7. Monster

After noon on the third day, the land began to climb. Zoro and Robin had finally reached the base of the mountain that dominated the far end of Durga islet, and had begun to rise up out of heavily-forested jungle towards a more gently-covered highland. Somewhere, far up those slopes, was where this "Commander Subahu" dwelt, and apparently piloted the island. From there, they would be able to overthrow him, take over the island, and return to Rig Maratha and the others.

Ever since they had broken clear of the trees, Robin had led Zoro this way and that, apparently searching for something.

"Didn't that first guy we fought say the entrance was at the base of the mountain?" Zoro asked. "Shouldn't we be looking further down?"

"I already have," Robin explained. "The route I took to get us here allowed me to see the mountain's entire base."

"So that guy was lying?"

"Partially," Robin said.

"I guess," Zoro continued slowly, "I don't know how you sail an island, but whatever it takes to do that, it's gotta be big."

"Precisely," Robin replied. "And there is no other side to the mountain. This is the end of Durga Island."

"So what are you looking for?"

"A stream or… ah," Robin interrupted herself, pushing through a row of thick bushes. "A dry streambed."

Zoro arched an eyebrow, but dropped the matter. Answers from Robin always seemed to lead to more questions like this. The whole "riddle wrapped in a mystery" line to describe women was some of the clichéd garbage that would someone like the idiot Love Cook would spout, but a woman like Nico Robin helped Zoro understand exactly where the phrase came from. She had joined the crew under mysterious circumstances, flipping from mortal enemy to a member of their crew in a matter of days. She had always kept secrets since then: some as large as the truth of her perilous past, some small and insignificant, but secrets still. He had to admit that her inscrutable nature kept her interesting, at least; she was not nearly as predictable as Nami, for one.

These last few days had been a perfect example of her unpredictability. The capricious way in which she had wandered off to follow a ruined roadway (and his idea to follow her in case she got in trouble) had gotten them into this mess in the first place. The cruel way in which she had almost put the defeated hunter to death unnecessarily, followed by her longwinded apology in the form of that ancient story. Was it in-character for her to even apologize like that? Things had only gotten yet stranger after the apology, when he had inadvertently seen her in the nude and she had teased him for it, she had retaliated by spying on him in the shower as well, and then she had topped it off with the strangest bit so far: ending her teasing with some line about how they were "both adults" and that the whole thing shouldn't be a big deal to them.

She had been very quiet after that, though Zoro had noticed her eyes on him an inordinate amount of times. They had slept in shifts again that night, and now, on the third day, she seemed to be back to "normal," or at least as far as normal went for the inscrutable woman that was Nico Robin. He had to admit that the journey had taught him a lot about her, even if he was no closer to actually understanding her. He had seen many different shades of Robin on this journey, finding a woman who was resourceful, morbid, playful, drop-dead beautiful, relentless, quick-thinking, at times vulnerable, and mature. Zoro liked those things about her, and was glad that he had been given an opportunity to learn about them. He just wondered what his newfound knowledge would mean for their relationship as crewmates once this was all over…

Zoro continued to ponder the mysteries of his companion as they followed the dry streambed up the mountainside. One mystery that worked itself out quickly enough was the need to find a streambed: doing so had given Robin a sure pathway up the mountain; meandering at times but always leading upwards.

After an hour or so of hiking, they reached a sizable plateau in the mountainside, where the land leveled off while the streambed began to dig itself into a gulley. Eventually the gulley opened into a bowl-like area, about thirty feet across with rock walls on either side. The long-extinct stream must have made a pond here, once. Robin paused when they arrived, as the way ahead was no longer clear, but that was the least of their worries.

Zoro felt it only an instant before it was upon them. "Move!" he shouted, pointing forwards. Robin dashed to the far wall while Zoro turned to meet the threat head on. Nothing was coming, at least nothing he could see. He could feel the killing intent, and the arc of the monster's dive, but he could not… no, his eye quickly picked up twin flashes of red before the monster made contact. Zoro had drawn two swords, and keen claws met them with a clash as of steel on steel.

He felt a rush of air as the beast leapt back for a second strike, and Zoro braced, but the monster held back, instead fading into view. It had fur of a dark grey, the head and wings of a bat, but bore itself low to the ground like a great mountain lion. Its eyes glared a searing red, and it had a long tail bristling with grey spikes.

"No way…" he heard Robin breathe, awestruck. For it was indeed a legend brought to life: the Lucent Nargacuga.

Zoro grinned broadly. A chance to fight a beast known for challenging legendary heroes didn't come every day.

Instead, Robin struck first. "Gigantesco Mano!" A gargantuan arm sprouted out of the ground, the hand slapping down towards the monster in an attempt to squash it.

The Nargacuga met the giant hand with relish, going after it with teeth and claws bared. It struck the giant hand mid-palm, tearing in and causing Robin to shudder in pain.

"Just stay back!" Zoro cautioned, drawing his third sword and gripping it in his teeth. "I got this!" he added, a wolfish grin forming on his features. The Nargacuga roared, sounding again like a mountain lion, and the battle was joined.

They clashed back and forth, with Zoro aiming for a fatal blow into the beast's torso, while the Nargacuga alternately tried to rush the swordsman with its fangs or pound him into the grass with its great tail. Occasionally the beast would disappear, but Zoro could still track it with Observation Haki, as well as spying the light from its eyes, leaving flickering trails as if they were a pair of crimson fireflies. Occasionally the beast would target Robin, but Zoro could always meet it before it got anywhere near her. Once or twice the beast tried to fire off its poison spikes, but Zoro marked them and deflected them with his blades.

The Nargacuga put up a good fight, especially in its ability to dodge Zoro's ranged "cannon" attacks, meaning that Zoro had to keep close to it if he wanted a chance to wound it. Soon Zoro got a chance, and then another. The beast itself got in a few good scratches here and there, at one point tearing the back of Zoro's shirt open, but it soon became clear that Zoro was winning their bout, if only by degrees.

But the Nargacuga had one trick left to play: it crouched down, low to the ground, and began waving its tail, almost as if it were a happy dog. Zoro glared at it, perplexed by this new move, but a moment later the beast let fly a shower of poisoned darts, not towards Zoro, not even towards Robin, but every which way.

Fired off at blinding speed in every direction, many of the darts ricocheted off the walls. The monster had no intention of sending them at any specific target, and by that means was Zoro's Observation Haki thwarted. The swordsman's instincts were still sharp, his reflexes still keen, but without foreknowledge of where the darts were coming from, he could not block them all.

"Hrgh!" Zoro grunted in pain as three of the darts found their mark, two piercing the side of his torso, one piercing his outer thigh.

He remembered this part of the legend, too, of what had happened to the great warrior Odios in his fight with the beast: poison. Zoro's vision swam, and he had a brief feeling of dizziness, but managed to stay upright.

"Zoro!" he heard Robin call. He spared a precious instant to turn and glance at her: she was unharmed, and had managed to climb out of the bowl, now standing on the edge and looking down at him in concern.

Had he not been poisoned, he would have been fine sparing a glance her way, but as he was, his sluggish reaction time left him prey to the monster's next strike. Zoro tried to meet a headlong rush with his blades, but only half-blocked it. Instead of getting gored, he was hit heavily, launched off of his feet and into the far wall.

"Zoro!" Robin called again, definite fear in her voice this time. Zoro picked himself up swiftly, knowing there was no time to spare. His vision was getting dimmer, and he had to end this now or he'd be dead… and then Robin would be too. She was strong in her own right, but this monster was a mismatch for her powers and it was a hopeless match for her. That was why he needed to overcome the poison, and win now.

The monster stopped in its next rush, turning to look at its tail. It yelped and shouted in shock and annoyance. Zoro squinted, trying to see what was happening, though could only make the dim outline of some of Robin's hands… doing something on the beast's tail. The Nargacuga yelped loudly, then he heard the sound of Hana Hana hands dissolving, and the beast's eyes were back on him.

Zoro braced himself, but the swift assault did not come. The Nargacuga stood before him, growling, but its breathing sounded labored. Only a few seconds later did it strike, and even so poisoned, Zoro effortlessly leapt aside.

But Zoro knew that he was failing too. Whatever Robin had done to the monster, he had to take advantage of the opening. He squared off against the monster as it turned once again to face him, growling. Zoro sheathed two swords, pulling Wado Ichimonji from his teeth and holding it instead. "One Sword Style:" he grunted, "Lion's Song!"

The swordsman struck true against the beast's torso, and its dark blood spilled forth, mortally wounded. It howled once, the epitome of pain and impotent rage, then collapsed to the ground.

The attack had done almost as much damage to Zoro in his weakened state. To focus on such an attack with poison coursing through his veins: the poison was spreading throughout his body now, and he collapsed too.

He heard Robin's scream, not even of his name, but a pure expression of desperation. He heard her land on the grass and then rush over to his side.

"Poisoned," Zoro managed to grunt out, as he saw her face hovering over his. "…like the story."

"You'll be all right, Zoro," Robin said, now a little calmer. "I won't let you die."

As Zoro passed into unconsciousness, he knew that was the truth.

Author's Note: Debated on whether to switch perspectives after Zoro got poisoned, but decided to stick with it. The major downside there is that it's not quite clear what Robin did, though "she" will, of course, explain that in back-end narration next round. Now she's alone, with a poisoned (possibly dying?) Zoro to look after. Well well, stay tuned!

PS: Yes, it was a deliberate effort to catch those of you who skipped over the filler. Also, does nobody who reads this story play Monster Hunter? Just google the Lucent Narg.