Zoro punched his own negativity in the face while standing perfectly still. His senses fully focusing on what he could do to help… Her.
Her eyes were tightly shut and sweat was rolling down her skin from exertion.
Think. He urged himself.
Robin's upper lip was lifting into a desperate snarl.
Think dammit.
Hana Hana fruit spawn tightening around them, she kept her phantom limbs firmly sealed against each other.. Not a bug had entered their flesh cage, which was slowly turning into something more akin to a sarcophagus.
"Zoro…" She managed.
His pen point pupils fixed themselves on hers, as his body was being forced intimately toward hers by their shrinking sanctuary.
Zoro was contemplating what the best way to fling himself over her would be in a last and desperate attempt to shield her from the potentially lethal insects.
To his surprise, she created a peephole in front of their faces.
His startled grunt was followed by him piecing the puzzle together.
"I'm sorry…"
Robin's walls came down simultaneously, and in a burst of adrenaline the swordsman let go of his sword handle, catching her carefully in his arms before harm could come to her.
He couldn't help a feeling of gust of déjà vu, a token from their first adventure together.
"Robin!"
He looked up to see again, what she had shown him before burning out.
A gargantuan variety of the creatures they had encountered earlier. As if acting as a single sentient entity, the bugs had given up on penetrating Robin's improvised walls. Instead, they had assembled into a powerful monstrosity.
A dark blur of bugs that had seamlessly arranged themselves into a thickly built humanoid creature… It had no face, but it was clearly ripping its anatomical properties off an androgynous man.
It approached them with infantile coordination, and a heavy, deep, echoing set of footsteps getting louder.
Zoro leaned Robin against a large chunk of rubble carefully, she adjusted herself slightly to escape discomfort. Not a second later his swords were out, and he had leapt into the air to slash the impending threat straight through its middle.
Although the thing did lose perhaps an inch of its height, the bug units compensated the damage by simply re-assimilating. The thing was getting far too close to his incapacitated partner for his liking. Then he remembered…
The control panel.
He rushed toward her and scooped her up, then- as the hideous insect being lunged at them while it swayed from side to side like a drunken wrestler- he sprinted, Robin in tow.
He made his way across the room back to where he had spotted it. Eased Robin's long legs onto the ground carefully while maintaining a firm grip with his other arm around her waist. His focused hands flicking at the dusty screen, searching for the button text he had seen earlier.
Noted a bar that said:
[TUBE STATUS: CLEAR]
Before hitting his target.
[OPEN TUBE]
With a mechanical hissing sound, it did just that. Without a moment to lose the swordsman started to drag one drowsy damsel into the space.
Before he could let go of her she spoke near his neck, a little stronger than when she had collapsed.
"No, you are not going out there by yourself! I can seal us both in here!" She demanded.
The thing was catching up to them again. He growled at her.
"LET ME BUY US SOME TIME!"
Even in her exhaustion, her arms were locked around his neck very persistently and he was having trouble removing her.
Her throat closed up. He felt her heart pound through her skin.
"No."
Robin shook her head desperately.
"No, no. No."
She shuddered, turned red in frustration and disappointment.
Tears streaked their way down her face.
"You can't do this." She cried.
The shout turned to a whimper.
"Not you too."
"Not again."
"Zoro."
He took hold of her wrists and detached her from him. Holding them midair briefly, like two fragile birds. Just enough pressure to keep them still without hurting them.
"I'm begging you!"
Zoro frowned again, his eyes shut, there were so many things he could have said.
Instead, he cupped her face in his hands and with his eyes still sealed tight, pressed his nose into the the crook of her cheek roughly. A flash of searing heat spread through his face to accompany hers.
He looked into her eyes, which were now puffy and helpless. His were dressed in self-assurance and a warrior's promise, as he backed away from her and sealed the tube, leaving her safely behind.