The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 56: Out of the Sky

I settled against the ship's railing, my swords propped up beside me. The cold sea air sent a slight chill down my spine. A sneeze took me by surprise, and I rubbed my nose.

Footsteps approached me and I glanced over to see Robin walking toward me. With a warning frown, I grabbed the sheath of Wado. She paused, letting out a small gasp of surprise as I glanced at her. I noticed she was holding up a jacket as if preparing to lay it over me. My eyes narrowed slightly, "Didn't I tell you not to stand beside me?"

The older woman sounded concerned and a bit annoyed, "You're going to catch a cold dressed like that."

"The only people who catch colds are those who let their mind's guard down," I stated coldly, not taking my hands away from my sword.

"Okay," She scoffed, clearly unimpressed, "I guess all those stories I've heard about how tough 'Zoro the Pirate Hunter' is are really true."

My frown deepened at her slightly mocking tone, "For the record, I never once called myself a Pirate Hunter."

Robin smiled and seemed amused, "Well, obviously other people did, so then who came up with that name."

I looked at her with a scrutinizing glare. She did not show any signs of discomfort at my gaze. With a small huff, I shrugged, "Who knows? Doesn't matter to me, lady."

I closed my eyes to signal that I was done speaking to her. She was quiet for a moment before she strode away from me and sat down in a chair across the small deck from me. Her soft chuckle caused my lip to twitch into a scowl as I tried to ignore her.

A light clattering sound caught my attention from across the deck, growing more frequent and coming from more places around me, "Huh? Is that rain?" I cracked an eye open and saw what looked like small pieces of debris falling onto the deck.

I could hear my crewmates' puzzled voices as they looked at the strange occurrence as well. A shadow seemed to cover the deck and I looked up. My heart leapt into my throat as I watched a massive galleon ship falling from the sky right above us.

The ship slammed into the water right beside us, throwing the ocean into turmoil as the waves crashed fiercely. The deck was drenched as chunks of wood splashed water over the edge. I grasped the railing desperately as the Merry swayed dangerously. Panicked, I called out as loud as I could, "Grab ahold of something! Whatever you do, don't let go!"

My crewmates' screams rang out across the deck. Debris continued to rain down on us as the caravel pitched back and forth. I staggered to my feet, keeping a tight grip on the railing as I tried to move more toward the center of the ship and watch out in case anyone went overboard. I spotted Nami and Luffy both clinging to the mast while Sanji stood with his back pressed against the wall of the storage room. Kaori had fallen onto the stairs and had her arm hooked around the bannister. Robin was holding onto the railing, the same as me. Usopp and Chopper were tumbling across the deck, crying out in fear.

"Why are there ships falling out of the sky?!" Nami shrieked.

Usopp shouted in denial, "I know! This is just an awful dream!"

"Great! I love dreams!" Chopper yelped, his hopeful nature wanting Usopp's lie to be true. The reindeer collided with Usopp as they tumbled across the deck.

Kaori heard the boy cry out in pain and she grimaced, "Chopper! I'm coming!" She let go of the bannister and tried to run over to him, struggling to keep her footing on the violently shaking and slick wood.

"Kaori! Don't move!" I nearly threw myself onto the lower deck after her but held myself back. She slid on the unstable floor and scooped Chopper up into her arms before scrambling to the railing. My jaw hurt from how hard I was clenching my teeth watching as she regained her grip to keep herself steady.