Zoro was on the cliff's edge again.

Only this time the sun was rising, a small sliver of light was all that could be seen above the dark horizon. Zoro felt the same tranquil feeling wash over him as before. And just like before, his senses were greeted with the presence of a certain cook and the scent of cigarette smoke. Sanji stood there watching the sun rise, occasionally releasing puffs of smoke from him mouth, almost as if in a trance. The cook seemed so out of it that Zoro doubted if he would stir even if Nami had the incentive to walk in front of them in a bikini.

Zoro decided he would try to poke the cook awake. But he didn't expect Sanji to catch his outstretched hand halfway, its original destination being the cook's curly brow. Sanji seemed as surprised as Zoro to find his hand clasped around the swordsman's, fingers intertwined. Zoro watched, intrigued as Sanji's face turned pink then gradually became red. Zoro found himself laughing quietly, the cook scowling at him, but he never let go of his hand.

Zoro awoke from his dream, a smile still on his face.

He had fallen asleep on the deck again, he realized, and had dreamt about Sanji, again. Sanji who had held his hand… 'What the hell?' Zoro reflected upon the dream and decided not to think too much about it. It was just a dream after all…

But it was then that Zoro realized he was being watched. He glanced around to find Robin smiling at him.

"Swordsman-san, did you have a pleasant dream? You had such a kind expression earlier…" The woman seemed genuinely interested but Zoro was not in the mood to share such an embarrassing dream.

"It was alright…" Zoro shrugged and looked away pointedly.

Robin seemed to get the hint and didn't press anymore, for which Zoro was thankful, but she continued to stand there and smile at him. Zoro got the feeling that she was analyzing him like some kind of test subject and shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

A loud bang sounded as the kitchen door was thrown open and Luffy flew out of it. He landed gracefully (on his face) on the deck a couple yards from where Zoro was sitting. A very pissed off-looking cook followed.

"Luffy you idiot!" Sanji stalked toward Luffy threateningly. "I swear if I catch you anywhere near the kitchen again I'll cut out your tongue with my butcher knife, you hear?!" Sanji yelled red-faced at the captain.

Luffy just nodded and clapped his hands over his mouth.

"Hey Cook! Don't kill our captain okay?" Zoro called, grinning. Sanji turned to look at Zoro, frowning.

"And why shouldn't I? He nearly ate everyone's lunch. Unless…" Sanji smirked. "You wanna be his whipping-boy?"

Zoro snorted. "As if I'd let you touch me Crap Cook. Bring it on!" He stood up and grabbed his swords, unsheathing two of them.

Sanji stuck his hands in his pockets. "Give me all you've got, Marimo."

The two eyed each other from a distance for a moment before Zoro charged at the cook. When Zoro reached him Sanji ducked the swords aimed at him and kicked out with his legs at Zoro's. Zoro jumped, seeing an opening with Sanji's back turned, and tried striking at him. Sanji twisted at the last moment and caught the sword with his leg in mid-swing. But Zoro felt Sanji falter and saw an unmistakable wince. The cook tried to cover it up with a scowl and lashed out again towards Zoro's torso, which he barely managed to block with his arm.

It had been two days since Zoro gave Sanji a massage to help with his back pain. Zoro knew it was possible for that type of injury to return. Even so, Sanji was holding his own against him. There was no reason to go easy on him.

Zoro swung out again at the cook and he jumped over the sword.

"Yeah! Go Sanji! Go Zoro! Hey Nami, who do you think is gonna win?" Luffy's voice was heard over the fighting. The two had been unaware that anyone was watching.

"As long as the ship isn't damaged I could care less, Luffy." Nami replied, leaning back against the railing beside Robin, who was also watching. Chopper was hiding behind Robin's leg. Usopp was nowhere to be seen…

Sanji kicked at Zoro's head and the swordsman ducked. It was clear from Zoro's expression that he was enjoying the fight. Sanji seemed completely focused on the fight and nothing else. Zoro decided that the cook should loosen up.

When Sanji aimed another strike at Zoro's torso, he ducked and squatted behind the cook. Acting fast, he turned his sword around and aimed the sword hilt at Sanji's buttocks.

The yelp resounding from the cook sent the crew howling with laughter, while an embarrassed Sanji chased after Zoro, the swordsman too busy laughing to bother fighting anymore.

"Land-ho!" Usopp called from the Crows Nest.

"Hooray!" Came Luffy's response. The rest of the crew's cheers followed.

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"Why do I have to go with them?" Zoro complained to Nami.

The crew was preparing to go ashore and get supplies. It had been established that their nakama would split into two groups. One, being Nami, Luffy, Robin, and Usopp to go get an estimate on how long it would take for the log pose to set. The other was Sanji, Chopper and Zoro to get supplies and food from the marketplace.

"Because, Zoro! Sanji and Chopper need a pack-mule to carry the supplies." Nami grinned.

Zoro's eyebrow twitched. "Do I look like a mule to you?!"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"…No." Zoro grabbed his swords and trudged over to where Sanji was waiting by the ramp smoking a cigarette. He could swear the cook was hiding a smirk.

A minute later Chopper scampered out from below deck and they all were ready to go. The two groups split and Zoro followed Sanji into the marketplace that was conveniently close to their ship. At least he wouldn't have to carry things very far.

They made their way through the thickening crowds to a booth Sanji had pointed out.

"Hello!" A cheery voice sounded from a young lady behind a counter.

Sanji was immediately in flirt mode. "Ah! Such a beautiful woman! You are the rose that…"

Zoro tuned the rest out. Instead he looked at his surroundings. They were in a spice and herb shop it seemed. Across the street was a fruit stand. He wondered if they would go there next. Sanji was good at making fruit sauces. He was pulled out of his thoughts when chopper pulled at his pants leg.

"Zoro, I want to go to the booth down the street. I'll be right back." Chopper pointed to a first aid shop.

Zoro nodded and the little deer slipped into the crowd. Sanji was still flirting with the woman behind the counter, but she seemed to be uncomfortable with the attention. Zoro shifted on his feet.

He was just wondering when Sanji would actually stop and buy the damn herbs when he felt something touch his ass. Zoro wouldn't have cared if the person's hands hadn't been so close to his swords. When the hand started fondling his right cheek, Zoro snatched the person's wrist and gave him a dark look. The man looked startled and Zoro let him run away.

'Damn pervert…' Zoro scowled.

Zoro looked around. Chopper wasn't back yet.

"Hey, idiot." Zoro said to Sanji who was in the middle of doing some odd kind of wiggle. He wouldn't ask. "I'm going to go check on Chopper. I'll be back."

Zoro stepped into the thick crowd. People kept bumping into him as he spied the first aid booth and headed in that direction. About halfway there he spotted Chopper. The little reindeer was trying to maneuver through people's feet while carrying a bag of supplies. He was doing a fairly good job avoiding being trampled until someone decided to kick him. Chopper fell, his bag of medicines spilled on the ground.

Zoro reached him and shielded Chopper from the crowd while the little doctor gathered his supplies. He then quickly patched and disinfected a scrape on his knee.

"You alright?" Zoro asked him.

Chopper nodded but as the deer peered up at Zoro his expression turned sour and his wide eyes filled with tears.

"I'm f-fine." The little reindeer hiccupped.

'He must have been scared.' Zoro mused and his expression softened.

Zoro scooped Chopper into his arms and headed back to Sanji while Chopper sniffled into his shirt. They had walked awhile until Chopper pointed out the direction of the shop that was behind them.

"Oh. Right." Zoro turned around.

Chopper laughed.

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Sanji had finished purchasing his herbs when Zoro with the little doctor in his arms appeared. Zoro answered Sanji's questioning stare with a shrug.

"The people on this island are not very polite. They knocked Chopper down." Zoro hadn't mentioned the part about the man touching his ass, but it wasn't hard to see why.

"Yeah." Sanji agreed rubbing his cheek where the lady had smacked him. Zoro noticed the red handprint on the cook's face and grinned.

"Y-You can let me down now, Zoro. I'll just turn into Walk Point (deer) form, if you'll carry my bag." Chopper asked nervously.

Zoro nodded and set the little deer down, taking his bag and fixing it on his shoulder. Chopper immediately grew to reindeer proportions.

"Come on, I want to go across the street." Sanji handed Zoro his bag of herbs. "And be careful with these. I don't want them crushed."

Zoro's senses were assaulted with the strong, fresh scent of herbs and he fought the urge to sneeze.

"What is this crap?" Zoro inhaled again. The smell was actually… pleasant but he would never tell the cook that.

"It's not crap, Marimo. Chives, cilantro, basil, oregano…" Sanji trailed off, probably thinking of what he would use them for.

Zoro lightly pushed Sanji toward the direction of the fruit stand. "Come on, Crap Cook. The quicker we get this done the faster I can get back to training."

Sanji grinned. "You'll be getting plenty of training with all the materials I'm going to make you carry."

Zoro scowled but decided he didn't really mind. It was just another way to train, right?

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Within the next hour Sanji had loaded Zoro up with enough food to kill a normal man with its weight, but Zoro had barely broken a sweat.

"We have one more place to go." Sanji pointed over to the butcher shop.

Zoro followed Sanji into the shop, leaving a few crates outside with Chopper. Zoro stood there while Sanji conversed with the man and finally decided on a big hunk of some kind of red meat and a few pounds of fish.

"Here you go." The burly man said, handing Sanji the bag of goods over the counter.

Sanji picked it up but hadn't thought of how heavy it would be. He had avoided straining his back any further throughout the day but his back muscles were now screaming at him as stumbled over to Zoro and handed him the bag.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "You're hurting again?"

Sanji frowned and leant against the wall. "D-Don't worry about it."

Zoro shrugged and let Sanji walk past him toward the door.

"Wait." Zoro grabbed Sanji's wrist just before he reached the opening. "I… can do it again, if you need me to. I mean…"

Sanji looked surprised.

"…Alright. Later, okay?"

Zoro nodded and let go of the cook's arm. The two were a bit embarrassed at the contact. Well, Zoro was, but Sanji was thinking about the previous night's massage, which led to his discomfort. Sanji opened the door with slightly flushed cheeks and greeted Chopper. Zoro followed and picked up the crates, balancing the other items on various parts of his body.

On the way back, the trio had walked into a rather shady part of the town that Sanji swore was a short-cut. Various prostitutes beckoned them from the street and the cook politely turned them all down. A shop caught Zoro's eye. The store was obviously a pleasure shop; it was carrying a multitude of toys and lingerie that could be seen through the dark windows. But Zoro was looking at a sign that said, "2-in-1 Massage/Lubricant satisfying both you and your partners needs with no stopping in between!"

Zoro's mind was immediately filled with the memory of Sanji's creamy, smooth skin and he imagined himself pouring a clear substance onto the back of the cook and watching Sanji shiver…

The swordsman stopped himself there and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth. Zoro was completely red-faced. 'Pervert…' he told himself. But he couldn't stop from looking at the back of Sanji's head and then, lower… Zoro turned away and shuddered.

This could not be happening.

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To Be Continued.

Finally! I'm sorry for taking so long on this. I don't have a good excuse… I got lost? (works for Zoro…)

Whatever! This chapter is done and I am eager to start the next!

Thanks for the reviews too! I love the support!

Next up: Massage #2

Disclaimer: I have no ownage partaking of the One Piece and its esteemed characters.