Pairing: Zolu, unrequited Sanlu, hints of Lawlu

Rated: M

Setting: AU

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. At all.

Meosan : So this is my second fic here and I hope you'll all like the format of this one. I have no idea why I did it like this but I thought it'd be interesting and I hope you'll find it the same way too :D The story will be written in the same POV throughout the story but please do read until the end and tell me your opinion _ its muchly appreciated. And because I'm me, this is another angst fic, and depending on how you look, I guess it can be a tragedy too… but well please enjoy! ;3


Wings of a Broken Man

Chapter One

If in life there was only love, man will swear to protect it even if in death. It is simply a name to shield man's weakened soul but nonetheless it erected a barrier powerful enough to form a pillar of strength for man. Man would do anything to protect his withering self, even selling his soul to the demon. But love mended man's invisible injuries – he needn't bow nor succumb anymore to protect his quivering heart – in return man promised to protect love, now joined with him as a piece of his soul. From then on, man would never betray love that he only just realised how he sought all along from the very moment god breathed life into him, because that is just how important love is.

-.-.-.-.-

There was nothing ever overly eventful in my life, save for the sporadic moments in which I have to indulge the partners of my family's business, but I'd usually feign sickness to avoid them. Otherwise there was nothing out of the norm. I had average friends, a not so average family because I only had uncle Zeff and a pair of god gifted cooking hands, though that wasn't really anything to boast about. During my teenage years there were those occasional girlfriends which I humoured myself with. I was more than attractive if I have to admit so myself. With golden soft blonde locks and an ink black irises, people say I have a halo of crystal blue around them – but again there wasn't really anything to boast about.

Since my teenage years, I seem to have developed a sort of affection for woman; not in a perverted sort of way but when a woman is in trouble, I'd just thought to volunteer myself to help. Naturally everyone began to think that I swooned over them and I never helped myself by not denying them either. I never knew why but in the end I ended up acting as how people saw me stereotypically. I swooned over woman and it stuck to me like a second skin very soon – it was so easy as well. I mean what was there to lose? Woman compliments your courtesy and that was never a bad thing.

What I haven't really mentioned was that nothing ever made me overly excited. Sure cooking with Zeff was always fun, he'd teach me new recipes and then reluctantly compliment me if I did a really good job (he never wanted to spoil me, but there's times where he just can't avoid rewarding me you see)but I wasn't exactly over the moon or anything about it.

Nothing ever did. Well, only once I admit. But now I'm not sure if will there ever be anything that can make me overly excited again. You can't exactly call me a play boy but when I said that I had occasional girlfriends, I really did. I was young then, but now I realised how foolish I was. I never had any real enjoyment from them. Of course I haven't had sex at such a young age – I would never do that no matter how low I stooped – I know I wouldn't enjoy it then anyway. One thing I'm glad about myself was that I haven't done that. I never needed any satisfaction you see; all I wanted was to be content.

And I only found that when I was in high school. Heck, everything changed when I was in high school. I attended the New Raftel High school. Don't be mistaken by the name, the high school wasn't new at all. It only had a 'New' to its name and till today the reason still hasn't revealed itself to me and I see no need to break the balance and find the unnecessary answer myself. But anyway I joined and it was pretty decent. Well it was much more than decent. It's been around for over a hundred year's you see, and the advantage for a school this old is that because people used to like wasting space, they built large everything's. And this school was large. Everything was large, humongous even.

The main hall can fit a whale in and whenever the principle held a speech, the microphone would echo his monotonously boring voice to every corner of the very large hall. We'd just stand there stiffly, as if we're listening to the rumbling of a whale's stomach inside his mouth. The sport's hall was just as big. You can hold a basketball, badminton and other whatever tournaments you want all at the same time –Ok I'm exaggerating here. You can't exactly do that. Only three tournaments can be held at the same time if I have to specify.

What I liked about the school was that it was very clean. Every corner glittered and bounced light off the surface. Every door was made of oak and was very large as well, to fit the large image of the school. I guess not only did people use to have space to waste; they also had money to do so. The principle did always mention to close the doors carefully and if we must, keep the doors open at all time. I swear that when one of us pretended to bang the door hard against the vanilla white stone walls, the principle was about to burst into tears. We ended up feeling quite bad and I offered to make him a cup of my home brewed tea. He never refused my tea, no one ever did. I hardly ever offer anyway but when I do, everyone had to make a big deal about it.

So I landed myself on the subject of friends haven't I? It really was the one subject I'd like to avoid. But they're all important to me, even till now, that there's no use being as bitter as always. As I said everything changed when I was in high school. I met people that can only be described as other worldly. You can call me crazy or whatever, but it was my first time seeing someone's hair so green, and I'm not lying when I say the hair is natural. This guy ended up being my best friend. We're like brothers of a sort and however that happened I just don't know. I never hated our relationship though, no matter how much we fought and say hurtful things to each other, we always stuck to the other in the end. Funny thing is I'd always call him shitty marimo because his hair is exactly the same as a giant marimo. He'd call me back shitty cook or shitty brows. 'Shitty' seems to have become an honorific which we used to replace the meaning and word 'brother' but none of us ever admitted it, our ego was too big for our own good.

I met many other interesting people as well. They all had vividly weird colour hair. There was orange, light blue and even purple and they were all natural too. But what does colour matter to me? Nothing really, I got on well with them and they become a huge part of my life, and still are.

They were all really nice and lovely. The kind of friends that people would wish for but only have a one in million chance to have. It was truly a miracle for me. It was also in New Raftel high that I found something that made me overly excited and for once, content. For the first and last time in my life I was overly excited. I never used to know what the feeling was, but I do now. It's still too late though, because where I'm standing right now, I have no right to say how I feel.

What made me overly excited wasn't exactly something, but someone.

Someone that held a really special place in my heart.

He was special. Everyone who knows him knows what I'm trying to say here. His vibrant smile, his singing eyes and even his black tussled hair; everything screamed that he isn't just a normal person. He attracted people to him, and I loved that point about him, because it attracted me to him and I'm so glad, so glad that it did. I become one of his best friends very soon but I was never as important as that shitty marimo. I started smoking around that time too. At first Zeff would annoy me to stop it, but very soon there was no comment over the subject. Maybe he thinks it's his fault that I started smoking. It really wasn't. Zeff thought that because he smoked and that he always took me to the kitchen of the restaurant where everyone smoked and brought a bad influence on me. It didn't. That same morning I started smoking, at night time Zeff stopped smoking. I never commented on it either, it's good for the old man's health and all, he's over half way of his road you know, smoking anymore and he might as well jump straight into the grave that's waiting for him at the very end of that road.

Where was I…? Oh yes, I was saying how special this boy was to me. He loved my cooking and I can't seem to stop myself from making lunch for him afterwards, no matter how much I'd whine and say how annoying it was to do so. It was him that I thought I don't need everyone to compliment my cooking, I just want him to like it. A simple smile would be enough of an answer.

Whenever I saw that vibrant boy, I just wanted to smoke. Clouding my mind was quite helpful I thought, because at the time there were so many questions I thought that I couldn't answer yet I couldn't bring myself to ask for any advice.

I still smoke now; it stuck to me like skin just as swooning did. I dropped the latter of course; there was never any need to start it in the first place. Again, I started to think how foolish I was.

I keep thinking about that boy. He's my best friend and I'm so happy about it. I can't believe how happy I were when we first became friends. Colour started to spread on the grey canvas which my world was set in. Maybe it was because I never really had any expectations for myself that I saw the world so grey. There was never anything to look forward to and I had no intention of raising my head and dig a path for myself like everyone else did. My life was decided from the moment I was born, all I had to do was inherit Baratie and the other branch restaurant it comes with and I quite like this arrangement. But this guy just suddenly popped up and all and started adding colour to it. I'd never complain though, there's nothing to complain about.

I knew he'd be important in my life but I never knew until now how much of an impact he had on me. That he'd take a piece of my heart with him and he did it so unintentionally as well. I can never tell him though. How he coloured my world but then took the whole of my canvas with him.

The sun is blindingly bright today. I stared up and looked into the brilliant sky, it stared straight back into my sombre eye. It's another weird trait of mine, I always have bangs covering one of my eyes and as I grew older my bangs moved from left to right and all I ever did was reveal one of my eyes. It's a habit I like and I don't plan to change it ever.

At this moment, in my most formal tuxedo, I stared down the aisle. I shouldn't always linger in the past but I couldn't help myself. He's been through so much, and it was always me who helped him. I was always there for him but I was never noticed. Not the way I wanted to anyway. I carried on staring down the aisle, waiting for him to appear.

He finally did, in a beautiful black tuxedo that suited him perfectly. The usual scar that's around his neck and wrists is unnoticeable right now. I'd have to compliment whoever done the make-up for him. They did a really great job. I'd wager it's our purple-haired friend who done it, considering how proud she seemed as she looked down the aisle next to me.

He walked closer, ever so slowly, coming closer to me. And when he was right next to me, my already thumping heart accelerated. For a second I thought my dream was about to come true. But no. He simply casted me his magical smile and walked on. The lush red carpet cushioned his steps but how I saw it, he was stepping all over my bleeding heart.

I'm not his destination, I never was.

He walked up the two steps onto the low glossed wooden platform. A hand reached out to engage his frail scarred ones. The hand which wasn't mine. I'm so bitter after all, and I really couldn't stop. After all, I love him. I love him so much I can't help it. But he'd never choose me.

Luffy would never choose me.

He'd never choose Sanji.

Because he chose my best friend.

He chose Zoro.


Meosan: And that concludes the first chapter -.-" I hope you all liked it. If you can please drop by the review box and tell me your opinions! I'll love you all with all my heart3 It's my first time writing like this so I'm not sure if I'm doing well or not at all D:

So please leave a review behind and look forward to the next chapter! ~ ;3