Stuck

Ch 3 Ordeal

Zoro followed the lines of trees until he could just barely see the sun peaking threw the foliage. He slowed up for a minute feeling a bit off. It was strange his depth perception felt off. He was pretty sure he stuck him with some kind of poison.

It didn't take long before he'd confirmed his suspicions when he noticed his balance was increasingly harder to maintain. He took a breath, forcing his body to straighten. So long as he could still stand he was determined to find that brat.

Even with his senses off it didn't take long for Zoro to catch up to the kid. He cornered him on a beach on the far side of the island. He didn't know the hell his problem was but it was obvious he was looking for some advantage to fight. Still he hadn't the idea there was another lurking up above him.

"What the hell is your problem?" Zoro forced his muscles to relax, trying to sooth the anxiety that'd been building. There was something oddly familiar about this situation.

Kai was good at playing coy, he'd mastered emotionally manipulation and mimicked whatever he thought fit the situation. The only thing the longer he did it the more faked and false his emotion became.

"I'm a huge fan of yours, Kai and it is an honor." The bright blue eyed boy who stood tall against the sun bowed before the pirate. A moment ago he was hell bent on taking his head off, now he would attempt to appeal to Zoro's kinder nature. I mean who could fight a kid.

Then he continued to speak, "I'm impressed; even with your shitty sense of direction you managed to catch up with me."

Zoro furrowed his brow his hand already on the hilt of his katana. He had a bad feeling about this but at the same time a hunch that this was something he needed to deal with. There's no telling what this 'child' could be capable of. He'd seen a lot over the years. He'd already proven he was able to get a hit off and actually slip him something.

"It'll be the biggest regret." Kai smiled wickedly. Zoro was generally impressed but at the same time he couldn't take anything lightly in this cruel world. Killer children didn't seem too far off a concept considering how he'd set out on his own at a young age.

"What's your deal?" Zoro inquired as he raised an eyebrow now enveloped in curiosity. The teen in front of him lifted his head to look into the other in the eye. Then he went back on the offensive. Zoro was quick to catch his attack but he was drastically slower than normal and just a bit off his mark.

Still he managed to hold it together. The two of them exchanged a few blows before Kai's strange blade broke. He paused and Zoro waited for his move.

"Why'd you come here anyway?" This kid sure liked to ask pointless questions.

"How about it's none of your business," Zoro was calmer and more collected than Kai would have liked but it didn't matter.

"What were you pretending to hunt?" That got his attention. He was testing him now. "You see we've been watching ya. You guys sure do leave a nice meaty trail to follow ya know that?"

"Kind of hard considering I killed most of the wildlife." Kai didn't have an ounce of remorse in his words, just cold collected malice. He probably enjoyed playing target practice with that weird devil fruit he had.

"Alright kid, quit the games. If you wanna be a psychopath that's fine but leave me the hell out of it."

"You must be afraid." Kai commented hoping to strike a nerve and now he was invested.

"Excuse me? Why are you really here, who sent you?" Zoro inquired.

Kai leapt forward seeming to throw something at the swordsman whose weapon was just as quick to the draw. It was those damn shards again. Zoro was able to dodge most of them and defect the rest with his blade. But the last one however found a home in his right shoulder.