Its short.
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Zoro's lungs burned.
Smoke from the fire whipped around his head into the air, pouring into his eyes, nose, and mouth, suffocating him. The blaze crackled merrily, bits of ash and burning flecks of leaves settled on his skin, coating him in a darkness that matched the plumes whirling into the sky. The thick shadows of smoke cut dark trails through the fading afternoon, blocking the view of the stars. As the sun continued it's lazy, yet rapid decent, the heat went with it, dropping the afternoon into a comfortable temperature, and quieting the chatter of tropical birds. But, in the decrease of heat, the bugs had become braver, and had made their way towards the oceanfront to feast on human flesh.
Zoro coughed as he inhaled through his mouth, the thick smoke smelled strongly, but it was the only tree on the island that burned black enough for a signal, and hot enough for a fire. Unfortunately it burned so black he could hardly see, and smelled way to strongly. The only good thing about the wood, which corresponded to the insect problem, was the oil that had seeped onto his body; ever since the malodorous sap had coated nearly all of his upper body, the pesky bugs had been less, well, pesky. Unfortunately he was giving himself a headache.
Though the smell was not the only culprit on that front.
A large bruise was testimony to the assailant on his heads well being. Zoro hadn't had the heart to look at it, nor the will to bring himself to think of the shame that would surely accompany it. Even without shoes, the cook could still kick.
Makes sense, he did study under red-shoes Zeff… he rolled his eyes at the mildly idiotic thought, and winced as the flesh on the right side of his forehead move, disturbing the blood oozing, and puckered skin.With a ginger movement, he touched the welt, and found (with a mild amount of shock) that it was about the size of an egg. Zoro dully noted that he should never attempt to kiss the cook again. His escapade in romance had been short lived, and spur of the moment, "I'm gay" actions had been, well, thoroughly banished forever.
With a dry chuckle, he also decided never to buy Sanji one of those " Kiss the cook" aprons.
The cook in question was currently glowering at Zoro from the other side of the fire. Ever since "The Incident", as Zoro was now not-so-affectingly calling it, the cook had done nothing else. Apparently the sheer audacity of another man kissing him was more than he could comprehend.
It's more than you can comprehend as well… what the hell were you thinking?
It was really more than he could figure out. There was no real reason to ever kiss someone like Sanji. The cook was irritable, pushy, nosey, lusty, annoying, faithless, flirtatious, and, incredibly strait. Zoro looked away, unable to maintain eye contact with the obviously peeved blond. Whatever the consequences of his actions, he would have to face them, come hell, or high water. No matter what, it wasn't going to be a good outcome.
Oh well, he thought lightly, its not like things can get any worse.
Luffy sat erect on the prow of the ship, hand clasped tightly to his hat, a wide grin plastered to his face and he watched the hull slice through the choppy water. Nami had said it would take them a few days to reach the island that the two missing crewmembers could be on, but he didn't care. He was going to wait and watch for them, no matter what. After days of living in a hazy of worry and self-doubt, the thought of having them back was just to exciting to not drive him to pre-emptive scanning.
He wasn't the only feeling the positive effects of the news. Behind him the ship buzzed with activity, the shouts and laughs of crewmembers happily filling the air behind him. They were laughing again, and planning the "welcome back" party. "There has to be one," Chopper had squeaked, and everyone had full heartedly agreed. Even potentially days away, the party décor had already made appearances. The deck had been scrubbed again, and streamers looped lazily around the handrails. Chopper had wanted to put up the balloons, but Ussop had talked him out of it with a story filled with a moral on "why not to fill up party balloons to early". Luffy himself had been planning on trying some sort of expedition in food, but he too had been talked out of it by Ussop with a different story, this time on "Why we don't touch Sanji's things." He scanned the deck, feeling his grin widen as he basked in the happiness of the others, only-
-Only Nami wasn't happy like everyone else. The aforementioned navigator was sitting cross-legged in the center of the deck, back to the mast. Strune about her was the usual assortment of maps, markers, and other assorted paper. Though, all of her focus seemed to be on one piece of parchment. He had figured Nami would be the Happiest of all, she had been the one to spot the blotch on the chart indicating an island, therefore she would have I'm-responsible-for-saving-you bragging rights.
Luffy hopped down from his perch and made his way over to the spot on the deck where Nami sat, noticing as he came closer worry lines etched onto a haunted face. At the sound of his steps she looked up and him, beckoning him over with a light wave of her index finger. He hastened his pace and sat next to her.
"Luffy, do you see that mark?"
He nodded, and she continued
" Do you know what that means?"
He stared closely at the mark, a strange vulture-like bird made of angles, its beak and head were thrown back, large teeth hooked out of its open maw. Red ink dotted down its otherwise white chest. It mark scared him for an odd reason, like a creature he had once heard of but wouldn't quite remember. Fearing an eye roll and an exasperated sigh, he shook his head no.
The sigh never came, and she didn't look irritated as she normally did when he admitted to not knowing a thing about maps.
" I looked it up, and it means…."
She trailed of, voice cracking.
"What does it mean, Nami?"
She looked gravely at him, fear and terror lancing over her face.
" It means we have to hurry. Luffy, that mark means the island is inhabited by man-eaters. Cannibals. And Luffy, Zoro's weapons are still in his room."
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I'm not going to lie, I have some sever writers block…. So…I guess, if you demand updates, I demand Ideas…. Im pretty out. So yeah, Ill keep these little Guys (and I mean friggen little) coming until I can think of how to get this one to end. Well get it TO the end. I know how it ends… writers block… grr rer rerr.
Oh and PS for those of you wondering. I excluded the characters Brooke, Robin, and Franky because I loves the merry go, I loves her with all my heart.