The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 26

As our adventure on the winter island of Drum Kingdom came to a close, I could not help but smile as Luffy cheered in victory. I heard Nami let out a whoop of excitement behind me, startling me, and Usopp began to laugh happily a few feet to my left. We had managed to add another name to our crew's roster, although I still had yet to learn it.

As the boy's sobbing died down to a sniffle, Zoro piped up in a slightly mocking tone, "Say, Luffy. Now that you've gotten him to join the crew, you mind introducing us to our new friend?"

"Huh?" The captain responded, "Oh, yeah! This is Usopp, Zoro, Kaori, and Vivi. You already met Nami and Sanji," The rubber man laughed heartily.

I urged him to continue, "Well, what's the kid's name?" There was a long silence before he gave another laugh. The rest of the crew joined me in our exasperated sigh, "You don't know?!"

"Um, excuse me?" The boy's high-pitched voice spoke softly to get our attention, "My name is Chopper. Tony Tony Chopper to be exact," I could not help but smile at the kid's sheepish nature.

"Alright then," Luffy grunted, "Now that that's settled, let's get going!"

"Wait! We're leaving now?" Chopper gasped.

I heard the determination in Zoro's voice as he spoke, "I know it's sudden, but we can't afford to wait much longer. We lost enough time while Nami was sick. The more time we spend here, the more lives are put at risk in Vivi's kingdom."

The boy gasped in horrified shock before Vivi took a step forward, "Mr. Bushido, you don't have to scare him like that!"

Nami stormed toward him and smacked the back of his head, "Don't be such a jerk! Do you want to give him a bad first impression?!"

"Me?!" Zoro snapped at her, "What about you?! Smackin' people around like that isn't winning you any bonus points either!" Luffy laughed at them while I shook my head, not bothering to hide my smile.

Chopper, on the other hand, was silent. He suddenly began to walk purposefully up to the castle, his hooves crunching in the snow. Nami was shocked, "Chopper?"

"It's okay," His voice was cheerful but heavy, "I have to go get my things before we go," There was a short pause before he grinned, "Besides, I have to tell Doctorine that I'm a pirate now!" With that, he trotted into the castle, leaving us behind as it started to snow.

I was the first to speak after he left, "Well, he seemed to take that well," Luffy only laughed as Nami scoffed at me.

Usopp turned to said navigator with a concerned tone, "Nami, how ya feeling? Are you completely recovered from your illness already?"

She gave a light chuckle, "Sure am, I feel great!" I let myself have a small smile as she turned to talk to the captain.

Usopp, having accepted her response, turned back to his little project, "There!" He boasted as he began to pat the snow into shape, "In order to commemorate our arrival on this mountaintop, I've built an even better snowman than before!" Sure enough, the shape I could see was nicely detailed and in a strong pose. However, Zoro did not seem as impressed with it as I was.

"Lame!" He groaned before propping his boot up on the leg of the sculpture, threatening to knock it down.

The sniper swatted his foot away in rage as I tried to hide my laughter, "Hey, don't kick at my snowman. What is wrong with you?" Zoro merely huffed in annoyance before turning away from him and facing the others. This only upset Usopp more, "You have no manners! Look at me when I'm talking to you. Hey. Hey!" I turned to face the sniper, frowning in frustration as he yelled almost in my ear. With a weak chuckle, he backed off, "No? Okay then."