A/N: Woo, here we go! Finally, chapter three! And the plot thickens... or more likely, the plot is born. XD I kept ya waiting, but this one was pretty much longer than an average chapter, and it's starting to get a bit deeper. This part actually doesn't fit in with the first chapters, but that's just fine. It'll make the set unique, lol. This one actually divides to three parts, titled The Attack, Exchange and Talk. In my head. I wasn't sure if I should post The Attack, since it kind of messes with the narration. BUT I STICKED IT IN ANYWAY.

Lol, enjoy.

Whoosh.

There was a blur of orange and yellow and a low "ouch" as the blonde cook of the Going Merry tossed a pile of vegetables at Zoro.

"What the hell", the swordsman snarled as he stared at the carrots and swedes he'd just been wronged by. A small knife flew at him from the same direction the veggies had come from and with a small thunk embedded into the wood of the ship's railing. Zoro stared at the man suddenly attacking him with rage written all over his face.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, ERO-COOK?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Pfft, like a hard-headed moron like you would die from such a small blade. You've been slacking off an awful lot lately though, so your magical swordman powers might have disappeared. Or?"

Zoro gasped for breath like a fish out of water. What is with the sudden venomous behaviour of the blond? Had he done something to piss him off? As far as he'd been concerned, he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary lately. Or left something ordinary undone.

"Once you're done panting please get to work", Sanji said, more so spat out of his mouth and just coolly turned around and walked back towards the galley.

"OI! Why do I have to peel the rabbit food?!" Zoro desperately shouted. Sanji's suede figure kept moving and he only slightly turned his head to exclaim: "I figured they'd go well with marimo."

It would've been a giant underestimation to say that Zoro was pissed. In fact, he was more than blazing. He was a swirling inferno of wrath at the moment. And all his rage was perfectly justified. For a certain asswipe of a cook had been bothering him all day with the stupidest of errands. As if peeling the vegetables, mopping the deck, fixing the troublesome plumbing problem that he had NO requirement of having knowledge about weren't enough, he had now been assigned to gathering supplies also.

And not any luxurious groceries bought from a port, either. Oh no. Roronoa Zoro was, by the commandment of the kitchen dictator Sanji, FISHING. Without a rod. Practically, that meant that he had to dive into the sea, kill a squid with his swords that were RUSTING by the minute, and then be pulled up by a rope tied around his waist. And as if this wasn't humiliating itself, he would also then be scolded by Sanji for bringing up such a skinny and ugly creature and then forced to repeat the process numerous times.

For the fifth time, Usopp, Chopper and Luffy heaved him up with great effort and he shoved a big, mean and ugly tortoise into the blond's face.

"That's it", he said between angry panting, "I'm not doing this anymore. I don't give a fuck if it's too scrawny for your taste, either we're eating this or the railing."

For a few seconds, only the heavy breathing of the swordsman split the air. Then the dead green animal was taken from his outstretched arm to be scrutinized by the lazy eye of the cook.

"I suppose this could suffice", he said lazily and with slow, smooth steps disappeared from the deck. Zoro let out a sigh of relief.

"Next you're fixing the railing", Sanji's shout was more aggravating than anything he'd heard in his life.

Whack. Whack. Whack.

"I wonder why the hell I'm even doing this", Zoro said with two nails between his teeth.

"I've been pondering on the same thing", came a voice draped in amusement from behind him.

"Go away, woman", the green-haired man simply stated. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the thief right now.

"Sanji's being awfully sweet, considering such small damage so seriously", Nami said merrily, ignoring Zoro's comment.

"He's being an asshole without any reason", he mumbled back. The orange-haired woman giggled.

"Then why are you doing every little thing he tells you to?"

The hammer paused in the air. Nami couldn't see the man's expression but she knew she'd struck a point. Letting out a false sigh, she sat on the railing next to the part Zoro had been fixing for some good time now.

"Honestly, you guys are hopeless. You don't get each other at all, but still you somehow manage to get troubled over the same thing."

Zoro still said nothing, so Nami pressed on.

"It's strange enough that Sanji is suddenly giving the strangest jobs to you, but against your idiotic nature you seemed to grasp the situation here. Of course, only subconciously, which makes you still a total buffoon. I mean really, who would be such a complete baka and a blockhead of a - "

A vein popped on Zoro's forehead.

" - a zero with relationships - "

His eyebrow started to twitch.

" - no empathy whatsoever - "

His jaw settled to a grim line, teeth pressing together violently.

" - no capability of realizing the situation at hand - "

"URUSEI!"

The hammer dropped on the deck and Zoro was suddenly on his feet. He stood there, the image of anger. Surprisingly, after a few moments, he just stomped away.

Nami's lips curled in a little smile.

TBC...