This is the first new chapter in THREE YEARS!!
Please stick with it, the story will be completely fantastic (it's already mostly thought out!)
As always, I appreciate the reviews… they help me to update faster!! Thank You!
Closing his bedroom door quietly behind himself, Zoro slammed his back against its wooden frame.
How could he have been dumb enough to get close to Luffy in real life? It had seemed so much like every dream, so much so that he reacted as-if it was. Zoro had lost all grip on reality the second Luffy's head had touched his shoulder. The captain was obviously incapable of having any kind of relationship with any human being, let alone another man, and least of all Zoro. Besides that, he was just so damn innocent… that was part of the problem of course… it was somehow very attractive to the former pirate hunter.
Zoro beat himself up for several more minutes before putting on his pj's and heading to bed. As penance for his lack of self-control and discipline, he would do a minimum of 2,000 push-ups the next morning with a possibility of extra punishment depending on how many times these thoughts reoccurred in the process. Zoro curled up under the covers, but felt just as alert as he had before going upstairs. Unable to shut his brain off yet again, he kept replaying the scene with Luffy in his head.
'Damn Luffy for getting so close when I'm sleep deprived! Baka, baka, BAKA! At least Nami hadn't been on guard duty... I can only imagine the rumors that would fly.'
Not that the ship's navigator would ever stoop to such a lowly, manly job as guard duty. She had instead been doing the wake up calls until chopper came onboard. There was a certain event that had led to Nami giving up her duties as ship rooster… and Zoro grinned widely at the thought of it.
A seemingly infinite time went by where the first mate tried desperately not to dwell on thoughts of his captain, but he finally succumbed to the barrage of Luffys in his head. Almost instantly at the signal of his mental surrender, Zoro's eyelids became heavy and he began to slump as he had on deck. Something about Luffy just seemed to zap your strength, whether he was actually present or not. It was as-if his own enormous energy was generated by those around him.
Finally falling into a deep sleep, the swordsman began to dream…
Morning…
Tony Tony Chopper was excited to begin his rounds today. It was always much easier to wake the crew on landing day because the promise of new adventure and experiences was enough to lure them out of bed without too many beatings from the normally friendly reindeer doctor. To make things even easier, Chopper usually only had to wake Luffy to stir the rest. The captain's voice was loud enough to travel through walls and could probably be picked up on sonar… or by aliens in space. Ignoring the usual "Entry Fee: ten pounds of MEAT!" sign, Chopper entered the captain's quarters and proceeded to beat the crap out of Luffy, the only sure means of waking him. Rooster Duty (as Usopp had coined it) was an exercise in war; and the doctor had risen to the title of Surgeon General in his own mind.
Two people were rarely, if ever, included in the morning patrol because they woke even earlier than their reindeer crewmate. Nami and Robin had developed a habit of rising at dawn to sit on the deck with steaming hot coffee, and watch the sun rise over a fresh new batch of gossip. It was one of the few times in a typical day where anyone so much as heard from Robin, who tended to keep to herself. Nami was beyond ecstatic to have another woman on the ship to talk with. Between Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper, there was no shortage of communication among the small crew, but the navigator only participated in their conversations when absolutely necessary. There was no reason to senselessly lose brain cells with Robin onboard.
Below Deck…
As Chopper approached the swordsman's door, he was reminded of the event that had led to his current position as Ship Rooster. He wasn't going to think about it now, but the mere thought brought a smile to his face. Looking around, Tony noticed how cluttered and destroyed Zoro's room was. Nothing had a home and clothes were scattered all over the floor. The only things in their proper place were the three swords of Roronoa Zoro, except that the white one was missing? Chopper looked around for the missing weapon only to find it next to the sleeping first mate. Noticing his facial expression, the doctor determined that he must be dreaming… or perhaps having a nightmare? Unsure of what to do, Chopper sat on a reasonably clean spot of the ground to see if he could determine which it was.
There was no immediate need to wake Zoro… the rest of the crew was fighting for bathroom privileges and there was still several hours before they would land on the beach of Desire Island. It had just recently come into view according to Usopp, who was now catching up on his own sleep below deck. He would only be missing breakfast anyway, and Zoro seemed not to care much for food since the alcohol reserves had dried up anyway. As he focused on the sleeping figure's facial expressions, the doctor diagnosed his current status.
Rolling around in Zoro's head…
-Heavy Breathing-
Zoro was running through the forest at top speed. He didn't know how he'd gotten there, or what he was looking for… but there was definitely a purpose. It was so dark that he couldn't see more than two feet in front of himself, not that it mattered. Zoro had navigated this treacherous pathway hundreds of times and no longer needed the light from the moon or stars. He seemed to run for hours before coming up on the grove he'd been searching for… the one where he and Kuina had dueled so many times before he was known as "pirate hunter" or "first mate." In fact, he hadn't even been a proper swordsman in those days…
Suddenly he was in his adolescent form holding a basic training sword. At the far end of the ring of trees was a figure he recognized all too well; that of his first training partner. Zoro dashed to close the gap between them in excitement when he noticed a straw hat upon her head. She was still facing with her back to the young boy, but Zoro was sure that Kuina was right there.
He called her name, but she didn't respond, and he seemed to be making less and less progress the closer he got. It was then that Zoro noticed she wasn't holding the sword he had always admired. It was laying discarded to her right along with the two broken swords he'd challenged Mihawk with back at the Baratie. Kuina turned around at that instant, black blade in hand as she leapt towards him and….
"ZORO! ZORO WAKE UP!!"
The reindeer had managed to wake him in time to avoid that particular outcome, but it had only occurred to him to try when the swordsman was literally screaming. It was so strange because Zoro always slept so peacefully, never seeming even to dream. What could he possibly have been imagining?
As Zoro's eyes focused, he saw Chopper standing over him in heavy point form, shaking the poor swordsman like a rag doll. He quickly pushed the doctor away and jumped out of bed, ignoring the tear trails coming from his own eyes. The last thing he wanted to think about was that dream right now. It had been so different from the previous ones, but somehow more real than reality.
Chopper stopped him as he was ready to leave the room.
"At least it wasn't Nami waking you up today."
"Heh. After last time, I don't think that would ever happen again."
"You're right. That really was a brilliant plan Zoro."
The past…
Nami had been going out of her way to wake Zoro first lately, for no apparent reason. She would use anything to embarrass him and even added to his debt for the clutter in his room. The swordsman devised an ingenious plan to ruin all of Nami's fun forever… one night he slept naked.
The rest of the crew woke soon after she had walked in, making it unnecessary to complete her rounds; not that she was in any particular state to do so. Zoro had spent the rest of the day in Chopper's clinic for that trick. Nami could be more dangerous than all of Baroque Works put together when she wanted.
Chopper, being the ship's doctor, had seen all of his nakama without their clothing more than he could remember. He had to heal injuries in addition to performing his standard monthly physicals. You could never be too careful on the Grand Line. In passing one day, the navigator decided to poke fun at Chopper...
"Chopper, I don't know how you can stand to look at all that flesh every day and still feel as-if you have any sense of morals. Are you some kind of pervert? Hmmmmm??"
The reindeer chuckled, "Does it bother you to see a dog without clothing?"
He quickly made an escape before she boiled over… but he was too slow. Even jump point wouldn't have been enough to escape Nami's wrath. Apparently she didn't like being compared to a dog.
The Present…
"Chopper, can we keep this between us?" Zoro wiped the moisture from his face as he prepared to head for the shower. Hopefully the other idiots would be done fighting over it by now.
"Doctor-patient confidentiality. Try not to dwell on it Zoro, the meaning will likely reveal itself sooner than later."
"When did you get so smart?" Zoro said as he casually strolled down the corridor, likely towards a fight with Sanji. That's how it always went this early.
"Even if you say that I won't be happy, stupid human. A doctor should be versed in all forms of healing, mentally too."
With Rooster Duty completed for the day, the crew began preparing for their adventure on Desire Island, as Usopp informed Nami of some code red gossip.
Next Chapter - The crew arrives at Desire Island and Nami starts getting suspicious about certain people... What will happen? What is the meaning of the island? And how does Gold Roger fit into it all? Find out on the next piece of One Piece (sorry, couldn't help myself)!
