The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 36: Underground

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Luffy had given us little to no warning before he slingshot us across the desert. It was so abrupt that I had no time to brace myself for the stop. I felt my body slam against a solid rock, the uneven edges jabbing into my spine and lower back. It knocked the wind out of me, and I could not catch myself as I fell forward. I ended up landing flat on my face in the shade of the overhanging boulder.

Luffy let out a content sigh and laughed, "Ah... Nice and cool."

Enraged, I leapt to my feet and brashly drew Wado and Kitetsu, "I should cut you in half!" I roared, pointing my blades in his direction.

The carefree fool held up his hand apologetically, but his stupid grin remained on his face, "Right, sorry about that," His laughter was replaced with confusion as he looked around us, "Hey, where are the other two?"

My heart suddenly thumped wildly in my chest as I started searching the immediate area, "Kaori's missing?! Dammit, Chopper too! They were right beside me. They should be here!"

"Oh! There they are!" Luffy cried out happily. I turned to follow his line of sight and saw them both lying on the ground nearly fifty feet away from us.

Neither of them was moving. My gut twisted seeing the blind woman sprawled out on the sand like a rag doll.

Luffy continued with his happy-go-lucky tone, "What're they doing out there? They're pretty weird guys, huh?" Livid, I took the bladed side of Wado and placed it up against my captain's neck. I did not plan to strike at that moment, but I made it clear that he was one misstep away from me taking his head. His voice grew strained, "Yeah, this is my fault. I'm sorry."

I glared at the back of his head for a moment before sheathing my swords. He stood and made to reach out and grab them to bring them into the shade with us. I sighed in frustration as I turned to sit on a nearby rock, "There's really no point in talking to you sometimes, you know that?"

As I sat down, the rock suddenly gave away from underneath me and I felt myself falling. I let out a cry of surprise as I plummeted down into an inky black cave. The fall was short, but my back struck the ground hard. A groan rattled in my throat as I slowly reached to rub the back of my head.

I could hear Luffy cry out in surprise above me, "Hey, what's up with this big hole here?"

Snarling, I snapped back at him, "How should I know that, you idiot?!" He called down to me again, but I ignored him as I sat up with a hiss, "Dammit... That really didn't feel good," I tried to brush some of the sand off of me, but more was pouring down from the hole up above. A scowl curled my lips as I started to look around the dark cavern, "So where the hell am I?"

It was still too dark to see anything properly. However, I could make out the basic shapes of what appeared to be man-made structures. Confused, I walked forward to get a better look. I could make out the shape of pillars and a flat ceiling. It appeared to be a ruined temple.