Legal things: All original plot, characters and settings belong to Eiichiro Oda. If I own anything, it would be the sirens and the fishermen. I did not write this for profit and I did not get any monetary reward for writing this story. Enjoy chapter 9!
A day or two later…
Magina shivered. The chill in the air was bitter in more ways than one. She brought out her mother's cloak and shrugged it around her shoulders. Vivi shook her head at her in disbelief.
"No one told you to bring a coat?"
"We never needed them on my island. The season changes were mild enough to do without," Magina replied, her teeth chattering slightly.
"Land ho!" Luffy yelled.
"Let's get Nami in her coat. We don't have a lot of time to waste," Vivi said, finding the yellow coat.
"Good idea," she remarked, sitting Nami up while Vivi put the coat on Nami.
Though no one would say it, they were all worried about Nami. They already wasted some precious time wandering the sea. Vivi knew how to work the Log Pose but since it hadn't adapted to the next island, they could only hope that eventually they'd find what they were looking for.
After experiencing a misunderstanding with the locals, the majority of the crew vacated Merry with the sole mission of locating a doctor. Only Zoro, Magina and Carue stayed behind to guard the ship. Magina wrapped herself in a blanket as Zoro very deliberately removed his earplugs. She nearly sighed. He was obsessive about training with her. If Magina knew that avoiding him for two nights made him this fixated, she would have found another solution. At least, he didn't seem to remember kissing her. Zoro gave her a crazy and confident smile.
"Carue, do you have your earplugs in?" Magina asked in resignation.
Carue nodded vigorously and flapped his wings to keep himself warm.
Zoro chuckled briefly. "Come, siren. Sing."
Magina took in a deep breath of cold air and sang the familiar, haunting melody. She expected him to begin walking forward as he always did. Instead, Zoro sweated and grunted but he didn't move from his spot. Magina sang with more force, actually concentrating on making him move. He swayed to her but didn't take that first step. She sang louder, knowing that she reached her limit of volume and force. Zoro clenched his fist and took the first step. He continued to surprise her because just as he shifted his weight to take another, he growled and stayed still.
To her greatest astonishment, he struggled to lift his arms. Slowly, Zoro drew the white katana and put it in his mouth. He unsheathed the other two katana and stepped forward. It took Magina a second to realize that he was walking on his own. She tried to reassert control but it didn't do any good. Before she knew what has happening; one of Zoro's katana rested against her neck. Her singing faltered and Zoro grinned.
"I win," he said, his confident smile in full force.
Magina smiled. "Your will power is incredible, Zoro."
Zoro sheathed his katana.
"You've gotten stronger too. I've been noticing it over the weeks. What's the next step?"
"Can you fight when I sing?" Magina asked.
"Let's find out," Zoro said as he returned to the other side of the ship and unsheathed his katana once again.
"Did you want me to start off quietly?" she asked, preparing her starting breath.
"Full force," Zoro growled around the katana in his mouth.
"Alright then," Magina muttered before singing with as much force and conviction as she could muster.
Zoro did nothing at first. After a moment's pause, he sprinted straight for her. However, he didn't attack. She stopped singing and waited for him to get control of himself again. He did, blinking at her and shaking his head slightly.
"Sorry, Zoro. I guess I overdid it," Magina said, leaning against the railing and panting.
"That was your strongest yet," Zoro glared at her accusingly like she was purposefully holding back during their training.
"It won't be long until you're more powerful than this stage though. I'll need to start adding words soon. Then, we'll have to start over," Magina brushed some sweat away before it froze on her face.
"Is there really that much difference between singing with words and without them?" Zoro asked incredulously.
"Yes. Without words there's only the will of the song to worry about. It's the words that give the song strength and purpose. I should come up with a few once we pass this stage."
Magina rubbed her temples. She was getting a terrible headache. From out of nowhere; a deep, compelling voice started singing to her. She forced herself to ignore it but it wasn't like the other voices. The harder she tried to keep control of herself, the more her head hurt. Magina clapped her hands to her head and fell to her knees on the deck. She screamed, the pain unbearable. Just as abruptly as it came- the song stopped. She sat there for a moment, dazed beyond movement.
"Oi, Magina!"
"I'm okay, Zoro. I think," Magina replied.
"The song?"
She nodded. "There was a new singer, more compelling than I thought. He is powerful. Any more like that…" she trailed off, picking herself gingerly off the deck. "The sheer force of will of that singer; he's the one who wants me to come. The other voices are just pawns. I can resist them, especially at this distance. It doesn't matter how many of them there are, but that one…" Magina shook her head, then tried to rub the headache out of her temples.
Something dribbled down her face. She wiped her nose, stunned to see blood when she pulled her hand away. Zoro scooped up some snow from the deck and handed it to her. She took it and put it against her bleeding nose. The cold felt good and the blood slowly stopped. Magina took the blood-red snow and threw it overboard. Zoro set down his katana and sat cross-legged on the deck.
"What will my training be today?" she asked after a moment.
"Today…" Zoro yawned briefly and then stood back up. "Weather endurance," and he pointed to the raging river below.
Magina looked at him in surprise before she took off her cloak. She wrapped it around her head like a turban. She rose an eyebrow at him before jumping into the freezing water. The shock of the cold was enough to knock the breath out of her for a second. Luckily, her cloak was still dry. When they got out of the river, she'd have it to warm her up.
"Shit," she heard Zoro say from up above.
Magina grinned. He hated whenever she beat him to the punch. There was a second splash and Zoro appeared beside her.
"Strong strokes, keep moving or you'll freeze to death. Follow me," Zoro said, starting off downriver.
Magina swam after him, noticing that her fingers and toes were already numb. He pushed onwards and she had to use her most powerful strokes to keep up. That helped warm the rest of her, though her fingers were still cold.
. . .
Zoro glanced behind him. He expected to see Magina falling behind. Not only was she keeping up with him, she was gaining on him! Zoro grinned. She reminded him of Luffy. No matter how hard he pushed her, she always got back up. They really needed a doctor on the ship, not just because of the situation with Nami now but for Magina as well. She drove past any injuries that he inflicted on her, even if it might kill her. After they were done training for the day, she really needed someone there to patch her up even if she'd never admit it. She was beside him now. They swam together down the length of the river. Zoro could hear Magina's teeth chattering. Time to get out of the water. After all, he wasn't trying to kill her. This was only training.
"Oi, Magina. To the right over there," Zoro said, nodding to a little inland bar of snow.
Magina nodded, her lips blue. She sluggishly moved to where Zoro indicated.
Shit, he thought to himself. He hadn't realized that she was that far gone. He'd have to do something to fix that once they reached the shore.
"Come on, siren. You're not that weak," Zoro goaded her into speeding up.
He needed to get her on land. She jerked in the water and moved quicker to the shore. Zoro sighed in relief for a second before following after her.
. . .
Magina crawled onto the snow-covered shore. She couldn't feel anything. She was cold and she was so tired. She was dimly aware of Zoro coming onshore. She struggled to rise to her feet. Magina swayed but a warm, strong body kept her standing. Her mother's cloak was unwrapped from her head and thrown around her. It kept the wind's chill off her frozen, wet body but not much else. Zoro wrapped his arms around her. Magina was too cold to even be embarrassed. He started rubbing her arms and her legs. The friction warmed her a little but not enough to counteract the arctic-like temperatures.
"Don't you have a song to get the blood boiling, siren?" Zoro asked.
"M-my s-songs wouldn't affect m-m-me," Magina replied, her teeth chattering rapidly.
"We need to get you to town before hypothermia sets in," he said scanning the landscape around him. "But where are we?"
"T-that's the way t-t-to the ship," Magina said, pointing a blue finger back up the river.
"You know where we are?" Zoro asked in surprise.
"S-song h-helps," she muttered, the last of her strength coming to an end.
. . .
Zoro let her fall into his arms. They'd both freeze if he stayed here much longer.
"Magina? Magina, which way?" he asked, forcing her to stay awake.
"D-down river, then t-take left. Z-Zoro? N-no circles…this t-time," Magina commented before finally passing out.
Zoro picked her up and hefted her on his shoulder. They had a long way to go before they reached town. He jogged in the direction Magina pointed to.
An Hour Later…
Zoro scratched his head in confusion. He followed the river but somehow he lost it. Rumbling filled the air. Zoro looked up in surprise. A mountain of snow was plummeting towards them. He ran in the opposite direction but the snows still caught him. Magina was torn from his grasp and the avalanche buried him. Now what? If he unburied himself, he could start another avalanche. If he didn't move, he would suffocate. He sighed. He'd wait for a little bit and then start working his way out. Magina needed his help.
. . .
Magina jerked awake as the violent upheaval of snow ripped her from Zoro. Luckily, she landed on top of the avalanche instead of buried beneath it. She only waited for the snow to stop moving before standing up wearily. She slowly looked around her, expecting to see Zoro. He wasn't anywhere in sight. She still heard his song so she knew he wasn't dead, but it was faint, smothered. She groggily moved in the direction that she heard it. She was so cold. She could dimly recall Zoro keeping her moving every once in a while. Magina was mad at him for that. He wouldn't let her sleep, not for very long anyways. She was so tired. She paused. His song was very near here. Magina started digging, being very careful not to shift too much snow. If an avalanche started again, they'd both be in trouble. The snow was iced over, crystallized. Magina clawed her way through, not noticing or caring that the ice-like snow created long gashes on her hands and arms. By the time that Magina reached Zoro, she was shaking with cold and fatigue. She managed to clear the snow away from his face before collapsing. Zoro would have to do the rest himself.
. . .
Zoro heard the crunch of snow above him. Somebody was up there! They were shifting the snow away. The snow was slowly stealing his warmth. If only he had brought his katana. He could've cut his way out by now. He looked up. Was it his imagination or was more light filtering through? A bloodied hand broke through the snow. Another hand, just as bloody as the other one, cleared enough of the snow away for him to breathe easily. The hand started moving to clear more snow away but it fell limp and there was a Thud! nearby. He could get out now. Zoro wriggled until his arms were free. After that, it was easy enough to lift himself out of the snow. Magina was collapsed on the ground; her arms and hands bleeding. He leaned down and propped her up. He slapped her face gently. She could die of shock before they even reached a town.
"Oi, Magina! Come on, wake up!" Zoro said.
Her eyelids fluttered but didn't actually open. He frowned. That wasn't a good sign.
"Okay, hold on, Magina. We're going to make it to a town. Just hold on a little longer," Zoro said, putting her on his back and starting off.
He walked quickly, feeling the cold himself. He discovered some tracks and followed them. There was a sled up ahead, buried in a drift.
"Oi, Zoro!" Usopp called out, waving his arms happily.
"What are you doing halfway up the mountain?" Vivi asked.
Zoro almost groaned. "I'm trying to find the town. Usopp, give me your coat. It's freezing out here!"
"No," Usopp argued, chattering, "Remember a coat next time."
"Fine, get us back to town then," Zoro said exasperated.
"Us?" Usopp asked.
Zoro turned slightly so that Vivi and Usopp could see Magina.
"What happened?" Vivi asked, jumping out of the sled and running to check on Magina.
"Later, she's going into shock and we need to get her warm," he replied, waiting for them to lead the way.
"This way," Vivi immediately took charge and headed off in the opposite direction.
Usopp followed behind Zoro to make sure that he didn't get lost again. Meanwhile, Zoro just noticed that he was really starting to get cold. It made sense. He wasn't wearing anything but his pants and he was carrying a person who felt like an ice cube.
"Usopp, try to wake Magina up. As long as she's awake, we have a chance of saving her," Zoro said, trudging through the snow.
"Aye," Usopp answered, catching up to him. He started to poke Magina and calling her name.
Vivi turned her head, "What happened?"
Zoro sighed. "We were training in the river. When we got to shore, she collapsed. I started walking to town but we got caught in the avalanche. She dug me out and I carried her the rest of the way here."
He summed up almost the whole morning. He didn't mention his training, nor Magina's experience with that new singer. Zoro felt one of Magina's hands clutch his shoulder weakly.
"I think you're doing it, Usopp. Keep trying."
Usopp redoubled his efforts. Luckily, they were close to town. Zoro's teeth started to chatter now too. The avalanche had gotten the town and most of the houses were buried in snow. The villagers looked okay though. Zoro spotted some soldiers wearing thick coats with a fur trim.
"Zoro, those are the soldiers from the ship, attack them or something. I'll back you up," Usopp said, his knees shaking.
All Zoro could think about was how nice and warm those coats looked. He slowly pulled Magina off his back and let Usopp support her. Her face was blue now. He'd have to hurry or it'd be all over for her. He slowly walked through the crowd and headed toward one of the soldiers. He was just about to demand that two of them surrender their coats when he decided against it and charged them. He tackled the nearest one and slipped off his coat and boots and threw them on as they somersaulted to the ground. He disarmed him just to be sure.
Zoro was surprised at how warm the coat actually was. Now he just needed another coat for Magina. The other soldiers were stunned at first but regained their composure and stormed him. He ran through the troop of soldiers- picked off two more swords and obliterated them. He left only one unscathed. He grabbed the lapels of the man's coat and picked him off the ground.
"Give up your coat and I won't kill you," Zoro growled menacingly.
The man's face paled and he nodded his head vigorously, his chattering teeth having nothing to do with the weather. Zoro dropped the man and the man hurriedly shrugged out of his coat before running away. Zoro caught it before it fell and walked quickly over to Magina. He handed it to Vivi and Usopp and they wrapped it around her body. He frowned; he was already feeling the warmth the coat provided. How long would it take for Magina to start warming up? There was a sudden grunt behind them. Zoro turned around, caught unawares.
"Dalton-san!" Vivi exclaimed as Dalton pulled himself out of the snow. Three ugly wounds were on his chest but Dalton grimly smiled.
"I'm heading to the castle. If you need a doctor, that's your best chance of finding one," he said, looking up at the snow covered monolith in the distance.
Zoro once again picked up Magina. "Lead the way," he said, using the sash of the coat to tie her securely around his waist. He didn't know if there would be any climbing but just in case…
Dalton nodded and shifted before his very eyes before turning and dashing off towards the mountain. Zoro sighed before taking off after him. Magina stirred slightly, only enough to somehow keep him on the bison's trail. He didn't think that she was conscious. When she wasn't giving him directions, she mumbled about songs, links and sirens. Whether it was instinct or her siren abilities, Zoro didn't care. Whatever it was- it kept him from getting lost and that was the important thing. If he got lost now, Magina would die.
I know, this seems like a horrible place to end the chapter. Lol. I'd like to thank Zororenjilover, mikiiiiihearts and LesilleB in this chapter. I'm also going to thank my sisters since they've helped me a lot with editing this piece. I'm going to begin editing chapter 10 so look forward to a new chapter soon! Review if you wish. Thank you for reading!
