The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 32

The air was hot and dry against my skin, making me thankful for the hood shading my face from the scorching sunlight. My tunic was a great insulator, guarding my body against the worst of the desert heat, but not letting my body heat escape either. It was not comfortable, but it was better than being baked by the desert sun.

I was following the muffled sound of my crewmates' footsteps in the sand. We had barely begun our trek into the desert when we came upon the ruins of the once-lush Erumalu, the City of Green. Vivi had led us to the canal that provided water to the town. Baroque Works had destroyed the waterway and it became a sandy ditch cutting through the center of town.

As we continued through the empty roadways, the princess continued to explain what had happened to the city with a heavy voice, "With no more water, fighting began to break out in Erumalu. To escape the violence here, there was only one thing the exhausted citizens could do. They abandoned the city and left for other oases in search of water. And then..." She fell silent and I heard my crewmates all stop walking. Confused, I followed their lead and stood quietly as the wind began to brush at my ankles. Vivi spoke again in a hushed voice, "The City of Green withered away."

We stood in silence, letting the princess silently mourn the loss of part of her kingdom. The wind slowly began to build, whipping our tunics around us until it bellowed like a voice through the town.

"What... is that?" Nami asked confused as the wind began to howl louder.

Chopper squeaked nervously to my right, "Is it the rebels?"

"Or more of those creeps from Baroque Works?! Oh no!" Usopp yelped in panic.

The wind picked up into a roar as it whipped past my head. It kicked up sand into my face so I threw up my arm to hide behind my sleeve, "What's going on? Is this a sandstorm?"

"No," Ace answered from behind me, "It's just wind."

"It sounds like a voice, right?" Luffy asked softly.

"Oh man, it's coming from all directions!" Usopp began to ramble in fear, "This isn't good! Ace, what are we gonna do?"

I scowled at the sniper's voice, "Ace isn't your captain, you snivelling coward. He's not even on our crew!"

The older pirate answered him calmly, "There's no danger. It's just the wind blowing around the town and echoing off the old buildings."

"It's like..." The princess started, "It's like the city of Erumalu is wailing over what's happened to it!"

The wind seemed to grow even stronger as Nami called out, "Watch out!"

My hands curled up into fists as I prepared for an attack, but we were blasted by a wall of harsh, sand-choked wind. I let out a yelp as it knocked me off balance. Chopper let out a gasp as I fell back, "Kaori!" I hit the sand with a dull thud and covered my face as the wind continued to blast sand up into my mouth and nose. It stung my arms as it knocked my hood down and whipped my braid across my back.

As suddenly as the gale appeared, it was gone. The wailing sound died off leaving us in a deafening silence. I stayed on the ground, still covering my face to prepare for the next blast of sand.

Usopp was the first to speak once he seemed sure it was over, "Whoa! What's the deal with that freaky wind?!"

I felt a pair of tiny hooves on my arm as the little reindeer ran to my side, "Are you okay, Kaori?!"

"Yeah, I'm alright," I sighed in frustration as I spit out onto the ground next to me, "I'm gonna be tasting sand all day now."

"Kaori-chan!" Sanji cooed in a worried tone as he rushed to bend over me, "You didn't get hurt, did you, Angel?"