Musician: Chapter 6—Chaos

Cold. Fear. Anger. Confusion. Rage. Darkness. Chaos. These feelings were flowing through his veins. How could he have done it? He was losing control of his own thoughts.

He had given up. As Drummerman trudged up the mountainside, he didn't look back at the Going Merry. With his blood-stained blades in his hands, he ran. He couldn't believe what he had done. Robin, his best friend, was now dead at his hand. To protect the rest, he knew he had to leave and never come back.

Zoro had found the perfect spot to train, a secluded mountaintop. As he continued doing pushups with his little finger, to his surprise, Drummerman appeared in front of him. Blood dripped from his drumstick blades. "What did you do, Drummerman?" asked Zoro cautiously, as he stood up and strapped on his swords.

Drummerman looked at Zoro with surprise. He hadn't expected to see any of the crew ever again. "I… it was an accident, Zoro. Please believe me. I…I lost control." Zoro's eyes grew bigger with every word. "Just let me go, please… I'll leave and never come back. I…"

"What did you do!" screamed Zoro, as he swung down with one sword, locking blades with Drummerman.

"Robin, I don't know why, I just…she's…" He struggled to continue holding on.

"I knew you were bad all along!" screamed Zoro, taking out another sword. "You are going to die today!"

How had it come to this? Drummerman would never think of hurting his friends, but his instincts were taking over now. Zoro was now just another enemy to kill. Drummerman's senses sharpened. This was going to be a fight to the death. He lashed out.

Zoro saw Drummerman's spinning blades hurtling towards him at a speed he'd never seen before. It was all he could do to block it, let alone strike back. Zoro aimed a few slashes at his crewmate, which were easily blocked. The cold air flowed around them. Zoro had no idea why Drummerman had killed Robin, but he wasn't going to leave him alive long enough to tell.

Drummerman didn't let up. His energy was running at an all-time high. He didn't care now whether Zoro was an enemy or a friend. Zoro was a living thing, and Drummerman was an executioner. He strategically jumped backwards, setting himself up for a killing strike. He rocketed through the air at Zoro, spinning his blades, spinning his body. He was a torpedo ready to explode on contact.

Zoro was too skilled to lose to that. He crossed his two swords in front of him, ready to counter. The counter-strike sent Drummerman flying backwards into the snow, but in a split second, he was on his feet again. Zoro knew he had to end this now. He pulled out his third sword, clamping it in his teeth. "Oni…" He was too slow. Drummerman was there, and aimed a strike at Zoro's middle.

As he flew by the swordsman, the drummer could hear the flesh underneath the green sash tearing with the serrated edge of the drumstick's blade. Zoro's entire right side flew open, gushing blood. Shreds of cloth and flesh flew in all directions, littering the pure white snow with the stain of red and green.

Zoro didn't know what to do. He hadn't faced anyone this strong since Hawk-eye. But there was no way that Drummerman had anything close to his skill. The scent of his own blood gave him even more resolve. He had to finish this enemy. Zoro was losing too much blood. His entrails were hanging out in shreds. Zoro braced himself and fell to one knee.

Drummerman knew that it was his only chance to finish the swordsman. He ran towards him, ready to decapitate him while he was kneeling on the ground. It was too late to dodge when he saw Zoro's tornado attack starting to form. All he could do was block and hope to come out alive.

As Zoro spun, forming a tornado, his blood was sucked from his body, merging with the attack. He screamed in pain, and fell into the cold snow, unconscious…

Drummerman awoke a few minutes later to find himself at the foot of the mountain. A trail of blood was visible from the top to where he lay. The fight was over, and his mind returned. He realized once more that another of his friends had fallen at his hand. He breathed hard. He was now sure that he was never going to have another friend in this world. Maybe he'd find some in hell.

He saw a dark cave nearby. Screaming, he ran into it, hoping to never come out again.

Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji had journeyed further into the cave with some makeshift torches. "Robin's going to love this place," said Luffy. He saw a piece of meat carved into the wall. "Ooo… I'm hungry, Sanji! Make me some meat!"

"You just ate, idiot! Don't you remember?" asked Sanji.

"Yeah, but I'm hungry again."

Usopp rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Luffy. Once we all get back to the ship together, we can eat more. Why are you always thinking with your stomach?" A scream rang through the cave, echoing across the walls. Usopp's legs started shaking. "Wh-what was that?"

As Drummerman ran further into the cave, he saw three points of light in the distance. No, it couldn't be. The rest of the crew? He wasn't going to stop. He was already in too much pain. He couldn't bear the thought of his other friends dying by his blades. As he rushed by them, he sliced off the tops of the torches, plunging the cave into darkness.

One kick was all it took. Sanji kicked at the shin of the unknown assailant at it rushed by, splintering the bone with a loud crack. He could hear it tumbling, screaming, unable to run. As Usopp lit a flare, he saw Luffy running off to follow the creature, whatever it was.

Pain. He couldn't run anymore. His mind was in chaos. His emotions ran wild. His eyes were bloodshot as he turned to face yet another one of his best friends. His head throbbed where the bottle was jammed. Why was he doing this again? He didn't care. He needed more blood. He needed to kill.

End Chapter 6