For the next few days there was no sign of Chopper. No hat, no shorts, not even his broken antler was along the sea. But some hour after noon and before nightfall the rain began to clear up. But instead of the sun shedding, its warm light, the grey sky turned it into a cold glare. A blanket of mists covered the ocean, making it impossible to see past the water.
Usopp was at the front of the Going Merry ship, trying to find anything in this void of emptiness. "HEY!" He called. "I SEE SOMETHING!" He squinted his eyes to see a large silhouette. "It's an island? Nami, you said the last one was the one we bought produce at!"
"I-I know, there should not be!" Nami gasped, hearing Usopp call out there was an island in the middle of nowhere. She checked her sea charts. Double checked them, even triple checked them! No island in the vicinity of their location whatsoever. "I-It's not on the charts! I swear it should not be there!" they all went out - well, everyone except Zoro, who was still locked up in his cabin, depressed as always - to see this mysterious island.
"Whoa! Cool! A mystery island!" smirked Luffy, looking at the island they approached. "Let's dock there! Maybe Chopper is there!" Usopp heard this and grinned. He then saw Zoro wasn't here and sighed. He sighed as he walked over to Zoro's cabin. He knocked on it with a frown.
"Oi, Zoro!" He called. "We found a new island, maybe Chopper's somewhere at shore! Come on out and help us look for him!" Zoro heard Usopp's words of an unknown island they had found, and somehow... he felt a bump in his chest. What if Chopper was there? What if they found him? He had to go with them, in case he was in danger! He stood up slowly, though, as he didn't want to raise his expectations too high, and went outside, sheathing his three blades.
"Ok then, let's go." he said, as he went with the others. Usopp was relieved to see him out of there.
"Make sure you eat something, I haven't seen you leave the cabin at all." He noted to the swordsman. Zoro nodded a bit before he grabbed a piece of meat being left on a barrel on the deck, and he began chewing on it.
"Hiya, Zoro! You ready to get on the island?" Luffy asked with his usual, dumb grin.
"Yeah yeah, let's get into it already." he said, pointing to the island.
"Yosh! Let's go!" Luffy ordered. "Yes, Captain!" everyone nodded in agreement, and so they left the ship to discover the island.
"I wonder what we will find here." Sanji spoke out loud.
There was no dock to welcome them, so they had to pull up on the shore. Up a small climb of sand green, luscious grass covered the island in small plains. Past that was a great forest of mighty trees that stretched high into the skies. The whole feeling of the place was a mystical land, untouched by mankind as well as time. But in the forest was an eerie atmosphere, as if something was in there, waiting and watching the crew from afar.
"Wow... this place is amazing!" Usopp said. "How no one found this I'm not sure."
"Hehe, then we're lucky! We're the first ones here! We discovered a new island! Yay!~" Luffy cheered with a grin, as he leaped around a bit.
"You don't think this place is a little... strange, though?" Sanji asked, and Luffy stopped for awhile.
"Hehe! It only makes it more fun if it's mysterious!" he chuckled. "C'mon everyone! Let's go on a discovery tour!" he grinned. Usopp grinned.
"We'll have our names in history books! Or at least, Luffy's name will..." He said with his sweat dropping with realization. He followed his friends onto the grass and they slowly approached the forest. However, as the Strawhat Crew entered the woods, they suddenly got separated. No one knows how, but for some reason, the mists mislead them in different directions. Suddenly, spirits began rising from the ground, forming figures in front of the crewmembers, before dissipating into thin air.
"Eh? I dunno 'bout this..." Sanji said, and was about to turn around, until he heard a rather familiar voice.
"OI, SHRIMP! Ya think you would forget me that easily?" Sanji instantly recognized the tone, and turned around to see a chef with a rather high hat, and a wooden leg. His face had a big mustache which was twirled up.
"Z-Zeff? You ol' fart, what you doing here?" Sanji gasped out.
"Makin' sure you're alright, shrimp!" Zeff snorted, his mustache wiggling a bit. Sanji could still not believe he was seeing Zeff in front of him, but still, he was there.
"H-How in the…" he began, and rubbed his eye a bit. "Y-you're dead!" Zeff snorted a bit again.
"Tceh, does it look like I am dead?" he said. "Though, I am dead, true enough. Now look here, boy. You an' your pals are in a place known as the Realm of The Demigods. It's a really rare place where very few go, cuz no one knows the way here. So consider yerself lucky!"
"I-I… see… realm of the Demigods…" Sanji was still in a bit of a shock state, but listened to every word his mentor had to say to him.
In the meantime, Zoro was walking through the woods as well, not noticing he had gone lost. But then again, he was not the kind of person who cared if he got lost or not. He just followed his gut feelings. And right now... one of those said he was being... followed. He turned around and pulled up one of his swords, and blocked an incoming attack of a... blade arm? He backed off, and then saw a rather wide, black man step up to him. His hair was slick and grey, and rather short as well, and he had dark-green pants and a black robe with yellow trims on it. "W-What the? Y-You're... Mr. 1!" Zoro said, remembering him from Arabasta, as Mr. 1 from Baroque Works.
"That is correct. I am here for my revenge, Roronoa Zoro." Mr. 1 said coldly, before his arm changed to a blade, and he attacked Zoro. "Sparkling Daisy!" Mr. 1 shouted, as he put his hands together by the wrists, his palms facing Zoro's swords as he blocked the attack. Behind the swordman, the trees and rocks were cut in a star-like shape.
"Gghh! I hate this attack!" Zoro said, as he leaped backwards before Mr. 1 had time to launch him back. But as he landed, the sound of a buzz-saw was heard, and he gasped as he was punched in the gut by Mr. 1, who had transformed his arms into a drill-like weapon.
"Spiral Hollow!" Mr. 1 declared his attack, and Zoro's gut was punched as his skin and flesh was ripped up, blood spilling on the ground as he was launched back into a tree, hitting it with his back and landing on the ground. Zoro's world was a big, blurry haze. He was on the edge of death. His throbbing heartbeats were heard even clearer now, and he knew that if he didn't win this fight, he would surely die. What did it matter, anyway? His one, true friend and Nakama had been lost to him... maybe it was better off if he died now. At least then he would get to meet him again, in the afterlife. But then, a glimmer of hope, or a mad thought struck his head; what if Chopper was still alive? He didn't believe it at first, but then again... he had never lost hope in his friends. He didn't want to lose, however! So he got up slowly, trying to balance for awhile. Mr. 1 just humphed a bit at his persistence. "So you are up again." he said calmly.
"Yeah... and I'm... I'm going to fully kill you this time!" he grabbed one of his swords and sheathed it, before focusing all his willpower into that sword. "Ittoryu Iai..." he said slowly, before disappearing briefly, and then appeared behind Mr. 1, his sword drawn and a huge gash appearing on the Steel Man's chest. "Shishi Sonson!" he announced, before Mr. 1 fell down, defeated. "Hmph..." Zoro smirked at his victory, sheathing his sword before he walked off again, his determination set on one thing; to find Chopper. "Chopper? Chopper! You there? Answer me if you are!" Zoro shouted as he walked through the mists of the forest, slicing and chopping his way through the dense woodworks and vegetation. He was now desperate to find Chopper, no matter what. If he could not find him, then he'd have himself to blame again. Even if the others told him not to blame himself, he still felt it was his fault to not have been able to save Chopper. "CHOPPER? ANSWER IF YOU HEAR ME!" he called again, trying to find his furry little friend.
Somewhere, deep in the forest and away from the crew, Chopper's eyes fluttered open. He couldn't remember what happened, but all he knew his head hurt. But when he sat up he let out a small gasp of pain, coming from his right arm and his left leg. He turned his head to the two pained legs and realized they were wrapped up, held together with some wood to keep in the right place. This confused him as he looked around, seeing nothing but green grass and rich brown trunks of surrounding trees. He looked up at the green canopy and groaned. The memories began to come back;
There was a storm, and Chopper was knocked into the ocean by a crate. But how did he get here? He went to grab his head as it began to hurt, and saw his hat was placed next to him. He felt around his head and his eyes widened. His loose antler was gone, and so was his good one. Thoughts were racing through his head and he was about to call out for his Nakama, though gave it up as he thought no one would be there to help him. But then, just as he was about to cry and think he was forever lost, he heard Zoro yell. He really was here! He couldn't believe his ears! He tried to call out to him, but his voice rasped. He clenched his hoof around it, trying to stimulate it. He then smiled, beaming.
"ZORO!" He yelled, as loud as he could. "ZORO, I'M OVER HERE!" He managed to say before coughing, his throat hurting. Zoro then heard a faint voice call back to him. He felt it was... so familiar. Then he realized who it was, whose voice literally screamed for him and then coughed loudly; Chopper.
"C-Chopper... y-you're alive. Y-You're alive!" spurred on by Chopper's calls for him, he dashed through the jungle depths, slashing through the leaves and vines in his path, everything to get to Chopper. "CHOPPER! CHOPPER! I-I AM HERE!" he cried out, and finally reached the place where Chopper was resting. He just stood still for awhile, looking down at the injured reindeer, seeing his antlers being cut off and laying beside him, but still... that smile was on his face. "C-C-Chopper..." Zoro was breaking down again, but now, of happiness, as he fell on his knees near Chopper, just looking down at him. "C-Chopper! Y-You're alive!" tears streamed down his face and onto the ground. Chopper saw he was crying and was shocked, but happy he cared so much. Chopper used his good arm to somehow pull Zoro closer. He then hugged Zoro tightly, sobbing with his own joy.
"Zoro! I'm so glad you're here!" he sobbed, burying his head in the man's chest. He was relieved and never realized how scared he was until he saw his lover. He kept crying, his hoof grasping Zoro's shirt. "I-I thought you wouldn't f-find me!" he said. Zoro was too happy to almost utter any words at that time, and just hugged Chopper back, gently holding him to not further injure his body.
"I-I thought you were dead! We all thought you were dead!" Zoro sobbed as well, all of his pent-up emotions releasing at once. He had constantly blamed himself for not being able to protect Chopper. But now... everything just washed away with a wave of happiness, as the two of them reunited again. "C-Chopper, words can't describe how happy I am! I-I thought I would n-never see you again!" Zoro's words only made Chopper cry more.
"You... Y-you really cared about me that m-much?" He stuttered, to happy to say it without stuttering. "Oh Zoro!" He sobbed even harder, making Zoro's shirt soak with the boy's tears of happiness and also sadness. He loved Zoro, and it made his heart leap to know that he was worried about him. Zoro finally stopped sobbing, and looked down at Chopper, smiling lovingly and stroking the small boy's head, his fingers feeling the warmth of his fuzzy fur.
"Chopper..." he said sweetly, before giving a small kiss to the forehead. "I love you, Chopper. I love you with all my heart and I'd rather die first, before seeing you disappear from my life. I promised to protect you with all I had, and when... when I saw you being hit by that crate I thought... I'd never, ever see you again. It hurt me... real bad." Chopper heard Zoro's words and smiled, wiping his eyes on his chest.
"I love you too, Zoro." He said, sniffling. "I don't ever want to make you upset, never..." He looked up at the man through cloudy eyes, kissing his chin lovingly.
"I know, Chopper... I know..." Zoro smiled, loving the feel of Chopper kissing his chin lovingly. He held Chopper closer to him, gently stroking his small body. "Well... we are all alone here..." he smiled, but then heard a familiar voice.
"Not as alone as you think, Zoro!" Zoro looked around, and saw a little girl, wielding a katana, and having steel-blue hair.
"K-Kuina?" Zoro said, a bit lost of words. Kuina giggled a bit, before her self-sure smirk appeared.
"You're still weak, Zoro~" she teased a bit, before smiling at him. "But you've grown. I am still a little girl. How are you? Are you keeping our promise?" Zoro smiled a bit, before turning both him and Chopper to the small girl.
"Of course I am, Kuina! I am becoming stronger each day! I promise, I will keep our promise, no matter what!" Chopper looked around to see the girl, confused. He was slightly annoyed the moment was ruined but it was swept over by curiosity. "Zoro... Who's this?" he asked, knowing she must've been a childhood friend.
"Oh?" Zoro looked down, realizing Chopper was still with him. "Hehe... sorry about that, Chopper. Didn't mean to take the attention from you. This is Kuina! We've known each other when we were kids. We made a promise to each other. Remember that promise I told you about, that I was gonna be the strongest swordsman ever? Well, I made that promise with Kuina." he explained. Kuina sighed a bit.
"Yeah... but I was careless one day, and slipped with my katana when I was rushing to my whetstone, and I... accidentally killed myself." she sighed a bit. "If only... I-I hadn't been so reckless..." Zoro frowned a bit at Kuina's sadness.
"Kuina, I know it's hard for you, being dead and all that. But I promised our Sensei, that I've taken the promise for BOTH of us! So now, I will fulfill my promise and yours too!" Kuina smiled a bit.
"Baka Zoro~" she teased again. "You were always such a fool..." Zoro grinned a bit. "But I'm a fool with pride, in that case!" Chopper just stared quietly at the girl. He wondered if they had a closer relationship than just friends. He didn't like the idea and snuggled closer into Zoro's chest. He winced in pain to do this, since his leg moved in a bad way but settled once he got comfortable.
"Well, I am relieved to see you are alright, Zoro. Take care." Kuina smiled, and then, dispersed. Zoro just kept smiling until he saw Kuina no more. Then he turned to Chopper, and petted his head.
"Don't worry, Chopper-Kun. We were just friends, nothing more. Friends and rivals, hehe..." he chuckled, remembering how they challenged each other. He smiled at Chopper. "I'll love you and you only, though... my little Chopper... I am so relieved that you are ok." Chopper smiled to him, kissing his chest.
"Can we just go to the ship?" he asked, still exhausted and tired. "I... need to patch myself up." he reach over, trying to grab his hand and antlers.
"Of course. I need some patching myself, hehe~" Zoro said innocently, as he stood up, with Chopper in his arms. He bent down, picked up Chopper's broken antlers, and handed them to him. "Here you go. Don't worry, I'll carry you to the ship." he said, as he held Chopper and walked with him through the jungle, back to the ship. This felt familiar to only a month ago when it snowed. But this time, Chopper didn't struggle. He held on to his hand and antlers as he snuggled to Zoro's chest. He loved this man so much. That was his last thought before he fell asleep, unconscious.