ZoLu h/c part 5 continued
anonymous
October 1 2008, 21:09:49 UTC
He tried to protest and Zoro clapped a hand over his mouth, so he sat there breathing through his nose and frustratedly tried, stretching his brain to understand what the swordsman could possibly want. The minutes stretched, silent and puzzling. He couldn't hear anything but stupid little sounds, the sort of things that didn't even count. But... Ah... He mumbled, and Zoro took his hand away.
"Leaves rustling," he said quietly, trying to keep listening still. "The water from the river, too. It's so noisy! Why didn't I hear that before? There's... birds, somewhere... and Zoro breathing... and I think... in the distance... the sea."
He heard Zoro's breath hitch. "All right, Luffy." A hand caught his own. "Hearing is directional. Can you follow where the sounds of the river are coming from? Can you point?"
Luffy concentrated, but then it wasn't even so difficult after all. He twisted, and pointed with his free hand.
There was a pause, and an oddness in Zoro's voice as he said, "Okay, listen again."
A sharp, small sound to the right startled him, because he'd been concentrating so hard. "There's--" It had gone, now. "There was something in the undergrowth, over there!" He'd half jumped up, and suddenly had the feeling he was being laughed at. He punched out towards the sound of the swordsman's breathing. "Dammit, Zoro, you threw a rock!"
His fist impacted with teeth and Zoro grunted. "Ow! Luffy. It's training. Sit back down."
He did, and listened to the sound of flesh sliding over flesh as Zoro rubbed his jaw.
"I don't know if I dare make you any better at this," the swordsman grumbled. "You were dangerous enough flailing around." But he huffed and audibly sat back again, and Luffy adjusted his own crosslegged stance. "So you can use your ears. I know you should be good at this next one... taste and smell..."
"Huh?" And he wasn't sure at all how that was supposed to work, seeing his way around by tasting things? But Zoro said, "A dog's primary sense is smell..." and in no time at all had him tasting and smelling the air. And he'd known, but he'd never fully known, that water had its own scent, and so did every different type of vegetation in a forest, and so did the mud, and the salt tang of the sea, and of course Zoro... Maybe a nose wasn't a directional sense of itself, but he could turn his head and track the scents. Expand his nostrils with his rubber powers and the world became ten times clearer, and he didn't have to remember where things were or wait until they made a sound at all...
Which it turned out still wouldn't stop him walking into trees in a forest, but Zoro had some other ideas for that, as well.
"Leaves rustling," he said quietly, trying to keep listening still. "The water from the river, too. It's so noisy! Why didn't I hear that before? There's... birds, somewhere... and Zoro breathing... and I think... in the distance... the sea."
He heard Zoro's breath hitch. "All right, Luffy." A hand caught his own. "Hearing is directional. Can you follow where the sounds of the river are coming from? Can you point?"
Luffy concentrated, but then it wasn't even so difficult after all. He twisted, and pointed with his free hand.
There was a pause, and an oddness in Zoro's voice as he said, "Okay, listen again."
A sharp, small sound to the right startled him, because he'd been concentrating so hard. "There's--" It had gone, now. "There was something in the undergrowth, over there!" He'd half jumped up, and suddenly had the feeling he was being laughed at. He punched out towards the sound of the swordsman's breathing. "Dammit, Zoro, you threw a rock!"
His fist impacted with teeth and Zoro grunted. "Ow! Luffy. It's training. Sit back down."
He did, and listened to the sound of flesh sliding over flesh as Zoro rubbed his jaw.
"I don't know if I dare make you any better at this," the swordsman grumbled. "You were dangerous enough flailing around." But he huffed and audibly sat back again, and Luffy adjusted his own crosslegged stance. "So you can use your ears. I know you should be good at this next one... taste and smell..."
"Huh?" And he wasn't sure at all how that was supposed to work, seeing his way around by tasting things? But Zoro said, "A dog's primary sense is smell..." and in no time at all had him tasting and smelling the air. And he'd known, but he'd never fully known, that water had its own scent, and so did every different type of vegetation in a forest, and so did the mud, and the salt tang of the sea, and of course Zoro... Maybe a nose wasn't a directional sense of itself, but he could turn his head and track the scents. Expand his nostrils with his rubber powers and the world became ten times clearer, and he didn't have to remember where things were or wait until they made a sound at all...
Which it turned out still wouldn't stop him walking into trees in a forest, but Zoro had some other ideas for that, as well.
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