon it became apparent why. He pulled the man away from the crowd.

"What went on in there?" he asked under his breath. "How did you know the wall would be destroyed?"

The question was not one his company found favorable to answer.

"I just did," the man replied, shrugging his shoulders. He winced; the action hurt his back.

"It can't have been haki. I would've picked it up sooner than you, then," he said, scrutinizing his guest.

"It wasn't haki."

The swordsman crossed his arms, awaiting an answer. Solis looked at the man's chest, then off to the side, avoiding his eyes.

"I'm worried you'll think I'm crazy."

Zoro was caught off guard by the admission, and it took him a moment to formulate a response. "Well," he said gruffly, "I've been around plenty of crazy people. I'm sure I can handle it."

"Well..." paused Solis, considering how he'd frame his explanation, "When I get into dangerous situations, I hear this voice... see, it does sound crazy." He laughed uncomfortably.

"It's a distinct voice, and I don't know what it is, maybe an instinct... It comes when I'm in danger, it tells me where to go. I heard it in the inn; it told me, 'Go fifteen paces from the wall.' That's how I knew something would happen," he said meekly, staring at the ground, "It said I had to move, and so I knew we were in danger."

The expression that dominated Zoro's countenance was inscrutable.

"It's happened numerous times now, since my younger years..."

"Whatever," said the swordsman, running a hand through his mop of jade hair and frowning, "I suppose it doesn't matter how it works."