Well, this is my first story since I've gotten my laptop...I sincerely hope that now my stories will be more well-written. Before, I only had a limited time on the computer, since I had to share it with other family members. But now, I have more time to think, and henceforth my writing should be better. I'd appreciate it if you would review to tell me what you think. Reviews, especially positive critique ones, make me want to write more and improve.

So, on that note, enjoy! :)

Luffy sat slumped in his chair and stared glumly out the window, his gaze unseeing. It seemed to him that his life had no purpose anymore. He never mentioned this to anyone else, but the only thing keeping Luffy from killing himself right then and there was his crew. He was worried what might become of them if he died. They might break up, or worse yet, elect someone new to replace him as captain. Just thinking about that filled him with horror.

But, he supposed, maybe they would just allow Zoro to take his place. That would seem the logical thing to do. He was first mate, after all.

Suddenly, Luffy sensed a presence in the room. He tensed in his chair, ready to jump up and attack at a moment's notice. His hand strayed, cautiously, to the short sword he had strapped to his side.

"It's just me," a familiar voice softly called.

Luffy relaxed slightly, returning his hand to its place on the armrest. His gaze had never left the world outside the window. He followed the presence in his mind as Zoro stepped up beside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Zoro cleared his throat. "Would you like-"

"NO!" Luffy sprang out of his chair so fast that it smacked the wall on the opposite side of the room before crashing to the floor. In a flash, he had Zoro pinned up against the wall, one hand encircling his neck, cutting off his oxygen.

Zoro's composure never wavered. He stared calmly into Luffy's furious gaze, no emotion present on his face.

Luffy gasped suddenly and let go of Zoro, who tumbled to the floor. He began shaking and stared at his hand, unable to believe what he had done.

Zoro picked himself up off the floor and calmly dusted off his jeans. Then he stepped away from Luffy and regarded him with an intense scrutiny. This had been happening for a little over three months now, ever since they had returned to Luffy's hometown, Foosha Village, to find that his mother had died from heart failure. It was said that she was at the town market buying apples for her homemade apple pie when she had suddenly collapsed, dead.

When Luffy heard this news, he immediately went back to his old house and locked himself in his room, never opening the door except to use the bathroom and pick up the plates of warm food that Sanji left in the hall at mealtimes.

A month later, he came out of his room for the first time, only to take a chair from the kitchen and sit in front of the window all day, staring outside, never really seeing anything, just staring. His mother's death had taken its toll on him. Zoro supposed that after they had found the One Piece, Luffy had wanted to come back home and share his wealth with his mother, to help support her as she got older. But now, with this unachievable, Luffy was just a husk of what he used to be.

What made it worse were his unpredictable temper flares. One second he could just be staring out the window, and the next he could be pointing his sword at your chest. And aferwards, it was always the same- Luffy would go into a state of shock over what he'd done, or almost done, and wouldn't acknowledge anyone for the rest of the day, maybe even the rest of the week, depending on how bad the incident was. The crew had learned to be wary of their captain.

Zoro regarded Luffy carefully, trying to figure out what he'd done to upset him. Sometimes he would only get angry if people yelled, regardless of who they were actually yelling at. Other times he would get mad about nothing at all, like today. There really did not seem to be a pattern for Luffy's outbursts.

Zoro knew that if he could just figure out what was causing his anger, then he could fix it. Or if not fix it, then at least get the people of the town to stop doing whatever it was that was making him upset.

Luffy stumbled over to his chair and shakily lowered himself into it. Then he stared, wide-eyed, out the window.

Zoro knew this was his cue to leave, even if nothing had been said or done. He stepped carefully around Luffy's chair and walked out of the room. He needed to meditate, which he hadn't done since he had last sailed on the Going Merry. There had to be some way to help Luffy, and he was determined to find it.

Sanji whistled softly as he stirred the soup he was making for Luffy. It was thick, filled with meat, vegetables, and a rich, creamy beef broth. Just what Luffy used to like after a long day at sea. Not that he really had "long days" anymore, but Sanji thought he needed something comforting. Sanji remembered how Luffy used to jump up and down when he found out that he was going to be making it and wouldn't keep pestering him while he was. He hadn't made him the soup since they had sailed to Loguetown.

Just thinking about the way Luffy used to be almost brought a tear to his eye. Almost, but not quite. Sanji didn't cry. Unless Nami or Robin were in trouble, that is.

He sniffed and smiled a little, stirring the soup slowly and savoring its rich smell. He could almost taste it, it smelled so good.

"A little emotional, huh?" Zoro said, smirking a little.

Sanji jumped. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't even realized Zoro had entered the kitchen. He wiped his eyes hurriedly and grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Zoro asked.

"Can it, marimo. I'm not emotional. It's just..." He turned around, glanced at Zoro, and faltered. "What...?"

Zoro's expression softened. "It's Luffy, isn't it?" he asked softly.

Sanji opened his mouth and took a deep breath, ready to curse and yell at Zoro for interrupting him, but no sound came out. He sighed. "Yes," he said in a small voice.

Zoro stared evenly at Sanji.

Getting no response, Sanji looked up and gasped. "Your neck!" he exclaimed. "Did Luffy-"

"Yes," Zoro cut him off. "...Is it really that bad?" he fingered his neck where Luffy's nails had dug into his skin.

Sanji nodded. "It's all red and swollen."

Zoro frowned. "I should disinfect it." He moved to leave the kitchen.

"Wait." Sanji reached forward and grabbed Zoro's arm.

Zoro raised his eyebrows at Sanji. "Yeah?"

Sanji opened his mouth, but hesitated. He had a million things he wanted to say to him. How thankful he was that Zoro was supporting him through this even though they were rivals. how great of a fighter he was...but he didn't want to lose the fight for who was better.

"Oh, whatever," he mumbled under his breath. He threw his arms around Zoro and held on tightly, willing himself not to cry.

Zoro's eyes widened. That hug said what words never could. Zoro turned around and wrapped his arms around his crewmate's shoulders and held him for a minute.

After a few seconds, Sanji pulled away and cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. He cast about in his mind for something to say.

"Your jeans are dirty."

Zoro looked down at his jeans and back up at Sanji. Then he started to laugh and clapped his friend's shoulder. "I think the soup is done," he said.

Zoro blinked and stretched. He had just awoken from a state of meditative calm, meaning that his body was reawakening. It was pretty much just like waking up early in the morning. Also, it usually took a minute or two for him to remember what it was that he had thought of or seen during his meditation.

As he waited for his memory to return to him, he listened carefully for signs of life in the rest of the house. As far as he could tell, no one else was awake. Sanji's dinner had sank him into one of the deepest levels of meditation, and he hadn't been that deep for a while.

Suddenly, his thoughts returned to him. After letting them sink in for a second, his eyes widened and he jumped up. He knew a way to help Luffy!

He made his way over to his bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. By his calculations, it was about one in the morning. It was definitely one of the longest meditations he had ever had, if not the most insightful.

Zoro carefully walked down the hall, trying his best not to make any noise and wake the others, since the house was all on one floor. But it was definitely big enough to house all five of them.

As he passed the doorway to the office, he could just make out Luffy up ahead, slumped in his chair. Zoro figured he was probably asleep, since it was so late. But he paused, just to make sure. Luffy's breathing was slow and regular. He frowned. The one time he needed him to be awake...

"Luffy?" he called softly.

Luffy turned in his chair, mumbling something unintelligible.

Zoro scowled and moved closer, making sure he stayed a safe distance away. "LUFFY."

Luffy jumped up, his eyes wild.

He started but retained his calm. "It's me, Luffy."

Luffy relaxed a little and sat back down, resuming his silent vigil of the dark outside.

Zoro took a deep breath. "Luffy," he began, still keeping his voice calm and quiet, "I have an idea."

Luffy gave no response or even an acknowledgement that he had heard.

Zoro continued. "You need to get out of the house."

Luffy turned his head then and stared Zoro straight in the eyes. Zoro tried his hardest not to flinch and stared back evenly.

He was even more surprised when Luffy said, "Why?"

This was the first time Luffy had said anything remotely natural in the past three months. Zoro knew he had to keep his calm and explain his idea to Luffy without losing his temper or saying anything that might upset him.

He composed his thoughts for a second before continuing. "For a while now, you've just sat here and stared outside. Now, I want you to imagine the way you used to be. You used to be really active and never came inside for anything except food. I know...I know what it's like to lose someone in your family. When I was seven..." Zoro swallowed. He had never told this story to anyone. "When I was seven, I lost my dad."

Luffy blinked and began to chew on his bottom lip.

Zoro could tell that this was having an effect on him, but he also knew that he couldn't go too far, or he might ruin the whole thing. So he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Luffy blinked again. "How?"

Zoro sighed. "Let me get a chair. I'll be right back."

Luffy did nothing as Zoro left the room but stare back out the window into the blackness. Deep inside, he knew Zoro was right. He had spent too long mourning over his mother, but he felt that if he left the houe or started travelling again, he would be abandoning her. His heart was a mix of sadness, desperation, longing, and frustration. He wished there was a way that he could take his mother with him on his travels. That way he could go places without ever feeling that he had left her behind.

At that moment, Zoro came back into the room carrying one of the kitchen chairs. He plopped it down next to Luffy's and sat in it. Although Luffy had acted relatively normal since he had started talking to him, he still maintained a mental state of awareness just in case. Besides, you just never knew when it came to Luffy.

Zoro took a deep breath and began talking. "We used to live in Shimotsuki, as you well know. It's not that far from here, actually. Anyway, one day I was in the dojo, training with Koshiro when my mother came in. I knew something must have been seriously wrong, since usually girls weren't allowed in the dojo, but I was with my friends and the sensei was watching me, so I went up to her and whispered that she should leave. She didn't ask any questions. She just turned around and left. I went back to my training, but I couldn't concentrate. I kept wondering why my mother had come to the dojo.

"After a while, went up to Koshiro and explained how I felt. He told me I could leave early if I wanted, but I refused. All of the students at the dojo were competing over these things called badges, which we got for completing specific tasks. The one I was working on then was the 'dedication badge'. We got that one if we didn't miss any practices or leave early for one year. It had been nine months.

"But he didn't accept my answer. In fact, he forced me to go home. He said it wouldn't affect my badge. So I went. I think he knew what had happened, somehow." He swallowed. Bringing back those memories was difficult.

Luffy waited patiently with rapt attention. His eyes were dull, as if hearing the story was just as difficult as telling it. His gaze flicked up to Zoro's face as he resumed talking.

"I went home, curious but slightly afraid to know what was wrong. As soon as I walked in the house, I knew what had happened. The house was quiet, and I heard weeping coming from upstairs. I froze and my bag fell from my hand. Then I ran upstairs and burst into my parents' room. My mom was kneeling next to the bed, crying. My dad was laying in the bed, utterly still. I walked over to him and stared down. Tears dripped off the end of my nose onto his pale face.

"The funeral was that weekend, and it was one of the worst ordeals I've ever went through in my life. My heart still bears the scars of that." He sighed and stared out of the window.

Luffy blinked and reached a hand up to his eye. He brushed away a tear before laying a hand on Zoro's shoulder.

Zoro's eyes widened slightly and he looked over at Luffy. The boy's eyes were wet with tears. Putting his hestitation aside, Zoro reached over and embraced him.

Luffy buried his head in Zoro's shoulder and began to sob. He hadn't cried since before his mother had died, and all his sadness and frustration had built up inside of him. He needed to let it all out.

Zoro tightened his grip on Luffy as his sobs became more violent and waited for him to calm down.

Eventually, still sniffling, Luffy pulled away from Zoro and sat back in his chair. He sighed softly.

Zoro stiffened slightly but still kept up his outward calm. This was part that he was worried about. Either Luffy was going to agree with him and try to start over, or he was going to push him away and keep staring out of the window for the rest of his life.

After waiting for a while and getting no response, he leaned forward. "Luffy?"

A loud snore was his only response.

Zoro chuckled. "Oh, Luffy." He shook his head and stood up. He needed to get some sleep. He took the chair back out to the kitchen, went down the hall, and collapsed into his bed.

That night Zoro slept deeply and awoke refreshed and happy. He thought that the night had gone well, even more so because he had gotten Luffy to talk to him. He hoped that he remembered what he had said last night.

Zoro slipped out of bed, ran his fingers through his short green hair, and stepped out of his room.

The second he appeared in the hallway, Sanji stepped out of his room also. He was wearing a look of wide-eyed disbelief.

"What's up?" he asked.

Sanji blinked. "Luffy...Luffy's in the kitchen, asking for food..."

Zoro grinned. "Great!"

"What did you do last night?"

"I just talked to him, that's all."

Sanji nodded. "Well whatever you did, it worked." He walked away down the hallway to the kitchen. "Come see for yourself."

Zoro obeyed and followed him into the kitchen. Sure enough, there sat Luffy, looking annoyed that his food wasn't done yet. If someone had seen him then, they wouldn't have been able to tell that he had spent the past three months dealing with depression.

Luffy's eyes brightened when he saw Zoro. "Hey, Zoro!" he exclaimed. "Sanji was making me food, and when I walked in, he ran out."

Zoro glanced over at Sanji and didn't answer. "Are Nami and Usopp up yet?" he asked.

Sanji pursed his lips. "Not that I'm aware of," he said.

Zoro nodded. "Okay."

Luffy swung his legs back and forth as he waited for his breakfast. "I'm huuuuungry!" He complained.

Sanji's face became more stressed as he began whisking Luffy's eggs faster.

"SAAAANJIII!"

Zoro glanced at Luffy, who was swirling his fingers on the tablecloth.

Sanji licked his lips and whisked even faster. A second later he lost his grip on the bowl, and it flew out of his hand, landing with a crash on the tiled floor. His eyes widened suddenly and his face became a mask of fear. It was clear that he thought Luffy was going to attack him for messing up his food.

Luffy looked up and stared evenly at Sanji.

A drop of sweat rolled down Sanji's face.

After a few seconds, Luffy looked back down at the tablecloth. "Why did you do that, Sanji?" he asked calmly. "I'm not that hungry. Besides, now you have to start over."

Sanji began to shake. This was just too much of a shock for his body to take. His eyes rolled up in his head and he passed out.

Zoro darted forward and caught him before he hit the floor and gently lowered him down.

"Luffy, could you get some ice out of the freezer, please?"

He looked up. "Sure, Zoro. What happened, anyway?"

"He passed out, that's all." He accepted the ice from Luffy and wrapped it in a towel before placing it on Sanji's forehead. "He'll be fine in a minute."

"Oh. Okay." Luffy looked down at the messy floor. "Now who's going to make me food?" he pouted.

Zoro made sure the ice was balanced before standing. "I'll make your eggs," he said, "If you clean this mess up.'

Luffy frowned, thinking this through. Then he shrugged. "Okay. I'm going to need some energy for our adventure."

Zoro frowned, confused. "We're going on an adventure?"

Luffy grinned as he got out the mop. "Yep!"

"You mean, we're going to sail somewhere?"

Luffy rolled his eyes. "Well, duh. It wouldn't be an adventure if we didn't use the boat."

Zoro's eyes widened slightly. Maybe talking to Luffy had done more than he'd thought. He shrugged happily and cracked three fresh eggs into a skillet. Well, that was good.

Luffy swirled the mop around the floor, finishing his job in record time. He put away the mop and flopped down onto the stool.

Zoro flipped the eggs out of the skillet and onto a plate. Then he grabbed a few pieces of bread that were already toasted and set it all on the table in front of Luffy. Then he set to work making his own breakfast.

As he was working, Usopp walked in, Nami right behind him.

"Hey Zor-" Usopp froze, causing Nami to bump into his back.

"Watch it!" she reprimanded. Then she saw what Usopp had seen.

Zoro smirked. "Yes, you're seeing what you think you're seeing," he said, knowing that they were surprised to see Luffy.

"Zoro, what did you do to Sanji?" Nami asked. She stared down at his body. Usopp stepped up next to her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Zoro blinked, surprised. He thought they were speechless because of Luffy, not Sanji. Only then did he realize how bad the situation would look to them.

"This isn't what it looks like, guys. Sanji passed out when Luffy told him to make the eggs faster."

"Oh, really?" Nami turned her furious gaze on him. "Do you have any pr-wait. What did you just say?"

"I said Luffy kept telling him to make his eggs faster, and he passed out."

Zoro saw the realization pass over Nami and Usopp's faces as they slowly turned to look at the kitchen table, where Luffy was sitting finishing his eggs. He looked up at them and smiled hugely. "Hey, guys!"

Nami staggered and would have fallen if Zoro hadn't caught her arm. "Wha-? How-? When-?" She shook her head and tried to regain her composure.

Usopp, meanwhile, was just staring at Luffy. He waved at the boy when he said "hey", but his face was a mask of disbelief.

Nami shook off Zoro's hand. "How did you do this?"

Usopp nodded. "Yeah, how?"

Zoro shrugged. "I just talked to him, that's all. It wasn't anything too difficult."

Nami narrowed her eyes. "Really? All of us have tried talking to him before, even you, and it's never worked. What did you do different?"

Zoro fidgeted uncomfortably. It was obvious that she wasn't going to be as accepting as Sanji.

Fortunately, Sanji awoke at that moment. He groaned and sat up.

Nami, forgetting about Zoro for the moment, bent down. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah...I think so.." Sanji got up onto his knees and then slowly pulled himself to his feet, using the edge of the counter for support. After a minute he straightened up and looked around him. "Who made Luffy the eggs?" he asked.

"I did," Zoro said. "It really wasn't that difficult."

Sanji scowled. "Shut up, marimo. My head hurts. Did I smack it off the floor?"

"No. I caught you before you fell." he said, snarkily.

"Oh, marimo, you are so going to get it now," Sanji said. "That is not something you say to your chef, who cooks all of your meals."

"Well, from what I've seen, it's pretty easy to cook. I mean, I made Luffy and myself breakfast without any trouble, did I not?"

Nami stepped between the two of them. "No fighting, guys. We've had enough of that lately as it is."

Zoro took a deep breath. "Yeah, I suppose your right," he said, remembering how Luffy had attacked him the night before.

Sanji thought of this also and backed away, going over to the sink to do the dishes.

Usopp stepped over to the table and settled himself carefully on the stool across from Luffy, posititioning himself so that he could get away easily if Luffy decided to attack him.

Luffy had long since finished his eggs and was just sitting there, staring glumly at his empty plate. He was thinking of how much work they would have to do to get ready for the trip. He also realized he hadn't told the rest of his crew yet...

"Hey, guys?" he asked.

Usopp jumped. "Yeah?" he said, answering for all of them.

"We're going on an adventure tomorrow."

Nami's eyes widened. "What?"

"I said, we're going on an adventure. We're going to sail to Takara Island." Luffy looked up at his crew, carefully monitoring their reactions.

Zoro only looked faintly surprised, since he already knew they were going. Nami, Usopp and Sanji, however, looked extremely shocked. Apparently they thought that since he had just gotten over his depression he shouldn't be going anywhere yet. Or they were just used to him staring out of the window every day, not doing anything.

"Listen, guys. I know I just got over my depression. But I wouldn't have gotten over it at all if it weren't for Zoro. He rescued me from myself."

"And what does that mean, exactly?" Nami put her hands on her hips.

Luffy just stared at her, his mouth hanging open.

Nami removed her hands from her hips and rolled her eyes. "What's the problem?"

He frowned. "Do that again," he commanded.

"What? This?" she put her hands back on her hips.

Luffy nodded slowly and swallowed. He seemed to be getting up the nerve to say something.

Nami looked him straight in the eye and said, "What?"

Luffy fidgeted for a second. "You...you look hot like that."

There was silence in the kitchen. The little conversations that had been going on between Sanji, Zoro and Usopp puttered out. Everyone stared at Luffy, who squirmed under their gaze.

Suddenly, Zoro burst out laughing. "Really, Luffy? Wow. I never thought you would go for someone as bossy as her."

"What? I was just telling the truth. It's not like I like her or anything, gosh. That's my job, to tell the truth. At least that's what my mother wants me to do."

Sanji spoke up. "Wait, you said that telling the truth is what your mother wants you to do. But..." he hesitated. "But she's dead."

Luffy's face saddened, but he didn't cry or get angry. "I know," he said. "My mom speaks to me sometimes. Well, I don't know if it's really her speaking to me, but occasionally I remember something she's said to me that I never paid much attention to before, and I feel like I should act upon it, you know?"

Usopp nodded somberly. "I know what you mean."

Luffy smiled at him and looked up at the rest of the crew, who were nodding also. He grinned and decided to ruin the moment.

"Anyway," he began, "We're going to leave at sunrise tomorrow. So you guys should pack tonight, so you won't have to get up even earlier."

"Okay," Nami said.

Sanji frowned slightly. Did it never occur to Luffy to ask if the rest of his crew wanted to go on a trip? He shook his head but murmured his assent like everyone else. Luffy was the captain, he supposed.

Luffy stood up. "Alright then, i guess I'll go pack and go to bed. See you all in the morning." He waved goodnight and stepped out of the room, into the dimly lit hallway. He smirked.

"If you're all still alive."

TO BE CONTINUED