Warning: Luffy is in a slump in this first chapter…so he may seem slightly OOC at times, but don't worry, Zoro comes to the rescue.
Also, the pairing is Zoro and Luffy… so expect the obvious with this rating.
AN: Hey guys, commence in reading my first ZoroXLuffy fan fiction. I felt so unworthy to write one so I asked Zoro when he appeared on my computer screen whilst I was watching an episode. He responded with one of his smirks…need I say more? XD
I would like to thank my beta xXxAngelVxXx who beta'd this for me :)
Now, get reading. This story takes place on the ship after the meeting with the Marine base Admiral Ao Kiji, just before the land in water 7.
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own any of the characters...although I do wish I was the owner of Zoro :D
Bonds of Trust
Chapter One- Slump
"Zoro." Luffy cooed as he poked the swordsman's nose for the thirteenth time.
"Zoro." he repeated, poking at the nose once again.
"Zoro." the young captain said again in the same tone.
"Zoro." he didn't seem to get irritated.
"Zoro." he carried on poking the nose.
"Zoro." he started (only now) to get agitated.
"Zooooorrrrroooo!" he whined. "Come on Zoro, play with me. I'm bored…" he complained, poking the green heads nose for what he decided would be the last time. Luffy 'humphed' standing up and moved back to the deck to greet Usopp and Robin. He opened his mouth…
"No Luffy, I'm busy." Usopp stated before the captain could even open his rubber mouth.
"Awww, come on Usopp! It's soooo boring!"
"Sencho-san, why don't you help cook-san. He told me that he needed to fish for dinner later on because there isn't enough food left in the stock." Robin informed, moving her head but not her eyeballs up from her archaeology book called 'sculptures through time'. Luffy chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
"Heh heh, I don't know why but I feel it's my duty to bring back lots of fish…."
"That's because you ate it!" Usopp partially yelled at the stupidity of his captain. "Really Luffy, I think you need to go and see Chopper about your unconscious eating reflexes." the sniper grumbled. Luffy just laughed and made his way to the side at the front of the ship.
"Work hard Sencho-san." Robin called and continued her reading.
Luffy arrived at the end of the small ship, just bellow the deck Zoro was sleeping on. The bored boy perched himself on the rails and took a deep breath. "Gomu Gomu No," he stretched his arms back gradually until he could not move them any further. "GRAB!" (1) He released the potential energy from his arms and brought it back to stretch forwards into the ocean. "I'm gonna catch me a big one!" he yelled.
"Keep it down!" Nami yelled from her room.
"Gomen!" Luffy called back and resumed his fish picking adventure under the sea. He felt around the water, hitting rocks and edges of some sea creatures. Due to Luffy's short attention span he gave up.
"It must just be that this spot isn't getting any fish coming to it. And the fish are probably afraid that they may be the unlucky fish to feel the wrath of my 100 million Beli fists!" Luffy cheered to no one in particular. He jumped off the rail and immediately perched himself onto his favourite spot on the Merry go.
He grabbed the fishing rod that Usopp had made for him and pulling the stick back he commenced in throwing the metal hook into the sea- forgetting to place the bait on it. He sat there silently for a while and scanned through his surroundings. Not one island in site.
He sighed. "This isn't any fun when Usopp and Chopper aren't here." he mumbled to himself. Everyone on the ship had something to do. Robin - the qualified historian was always glued stiff to her books and Sanji was always cooking so he could one day prepare meals based on the legendary ingredients of 'All Blue'.
Usopp just wanted to become a brave worrier of the sea but he still had a ways to go- he was always inventing and repairing and lying whilst entertaining himself. Chopper was probably the busiest little creature in the whole entire word- creating, inventing, reading, planning, and discovering whilst learning about life in general.
Then there was Nami the navigator who was going to make a flawless map of the world - that had to take up a lot of her life time. Finally there was his first mate, Zoro. He was going to become the world's greatest swordsman. He was always training or fighting with Sanji and if he wasn't doing any of these things then he would either be sleeping or mothering another member of the crew. He was the mother hen of the group- everyone seemed to go to him or at least inform him of their problems. Everyone except Sanji...who told everyone about his problems. He usually told him with his foot...
For some reason, Luffy felt…he felt…
He didn't know what he felt, but he really wanted to take a break from fishing and play with Zoro.
Luffy forced a smile on his face and bounced his way up the stairs to reach his first mate. When he found himself standing on the deck and growing a sense of déjà vu to the familiar scene, he instantly made a face.
"Awww, no fun! All you do is sleep." he complained as he knelt beside the sleeping Kenshin. The younger boy sighed and watched his first mate snore. He didn't know how long he had been there but he felt like he could watch his first mate sleep forever (not that he wanted him dead of course). There was just something relaxing about it that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He had felt so cold and empty recently because of all that thinking…and now he suddenly felt warm and whole. It was as if he didn't care anymore- he just felt so strong and happy.
"Heh, this is just like you, you always know what to do. Even in your sleep you're helping me." Luffy whispered, looking up at the sky, not noticing the pair of eyes turn his way.
"And how exactly did I do that?" Zoro yawned.
"Huh?" Luffy blinked twice, and then looked down to meet two dark eyes starring back at him seemingly understandingly, even though there was nothing to understand. That's what made Luffy feel so comfortable around Zoro, he always just seemed to understand.
"What's up buddy?" the green haired man asked, bringing his arms to fold behind his head casually. When Luffy sighed deeply the other man grew more concerned. He sat up and stretched his muscles, letting Luffy watch him. He would wait for him to speak- he didn't like forcing people to do stuff.
"Zoro…something just seems wrong…it's just not right." Luffy attempted to explain. His face was partially hidden under the shadow that his hat provided for him at times like these. He sighed again and said in a rare soft voice, "I just feel like I'm being left behind."
Zoro almost chocked. What was with his captain all of a sudden? "Left behind! you've got to be kidding me!" Zoro chuckled, despite the rare situation.
"I'm not, that's how I feel." Luffy mumbled faintly. Zoro raised an eyebrow at the younger boy, what got him so down?
"Why do you feel that way Sencho?"
"I don't know, that's why I thought you'd understand! You're meant to understand everything!" Luffy began to yell exasperatedly, his eyes appearing to water a little but Zoro knew it was only because he was frustrated. His captain was too strong to have some sort of only "softies compatible" emotional breakdown. "Your supposed to be my mother hen, baka!" Luffy muttered through disappointed fishy lips.
That caught Zoro off guard.
"Mother hen! What the hell! Luffy, listen to me. You are the man who is going to become Pirate king! How can such a man feel like he's being left behind- by a bunch of pirates? I don't think the tough guy status your striving to achieve is that easy to attain. You should be making every other pirate in the world feel like their being left behind by you." Zoro paused to look at his captain, who was looking right back with stars glittering in his eyes.
Zoro smiled and resumed, "You have to be the greatest, most powerful man whoever lived. You have to make your name known wherever you go." Zoro looked up into the sky and Luffy followed suit. "Luffy, how can you become the most powerful?" Zoro lightly questioned.
Luffy looked away from the darkening sky to his first mate. The soft breeze seemed to only affect Zoro because he certainly could not feel the wind. The others hair seemed to dance slowly, his three gold earrings hit against one another with the thrilling sound of clashing metal. The aura Zoro emitted was the "Mother Hen" atmosphere at its peak.
"How can I become the most powerful." Luffy repeated, thinking. "Hmm….to become the most powerful…" Luffy began seriously, continuing his obedient gaze on the kenshin. As if sensing Luffy's intense stare, Zoro turned his head away from the sky and its breeze to face his captain.
"I would have to surpass you." Luffy concluded with a smile. However, this smile was not his usual smile, it was by no means cheeky, stupid or wide. It seemed to say "this belief is my firm conclusion."
Zoro looked into the eyes of the younger boy. He wasn't joking…he wasn't laughing. For some reason being called the point of ultimate power by his captain made him feel really…Proud? Happy? Embarrassed? All three? Zoro shook himself mentally and then began to smirk. Proud. Definitely proud.
Zoro's eyes secretly turned into bent rainbows as he thought about his situation.
Inside Zoro's mind
Zoro: "You're right. Now you realise you have a LOT of work to do, you'd better get down and train with me till you drop."
Luffy: "Yes, Zoro….Zoro-sensei!"
Or
Zoro: "Your right. Now you realise you have a LOT of work to be getting on with. I don't see how you could ever be bored when you've known all this time that to even get to my stage you'll have to train till you drop. I might just be generous enough as to help you if you like."
Luffy: "Yes, yes Zoro…no…Zoro-sama!
Or
Zoro: "Your right. And now, with the man who is at the breaking point of extreme power, you will train!"
Luffy: "Yes…Zoro-aniki!"
Actually, it really should have gone like this:
Zoro: "That's right! And now I will appoint you as my disciple! With this role, you may train under the name of the man who has surpassed the breaking point of ultimate power, Roronoa Zoro! I don't know how you could have ever felt bored and left behind when you've known all this time how much laborious work you will have to put in! Fear not, for you are under my guidance! Blah blah blah, yappadiee smackedi! More preaching to show Luffy the way to my way!!!"
"Y…yes…Kami-sama!
----pwit---all readers ejected out of Zoro's brain.----
Back in the real world and the real situation.
Zoro just stared at his captain helplessly. Sometimes the baka really said things that got to him. This got him at a funny angle though, because his gut just couldn't help but twitch a little…or something like that. He scratched the back of his head and smiled one of his unique smiles. "Ah, Luffy. You really do know what true pow-"
"So that means, because I'm already stronger then you, I am the most powerful man who has ever lived."
Silence.
Luffy held the same big cheeky grin.
Twitch.
Zoro looked for signs of an apology.
Silence.
"DAMN YOU LUFFY! I'LL SHOW YOU POWER!" the green haired man began to uncompromisingly draw out his matching fierce cold blooded cursed sword.
"Feel my wrath." he whispered into the unwavering boys ear. That did happen to waver the kid a little.
"One sword style…"
"Gomen Gomen …but you know its true."
"Nintoriyo."
"Oi Luffy?! Marimo?! Where the hell are those bastards?" a voice sounded from bellow the deck.
"Yeah! Sanji! FOOD!" Luffy disappeared from Zoro's grasp in a flash and reappeared on the stair leading to the kitchen.
"Hold it baka. Your not eating anything but the fish you catch. I've had enough of you." Sanji said, calmly blowing out a ring of smoke.
"I'll starve." Luffy confessed, expressionlessly.
"…"
"Do you want me to starve Sanji?"
"You can even go to hell for all I care. Come on shitty-swordsman, let me feed you."
Zoro hauled himself off the ground and jumped down to the same level as the other two and walked towards the kitchen, bypassing their captain.
"I'm not an animal." Zoro growled as he walked in to sit by the dinning table where the rest of the crew were situated.
"I'm sorry Sanji…just let me eat this once. There's no fish in the sea today." Luffy cried desperately.
"NO FISH IN THE…bring me fish Luffy or never step foot in my kitchen again! Well at least until the next island." Sanji ordered, closing the door in Luffy's face. The captain's face grew long.
He marched off to the rails at the front of the ship and pulled out his fishing rod once again. He swung one leg after the other to sit on the rails and stayed there, sulking.
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Back in the kitchen.
"It was his own damn fault for eating our rations."
"Yeah, but you didn't have to be so harsh Sanji-kun." Usopp declared. "You understand more then any of us how serious he is when it comes to food. And I understand more than any of you how useless Luffy is at using the fishing rods when he's not under my guidance."
"Hontoni (3)?!" Chopper squealed, amazed.
"Sure. The captain once told me that without me he would be totally useless. He said that he just simply could not live without me!" Usopp lied really obviously.
"Hontoni(3)?!" Choppers eyes turned into stars.
"I used to have a bounty of nine hundred million billion before I joined this crew. I was even begged to become one of the shibukai because they feared what I could do to the world with my explosive inventions. The world government gave me the nickname 'God!'" (2) Usopp claimed randomly since he had the attention.
"Oh! Oh! I know what that means! It means Kami…" Choppers jaw dropped into his plate.
"Oi Chopper, stop making a mess." Sanji growled.
"Hai!" the mini animal tweeted.
Robin giggled, the others just shook their heads and continued eating.
"Wow Sanji-kun, this is delicious. Please can you pass me the bread." Nami asked.
"Hai Nami-swan!"
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Back on the dock.
Luffy felt like he had been waiting for a fish for hours.
He felt so helpless. He just didn't care anymore- he wasn't even hungry. His stomach was roaring, but he felt like he could do without food for the time being. He sighed. For a guy who has never really found a reason to sigh much during his life he sure had been doing a lot of that recently.
How could he become stronger? How could he make all the other pirates feel left behind. Well, it was simple: kick their asses and continue his voyage to "New world".
He couldn't do this anymore, the fishing rod must be broken or something. He was going to get some food whether he wanted it or not!
He chucked the empty stick across the ship and proceeded in stretching his long arms back. "Gomu Gomu nooooooo GRAB!" he shouted. His arms flew into the sea with such force that he almost found himself being pulled in. He stabled himself and began his second adventure under the sea.
'I've got to become stronger! I want to protect my nakama so they can always depend on me! Those strong people I've faced and escaped from…are there more of them in the world? That Ice admiral…I need to become more powerful!' his mind screamed.
He hadn't noticed until now, but his face was drenched in tears. Tears of frustration and anger. What had he been doing all this time…relaxing and not acting like a real captain. He needed to make people feel as left behind as he did. He hadn't gotten much stronger since the first fight he had ever fought with companions by his side. He hadn't improved much, and he now needed to!
Suddenly he found that he couldn't move his arms anymore. They were stuck…
Oh no...
TBC
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End of chapter one!
AN: Thank you for reading, please review me
(1) I know…ToT
(2) Usopp obviously said 'God' in English. (they are Japanese)
(3) Hontoni mean really in English