Hey chapter 2 is up. I have gotten some reviews praising the cuteness. Thanks! I tried my best to make both of them likable and Luffy cute, but not too cute.
I know some won't like this, but the story gets darker each chapter. There is still adorable Luffy and Zoro moments throughout, but it does get darker. If you only want the fluff, you may want to stop near the middle of this chapter, when Luffy wakes up from hearing something.
There will be minor characters in the next chapter from the crew, but very minor. The story is almost entirely devoted to Zoro and Luffy.
So, all in all, beware. The cuteness doesn't last forever. Pretty sure there are 4 more chapters. And I won't be adding any characters except some crew and a few characters from some other part of he anime/show for even more minor characters. More like plot-driving characters. Enjoy~
Zoro had been traveling during the night with Luffy for two weeks now and knew almost everything he needed to know about him to take care of him. Luffy always woke up exactly when the sun went down, he would point somewhere and jump when he needed to go to the bathroom (thank god he was potty trained), he liked to get in the water instead of washed with a towel, his favorite food (deer first and squirrel second because he could walk around and eat), his teddy bear was now a must no matter where they went or what they were doing, and most important, he could talk and understand a lot of what Zoro said.
Zoro could hear him make semi-coherent sentences in his sleep, but when he was awake he was practically mute. When he said something like "mama, papa" in his sleep, it would be "pama, mapa" when he was awake, like his brain would mess words up when he was awake on purpose. He only said "pama" "and "mapa" after he woke up. It was sad when Zoro had to tell him that they had gone somewhere else. He couldn't bring himself to tell him the truth, that his family was dead. Why else would he be have been walking around the island by himself with blood on his feet?
Zoro had been eating what was left after Luffy drank. It saved time and energy to "share." Zoro hated eating raw in his normal form, so he changed into a wolf to eat. They had passed through a village that was completely deserted, no remains of any sort of creature. All he could think of about this was since it was centred around a lake, it most likely had been a waterfolk village, and that's why there were no dead bodies despite it being abandoned with broken houses here and there. Waterfolk turned into water when they died, which is why there were so many flowers. It was tradition to water flowers with a loved ones remains, which caused flowers to bloom oddly.
There had been edible food growing in the abandoned gardens, since they were much better at growing their own food than the fairies. Zoro made sure not to eat anything that came from an area even close to the weirdly bloomed flowers. It was super obvious which flowers were special since their petals were rainbow and had very large blossoms.
Zoro also found out that Luffy could eat food other than blood, only it didn't sate him. He could eat a whole crate full of ripe watermelon and be hungry a minute afterwards. Zoro himself preferred regular food instead of raw meat, but beggars can't be choosers. He'd always been like that; doesn't waste anything and takes what he can get.
One day it was raining pretty intensely, so it was hard for the two to find somewhere to stay and keep dry. Luffy would have played in the rain if the sun wasn't coming up soon; vampires seem to know when the sun was coming up or going down, which is why Luffy woke up and fell asleep when he did. That first day he was really out of whack. Maybe it was because he had been sheltered so intensely that he hadn't developed the skill to know both when it was time for a vampire to go to bed and why the sunlight is bad.
They eventually found a cave on the side of a small rocky mountain, more like a large hill. The topography of the island was pretty diverse. The elevation was quite random, having mountains that have snow and flat land as hot as you can imagine, but those terrains were around the edge of the land, the middle being mostly forest. There were some minor mountains here and there, so they were staying in a cave embedded in one.
It continued to rain throughout the day, keeping Zoro awake. He wrapped his arms around a shivering Luffy, who woke up to the loud thunder that had just started. Apparently, Luffy was not a fan of thunder and lightning and was shaking in fear. Usually he slept deeply and only the sun or Zoro shaking him woke him up, but thunder was a different story.
The small mountain started to get slick and muddy and rocks began to fall in front of the mouth of the cave. A landslide was happening, and if they didn't get out soon, they'd be trapped. Zoro trusted his instincts, and they were screaming at him to get out of the cave now. He hurriedly put the mittens on Luffy's hands and pulled the boy's hood up. He had to get Luffy out but back in shade somewhere away from the sun quickly, since it was still early in the afternoon, and even though it was cloudy, the sun's rays were still coming through some parts of the clouds.
There were patches of sunlight out on the flat, muddy land in front of the rocky hill, moving with the clouds. The treeline looked much farther that he had thought when it was dark. He cursed himself for picking this spot in the first place, though it seemed like a good choice last night.
To say Luffy didn't want to come out was an understatement. He had his own instincts and they told him the opposite of Zoro's. To stay in the cave, away from the sunlight. He remembered too well the first time he carelessly stepped into the sunlight. Zoro almost ended up having to drag him out screaming.
"Luffy! I know you don't want to come out but we will get stuck in there if we stay! I'm here with you, you'll be okay!" Luffy looked at Zoro and steeled himself for a couple long seconds, then swallowed, grabbing his teddy and nodding hesitantly, snot and tears dripping down his chin. Zoro put his backpacks on and sprinted out, towing Luffy behind him. Luffy was screaming in fear as they ran down the face of the muddy small mountain. If they hadn't been in such a hurry, Zoro would have taken out the umbrella to give him extra protection from not the rain, but the sun.
It was nerve wracking to have to dodge the sun's rays while also trying not to slip in the mud and get buried under rocks. Luffy was crying the whole way, hugging his teddy bear for dear life. His screams of terror whenever he was near a sunny patch was heartbreaking to Zoro. He felt responsible, which was ridiculous - they needed to leave - but he still felt it was his fault Luffy was so scared.
By the time they made it to the treeline, they were both soaked, their legs and shoes covered in mud. Luffy's whole face and front was muddy from falling in a puddle right before entering the woods. He was crying loudly and rocking back and forth under a shadow. Zoro got down and kneeled in front of him, then picked him up and walked through the trees, looking for any shelter available, all the while rubbing his back and mumbling comforting words. He could only imagine how scary it must have been being right next to something that could kill him within a few minutes.
Luffy eventually fell asleep with one arm around Zoro's neck and the other pressed against his chest with his thumb in his mouth. Usually Zoro could find some place to rest relatively easily, but this place was different. The trees had seemed much denser last night. There were no large patches of trees that they could snuggle in between and be safe under the thick foliage. Zoro had to walk in zig zags at some times because the shadows were so choppy. They were cutting it really close.
Zoro walked around for over an hour before giving up and making a shelter himself out of semi-thick branches he broke off of trees and peeled long pieces of bark off the trunks for a roof. Luffy was sleeping under Zoro's jacket as well now, trying to make sure as best as he could that Luffy wouldn't get burned, as Zoro built a little fort around and above him. Before Zoro fell asleep, he gently wiped the mud off of Luffy's face, stopping every time Luffy gave a noise, sounding like he was going to wake up. Once the little vampire's face was clean, Zoro laid down next to him.
After a while, finally Zoro fell asleep next to Luffy, who was sleep talking about the scary sun. Zoro had never thought taking care of someone else would be so exhausting, although rewarding. He had to put Luffy before himself, and it was tiring. He was lucky Luffy was so tiny. Although his legs were small and made him a slow walker, he could be carried easily; he weighed next to nothing. Zoro hadn't been having any nightmares while he slept with his brother, something that calmed him immensely at night, but Luffy still had them. He still dreamt of the carnage he couldn't yet identify. He dreamt of his mama screaming and then being shut in the darkness and the silence that followed as he got out and walked down the road. Zoro would hug Luffy to himself when the little vampire had a nightmare and would make sure his bear (named Shanks for some reason, though he rarely voiced its name) was in his arms. For some reason, even though they had only been together for a few weeks, Zoro couldn't handle the thought of something happening to his little vampire brother. If he lost him somehow, it would crush Zoro. Just seeing Luffy cry had broken his heart.
The two had been together for another week, things going surprisingly smoothly after the rock slide incident. Zoro had decided they should take a break from traveling to who knows where and settle for a little bit. Luffy obviously couldn't really understand why they stopped walking, so even when Zoro would stop or turn to a village, Luffy kept walking straight. Eventually Zoro ended up having to carry him so he wouldn't wander off.
They came across another deserted waterfolk village next to a wide river, Zoro assuming again that everyone had died since there were no remains. They searched every house, most being surprisingly intact. They only settled down in one when they found a very large bed, clean and in a room with a large window, where Zoro could see if anyone was coming towards them. After putting most of their belongings onto the bed, keeping the first aid supplies with them of course, they walked to other houses looking for food. Once again, there were many gardens with fresh fruit and vegetables. Zoro didn't have any clue on how to cook anything, so they ate the food raw. They also found a well in the back of someone's backyard and filled their empty water bottles. They had been lucky to not get sick with all the river and creek water they would drink since there were lakes and rivers near the very center of the island, then spreading out to the edges where the rivers met the sea. This was where most of the waterfolk lived.
Zoro let Luffy have a real bath for the first time in a while after they ate a deer (Luffy was still a messy eater), holding his hand the whole time even though they found a shallow part of the river. Luffy was happily splashing in the water with his feet, getting Zoro's face wet. He was in the water too, so he splashed Luffy back, causing Luffy to give a small giggle. It was the first time Zoro had heard Luffy laugh and it was adorable. Luffy had wanted to bring Shanks with him - he hated being separated from it - but Zoro had to tell Luffy he couldn't bring it. Luffy was pouting until they got in the water, but thankfully the bath seemed to melt his pouty mood and make him happy.
When Luffy started to shiver, Zoro decided they should get out and go back to their little house. He hadn't thought far enough ahead to get a towel from somewhere, so when they were done, they dressed back into their clothes and walked back to their temporary house quickly so they wouldn't get a cold in the chilly night air.
The little boy was overjoyed to have something comfortable to sleep on, and was out like a light once he touched it. Zoro had the best day's sleep in a long time in that bed. Too bad it was the last for a while.
When nighttime came and Luffy woke up, he heard movement outside before he saw it. He jumped up on the bed and for the first time in over a week, muttered Zoro's name, waking up the werewolf immediately. Zoro knew Luffy only spoke when he felt he needed to, so he knew something was wrong. Zoro hid them, which had become a self-preservation habit; when in doubt, hide. He pulled Luffy down behind the side of the bed that wasn't facing the window. Luffy knew to be quiet even before Zoro put his finger to his lips, and he nodded his little head, covering his mouth with his hands.
As whoever had alerted Luffy got louder and closer, Zoro could smell they were humans, and smelled like old and dry vampire blood. Poor Luffy must have recognized the smell because he now had his hand pinching his nose instead of covering his mouth, whether because it smelled bad or brought back bad memories, Zoro didn't know. He put his arm around Luffy and patted his head.
"Why are we even here? All of the waterfolk are dead. Smoker's group took care of them. Wish I was in his group; watching them basically melt is satisfying," a man said and then laughed.
"You know why, Bellamy. Those little footprints lead here," said one human man irritably. Zoro cursed himself for not thinking about that, although there was no real way to cover up their prints. He also didn't pay much attention to them since it was always dark out and they didn't exactly stand out. "I'd be surprised if they are even still alive. I mean, one of the kids must be really young to have such tiny prints."
"I feel bad for them…" one woman said.
She got what sounded like a hard slap to the face, surprising Zoro. Humans are evil, they'd proven it to him once again. "Don't say stuff like that in front of me, Conis. These creatures are evil, kids or not. They must be eradicated. It's our job and destiny to make humans feel safe again," said the man who replied to Bellamy. The woman didn't speak again.
The footsteps got closer to the front door, and Zoro took a chance and grabbed the closest backpack and broke through the window, Luffy and Shanks in his arms. He sprinted in the opposite direction than where the humans came from towards the closest patch of trees. He was thankful it was dark out so they had some cover, but was in such a hurry didn't register the smallish group in front of them, and ran right through them. The group of humans were surprised to see a kid and a toddler running through the trees during the middle of the night. But they knew they weren't humans by the speed of Zoro's sprinting and started shooting what Zoro could only assume were some sort of tranquilizer since the moment he was hit, he began to feel sleepy. A dart hit him in the leg, but he kept running. He only fell when three more were embedded in his back below the bottom of his pack. Luffy made an "oof" sound as Zoro landed on top of him. He laid across Luffy's small body in a protective manner. Zoro refused to lose consciousness as long as he was with Luffy.
"Zoro, Zoro! Gots ta go!" Luffy shouted, saying the most amount of words Zoro had heard him ever speak while conscious. Luffy tried pushing up against his chest, but Zoro wouldn't budge. Luffy was trapped there, and even though he was a vampire, he was still a child and didn't have super strength yet.
"I'll protect you Luffy. I won't ever leave you alone!" Zoro slurred loudly as he was suddenly yanked off the little vampire. "Luffy!" he shouted as he was dragged away by the arm, scraping his legs on the gravelly ground. Luckily his feet were protected, since he insisted they wear all their clothes even when sleeping in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Luffy started wailing and tried getting up and following Zoro, who was shouting obscenities at the humans. Luffy was grabbed by his raincoat - which he wore at all times since he was terrified of the sun even more than before the rock slide incident - and picked up harshly, screaming in fear.
"Be quiet, monster," the man who grabbed him, Bellamy, snarled under his breath right next to Luffy's face. The man's crazy expression scared him. The little boy was smart enough to stop screaming, but couldn't stop the sniffles. The woman who had expressed pity for them moments ago stood a couple meters away with a hand shaped pink spot on her cheek, watching the scene sadly.
Though Zoro was still out of it, he was furious. He started to change back, ready to tear apart these humans scaring the only good thing in his life, but felt something put to his head. He had never seen a gun before, but could tell it was something bad. The people who had lived on this island had been behind the humans in technological advances due to the influence of magic and isolation from the rest of the world, so he had never seen a gun before.
"Don't even think about it you stupid mutt," said the man who had talked to Bellamy before told Zoro with a sadistic smirk. Zoro snarled but changed back into his normal form.
"Let's take them back," a man with a top hat and black hair said to the rest of the group, and they started walking back to wherever they had come from.
Luffy started to cry about losing his bear, not knowing the kinder human woman, Conis, had picked it up for him, even though it had blood stains on it. He was only a toddler, so she felt he deserved some kindness; she didn't really feel anything for Zoro. He seemed like a rude child, though she shouldn't really blame him. Humans did most likely kill everyone he knew.
Zoro was walking, livid with the fact that he now was forced to wear a collar, held by two humans on either side of him. Luffy was being carried under the arm of someone, uncomfortably smooshed between the man's inner elbow and torso, but at least he could suck his thumb in this position, helping calm himself down, though the sniffling hadn't stopped. Every few seconds, Zoro would look over and check on Luffy. It was a long walk, he could tell, and was concerned how long it was till the sun came up. It had taken Zoro and Luffy hours just to go down this path from another village and where they were headed had come from another direction.
The stupid humans stopped for multiple breaks, eating and resting their bodies. Zoro and Luffy rarely had to rest when they walked long distances. Humans were weak. Even though they were resting, they still had an iron grip on Luffy and Zoro. Luffy mumbled "hunry," pissing Zoro off that they didn't acknowledge him at all, though he didn't really expect them to. Usually Zoro would give Luffy some snacks he rummaged from cupboards in houses instead of hunting for something and having Luffy feed off that. Hunting was for meals, not snacks.
Zoro yanked on the leash trying to get to Luffy. He watched as the kinder woman discreetly handed the little vampire his teddy bear. Luffy's arm wrapped around it and his thumb entered his mouth again. The woman looked away from Luffy to Zoro and told the man still holding his leash to take a break, since the guy was complaining about his hand cramping. He agreed and handed it to her to hold. She brought Zoro to Luffy, the two hugging and Zoro rubbing his back comfortingly. He whispered encouraging words about how they would be free soon. Luffy expressed concern about the sun with a single word: "Burn."
The woman, Conis, heard this and it clicked that the little boy was a vampire. She had expected him to be a werewolf like his... friend, brother? The young vampire had no traits to identify him as one yet. He didn't have a red gleam in his eyes yet, he wasn't super fast, given he moved rather slowly, he certainly wasn't graceful, and there was no interaction between the two regarding mutual dislike, like usual. Vampires and werewolves did not generally get along. She was glad that the werewolf was smart enough to keep the little one in a large, thick raincoat for protection. Even if she told any of the others, they wouldn't care if he burned to death at all. They would laugh and watch him as he screamed.
Conis told the others she would be taking them to use the bathroom in the woods, which no one really paid attention to since some of the men had pulled out some booze and were having a good time. She wasn't going to let them go, but if she went on ahead, they might make it back before the sun came up. She didn't care if she was hit or not, it just felt wrong to her to let someone so young, human or not, die in such a painful manner when she could do something to prevent it.
Zoro was confused about this woman's actions. They walked along the edge of the forest until they found a turn and walked on the road, unable to be seen because of the turn on the road. Why was she being nice? She was a disgusting, evil murderer.
"What are you doing?" Zoro asked as he carried Luffy.
"I don't want to see a toddler burn to death. We are almost there anyway," she said, not looking at either of them. She then asked Zoro their names.
"None of your business. We don't plan on being taken back to your place you know," he said as he yanked on the leash, but the woman was stronger than she looked and had an iron grip and he realized this collar weakened him. How they learned about moonstones, he didn't know, but it pissed him off to no end. These humans just kept violating this island over and over. He started to turn into a wolf, putting Luffy down next to him, but the leash choked him when he transformed even a little bit. He swore loudly and picked Luffy back up, grudgingly walking the same speed as Conis, as she had introduced herself.
She then began to try and have a conversation with him, which wasn't going anywhere since he refused to answer any of her questions about their situation. She sighed and gave up on it, starting to walk faster because she could see light on the horizon behind them. It had been a very long night for her and she was tired. Zoro also sped up, turning Luffy around so he couldn't freak out when he saw the brightening sky behind them.
DAMN THIS CHAPTER WAS LONG! I wonder which characters from the crew will appear next chapter? Read and review please.
