"Well I've been huddled up alone by the fire, even though I'm not exactly feeling cold. And I've been bundled up for days, too confused to be amazed at all the icy water in my veins. Why do I feel so alone?"

-"Paper Tigers" Owl City

XxxX

Around the city Japanese families began to disappear, selling their homes, their businesses, and their belongings for dirt cheep.

XxxX

May 2, 1942

Zoro heard a knock at his apartment door. It was early morning and he had worked late the evening before so he shambled slowly to the door and was met by the sight of two armed men in military uniform.

"Zoro Roronoa?" The man asked with a serious expression. Zoro nodded dumbly. "As a Japanese citizen you are under suspicion by the US government, and therefore must be taken into custody. You have until six o'clock May fourth to get your things in order at which point you will be retrieved and held at the local police station until transport. Take only what you can carry, no weapons allowed. If you resist arrest the consequences will be sever. That is all," the officer spared him a look of distaste before he and his companion turned and left.

Zoro stood there stunned. Only two days. Two days. He cast a glance around his apartment. He was not really the material kind of guy, there were not many things there in his apartment. The only things he really cherished were his three beautiful katanas. No weapons allowed. He could not bring them. He felt a small stir of panic as he tried to think a way out of the situation. Zoro was not one to back down when facing adversity but what choice did he have?

He could run from the city, which would not do him any good. It is not like he could change his face, the police would get him eventually. He could hide with one of his friends but for how long? Until the war was over? It could be years and when he was found out he and probably whoever he was staying with would be arrested. He could make a case with the courts. Sanji was always going on about how someone should make a case so it would get through to the Supreme Court. But he did not have the money to hire a good lawyer.

Sanji. They were all going over to have a party at his place that night to keep everyone's minds off of this war thing. What was he going to do?

He felt slightly sick but he he shook his head determinedly. He had to put on a strong face at least for today. Tomorrow he would tell everyone but today he would get one last taste of normality.

The first thing to do was start selling his shit. He grabbed a duffle bag and filled it with things like cloths, blankets, and whatever else he could fit. He doubted that they would be very accommodating where he was going so it was probably best to cover all the bases. Taking what was left, minus his prized katanas, he went off to see what he could sell.

XxxX

The day passed far too quickly for Zoro, and he soon found himself entering Sanji's apartment. Luffy, and Usopp were already there bothering the cook as he tried to do what he did best while Zoro silently watched in amusement.

Nami showed up next, then Chopper, Robin, and finally Brook. Everyone was in high spirits and Zoro felt he did a good job of acting his normal self. It was not really that hard, he just had to not think about it. He may have fallen short on a reaction here or there but no one seemed to notice. Not even Robin who always seemed to know everything. It was like she had super human secret sensors or something.

XxxX

"Coming Zoro?" Usopp asked as he walked toward the exit.

"Nah," he replied, "I have to talk to shit-cook about something," Usopp just shrugged and walked out, he was the last to go.

The Japanese man felt a jolt of sadness now that everyone was gone. Excluding, of course, Sanji who was sweeping up the shatters remains of a bowl that Luffy had either thrown or knocked onto the floor. He stood in the doorway for a moment just watching. It was probably the last time things would be like this for a while, he dreaded telling everyone.

Sanji looked up when he realized he was being watched with a strange expression, "Enjoying the view?" He asked with a smirk.

"Maybe."

Something felt off. He was not sure what but he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What?" the Marimo asked innocently, walking forward into the kitchen.

Sanji dumped the glass into the trash and put the broom back in place before glaring at the moss head in front of him, "Something's up," he said looking him up and down.

Zoro smirked, "It's all in your stupid head, cook. Nothing is up," he placed his hands of Sanji's shoulder and gave him a patronizing pat. Sanji sneered at him and aimed a kick at his head which, instead of meeting it's mark the leg was grabbed in Zoro's iron grip.

"Whatcha gonna do now, blondie?"

While Sanji struggled to pull his leg free Zoro backed him into a cabinet and brought their faces closer together, "Bastard," Sanji breathed angrily before Zoro closed the gap.

Zoro's actions were slow and deliberate. Again Sanji felt like something was off. The swordsman usually worked more eager and frenzied angle than slow and passionate. It was like he wanted it to last as long as possible. Like he was committing each action to memory. It reminded him of when he saw men leaving to join the army. They knew they would not see their loved ones any time soon so they lingered sort of like this. Exactly like this actually.

Sanji's eyes snapped open. He quickly broke off the kiss and grabbed Zoro's face, staring into his dark eyes, "They came didn't they? They're going to put you away in one of those fucking camps, aren't they?" Sanji was on the verge of panicking, desperate to be told he was, in actual fact, mistaken.

Zoro did not say anything, he looked down to avoid eye contact. Sanji paled, his arms dropped back down to his sides.

"How long do you have?" He asked in a small voice.

"Until six on the fourth, they came this morning. I was going to tell everyone tomorrow,"

Sanji let out a humorless laugh, "It shouldn't be unexpected. It was bound to happen, it just... It seemed like it never would, you know? They shouldn't be able to do this. Fuck, what are you going to do?" his throat felt tight as he waited for an answer.

"Make the most of it I guess. I've already started to sell some of my shit, not that it'll go for much but better than nothing I guess."

Sanji looked away and said nothing for a long time. When he finally looked up he muttered, "Fucking bullshit," before drawing them together again. And it was Zoro's turn to be shocked. Sanji never made the first move. But this was a special circumstance and he was going to savor the feeling. Slow and passionate it was then.

XxxX

When Sanji woke up he was warm and comfortable. It took a moment for the cruel wave of reality wash over his head. It was like he was drowning. He did not want to get up ever again. He wanted Zoro to stay here forever. Slipping out of bed he quietly and called in sick for work. He didn't need to put any effort into faking, his voice was slightly gruff from sleep and he sounded warn down. After making the call he slipped back into bed and tried not to think too much.

About an hour later when Zoro woke up he forced himself get dressed and out of bed. He knew that today he had to tell the rest of his friends what was going on and settle the rest of his business. Sanji was already awake and followed him out of the room like some sort if ghost.

Grabbing the phone he typed in Luffy's number. If Luffy knew soon enough everyone would know, plus he knew Luffy would be home anyway.

As soon as the line connected the cheerful boy picked up, "Hello."

"Luffy, it's Zoro. I really need to talk to you about something."

"Eh, what is it?"

"Well.." He paused, not quite knowing how to continue, "The police came by and I have to leave... Tomorrow."

There was a long silence, "Oh, I'll be over as soon as possible," his voice had taken on an unusually serious note and after that he suddenly hung up.

Zoro stared at the phone for a moment. He should probably head back to his place to meet up with Luffy.

He walked into the kitchen where Sanji was starting to cook something, "Hey cook, I have to go meet Luffy back at my place."

"Eat first, we can still get there before him," the chef said, not deviating in his task.

Zoro decided not to argue because his stomach was starting to growl. He also had a limited number of Sanji cooked meals left and was not about to waste this one.

"Hey cook."

"Hm?"

"I want you to look after my swords,"

"W-what?" Sanji felt like someone had dropped something heavy on top of him, squishing the air out of his lungs.

"I can't take them with me so I want you to look after them until I get back," the swordsman explained seriously.

Sanji made a pained face before taking a deep breath and nodding, not trusting his voice.

Zoro looked relieved, but soon smirked, "You better take good fucking care of them. I don't want to come back to find out that you've destroyed them."

Sanji rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah I'll look after them like their my own children. They're safe with me."

"They'd better be."

XxxX

They managed to make it back before Luffy, as anticipated and the usually joyful man looked quite unhappy. He walked in and sat on the floor across from Zoro and Sanji. On the floor because Zoro had already sold most of his furniture, the more expensive of which he put into storage.

Luffy crossed his arms, "I told everyone else. They can't come right now but they'll show up at some point."

That they did. The trio spent the day going in and out of Zoro's apartment, getting rid of his things, buying things he might need, putting more expensive things in a storage facility, and transporting his swords to their new home. Eventually everyone had stopped by, most on a lunch break, others after work was over. They agreed to meeting at Zoro's for a final sending off party.

Most everyone reacted differently to the news. Robin had warned Zoro not to do anything rash with a sad smile, Nami whacked him over the head and told him to come back or she would triple his debt, Chopper, Usopp and Brook had sobbed uncontrollably over him, Sanji was quiet and withdrawn, and Luffy promised him that he would end up back with them again with a childlike smile on his face.

It was not like when Franky left. Franky was sad to leave but glad for the chance to fight for his country. In this situation no one wanted Zoro to leave and Zoro did not want to go anywhere.

Everyone decided to stay over in order to see him one last time before he had to go. The girls shared Zoro's room, while the guys slept the floor of the main room. Everyone found it difficult to sleep. In the middle of the night Zoro reached out to Sanji who was quite clearly still awake.

Sanji gave the marimo a questioning look.

Zoro said nothing, he just pulled Sanji closer to him. Sanji did not even have the heart to even hope no one saw them. Right now he really didn't give a fuck.

XxxX

That morning everyone was up earlier than nessicary. They enjoyed a delicious but eerily quiet breakfast and waited for a knock on the door.

It felt a bit like they were at a strange sort of ritual where a dead spirit would be take away to some sort of after life. Strange because no one was actually dead, only going away for an undetermined period of time.

When they saw an army jeep pull up to the building Zoro turned to make his last goodbye but he could not quite force the words out. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, creating a tense atmosphere.

Sanji was the first to break the silence. He made a choking sound as his tears finally fell and he threw himself at Zoro.

"You better come back soon you fucking bastard," he said through clenched teeth.

The tension was broken, and suddenly everyone was crying. They formed a large group hug around their friend. When it finally broke Zoro gave everyone a large grin.

"I be back before you know it. They can't keep me locked up forever," he promised and with one last goodbye he walked over to answer the door. Four military officers wielding bayonet adorned guns were standing in front of him.

"Zoro Roronoa?" The asked in order to verify that they had the right victim.

"Yes." It's not that they couldn't tell it was him they were after.

"Come with us." They turned and escorted him out of the building, leaving his friends alone in his empty apartment.

When they got to the police station the officers looked through Zoro's things before he was taken to a holding cell which contained many more Japanese people. Men, women, and children alike, all cramped into the small cages.

At twelve they were given a small meal and loaded up onto buses. The bus ride was long and uncomfortable. About an hour in they were transitioned to a train, which they took for the rest of the journey. Around him families were huddled together. Some tried to keep calm for the sake of their children while others shed tears and cast fearful looks at the military men escorting them. More pointedly at the guns they carried.

They ended up at the Tulare county fairgrounds. There they could see a few makeshift buildings, some of which were under construction. They were lead off the bus by armed guards and taken into the horse stables. Each family unit was given a stall, which had been cleaned out but still carried the strong smell of horse shit. They were told that when barracks became available they would be transferred.

There were eight bathroom sites and eight mess halls. They were given the chance to roam freely so Zoro decided to check out the buildings. The bathrooms were communal, male and female, they were in terrible condition and the showers had no curtains. The barracks from what he could see were standing off the ground on concrete struts and covered in tarpaper. Guards walked around with weapons out, giving the feeling that this was a prison and that they were criminals.

When dinner time came around everyone ended up in the mess halls. They were served army rations which were not pleasant and made Zoro long for Sanji's amazing cooking, not that he would ever confess to that.

That night was unpleasant. Zoro tried to use the extra clothes he had brought to lay over the straw to make it more comfortable. The stables did not exactly have the most privacy either, he could hear people talking, shifting, and crying.

He wondered what his friends were doing, probably trying to get on with their lives. He hoped this while thing wouldn't take too long but he had an unpleasant feeling in his stomach that did not offer much hope of that. Normally the swordsman could sleep in any situation but that night he could not sleep.

In the morning people were sorted out with jobs. Professionals were paid eighteen dollars per month, skilled workers were paid sixteen dollars per month, and unskilled workers were paid twelve dollars per month.

Zoro fell under the category of unskilled worker and was assigned to help build barracks.

Life in Tulare was unpleasant, the conditions were rough and they were not suited for people who were sick, pregnant, old, or had small children. There was a general downtrodden aura about the place.

Zoro mostly kept to himself, he went about his work, training when he could, using whatever he could and trying not to think about the friends he had left. They did not have a post office he could use to contact them.

XxxX

May 11, Zoro was moved into the barracks with six strangers. They were all cramped into a sixteen by twenty foot room. All of his new roommates were American citizens, outraged at their treatment. There was a family of four with two teenage boys, and a young couple who had married so that they would not be separated. They were not unpleasant but he did not get to know them well.

Six days later instead of being assigned to work construction, Zoro and a large group of people were chosen to be transferred to a more permanent holding facility. 230 miles northeast of Los Angeles, in Owens Valley, lay the Manzanar Relocation Camp. When he first spotted it coming in on a bus he thought it looked quite odd. The place was surrounded by a five strand barbwire fence attached to a few tall watchtowers. The camp itself sat in the middle of a desert area, snow topped mountains rose ominously in the distance.

Zoro and the others were forced from the buses and marched out in front of a series of long identical buildings by armed guards.

They were sorted into groups and given taken to different barracks which would become their new homes. Zoro was taken to block 8 which contained 15 barracks. He was put into a group with seven other people. A middle age couple with a young daughter and older son, a young couple, and an older man. They were led into one of the barracks which were comprised of four compartments.

It was ill constructed, not unlike those at Tulare, raised about two feet from the ground, which you could see in gaps in the floor, the walls were wooden and covered in tarpaper. The room itself was twenty by twenty-five feet, they were provided two of these rooms to live in each with a light bulb hanging from the ceiling and an oil stove. They were also given steel cots, some mattress covers which they had to stuff with straw, and two scratchy army blankets each.

Zoro became acquainted to his presumably permanent housemates. The Kita family, headed by Haruko and Allison Kita and their two children Mary and Nick. Haruko was a solemn man who now worked in the mess hall, before relocation he had been a store owner and was bitter over the loss. He had come to America for a chance of a better life, while his wife, born and raised an American, was kind and worked as a nurse at a hospital she did her best to keep her head heigh, if only for the kids. Mary and Nick were good kids most of the time, they went to school during the day and made friends. The kids were surprisingly well adapted to life at Manzanar. Their parents had told them that they were on a vacation and they seemed not to be too bothered by the things that went on. Except the armed guards, Zoro overheard them ask why they were there, and their mother had told them that they were there for protection. But they didn't understand why, if they were there for protection, their guns aimed inward and not out.

Catherine and Mark Nakano married as soon as people started being taken away so that they would be placed together like the couple back at Tulare. Catherine worked in the school, Mark helped make supplies for the army.

Shouta Ueno was American born but studied in japan, he was separated from his family when he was taken away. He worked in the fields.

XxxX

Historical stuff:

Japanese families were forced to sell their things and leave their homes with as little time as 48 hours. I also feel like Zoro would have tried something really stupid in this situation but I didn't want him arrested and when people were taken away it was probably a bit more forceful. Over 127,000 citizens, two-thirds Nisei were taken into camps.

April 9, 1942, the Wartime Civil Control Administration was established. Under WCCA people had to stay in fair grounds or horse sheds because there weren't facilities for them. March 18, 1942, the Wartime Relocation Authority took over. The WRA dealt with the actual facilities after they were built by those being held there.

Tulare Assembly Center was a WCCA facility that opened April 20, 1942 and closed September 4, 1942. It was in fact a fairground. It had a peak population of about 5,000. There were about 100 barracks inside the grounds and 55 outside.

Manzanar opened march 21, 1942, it was the first of ten facilities to be developed. By september the population at Manzanar was about 10,000, around ninety percent from the LA area. At peak it held 10,046 and in total it held around 11,000 people. 504 barracks in 36 blocks. June first the WRA took over from the WCCA.

Thanks.