Instincts [Roronoa Zoro x Reader]

Chapter 16

Another crossbow bolt fired at him. It was more difficult to block with his hands burnt a bit from acid, but he managed. He had already gotten hit once at his side, having been caught off guard by what the third guy could do.

The bubble man suddenly released more bubbles, distorting the view. Not that that would do anything, with his Observation Haki. He slashed at the bubbles, able to pop them easily and advancing to the man who held the crossbow.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw you wielding a table leg, flanking his target. You were using the splinters of the wood to pop the bubbles, having trouble avoiding the ones with acid in them.

Your leg was wrapped in some kind of cloth, blood seeping through it, but you were holding up as if the wound wasn't there at all. Your wrists also had a reddish mark on them, likely from cuffs.

The peg-legged man, seeing Zoro and you targeting him, immediately moved closer to his allies. You managed to get to him quicker, and grabbed the container of crossbow bolts from his back. They spilled on the ground, leaving the man with only the ammunition in his hand and the loaded one in his crossbow. He seemed to switch it out for something smaller from his pocket, and aimed it at him. A blowdart, but in a crossbow?

Zoro took this chance to pounce, positioning his swords for a special attack. Disrupting his aim, the man shot, but whatever he had loaded hit you instead. It was a small needle-like bullet, hitting your neck.

He was suddenly interrupted by a large bubble enveloping his head, his exhales fogging up his vision. Using Haki to sense his target, he ignored it and cut down on the man.

He tutted when he realized he had only cut the peg-legged man's peg leg. You finished him off by knocking him out with the table leg, though your movements were slower than before.

He realized that what the man shot was most likely some kind of anesthesia. You seemed to shake it off, continuing fighting.

It was also getting more difficult for him to breathe. Despite that, he smirked, knowing that this wasn't going to be a problem. He had fought against a fish-man underwater before. This was nothing.

Yet, as he faced the other two enemies, he noticed that the bubble was expanding, coating his figure rather than taking on a spherical shape. When he slashed at the acid man, his swords made contact with the man but the bubble coating negated the damage.

The two others laughed, the bubble man's fist clenching as he tightened the bubble. Zoro let out a frustrated frown, unable to pop it with his swords due to the bubble coating them.

As the two focused on you, Zoro charged at the bubble man this time, attempting another attack, which had the same effect as before.

He watched as you dodged the bubble man's sword attacks, as if waiting for an opportunity to strike.

He continued to slash and attack, trying to brute force his way out of the bubble, or pop it somehow. He was running out of breath, and the moisture of the bubble was making it slippery. He could see that your movements were getting sluggish as well.

As he targeted the bubble man, he sensed something targeting him in return. However, he knew it was too late to react and he had to take the hit.

Your figure suddenly came between him and the bolt. Your body stumbled back from a force. He felt wetness as you fell against him, and looked down to see a crossbow bolt impaled and red growing on the cloth at your abdomen. It was burning as well, as if from acid. The anesthesia from earlier must have started to take effect now that you were too injured to fight it off.

He clenched his sword harder in his mouth and hands, ignoring his own pain on his arms and in his side through adrenaline. He looked over to the direction the arrow came from, and saw the acid man had taken the weapon from his fallen ally and shot at him.

The man stared at him in fear and shock, and Zoro wasn't surprised with how much dark aura he knew he was projecting.

He set you down gently, then tried taking a deep breath despite the bubble, preparing his attack. He performed his Rengoku Oni Giri, the bubble wavering due to the tremendous power he emanated, and finally popped as he brought the man down.

Suddenly, he sensed two familiar auras. He looked up, seeing Luffy and Chopper jumping down. Luffy's arm was in the air as he fell, possibly an attack, and Chopper was in Walk Point.

Took them long enough.