Two years ago...
Hey everybody! This is a new fic but this time, I wanted to try something a little different and I decided to make something more angsty, but I really don't know how it turned out... so I wanted to test it out and see what can be said about it. Have a good time reading (I hope)!
Summary: After hearing a conversation between Zoro, Sanji and Nami, Luffy discovers the truth about what happened two years ago at thriller bark... What will be his reaction after all this time? Angsty one shot. As you already guessed it's post time-skip...
Rated: T just to be sure ^^ (angst, and Zoro and Sanji's potty mouths, including Sanji's love for the word "shit").
Warning: I don't think there isn't any spoilers in this fic, unless some of you didn't go past the Thriller Bark arc.
Note: The bold letters are for the characters's thoughts.
Disclaimer: I do not own one piece. If I did I wouldn't be posting fan fictions...
- Nami-swan? Are you all right? You seem thoughtful...
The cook of the thousand sunny had been looking at the young navigator since quite some time now, and he was becoming worried about her: she was like something was bothering her. He didn't want to see her that troubled so even if he hesitated at first, he decided that asking could be a good option. After all, a true gentleman must be at his ladies sides when something was off, so he would be there to support his dear Nami-swan and help her if she needed it. If she really didn't want to talk about it, she would tell him.
- It's nothing Sanji-kun, really... I was just wondering...
She stopped, searching for her words.
- You know... I had the idea of re-reading our logbook, thinking of all that we lived two years ago. I must have become nostalgic since the last time, she laughed.
- Yeah it was quite something. And here it is again, huh? He chuckled, a nostalgic smile playing on his lips as he remembered their crazy adventures.
- And arriving at the end of our time at Thriller Bark, I saw that something was missing in it...
She made a little pause, which made Sanji become a little bit anxious about what she would say next.
- We still don't know what happened back then when we were knocked of by this Ursus Shock the shichibukai sent to us... When you woke up you were almost panicked and you started to run away. I saw you... And then, we found Zoro in a state sixty times worse than usually. And you were with him... What happened Sanji? When the two guys from Lola's crew wanted to tell us something, you nearly jumped of your seat to stop them and then you had a talk with them. When we asked them what they wanted to tell us, they said it wasn't important and they went off. In a weird way I must add...
Oh, holly shit... Shit, shit, shit.
This is it... How does she know? Of course... She is an intelligent woman. Yeah, she is really clever. No way she couldn't have noticed that something huge was happening.
- Yeah I remember... he said, a little bit evasive, which confirmed her suspicions.
- You know what happened right? But you don't wan't to tell us because you're afraid that it would hurt us... I bet this idiot did something reckless... again. That wouldn't surprise me at all. After all, the dumbass was ready to cut off his own feet just to continue fighting at Little Garden.
Yeah, I have heard of that. Shitty crazy asshole...
- Sanji I want to know what happened, it's my right as a member of the crew. I'm old enough to handle this kind of information. I need to know. It's my decision, you have to respect that.
It was normal that she wanted to know the truth about it all. Hewould have wanted to if he was in her shoes. And as she had said previously, it was her right to decide if she wanted to hear the story or not. She was one of the most worried after all, she even stayed with Chopper at the shithead's bedside all the time he was still unconscious. He really didn't want to say anything about it all, but who was he to refuse her that? The principal was that Luffy didn't heard a goddamn word of it, and he trusted her not to tell him anything about it. So he pulled a last puff of his cigarette, readying himself for the next moment which wouldn't be really nice for both of them. After letting the smoke go up from his mouth to the ceiling, he started:
- Okay then... You remember that the panda-guy released an immense shockwave that knocked all of us unconscious. Well... Zoro and I were still awake. So when he saw the guy going towards Luffy to take him, Zoro tried to defend our captain. He fought the shichibukai but soon he was too tired to even make a goddamn movement. And I couldn't do anything because of a shitty rock that was crushing my legs.
There was a sort of frustrated bitterness in Sanji's voice, that remained when he continued. A moved tone that the young navigator had never heard in Sanji's mouth, especially when talking about the "marimo-head" as he used to call him.
- Zoro knew there wasn't anything he could do to prevent the guy from taking Luffy. So he proposed a deal: if the guy needed just one head, then he would leave Luffy alone and take his head instead. At that moment I had managed to free myself and I tried to interfere but the shitty marimo knocked me unconscious... fuckin' bastard... -the cook muttered- I know what happened next 'cause that's what the guys wanted to tell us all, but I prevented them to do so because this would have been really difficult for all of you, especially Luffy. So I asked them to tell me, and no one else. He wouldn't have wanted you all to be worried, neither did I.
He made a little pause, to let the young woman in front of him some time to take in what he had told her, knowing that they hadn't even reach the worse part. He squished his cigarette in the ashtray and continued:
- So... Kuma accepted his deal, but he posed a condition: if Zoro really wanted to take Luffy's place, then he should live the same thing as his captain, and bear the same burdens. He expelled a gigantic red bubble from Luffy's body and he said that it was all of Luffy's pain and stress.
The guys who witnessed that told me that just a little piece of it had made the bastard scream his lungs out. And he still had the rest of the bubble to take in, with his already bad shape. To make it short, this guy decided to sacrifice his life and his dream for Luffy's sake, bearing a pain that any normal human wouldn't have been able to endure...
- And I'll be doing it again without any hesitation if I have to.
Zoro was looking at them stern faced, leaning against the door frame.
How long had he been listening to their conversation?
Nami opened her mouth and closed it, Sanji doing the same exact thing by her side. This, in an other situation would have made the swordsman smirk at both of them, but now, he was still staring at them, not saying a word. After a silence which seemed to last an eternity, he spoke again, calmly.
- You don't know why I did that, uh?
- To save Luffy's life, we know that already! But did you think of his reaction if he had discovered you dead? And us? Do you think we wouldn't have been a little bit shocked too, seeing your dead bloodied body or should I say corpse, and dealing with a destroyed Luffy? Do you realize how bad we would have felt, especially him, loosing one of our nakama? This is the worse to do to Luffy! How do you think he would have reacted knowing that you sacrificed yourself and that you gave up all your ambitions for him?
There was pure angst in Sanji's voice, and he knew he couldn't control it. Dammit, why couldn't this shitty moss-head understand?
- He wasn't meant to know that. Neither did you.
- BUT YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD YOU IDIOT!
- YOU'RE NOT REALLY IN A GOOD POSITION TO TELL ME THAT, KNOWING YOU WERE READY TO DO THE SAME THING YOU ASSHOLE!
Zoro tried to calm himself while Nami was looking at them both in confusion and horror.
So that was how Sanji had interfered...
When he thought that he was able to continue without throwing an other fit, Zoro spoke again.
- What do you really think? That I didn't even tried to think about it? Well then you're wrong. I couldn't fight anymore, I knew I would loose. That was the last thing I could do to protect him. And all of you. You know that if he had the occasion, he wouldn't have stopped to Luffy. He would have taken all of you. Now I got a question for you curly brow. How would have reacted Luffy if he woke up at impel down seeing all of us chained to a wall and covered in blood?
Sanji stayed silent, not daring to answer a question he clearly knew the answer to, but the green haired swordsman spoke instead of him.
- He would have thought it was his fault, that he didn't manage to save any of us and that our ambitions were dead because of him. There's anything true in that but he would have thought so. And he would have been so wrong to think so... because t-this would have been my entire fault. For not having done anything... or for loosing to this guy... For not being able to do my job: protect... I swore that I would help Luffy and in extent all of you at fulfilling your dreams. I have to protect all of your dreams because you are my nakamas. I must protect Luffy's dream. I swore to him that I would do so. And indirectly, you're a part of it: who would be pirate king without a goddamn pirate crew?
- So why you and not me?
- I told you. It was my role. You are the cook, I'm the fighter. You make lunch, you fight when you need to, and I protect, simple as that. And... well... I... - he looked away, slightly blushing, but this moment only lasted a second and pulling himself together, he continued - I didn't want you to die either... you're my nakama as well...
Nami was so shocked that when she spoke, she didn't even realized that she really did, and neither that she was crying. She was too moved to even think about what she wanted to say, and the question she had in mind since the beginning of the two man's conversation came out by itself:
- But... what about you?
- Me? Tch... I don't care about me. If I'm not able to protect my nakamas' s dreams, mine means nothing and it becomes just a piece of crap. Hell, I would have end dead anyway. Fight, surrender or sacrifice would have lead to the same fate for me. Even if I could have survived, if it wasn't by saving all of you I wouldn't have done it. If I have to choose between me or the crew, then I pick the crew.
- Zoro.
This time it wasn't the navigator's voice. It wasn't the cook's either. The three comrades froze, recognizing their usually over-excited captain's voice. Said captain standing right next to the fridge. He obviously wanted to take a snack in Sanji's back but failed and had to hide somewhere in the kitchen when Nami and Sanji had entered to cool themselves from the hot temperatures that were warming up the Sunny's deck. Which meant that he had heard everything from the beginning of the conversation.
Shit. This is not good at all, Zoro thought.
He then noticed that he was suddenly all alone with his captain, Nami and the shit-cook having probably decided that it would be better not to interfere, and had discretely vanished from the kitchen.
- I can understand why you did this, I can't say I wouldn't have done it too. But it wouldn't have been your fault, it would have been mine if... if...
Tears were beginning to form in Luffy's eyes, and he couldn't continue his sentence.
- Just... don't do that again...
The swordsman lowered his head, for once not able to look into Luffy's watery eyes, which contained sadness and anger at the same time, and were barely covered by the hat on his head. Said hat creating a faint shadow on his upper face, like every time something was bothering him.
Zoro felt shame crawling up in him, and his chest tightened, because he knew what Luffy was thinking: that it was his fault. He shouldn't have let him think that way.
- Luffy, listen I...
- Shut up Zoro. You won't be doing it again, you hear me? Never! Never, never, NEVER! - his voice had raised as he had said those words, his eyes looking at Zoro angrily and painfully, not covered by his hat anymore. Then he became calm and cold again - captain's orders.
- I... can't...
- This is a captain's order Zoro.
The santoryu master raised his eyes again, a look of sorriness in his dark eyes.
- I always followed your orders, even when I thought they were plain stupid... but this one, I... I can't follow it... I'm sor-
- Don't tell me that you are sorry you bastard! You're my nakama! I don't want to see you die! I don't want to see any of you die! I don't want any of you to sacrifice themselves for me! He wanted one head Zoro, just one! Only mine! He wouldn't have touched any of the crew! You knew it, you knew! You just didn't want to admit it to yourself 'cause that would have mean my death! What about your dream Zoro?! Why did you gave it all up!
Luffy was now definitely crying, the tears he had kept in his eyes now running down his cheeks while he was shouting. Then, his cries became murmurs:
- You promised me... you promised me that you would become number one swordsman no matter what...
- I...
- No! You don't know what it feels like Zoro... to loose someone dear to you because that someone sacrificed himself for you! - his voice was trembling, and soon it cracked - To see the same person who made promises to you give it all up, along with everything else... and die in front of your eyes. You don't know what it's like to hold that someone you love in your arms, knowing that he won't be moving again, that you won't be seeing him smile at you again...
Zoro couldn't speak anymore. He knew Luffy was talking about his dead brother Ace.
- That hadn't already happened back then... - he whispered to himself.
But Luffy heard him.
- I'm not talking about this one. I told you I could understand for this. And everyone's all right including you. That's all that mater now. There's no use talking about the past, thinking of "what could have happened if- ?". You said you wouldn't hesitate to do it again, and you refused to follow my order. If you continue thinking like this, and if you do it again... this time I will never forgive you.
- I accept that.
- You... you wouldn't do this. You know I'd rather die than loose anyone else that matters to me. Ace was my brother and I lost him. And when I did, I lost myself too. Jimbei saved me thought... He reminded me that I still had my nakamas... You know, we're all like a family. It would be the same feeling if I lost someone of the crew. Please Zoro... please, promise me you won't do it again...
But as Luffy saw his first mate not moving, eyes glued to the floor, teeth gritted and not saying anything, he became calm, his voice was now steady and he had a new determination in his eyes. His eyes that were dried, having used all of the tears his body could provide him.
- Ok. Do as you please. That doesn't really matters after all.
Zoro's head shot up and astonishment installed itself on his features.
Then he walked past Zoro and exited from the kitchen, not even looking at him. That wasn't like him at all. Then a thought hit him square in the face.
- Wait! I... I promise. I won't do it again.
Suddenly, the boy turned to face Zoro and offered him his brightest smile.
- Yosh! Okay! Thanks Zoro, that one must have been hard, so thank you! For having finally understood: You won't even need to do something like this ever again anyway. We all have become stronger now, so we will never be in a situation like that again, I will personally make sure of it.
And I'll be helping you with it.
And then, his captain went off. Just like that, like almost nothing happened. The green haired man could already hear the kid playing tag with Ussop and Chopper. With it, Zoro knew that everything was back to normal, and that he was forgiven for everything that happened.
And... he had guessed right: this was the reason why suddenly, Luffy didn't care at all if he didn't obey at his captain's order.A smile formed itself on his lips: his captain sure was something.
That's only at this moment that he realized that something wet was drying on his right cheek.
Finished! : ) okay, so what do you think about it? Do I have to stop with angst or can I continue to write some? Pleaaase, let me knoooow! I also hope that this is not too much OOC... come on, Zoro crying, that doesn't happen every day! Even if we know he is still able to let some tears fall sometimes... (I'm sure you all know what scene I'm talking about ;) ). And... I know that there are soooooo much fics on what happened at Thriller Bark, but they aren't really numerous when they are happening in the two-years-later-part... Oh, well... I couldn't resist. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! And thanks a lot for having read it all!
Okay, I think that's all for today ^^ Gotta work a little bit...
Have a good day/evening!
Jya matta ne!
Swordsgirl Jackie.
PS: ah, yeah! Almost forgot! If you see any spelling or grammar mistake, please tell me: english isn't my first language so I 'm not sure about everything I'm writing ^^