Wine for Your Sake [Zoro x OC]

9. Blind Courage

(POV: Zoro)

The Grand Line - especially the New World - is full of unimaginably odd islands. However, this is the first one I've seen with charcoal sand, blue-leafed trees, and a giant volcano lodged in its center.

My strong intuition tells me my soles will melt after the first few steps on the sand, which appears to be radiating heat waves that contort the trees into enthusiastic belly dancers.

Luffy groans. "So... hot..."

"Jun-chan!" Sanji calls. "I will hunt the best bear for you and cook it!"

She flashes a nervous smile. "Are you sure a bear would survive in this environment?"

"Are you sure any creature would survive in this environment?" Usopp asks.

"There's always a creature for every environment," I answer frankly. "The tougher the climate, the more powerful it is."

He shrieks in response. "I think my Can't-Go-on-Islands-with-Dangerous-Creatures disease is kicking in again."

Chopper blinks innocently. "There's no such disease."

Nami fans herself with a map. "This volcano does look like bad news, though."

"Is it active?" Franky asks.

She gives a grim nod. "See these slabs of molten rock? They're pretty new. Only recently cooled down by the ocean."

I look around, taking note of each rock with its rippling patterns and solidified bubbles. "If it erupts again, we can just run away."

"You make it sound so easy," Nami whines.

"Food!" Luffy growls.

"You just had lunch!" Sanji yells.

Juniper turns to him. "Can I go with you to look for a bear, Sanji-san?"

"Of course," he responds immediately. "It would be a pleasure to have such a lovely lady accompany me in these endeavors."

I scoff. "Are you bringing her along so she can hunt the bear for you, shitty cook? Because you clearly can't do it yourself."

Jun shoots me a glare, one so obvious that Sanji doesn't feel the need to bite back with an insult this time.

As the crew splits up into groups, they spread out to the areas they want to explore.

"Oi, Zoro! Nami!" Luffy calls. "Let's go to the volcano!"

I look up at the humongous landmark, standing at least 50 meters tall. "Alright."

Nami takes a defeated breath. "I suppose I have to keep our captain alive. We're leaving as soon as I feel the volcano is about to erupt, got it?"

Luffy nods firmly. I already start walking into the dense forest ahead.

"Wait!" Nami calls, jogging up to me. "Don't go too far ahead; you'll get lost."

Luffy laughs heartily. "She's right."

"You're not good with directions either!" She retorts.

As we enter the forest, the atmosphere is surprisingly a lot cooler than on the black-sanded beach. A fresh humidity clings to the air as birds sing harmonic chords, echoing their tunes to each other.

Nami gasps. "This is fascinating! How does the climate here stay cool, despite being right next to an active volcano?"

At a closer look, the trees have gray trunks, with rough bark peeling off like skin from an old man's sunburn. The leaves have jagged edges, taking on the hue of navy-blue, but shimmering like light turquoise under sunlight.