#10
Title: Hunter's Apprentice
Theme: Set #3 - Trap
Claim: Zoro
Words: 1234
Rating: PG
Warnings: Hunting and animal death, I guess...
Disclaimers: I don't own One Piece.
Zoro eyed the tanuki he was currently holding up by the scruff of its neck, and it gazed back at him hopefully. "Don't do this to me, dammit," Zoro grumbled. Why did every animal he'd caught so far have to look so damn cute, anyway? Add a pair of antlers to this one, and it could almost pass for Chopper. The pleading look it was giving him reminded him especially of the crew doctor.
Another bust, then. He released his grip, and the tanuki dropped to the ground, blinking up at him thankfully. Zoro gave it his best annoyed scowl.
"Scram, before I change my mind." It ran for its life.
Zoro sighed as he watched it go, and decided it was time for a change of tactics. He would go after something big, something fierce, something that didn't look like Chopper in disguise. He hadn't seen any fearsome predators yet, but judging by the population of small- and medium-sized herbivores on this island, there had to be a few lurking around somewhere. This strategy had the added benefit that whatever fearsome predator he did find, it would probably eclipse anything the shitty love-cook could come back with.
The forest suddenly shook with the loud screech of a wounded animal, and Zoro tightened his grip around the hilt of his katana. A predator feasting on its prey, he thought, and he immediately headed towards the source of the sound, only to find that another of his crewmates had gotten there first.
"Chopper?" Zoro asked, peering down into the hole where the crew doctor appeared to be tending to an injured tapir.
Chopper looked up in surprise. "Oh, Zoro! Great timing! Can you give me a hand lifting Tookie out?"
"Tookie?" Zoro inquired, jumping down into the hole.
"His name," Chopper nodded towards the tapir. "He says that someone inconsiderately left this huge hole in the middle of the path, and he wasn't paying attention, so he fell in."
"Inconsiderate, right," Zoro murmured, tapping the vertical wall of the hole thoughtfully.
"He's sprained his ankle, so he can't get out," Chopper explained.
"Okay." Zoro heaved the tapir onto a shoulder and leapt out of the hole in a single bound, followed by the reindeer.
"Thanks, Zoro!" Chopper said gratefully. The tapir made a whining sound as Zoro laid him down on the ground. "Tookie says thanks, too!"
"No problem." Zoro badly wanted to say that actually, that tapir looked like damn good eating, but to kill an animal he'd just rescued, that Chopper was actually having a conversation with, didn't seem very...nice. He decided it was probably wiser to just keep his mouth shut, and watched quietly as Chopper splinted and bandaged Tookie's ankle. Finally Chopper stood up with a satisfied smile at his handiwork, and patted the tapir on its flank. "C'mon, Tookie! I'll take you back to your home where you can have a good rest. See you back at the ship, Zoro! Don't get lost!"
Zoro just rolled his eyes and gave Chopper and his new pal a casual wave farewell. He waited till they were well out of earshot before turning his gaze up to the trees. "You can come down now, Usopp."
His words were met with a nervous chuckle, and in a moment he was joined by a very sheepish-looking sniper. "Uh, so you knew I was there all the time?"
"I recognised your handiwork," Zoro said, pointing at the deep hole. "Not that I'm an expert on traps, but I thought the point was to have sharp stakes in it...?"
"I'd only just finished digging the hole when that great lumbering tapir walked into it," Usopp explained, slightly peevishly. "It wasn't even covered yet!"
Zoro frowned. "Why'd you dig this trap, anyway? I thought it was just Sanji and me who were on hunting duty."
"Well, yeah, but..." Usopp kicked shyly at a pebble. "You and Sanji are always the ones bringing home the bacon, and I just wanted to help..."
"But why go to all this trouble?"
"Why, do you think it's cowardly to dig a trap?" Usopp asked, and Zoro was taken aback by the note of challenge in his voice. "I know you and Sanji can bring down dinosaurs with your bare hands, but I can't, okay? That's why I have to resort to stratagems like this."
Zoro took a deep breath. "That's not what I meant," he said, hoping he sounded patient enough. "What I meant was, you have your slingshot and your Firebird whatsits, don't you?" He nodded at the slingshot stuck in Usopp's belt. "Why don't you use those? You're a good enough shot to bring down any prey, even if it is moving."
"I don't know how to hunt big game! Haven't you seen the island I come from? The biggest wild animal I got to hunt as a kid was a weasel!" Zoro raised an eyebrow as Usopp exploded, apparently too frustrated to boast about the time when he was five when he'd tamed twelve tigers with only his teeth or whatever. His eyebrow rose still further when Usopp continued, this time in a small voice, "And it's not like I ever had a dad or a big brother to teach me this stuff..."
Zoro could've retorted that neither did he, but instead he shrugged and reached for the shovel he'd spotted lying under a bush.
"What's this for?" Usopp asked in bewilderment, catching the shovel as it was tossed over.
"Fill in the trap, before another one of Chopper's friends falls in," Zoro directed.
"Huh? But why?" Usopp queried, scooping up the disturbed earth and returning it to the hole anyway.
"Traps are all well and good, but I dunno anything about them. Not that I know much about hunting with slingshots either, but I figure I can improvise on that."
Usopp's eyes widened. "You mean..."
"Yeah. Hurry up and fill in that hole, and let's go hunting."
.
"Wow, Sanji, this meat is really good!" Luffy exclaimed at dinner. It was a wonder they could even make out what he was saying, given that he was currently stuffing his already-stuffed mouth with great slabs of flesh.
Sanji set another heavily-laden platter on the table and smiled at the sniper. "Thank Usopp for it. He's the one who brought back that tiger."
"Wow, Usopp! That's really something!" Chopper said, eyes shining. "Even Sanji and Zoro didn't manage to bring back anything that big, right?"
Usopp swelled with pride. "That's right, Chopper-kun! That's 'cause we're talking about the mighty hunter, Captain Usopp!"
"Oh? Since when did you become such a mighty hunter, Usopp?" Nami asked, a tiny grin on her face.
Usopp tapped the side of his nose. "Ah, it's true I wasn't always such a mighty hunter, but one day I met the Great Green Hunter, who taught me everything he knew..."
As the others chomped on their tiger and listened to Usopp's story, Nami shot a sideways glance at Zoro. "Great Green Hunter, huh?" she murmured knowingly.
Zoro shrugged, and hid his grin behind a mug of sake.
.....
I like Zoro/Usopp nakamaship almost as much as Zoro/Chopper nakamaship...something about the big brother/little brother dynamic always gets me :-P
And, honestly? With a crew member that can talk to animals, it's a wonder the Strawhats haven't turned vegetarian yet...
Theme: Set #3 - Trap
Claim: Zoro
Words: 1234
Rating: PG
Warnings: Hunting and animal death, I guess...
Disclaimers: I don't own One Piece.
Zoro eyed the tanuki he was currently holding up by the scruff of its neck, and it gazed back at him hopefully. "Don't do this to me, dammit," Zoro grumbled. Why did every animal he'd caught so far have to look so damn cute, anyway? Add a pair of antlers to this one, and it could almost pass for Chopper. The pleading look it was giving him reminded him especially of the crew doctor.
Another bust, then. He released his grip, and the tanuki dropped to the ground, blinking up at him thankfully. Zoro gave it his best annoyed scowl.
"Scram, before I change my mind." It ran for its life.
Zoro sighed as he watched it go, and decided it was time for a change of tactics. He would go after something big, something fierce, something that didn't look like Chopper in disguise. He hadn't seen any fearsome predators yet, but judging by the population of small- and medium-sized herbivores on this island, there had to be a few lurking around somewhere. This strategy had the added benefit that whatever fearsome predator he did find, it would probably eclipse anything the shitty love-cook could come back with.
The forest suddenly shook with the loud screech of a wounded animal, and Zoro tightened his grip around the hilt of his katana. A predator feasting on its prey, he thought, and he immediately headed towards the source of the sound, only to find that another of his crewmates had gotten there first.
"Chopper?" Zoro asked, peering down into the hole where the crew doctor appeared to be tending to an injured tapir.
Chopper looked up in surprise. "Oh, Zoro! Great timing! Can you give me a hand lifting Tookie out?"
"Tookie?" Zoro inquired, jumping down into the hole.
"His name," Chopper nodded towards the tapir. "He says that someone inconsiderately left this huge hole in the middle of the path, and he wasn't paying attention, so he fell in."
"Inconsiderate, right," Zoro murmured, tapping the vertical wall of the hole thoughtfully.
"He's sprained his ankle, so he can't get out," Chopper explained.
"Okay." Zoro heaved the tapir onto a shoulder and leapt out of the hole in a single bound, followed by the reindeer.
"Thanks, Zoro!" Chopper said gratefully. The tapir made a whining sound as Zoro laid him down on the ground. "Tookie says thanks, too!"
"No problem." Zoro badly wanted to say that actually, that tapir looked like damn good eating, but to kill an animal he'd just rescued, that Chopper was actually having a conversation with, didn't seem very...nice. He decided it was probably wiser to just keep his mouth shut, and watched quietly as Chopper splinted and bandaged Tookie's ankle. Finally Chopper stood up with a satisfied smile at his handiwork, and patted the tapir on its flank. "C'mon, Tookie! I'll take you back to your home where you can have a good rest. See you back at the ship, Zoro! Don't get lost!"
Zoro just rolled his eyes and gave Chopper and his new pal a casual wave farewell. He waited till they were well out of earshot before turning his gaze up to the trees. "You can come down now, Usopp."
His words were met with a nervous chuckle, and in a moment he was joined by a very sheepish-looking sniper. "Uh, so you knew I was there all the time?"
"I recognised your handiwork," Zoro said, pointing at the deep hole. "Not that I'm an expert on traps, but I thought the point was to have sharp stakes in it...?"
"I'd only just finished digging the hole when that great lumbering tapir walked into it," Usopp explained, slightly peevishly. "It wasn't even covered yet!"
Zoro frowned. "Why'd you dig this trap, anyway? I thought it was just Sanji and me who were on hunting duty."
"Well, yeah, but..." Usopp kicked shyly at a pebble. "You and Sanji are always the ones bringing home the bacon, and I just wanted to help..."
"But why go to all this trouble?"
"Why, do you think it's cowardly to dig a trap?" Usopp asked, and Zoro was taken aback by the note of challenge in his voice. "I know you and Sanji can bring down dinosaurs with your bare hands, but I can't, okay? That's why I have to resort to stratagems like this."
Zoro took a deep breath. "That's not what I meant," he said, hoping he sounded patient enough. "What I meant was, you have your slingshot and your Firebird whatsits, don't you?" He nodded at the slingshot stuck in Usopp's belt. "Why don't you use those? You're a good enough shot to bring down any prey, even if it is moving."
"I don't know how to hunt big game! Haven't you seen the island I come from? The biggest wild animal I got to hunt as a kid was a weasel!" Zoro raised an eyebrow as Usopp exploded, apparently too frustrated to boast about the time when he was five when he'd tamed twelve tigers with only his teeth or whatever. His eyebrow rose still further when Usopp continued, this time in a small voice, "And it's not like I ever had a dad or a big brother to teach me this stuff..."
Zoro could've retorted that neither did he, but instead he shrugged and reached for the shovel he'd spotted lying under a bush.
"What's this for?" Usopp asked in bewilderment, catching the shovel as it was tossed over.
"Fill in the trap, before another one of Chopper's friends falls in," Zoro directed.
"Huh? But why?" Usopp queried, scooping up the disturbed earth and returning it to the hole anyway.
"Traps are all well and good, but I dunno anything about them. Not that I know much about hunting with slingshots either, but I figure I can improvise on that."
Usopp's eyes widened. "You mean..."
"Yeah. Hurry up and fill in that hole, and let's go hunting."
.
"Wow, Sanji, this meat is really good!" Luffy exclaimed at dinner. It was a wonder they could even make out what he was saying, given that he was currently stuffing his already-stuffed mouth with great slabs of flesh.
Sanji set another heavily-laden platter on the table and smiled at the sniper. "Thank Usopp for it. He's the one who brought back that tiger."
"Wow, Usopp! That's really something!" Chopper said, eyes shining. "Even Sanji and Zoro didn't manage to bring back anything that big, right?"
Usopp swelled with pride. "That's right, Chopper-kun! That's 'cause we're talking about the mighty hunter, Captain Usopp!"
"Oh? Since when did you become such a mighty hunter, Usopp?" Nami asked, a tiny grin on her face.
Usopp tapped the side of his nose. "Ah, it's true I wasn't always such a mighty hunter, but one day I met the Great Green Hunter, who taught me everything he knew..."
As the others chomped on their tiger and listened to Usopp's story, Nami shot a sideways glance at Zoro. "Great Green Hunter, huh?" she murmured knowingly.
Zoro shrugged, and hid his grin behind a mug of sake.
.....
I like Zoro/Usopp nakamaship almost as much as Zoro/Chopper nakamaship...something about the big brother/little brother dynamic always gets me :-P
And, honestly? With a crew member that can talk to animals, it's a wonder the Strawhats haven't turned vegetarian yet...