Warmth

The Straw-Hat Pirates were cast away to this particular island. No one knew about the existence of this piece of land. It was a new landmark in Nami's maps.

Being stuck in a mysterious island was sure a burden for them. Worse was when the crew got separated from each other. Each was lost in the inexplicable forest beyond the seashore. Each had a goal of finding one another and coming back to Going Merry safely.

Safely…

Unfortunately, not all of them could make their way back safely. Some of them were attacked by an unknown enemy. None of them knew what was exactly happening to their comrades, but all of them had their hearts beating at an abnormal rate. It was inevitable to worry about one another, knowing that they themselves were being attacked.

Zoro made a slight turn and saw the blue-haired princess catching her breath, her right hand on her chest and the other leaning on the rough trunk of an old tree. Certain ease he had felt at the moment but was immediately replaced by concern when he saw the bruises that had occupied his comrade's smooth body.

"It's good to see you, Mr. Bushido."

Zoro went near her and made a slight scratch on his head.

"Those creatures are really a pain in the neck. Good thing you've managed to escape from them, but it seems that they gave you hard time," said the swordsman to Vivi.

"Yah, it was a tough run. Racing with Karoo was a big help."

Vivi made a weak smile as she reminisced her childhood days with her pet. She straightened her posture, placed her hand on her forehead as she looked upon the branching leaves of old, huge trees covering the sky.

"I wonder how the others are."

Zoro sighed, turned around and started to walk.

"We better get going. We have to find the others before our enemy finds us first."

"Okay," Vivi replied and started her walk, but her first step seemed to be too much painful that she fell down on her knees. Zoro immediately checked on her. She had a long long cut on her left leg, blood continuously oozing.

"So, they really are victorious in harming you," said Zoro as he stripped a small portion from his Hawaiian polo and wrapped it around her wound.

"Now, that would help stop the bleeding. We better hurry and hope to find Chopper first. Can you stand?"

He stood up and offered a hand to her. She took his hand and slowly stood up, tried to make a step with her left foot, but there was too much pain, she almost fell down again but Zoro caught her.

"Looks like I don't have any other choice," Zoro sighed.

He turned his back on Vivi and then bent his knees.

"Hop on."

"Oh, no thanks. I'm would be fine. I'm sure I could manage," Vivi hesitated.

"C'mon."

Zoro moved closer to her. She couldn't refuse anymore so she accepted the swordsman's offer. She hopped on his back and Zoro carried him.

"You really don't have to do this, Mr. Bushido. I know you're also in pain."

Vivi felt a little ashamed.

"No, it's alright. Anyway, you're a princess worth carrying."

Vivi blushed after hearing Zoro's last words. She sort of felt very special.

Half an hour had passed already; still, there was no sign of their other nakama. Zoro was a little exhausted already, his bruises became more painful. Vivi's wound, on the other hand, had gotten better; it was not that bleeding too much anymore. Sweat was dripping down Zoro's head. He paused for a while.

"What is it, Mr. Bushido?" asked Vivi, wondering.

Zoro slightly turned his head to the left. "It has found us."

Vivi was alarmed. She slowly observed their surrounding, moving her head from left to right. Her heart was beating fast. Sweat continuously dripped down her face. She had to be prepared.

"Please put me down, Mr. Bushido."

Zoro did her request. He carefully put her down, grabbed on to his sword and prepared himself. At the same time, Vivi set her kujakki slasher in between her fingers. Back to back, they waited for the enemy's attack.

One after another, daggers flew directly to them. Zoro quickly counteract the flying, sharp, lustrous wedges. Something was moving very fast around them, but they couldn't identify what entity it was. Zoro grabbed Vivi's hand and they ran as fast as they can. Vivi, keeping herself up and trying to disregard the pain brought by her wound, followed Zoro in escaping from the creature that was chasing them. It was the same entity that had attacked both of them earlier.

They couldn't escape anymore. They had to stop running and face the opponent. They engaged in a fight wherein they didn't know who or WHAT they were fighting with. The enemy, however, became bias. It was aiming for Zoro more than Vivi, for he was more capable of fighting. The next attack was more fatal. A large number of daggers were thrown simultaneously towards him. He was able to block some of them but they were too many so a few had pierced through his flesh. He was worn out and bleeding excessively. Vivi was so stunned; she could do nothing but watch him being assaulted. She covered her mouth with her hands. Tears filled her eyes.

Zoro fell down on his knees. Catching his breath, he waited for the next attack, observed his opponent's movements, and thought for a while. Vivi ran towards him, very worried.

"Mr. Bushido…"

Vivi had only gone near him for a couple of seconds, and then Zoro immediately pushed her away. Another attack swiftly came, but he still had remaining strength to block it. Vivi was already crying.

Thinking so hard, she looked around, carefully observed the enemy.

The fight continued. This time, Zoro had figured out the enemy's attacks. He foresaw its moves and made a good counter-attack for them. The revelation of his foe's identity was within his reach already. One more time, it attacked, but Zoro was expecting for it, made the necessary counter-attack and then hit it with his Oni Giri. He almost caught it, but it was clever enough to payback. Zoro would not be able to avoid it. Vivi threw her kujakki slasher to their enemy, went towards Zoro and bumped him away with her body. The creature was pushed away by her attack but she received its payback. It directly hit her through her stomach. Blood came out from her mouth. Zoro's eyes became wide open as Vivi fell down. He was trembling in anger, and immediately used Santoryu to the unknown entity, which caused severe damage to it. It fled without them being able to know its real identity. Zoro instantly checked on Vivi, lifted her back and put it against his arm.

"What the heck did you just do?!" the worried swordsman asked angrily.

Vivi made a weak smile and tried to gather up her remaining strength in answering Zoro's question.

"I thought... it's only okay to do it."

The weakening lady coughed before continuing.

"Coz I believe… you're a swordsman worth risking my life for."

Zoro clenched his fist, his eyebrows met, but tears were trying to fill in his eyes. He was preventing them to fall down.

"Bakeru…"

----0----0----0----0----

An explosion occurred. Usopp failed again in one of his experiments. Nami was awakened from her deep slumber by the loud noise. She opened her eyes and blinked many times before sitting up. She touched her head, looked at her room's door for a while, and realized that Luffy was being chased again by Sanji.