The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 13

I stared at the wrought iron doors that seemed to hover in the sky. There was just no way it was that easy. Nami seemed to share my doubts, "Okay, even if I believed a whale's belly could have an exit door, nothing's there but sky!"

Kaori growled, "I told you, I can't feel the sunlight. That can't be the sky!"

Usopp gaped, "Something's not right here... Wait, look at the sky!"

"It's not the sky!" The blind woman barked at him.

He flinched back, whimpering, "No, no, I mean look. Those seagulls. Nothing's moving! They're painted on. It's a giant mural inside the whale's stomach!"

I took a moment to look at the 'sky' and noticed that Usopp was right. There was even a signature under the wing of one of the seagulls. Nami was still confused, but Crocus confirmed it for us, "Call it a doctor's playful mind."

"You're not making any sense, you crazy old fool!" Usopp hollered at the old man.

I grabbed his shoulder and held him back, "Easy. Don't let him get to you," The Ero-cook said something to the long-nosed marksman while I turned to the navigator, "Nami, if that is an exit, then we need to get to it," She and the rest of the crew agreed.

Kaori began to walk to the lower deck, "I hope we didn't lose our oars when we were swallowed," A sense of dread filled me as I realized what she said was very possible. Before I could follow her down the stairs, however, the ship lurched and we were all thrown off balance. The girls and Usopp screamed while the waters roiled all around us.

"Aw great, what now?" Sanji groaned, the annoyance clear in his voice.

Suddenly, Nami began yelling, "Look! That's no island! It's some kind of ship! It's made of iron!" Sure enough, I looked over at the old man's 'private resort' and it was bobbing about on the waves with a dark metal belly. How the old man managed to not capsize that oddly shaped vessel was beyond me.

"Yeah, of course! 'Cause we're floating on a sea of gastric acid!" Usopp declared.

The cook had to put in his two cents worth and set us on edge, "That means a wooden ship wouldn't fare well if we stayed here too long."

I heard Kaori gulp and looked her way. Her body was tense and defensive. She was itching for a fight. Being blind in a situation like this when everything is turned upside down must be infuriating. Usopp broke my train of thought when he yelled at Crocus, "Hey! What's with this freaky whale?! Answer me, you old man!"

"He's very angry," The lighthouse keeper answered cryptically. We waited, confused, as he continued, "These aftershocks are a result of him hitting his head against the red line."

"What?" Sanji and I barked in unison.

"That explains it," Nami said, seemingly to no one, "Why he had such deep scars on his forehead. Not to mention all the strange howling."

"Why does he do it?" Usopp wondered out loud.

"It's because he's suffering!" Nami answered in an almost pained tone.

"It's all starting to make sense," Usopp began to say, awed, "So what's the geezer up to?"

Nami sounded spiteful, "More than likely, he's trying to kill the whale from the inside!"

"What a despicable way to kill something!" Usopp sounded just as disgusted and angry as the copper-haired woman.

Kaori huffed, "I'd be a bit more sympathetic if we weren't about to be digested by this damn whale."