A ray of sun flashed right into Zoro's eyes as he struggled to adjust to the brightness all the while carrying Luffy behind him.
Seeing the carrier struggle was unacceptable for the Captain, so he lend him his hat, placing it on top of the older male's head.
Feeling the straw hat caress his head, Zoro looked over at Luffy, baffled by this unexpected moment.
"And you?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"The sun doesn't bother me back here, so it's okay." A soft smile traced the young man who felt selfless for the first time in awhile ever since they landed on such a strange Island.
Ever since yesterday, Zoro's been the one assisting to him, so it was almost a relief to Luffy when he heard the following words from his friend.
"Man, these really are useful for sunlight, I have got to get myself one of these!" He complimented, softly running his hands across the end of the hat, much to Luffy's delight.
Underneath the heat of the sun, Luffy could feel the drops of sweat running down Zoro's back as he let go of his shoulders to discretely caress the man.
"Is here good?" The question that his first mate had made flew right by the other boy; he was too invested in fondling his robust body.
An indescribable sensation urged Zoro to look down at himself where he made a surprising discovery: A set of slender arms had managed to wrap around his torso.
Immediately, he placed Luffy down on the sand with a disappointed look on his face.
"Let's settle here. It's a pretty... Decent spot. The sun won't hit us that much. Here," he took off the hat from his head, returning it to Luffy.
"Zoro, wait. Where are you going?" All that the confused Captain noticed from Zoro's feet was how far back he kept walking while he just sat there and watched.
"Don't get up from there, you might step on a crab this time, knowing you. I'm gonna go search for our snail transponder." The Swordsman notified.
"We already have it, did you forget?"
"Had, Luffy. We 'had' it. The only thing I forgot was to mention... I lost it yesterday." Luffy let out a deafening screech.
"THAT WAS OUR ONLY WAY OUT OF HERE, STUPID!" He continued while Zoro started to get frustrated.
"FOR COW'S SAKE, YOU HAVEN'T LOST YOUR ASS BECAUSE YOU HAVE IT ATTACHED TO YOUR SKIN, BUT I BET YOU'D LOSE THAT TOO IF IT WASN'T."
While his rant went on as Luffy fumed, the older man took everything in, assessing the situation.
"Cool your coconuts, Captain cripple. Let me tell you my side of the damn story, at least." Seconds after taking a breather, Luffy sighed, listening to what his friend had to say.
~Yesterday~
"Oi, LUFFY! Luff- That fool. He's gonna get hurt..."
Subsequently when they parted ways in the unknown jungle, Zoro hopped right onto his task of collecting coconuts when an odd noise started to make itself audible from his back pocket.
He reached into it and pulled out a tiny, dried up snail who was wearing a tiny version of Luffy's straw hat.
"The mini transponder? Huzzah!! What luck!" He cheered, feeling safer having it in his hand... For the last time, that is.
"Hey hey, where are you going?" The snail wiggled out of Zoro's hand, plopping into the sand where he found a regular looking group of snails.
Though they were slow paced, it didn't stop the transponder from evacuating to the Ocean with them and unfortunately for Zoro...
There was nothing he could do to recover it as, prior to running away, the snail fell into a small hole in the sand that was too deep for Zoro to reach.
"No no, no. Damn, sleazy gastropod! Get back here! SON OF A-"
Above the beautiful blue skies, the birds that flew over such a serene looking Island wondered one thing: What type of wild animal was digging into the mountains of sand.
Little did they know... That the strange looking creature they spotted from above was actually Zoro, wielding all three of his swords at once.
He violently jabbed them beneath the sand, damaging the beauty of the once peaceful beach with his savagery.
And then there came a time when Zoro had nothing else to do but to accept he had been outdone by a snail as it had swam away in the Ocean with its new friends.
~Now~
"That snail transponder was our only way out, Zoro!"
"You think I don't know that?!" The bull-headed boys were on the brink of having a fallout, unable to solve their differences in a civilized manner.
Forgiving Zoro wasn't an option for Luffy, and comprehending his Captain's decision was out of the question for Zoro, so their indifference ended in them ignoring each other and parting ways.
Zoro left without saying another word, but the younger boy ended the discussion by sticking his tongue out at him in a mocking way.
"I take back what I thought about Zoro, I completely take it back! I'll find out a way to leave on my own."
"Real mature, 'Captain'. Let's see you walk back to the cave without my help."
~~~
