The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 21

We had left Little Garden about an hour ago and I managed to pilfer some sake from the chef. I had already gathered my medical supplies from my bag earlier, but I got an earful from Nami for disappearing. Apparently, while I was below deck, we were swallowed by a giant goldfish and blasted out of it with the help of Dory and Broggy.

"That sounds like one of Usopp's stories..." I had told her. She responded by hitting my head and storming across the deck, demanding Sanji get her some iced tea to relax.

I rubbed the lump in my hair while I searched for the injured swordsman. He was sitting alone on the back deck when I found him. I could hear the grin in his voice as I approached him with the bottle of sake, "That for me? The damned cook doesn't normally let me drink."

He reached out to grab the bottle from my hands, but I pulled it just out of his reach, "It is for you, but you're not gonna like why," He grunted in annoyance as I sat down and pulled out my needle and thread. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist and I gasped, surprised by his grip.

"Hold on," His voice was low and cautious before I sensed him bow his head, "Not here. The others could easily walk in on us."

I scoffed and put my needle away before turning to him with a smirk, "You make it sound like we're planning to do something else, swordsman."

"What!" He gaped, releasing my forearm, "No, I... D-don't turn my words like that!" I shook my head and stood, holding out my hand to him. He took it and I gently helped him to his feet.

He led the way down the stairs and to the hatch under the mast to the boy's room. I slipped in after him and slowly climbed down the makeshift ladder made of wooden rods. I had only been in there once before when I got my hammock for the girl's room, so I did not know my way around too well.

He brushed my wrist with the back of his hand and I took his arm with a small nod. He led me to the left of the mast in the center of the room and around a small table to the couches. He sat down with a grunt of pain while I took the spot to his right.

Silently, I began to take out the medical supplies I brought with me and set them on the small table. I patted my hand on my lap and uncorked the bottle of sake. He took the hint and raised his ankle onto my thigh, wincing as he did so. I got a tight grip on his ankle and gently tugged off his boot. He hissed but otherwise did not resist.

I held the bottle of sake out to him, "Take a quick drink. It'll help numb the pain."

The pirate took it with a dry laugh, "You're gonna need a lot more than one bottle to numb me," He took a swig before giving me back the bottle.

I chuckled as I began to unwrap the makeshift bandage I had put on him to stop the bleeding earlier, "Is that so? Got a high tolerance for liquid courage?"

Zoro laughed at my comment before gasping in shock and pain as I poured the alcohol over his wound to clean it. He gritted his teeth as I gently patted the cut with a cloth, "Yeah, I do. I could drink all day and only start to get properly drunk when the sun goes down."

I poured a bit of sake on my needle to sterilize it before threading the eye, "Remind me to never get in a drinking contest with you," He shook his head as I began to quickly stitch up the wound. I had to admit, he was taking it like a champ and rarely got louder than a moan or hiss, "Keep talking to me. It'll distract you from the pain."

He only groaned, "What is there to talk about?"

I patted the wound clean again as I continued to sew his ankle together, "Have you ever gotten hurt this bad before?"