The Blind Brawler [ Roronoa Zoro X OC]

Chapter 62: Hunting the South Bird

Zoro and I rejoined the rest of the crew as we all gathered in Cricket's house to eat dinner. Sanji made enough food for a small army, much to Luffy's delight. The whole situation devolved into a party with the apes, complete with drinking and goofing off. I sat off to the side, idly sipping at my drink and eating as I listened to my friends laugh and shout.

I heard someone walk over to me, and I tilted my ear toward them. Usopp chirped as he sat down, "Hey, Kaori! How's the food?"

I chuckled softly and shrugged, "Amazing as always. Sanji is good at what he does."

The sniper laughed, "Don't let him hear you say that. He'll never shut up about it," I laughed at that before Usopp spoke up again with a nervous tone, "So, um, Kaori. I've been meaning to ask you something."

I lifted my drink to my lips, confused by his change in demeanour, "Okay...?"

"Well, it's actually a funny story," He started and chuckled awkwardly, "You see, Chopper told me something crazy earlier today. He said Nami called Zoro your boyfriend. Can you believe that? That kid's got quite the imagination, huh?"

I raised an eyebrow as I set my drink back down, "What's so crazy about that?"

He stammered, "Oh, quit kidding around, Kaori. I mean, it's just a strange thing to say, isn't it?"

My lip twitched in annoyance as I turned my head toward him, "No, it isn't."

"Wait, you mean..." Usopp began to gawk, "You and Zoro are..."

"Yeah, we're dating," I frowned, "Why is everyone acting so weird about it? Seriously! First Nami, then Robin, and now you. What makes it so hard to believe?"

He sounded defensive, "It's just surprising, is all. I mean, Zoro's such a serious and stoic guy. It's hard to imagine him in a relationship with anyone. And you, well," He let his thought die off with an uncomfortable hum.

My brow furrowed in frustration, "What about me?"

Before he could answer, Cricket's voice cut through the noise of the party, "The skull's right eye. That's where I saw the gold."

Nami's curious voice piped up, "Gold?"

Everyone fell silent as Cricket continued, "Those words, smeared with tears, are the last ones Noland wrote in his long book. 'The skull's right eye. That's where I saw the gold.' That very same day, Noland was executed," I listened as the man stood up, "I still don't know what he meant by that. Does it refer to the name of a city or some landmark that used to exist on the island? Or is it just a poetic allusion to his own impending death? The blank pages that follow give us no clue... And that's the reason we continue to dive to the bottom of the sea. We dream," He finished with a solemn sigh before taking a drink.

"Hooray for us!" Masira cheered, not reading the older man's mood at all. It seemed to liven everyone up again as the laughing and drinking resumed.

Luffy shouted excitedly, "We're gonna go flying!"

Usopp jumped up and walked away from me, "Not if you keep eating like that, we won't!"

Everyone laughed. It was infectious, and I chuckled as well, despite my frustration with the sniper's comments earlier, "Whatever. I'm not gonna let it bother me. It doesn't matter in the long run."

~*^<:>^*~

The party was going strong. Cricket read from Noland's logbook and showed us bell-shaped golden ingots as well as one shaped like something he called a South Bird. He and the apes all abruptly stopped and freaked out, shouting that we needed to catch one to make it to the Knock Up Stream and kicking us out of the house with a few long-handled nets. He promised to fix up the Going Merry while we were gone.