"Bones!"
"Nami-san is so observant!"
"Human bones, Sanji!"
"Nami-san is so descriptive! I love her more and more!"
"Will you cut the crap, and think about this for a second?!"
The cook was silent for a moment, as he stared at the pair of skeletons they had found in a dark and gloomy cave. He took a glance at the pile of junk that was beside them and gave a sly grin. "Don't worry, Nami-san. That won't happen to us."
Nami sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sure that's what they said." She gave an annoyed gesture to the human remains to emphasize her statement. Sanji merely took out a cigarette, lit it and placed it between his lips.
"I won't let it happen."
Nami's eyes suddenly looked over to Sanji, and a light smile barely graced her features. Sanji was trustworthy, and she knew it. He'd rather die than let anything happen to her; he'd proven this statement time and time again in the past. And if something were strong enough to kill Sanji, there really wasn't much hope for the situation to begin with.
Her stomach suddenly did a sick roll, and she decided not to dwell on that possibility.
"I suppose we should cover more of the island and see if we can't find any decent shelter," the navigator took a brief pause, "that, ah, doesn't have any dead people in them." At the mentioning of dead people, Sanji's mouth suddenly split into an odd grin[2] and Nami knew it was time to move on. "All right, let's go. I think we'll be able to see more of the island if we climb this mountain."
"Good idea, Nami-san!" The cook obediently turned and followed her out into the clearing. From there, Nami only took a few moments to survey the mountain that rested before them.
"We won't have to climb all the way up," she stated, her eyes climbing upward until they reached the summit. "Just high enough to see a good portion of what's around here."
Sanji grinned. "I'll be behind you all the way, Nami-san, don't worry."
Immediately, Nami wore a shrewd look on her face, and she gave a forced smile to Sanji. "Ah, actually, I was hoping you'd lead the way." The cook's cheerful demeanor momentarily flickered away, but he dutifully went ahead of her.
"I'd love to, Nami-san."
"Thank you, Sanji-kun."
"You're most welcome, Nami-san."
Nami merely sighed, and the two began to make their way up their own trail.
***
"How much longer are we walking for?"
Zoro's question seemed to mildly irritate his temporary companion, and Raffle's eyes flickered over to the green haired man. "Why must you keep asking this?" he asked, almost desperately.
"Because you haven't given me a straight answer yet," Zoro said, quite annoyed himself.
"Well," spoke the hunter slowly, not attempting to pick up his pace as the two made their way up the mountain, "there's a good deal you need to know before we go kill the monster."
"Yeah, fine," said Zoro quickly, wanting to get any explanations out of the way so his initial question would be answered.
"First of all, it's a very rare creature. Blue Tailed Fisher, as it is called. I suppose it's called that because it likes to 'fish' people out of the water. It's memory has only been kept alive through supposed myths and legends. Isn't that fascinating?"
"Mm." Zoro was trying not to let his eyes wander too much over the landscape as the hunter spoke.
"As I was saying, it's an incredibly intelligent creature. Very sociable. In fact, I'm quite surprised it's been living on an island by itself like this." The blond smiled broadly, apparently happy to show off his knowledge. "I suppose that would partially account for why it brings people onto the shore."
Wait a second. Zoro threw a look at the hunter. "You mean it's lonely or something?"
"I would say that is the reason," replied Sir Raffles. "And it uses the immense power in its wings to stir up the winds and the clouds, thus creating a storm. That way, he's ready to bring any unfortunate soul who falls into the water to shore. Although I do find that explanation rather far fetched."
Zoro shrugged. It didn't sound that unreasonable to him, considering he'd seen a lot of incredible feats since he first joined Luffy's crew. "Makes sense to me."
"Yes, well," Raffles waves his hand dismissively at Zoro, "you're not an expert in this field like I am." The swordsman took the gesture as an excuse to give him a look of open contempt.
"I'm sure you've seen all sorts of things, eh?" Zoro almost rolled his eyes as he said this and fell silent.
"Well, I was rather detained for the past few years," answered the hunter, quite unabashed by the rude question. "I've just recently been able to pick up this old profession." There was a brief silence before Zoro spoke.
"How much longer are we walking for?"
"For heaven's sake, will you stop asking that cursed question!?" But the hunter's eyes lit up, and he suddenly pointed to a dark entrance of a cave. "Ah, let's start in there."
"What makes you think it's in a cave?" asked Zoro irritably, as he followed the other man to the designated spot.
"Well, naturally it would be the first place to look," replied Sir Raffles smugly. "After all, it did make those caves."
"Why would it do that?" asked Zoro, now aggravated with the monster for making such a confusing network through the mountain. His eyebrow lightly twitched at the memory of falling through the ground with Luffy. His mouth pressed itself into a thin line when he recalled that his captain had been up and running around just the other day.
The hunter's voice shook him out of his thoughts. "Didn't you know? It eats the rocks."
Zoro had to repress a snort. "Eats them?" He gave Sir Raffles an odd look. "I've never heard of anything eating rocks before."
"Indeed, but a Blue Tailed Fisher does." The monocled man gave a knowledgeable nod. "It has a strong gut in order to absorb the minerals from them. Quite interesting, eh? Gets along with other plants and animals quite nicely because of that. No one fears the Blue Tailed Fisher except for sailors who don't want to be ship wrecked."
"Who would want to be shipwrecked?" asked Zoro, repressing the urge to roll his eyes.
"Oh, you'd be surprised," murmured the hunter faintly. Zoro had nothing to say to this, deciding that Raffles was merely looking for a way to make his intellect appear even higher. The swordsman's eyebrow twitched again.
Thankfully, it didn't take them long to reach the inside of the cave. While it was mostly identical to the other caves he'd seen scattered through the mountain, this particular one was a bit damper to Zoro.
"Ah, it must be new," stated Sir Raffles, grandly gesturing to the rough walls around them. "I wouldn't be surprised if it ran above and below other tunnels, too. We'd best be careful."
The green haired man faintly wondered if the dampness of the cave really accounted for the blue creature's saliva, but he didn't particularly feel like sending the hunter on a long winded explanation. Instead, he merely avoided touching the walls. Sir Raffles, on the other hand, ran his hands along what seemed to be every jagged edge and every indentation he came across.
"Amazing," he breathed. "Absolutely amazing."
Zoro didn't really care one way or the other. He just wanted to find the thing so he could kill it and be rid of his temporary companion. However, he did find it a pity that the hunter wanted to kill such a rare creature. But, he reminded himself, we'll actually have some food. Which is fine by me.
It didn't occur to him that Sir Raffles might not be willing to divide the catch with him, however.
By now, the sunlight from behind had almost completely disappeared, and Zoro noticed that some places in the ground seemed unstable. The swordsman made a mental note to be careful, although Raffles made a loud, clear verbal warning moments after.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you broke your neck after falling through several tunnels," commented the hunter. He gave a smile anyway, a few teeth missing from his mouth. "Not that that would happen."
Zoro quickly looked away from Sir Raffles, his lip curling lightly at the pointless chatter. What a weirdo.
He must have gotten the cold hint because not another word was spoken between them for the rest of the trip. Silence loomed within the roughly crafted hallways, save for the constant echo of feet falling against hard ground. This continued for quite sometime until they reached a dead end -- a cliff of sorts that hung over a wide cavern, flowing with freezing water in some places.
Zoro looked over the edge as if expecting to find the monster in question somewhere. When he only saw an almost endless space below, he kicked a rock into it. Several seconds passed before he heard it hit plop into some water.
"I don't see any monster, or whatever it is you call it," said Zoro at last. "I guess we should go back."
He received no answer.
Zoro, quite irked, managed to growl, "I take the time to leave my friend and come with you." He turned around. "The least you could do is--" But he never finished his sentence as he felt a pair of unseen hands come from out of nowhere and push him back. He stumbled -- waved his arms to catch his balance -- and slipped.
His stomach did a back flip, but his hands were quick and he managed to grip onto the cliff's edge with one hand. Dark, alert eyes traveled down, only to see several pebbles scatter from beneath him and be swallowed by the abyss below. With legs dangling helplessly for a few moments, he tried to get some sturdy footing against something, anything--
"Silly fellow," came a soft voice from above. Zoro suddenly looked up, but saw nothing. "I am a skilled hunter, far better than you think I am. Why would I need the help from the likes of you?" Rage suddenly flashed through the swordsman's face, and he opened his mouth to make a retort. "Yes, I know who you are," interrupted the voice of Sir Raffles. "That straw hat that belongs to your captain -- the one I swiped from him and used to lead him to those potent berries -- is quite a trademark of his."
A forceful curse left Zoro's throat, and his nails dug into the rock. Frantically, his eyes searched around him, but he still saw nothing. "Can't see me, eh? That's probably why I was able to watch you ever since you've been here." A light, mirthless laugh. "I was worried at one point -- your facial expressions at times told me your were suspicious of your surroundings."
"What do you want?!" growled the slipping first mate, his heart furiously pounding in his chest.
"Well, I certainly don't want to share any of the Fisher's meat with you or your captain. Nor do I wish to share the glory of catching such a rare creature." A haughty snort. "Your captain's head can give me a pardon from the government. With that done, the blue head of that foul creature should do the rest in ensuring a comfortable life of fame and fortune."
Pardon from the government?! Zoro's breath almost caught in his throat. "Luffy--!"
Another mirthless laugh -- cruel. "You're just like any regular animal. I can read you like a book." Zoro suddenly felt his fingers being pried from their own saving grace. "Yes, I'm sure you're wondering why you can't see me." Three fingers left. "Certainly I'll tell you." Two fingers left. Zoro resolved to not let them give way, no matter how hard they were pulled. "Let me just say that it's from a fruit that no hunter should do without."
Crunch.
Zoro gritted his teeth as he felt a boot slam and break the bones in his remaining fingers. Delirious pain shot through his hand from the impact. Before he knew it, his weight was pulling him down at a dizzying speed.
It didn't take the swordsman long to disappear, just as the rock that he himself had kicked in just a short while ago.
A soft snort, and a single pair of footsteps was heard. "Fool."
***
Heart pounding furiously in his chest, Monkey D. Luffy startled awake. Wide, curious eyes opened, only to be greeted by the dark cave ceiling that hung above him. Allowing a short amount of time for his vision to adjust and his heart to settle down, he sat up and contentedly yawned.
"What a nap!" he exclaimed cheerfully, although he could faintly taste the bitter flavor from his last snack. Upon the memory, he looked around and said, "I'm hungry." No one answered.
His body was sweaty, he noticed belatedly. Blinking, he wrapped his arms around his suddenly chilled body. It was then that he realized that, in addition to his own red shirt, he was clad in Zoro's white T-shirt. It was baggy on him, so it was difficult not to notice.
"I wonder what this is for," he asked aloud, looking around briefly for an answer. "Isn't Zoro cold without a shirt?" This seemed to trouble him, as he recalled the times Zoro had stolen the clothing of others. Why would his swordsman leave his own shirt behind like that?
He called his name, standing up and looking around. No answer. "Zoro!" Silence.
Perhaps he was hunting? Eyebrow furrowing, the captain sincerely hoped that Zoro wasn't eating without him. But Zoro wouldn't do that. No, he was just out hunting still. Or maybe he was training. Luffy knew his first mate liked to do that, too. However, he figured food would probably be his main concern.
"Zoro's hunting," he assumed, talking to himself in response to the lack of company. "He'll be back soon. And we'll have plenty of food." Grinning, he crossed his arms, confident now. "I want to be here when he comes back." He plopped himself down onto the ground. "I'll wait for him right here."
And wait he did, even as the sun began to set, and the chilly evening wind hauntingly echoed through the cave. Undaunted, the pirate casually placed his straw hat onto his head and grinned.
"Hurry up, Zoro. I'm waiting."
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[2] Those who've read past Alabasta should get this joke. ^^
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