Chapter 4

The Mystery Pulley


Zoro was bored.

Bored and a little pissed that his fight had ended so prematurely – honestly, they had barely drawn any blood and hadn't even caused any major property damage yet. It was like getting a bucket of ice water dumped on your dick in the middle of a wank.

And to make matters worse, it seemed as though Luffy had picked up yet another stray, this time in the form of a barely pubescent kid whose balls were probably still deciding whether or not they wanted to drop.

Luckily, Zoro had long since stopped worrying about the crazy shit Luffy did. He knew Luffy would always do exactly whatever the hell he wanted, and there was no point freaking out about it. Besides, it wasn't like all that much could happen just from taking some brat down to the ship to get his hand fixed up. Probably actually score them points with the townspeople.

In any case, Zoro was bored. Tomorrow wasn't looking like a very promising day either. Not only was he apparently out of money for sake (damn Nami) he also had been roped into accompanying that dorky cook shopping (damn, damn Nami) where he'd be forced to follow him around, carry the food, and watch him flirt like an idiot with anything human and female.

What the hell. There wasn't much he could do about any of that at this point, so why worry?

So Zoro trudged along in the darkness with his nakama plus one, towards that narrow cliff path that probably wasn't the smartest trail to climb down in the black of night (Zoro would've been worried about Luffy's safety, if the kid wasn't made out of fucking rubber), pushing any worries out of his mind (they went without complaint, as always) and focused instead on that unmistakable prickling feeling that had been following him ever since they left the tavern.

He'd felt it too many times to not know what it was. It was the feeling of someone watching him… Or more specifically, watching them.

Not that it worried him, really. He just wanted to figure out who the hell it was so he could force them to stop making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He hated that feeling. It made him irritated.

At first he thought it was that kid they picked up – Basher, or something – because of the blatant way he had glued his eyes to Zoro (really, it was like he wasn't even trying to be subtle), but had quickly decided that the kid's respectful, bordering on worshipful attitude instantly ruled him out. The prickling feeling had a distinctly hostile edge, so unless the kid was secretly plotting to murder Zoro, it most likely wasn't coming from him.

Which meant it was coming from somewhere else. The problem was, the only other people around were all his nakama (and while Zoro had no problem believing Sanji was capable of extreme hostility towards him, Zoro had been staring at the back of the blond head the whole way out of town, watching him flirt like an idiot at both Nami and Robin, so he knew it wasn't coming from the cook). As such, he was forced to conclude that someone was following them, and wasn't that just as annoying as hell?

Honestly, if they were going to try assaulting the crew they should just hurry up and get it over with, instead of this irritating sneaking-around business. Zoro would have just attacked their cling-on and taken care of the matter without all this fuss, but he, frustratingly, couldn't figure out where their hidden watcher was concealing himself.

Apparently, this stalker of theirs was pretty good at one thing: not being found. No matter how carefully Zoro kept an eye peeled on the road behind them, no matter how much or how intently he listened for the sound of unfamiliar footsteps, he couldn't find a trace of their mysterious guest.

It was really getting on Zoro's nerves.

Damn follower who didn't have the guts to attack them in any sort of straightforward manner, instead creeping around and making the hairs on Zoro's neck stand up.

Asshole.

"Um…excuse me?" a quiet voice at his shoulder politely broke into his thoughts, which at this point had mostly descended into pointless griping over their elusive follower. The voice belonged to the kid they'd picked up, who was staring up at him with a curious mixture of hopefulness, excitement, and barely-there wariness.

"Yeah?" he grunted back. "What's up, kid?" Belatedly, Zoro remembered the kid saying he didn't like being called a kid, but the boy didn't even seem to notice this time.

The kid darted his eyes about inquisitively, taking in their surroundings. At the moment, they were just reaching the outskirts of town; the houses were thinning, trees were becoming a much more common sight, and the edge of the cliffs was now in view, just a stone's throw away. Zoro could already feel the brisk night breeze playfully ruffling his hair and bringing with it the briny scent of the sea.

"Is your ship at the bottom of the cliffs, by that long strip of sand?" the kid asked curiously, his dark eyes wide and shining as they met Zoro's.

"Um…" Zoro stalled. To be honest, he didn't really remember where they left the Sunny. No wait – he remembered a narrow beach where they had left the Mini Merry, right beneath the cliff path. "Yeah," he decided, with slightly smug satisfaction. "That's where we are."

"Oh." The kid looked puzzled for a moment, then asked, "So why are we going this way? It's not the right way."

For once, Zoro could safely say this wasn't in any way his fault. He had been at the very back of the crew, with just the kid by his side, so there was absolutely no way he could be blamed for getting the crew lost, if they were indeed lost.

In fact, the cook was the one in front. Zoro made a mental note to make fun of Sanji about it later. Or even better, he'd just do it now.

"Oi, shit- cook!" he called, a hand cupped around his already smirking mouth. "You're taking us the wrong way! I'd think even a dumbass like you would be able to find his way back to his own ship," he mocked, easily forgetting his own misadventure earlier that morning. "Maybe if you watched where you were taking us instead of bothering the girls with your annoying flirting…" he trailed off deliberately, waiting for the cook's reaction.

This was sure to be good.

For a moment, the only acknowledgement the blond gave was an instant, annoyed tension that bunched up his shoulders. Then he spun around, eyes blazing and teeth bared. Heh. The cook was so easy to rile up. Almost too easy, sometimes, but that was what made him so much fun.

"What are you talking about, you shitty broccoli-head?" the cook growled, his tone dangerously even. "Are you confusing me with yourself? You're the one who can't find his way out of a room with one door, not me."

The rest of the crew slowed to a stop as well, familiar looks of resignation on most of their faces.

Zoro thought he heard Usopp grumble, "Here they go again," but he ignored the sniper. It wasn't like Usopp had anything important to say, anyway, and Zoro would rather watch the cook as he got unreasonably pissed as hell, like usual.

"And how would you know, anyway?" Sanji continued his bitching with equal disregard for their audience. "Weren't you the one I had to track down this morning like a little lost kid because you couldn't find your way back to the ship?"

Zoro snorted in amusement. "Well, this kid here says we're going the wrong way," he stated simply, calmly, jabbing his thumb at the boy at his side. "And since he lives here, it sorta makes me think he'd know where he's going." He let his smirk grow even wider then, knowing that it got the blond worked up faster than anything.

Sure enough, the cook was immediately bristling, but he turned his glare to the unsuspecting kid beside Zoro.

"Asher? What do you mean 'we're going the wrong way'? The ship's right there!" He threw an arm out towards the cliff edge only a few yards away, pointing down towards the black waves of the ocean, where the strong lines of the Sunny were visible even in the darkness. "You can clearly see the ship there, at the bottom of the cliffs!" he declared, in a mixture of annoyance and self-righteousness.

Zoro scowled, wishing he had noticed that earlier. Stupid kid.

Sanji all but stuck his tongue out in his childish gratification at apparently being right.

Then the kid spoke up again, scowling at Sanji with a glare Zoro wouldn't have been ashamed of. "Obviously it's right there. But if you go this way, you have to climb down that tiny trail no one's used since my grandma was a kid."

Zoro grinned. Maybe this kid wasn't so bad.

Sanji's smug smile instantly disappeared, replaced with a puzzled frown.

Nami swiftly cut in. "But the mayor said this was the only way up the cliffs. Right, Sanji?" she asked, her tone treacherously pleasant. Zoro remembered how much she'd whined about climbing up the side of the cliff, and he knew if she found out Sanji had screwed up she wouldn't be merciful. Zoro just wished he had a bottle of sake to enjoy with the show.

"Of course, Nami-san!" Sanji stammered out, his hands outstretched out in front of himself pleadingly. "He said the only way to town was up that trail! You can ask Chopper when we get to the ship!"

Now it was the kid's turn to wear a puzzled frown. "That's weird," he muttered, scratching distractedly at his shoulder. "'Cause there's a really easy pulley car system about a quarter-mile south of here that everybody in town uses nowadays. It makes no sense that the mayor wouldn't tell you about it, 'cause it's way faster than trying to climb up and down the trail."

The frown washed away then, and the kid wore a look of enlightenment instead. "You definitely misheard," he decided with absolute certainty, and Zoro appreciated the condescending self-righteousness the kid managed to say it with.

Sanji, apparently, didn't share Zoro's appreciation.

"Like hell, I misheard!" he exploded. "Are you as stupid as that idiot swordsman? Your mayor obviously lied to us!"

"Oh yeah?" the kid threw back just as hotly. "Why the hell would he lie to you, dickhead? You're just trying to cover up that you made a mistake! You're the one lying!"

Zoro instantly took back anything negative he had thought about the kid, or Luffy. Bringing him along had definitely been a great idea. In fact, as he watched the cook's eyes blaze brighter, he thought he might even consider taking the kid under his wing. Anyone with such a talent for winding the cook up deserved to have it nurtured.

"Easy," Franky muttered, grinning, his hand clasped bracingly on Sanji's shoulder, which was probably the only thing keeping the cook from committing child murder.

Not that Zoro would have let him get away with it. This kid was too much fun.

"Perhaps," Robin's even, sensible voice cut in, "we should discuss this later, on the ship. "It is getting late, and we don't want to take too much of Asher-kun's time."

And just like that, Sanji instantly cooled down, immediately going back to making a complete idiot of himself.

"Of course, Robin-chan!" the blond cook crooned, and the idiot's voice grated irritatingly on Zoro's nerves.

Zoro scowled.

He felt slightly better when he heard the kid next to him mutter, "Pansy."

"Alright," Luffy decided, his usual grin in place and a hand clasped to his hat, keeping it from being snatched away by the chilly sea wind. "Let's go see the mystery pulley!"

"Um…" The kid had a confused crease in his forehead. "It's not really a mystery pulley. It's just a couple of ropes and a wooden car thing. You stand in the car and pull one of the ropes, and it takes you to the bottom of the cliffs in like four minutes. It's much faster and easier than the trail," he finished with a very unsubtle leer at Sanji, who unfortunately didn't notice due to the stupid way he was currently fawning over Robin, trying to get her to wear his suit jacket to block the nippy breeze.

"Right," Luffy agreed, just as firmly as before. "It's a mystery pulley."

The kid opened his mouth, frowned, then closed it again – a typical reaction to Luffy.

"Okay…" he said eventually. "Follow me. I'll take you to the…mystery pulley." Then the kid turned a quarter-turn on his heel and starting heading south along the cliff's edge, not bothering to check over his shoulder to see if the pirate crew was following.

"Yes!" Luffy cheered, trotting enthusiastically after the kid, and everyone else casually fell in behind him.

Sanji, whose solicitous attentions to Robin had since been slyly fobbed off, was now irritating the navigator with protestations of his innocence concerning the whole mess with the mayor as they walked together.

"Nami-san, I swear that's what he said! He said the trail was the only way up the cliffs, I promise! We can ask Chopper when we get back!"

It was pitiful, in Zoro's opinion.

"I don't care," Nami's sharp voice sliced through the air. "Either you misheard, misunderstood, or you didn't notice he was lying to you. Any way you look at it, it's your fault. That means I'm withholding your allowance at the next island."

"Of course! Whatever Nami-san thinks is best!"

Zoro snorted in disgust. Pitiful. The cook always let women walk all over him, particularly a certain red-haired navigator.

"Do you know how sore my feet were after climbing up that trail?" Nami kept ranting. "I should withhold your allowance for the next two islands!"

"I'm so sorry, Nami-san!" the cook practically wailed. "It's unforgivable!"

Zoro wondered if Nami remembered that she had hardly even had to do any climbing, considering the fact that Sanji had carried her more than three-fourths the way up the cliff.

Stupid cook.

For a moment, Zoro was too busy being disgusted with the cook's pathetic behavior that he didn't notice the tingling sensation of being watched was conspicuously absent. Then it gradually occurred to him that the hairs on the back of his neck had calmed down and that he no longer felt the silent hostility from their elusive shadow.

It seemed whoever was following them must have left them alone. About time.

With nothing to distract him now, Zoro let his mind begin breaking down the latest fight with Sanji, analyzing it, scrutinizing the details so he'd know what to focus on during his next training session. He obviously wasn't strong enough yet if the cook had so easily sent him flying into the wall. Of course, Zoro suspected it had something to do with the fact that he had just knocked Sanji flat on his back, getting dirt all over his pristine suit (the cook was always the most fun to fight when he was being pissy and throwing a fit), but that really was no excuse.

He'd just have to work harder.

Zoro was definitely adding five thousand more reps to his workout from now on. And maybe it was time to lift with the heavier weights – fifteen tons just wasn't cutting it for him anymore.

While his brain was so occupied with thoughts of training, he almost didn't notice that the rest of the group had stopped and was gathered at the edge of the cliff, peering over.

"Where are you going, idiot? Dumbass… We're here. Stop walking."

Zoro didn't think it worth his time to point out that he would have noticed before he got too far away (probably). So he just rolled his eyes before settling his features into their customary scowl and leaned against a tree, arms crossed loosely against his chest.

Everyone else seemed to be examining this pulley system the kid had mentioned. Franky in particular was eyeing it with interest, though Zoro couldn't see what was so fascinating about it. It was a wooden box and a rope. Amazing.

"How much weight can it hold?" Nami was asking in her typical witchy, no-nonsense manner, while Luffy was already laughing and climbing all over the pulley car like a sugared-up monkey.

"Er…" the kid scratched his shoulder, "It can take fifteen people at once," he announced. Then, with a frown in Franky's direction, amended, "Fifteen normal people."

Usopp, crouched at the cliff's edge, had a distinctly unhappy look on his face as he examined the wooden box supposed to carry them to the bottom of the cliffs. The car was covered, the top being level with the edge of the cliff. A rope ladder hung from the car roof, evidently the means for entering and exiting the car. A double pulley system was attached by a metal rod to the cliff's face, with a strong hook snaring the top of the car.

Sanji was at the edge as well, his polished poise back and a new cigarette clamped loosely between his lips. He once again looked the epitome of sophisticated elegance, as though he hadn't been flipping out at a kid just five minutes ago. But then, that was Sanji – effortlessly phasing between untouchable coolness and throwing a hissy fit.

"I vote we go down in groups," Usopp spoke up earnestly. "I don't want to end up snapping the ropes or something equally terrifying."

"It should be able to take all of us just fine, sniper-kun," Robin stated calmly, her eyes roving over the car and pulley. "And if the rope snaps, the fall will kill you instantly."

Usopp turned a shade paler and tossed a frightened glance up at the impassive woman beside him. "That doesn't make me feel better, Robin…"

"We're wasting time," Nami's voice snapped sharply. "Everyone get in. Luffy, if you don't stop messing with those ropes, I'll make sure you don't have any teeth left to eat meat with."

Luffy immediately froze and tried to make himself look as innocent as possible.

Zoro watched as everyone obediently clambered down into the car, then hopped in easily himself, not bothered by the way his jump sent the car swinging wildly away from the cliff. The rest of the crew seemed a bit bothered, however, especially as the wooden car compensated by swinging back towards the rock wall, seemingly intent on connecting with an undoubtedly damaging smash.

Not that there was any danger of that, of course. Before it could smack into the wall, Sanji had braced one foot against the rocks and steadied the swaying and twisting car, muttering under his breath ("Idiot") and rolling his eyes.

Nami sent Zoro a glare and looked like she wanted to start screeching at him, but Zoro brushed her off by tugging the rope hanging down next to him, sending the car on its way down the cliff.

"This is so cool!" Luffy said enthusiastically, leaning over the edge of the car and watching as the far-away cliff's base got gradually closer. "A mystery pulley!"

"Um…not really," Usopp corrected, who really should have learned by now that there was no helping Luffy. "You see, when you pull on that section of the rope, it feeds through the pulley and makes that part longer, which takes the car down away from cliff. If you pulled on that other part of the rope over there, it would work in reverse and make the car go up. It's quite simple, actually. Then if you-"

"Ah," Luffy interrupted wisely, with a sage nod. "A mystery pulley."

Usopp gave up and went back to standing in the middle of the car and trying very hard to pretend he wasn't dangling off the edge of a cliff in a wooden box supported solely by a couple of measly ropes.

Zoro, meanwhile, was testing how fast he could make the car descend while keeping the ride smooth and steady. The rope dug into his hands a little, but they were well-callused from his katana so he barely even felt it. Besides, it was like training, making his hands stronger.

"You're going too fast," the cook suddenly spoke after about half a minute of silent descent, frowning over at Zoro. "We're not going to be able to stop at the bottom. Slow down," he ordered bossily.

Zoro, of course, rolled his eyes and ignored the cook. Then he moved his hands even faster.

"I believe cook-san may be right," Robin said, which predictably sent the blond idiot into a flurry of delight. "If we continue at our current speed, the car will likely smash before we can slow it sufficiently."

The swordsman worked his hands a little faster.

"Zoro, slow down!" the curly-haired coward in the center of the car insisted, on the edge of being hysterical.

Zoro ignored him, instead keeping an eye on the quickly approaching ground.

Forty feet.

"Zoro!" Usopp squealed.

Thirty-five feet.

"Zoro!" Nami warned, her hair already blowing upwards and whipping around her face.

Thirty feet.

"Faster!" Luffy laughed.

Twenty-five.

"Maybe you should slow down, Zoro-bro," Franky commented, only the barest hint of concern in his voice.

Twenty.

"Um…Roronoa-sama…!" the kid called over the noisy sound of air rushing past, clearly unable to stop himself, his knuckles white on the car railing.

Fifteen.

"Ahhh!" Usopp had kept his eyes screwed shut for the past twenty-five feet.

Ten.

Eight.

Five.

Zoro suddenly clutched the rope as tightly as possible in both fists, and the car's downward descent immediately jerked to a dead stop. There was complete silence as the car rocked back and forth in a rather anticlimactic sway.

A collective sigh of relief went up throughout the car.

Idiots. He'd obviously had it under control, and this way they got to the bottom much quicker than if they'd gone at a sissy, slow pace. Besides, it was good training.

That was when Zoro felt a hard shoe connect painfully with the back of his head. White stars burst behind his eyes momentarily as he was sent careening over the edge of the railing and down the few remaining feet, finally sprawling ungracefully on the sand. A few moments later he heard the creak of ropes and a muted thud when the car landed softly next to him, and, as he moodily got back to his feet, he saw the cook swinging himself out of the car and landing smoothly on the beach beside Zoro.

"Dumbass marimo," Sanji muttered, then brushed past Zoro to begin strolling down the beach, hands in pockets and head cocked towards the soothing waves.

…Asshole.


AN: Thank you all you lovely, lovely people who have reviewed. It makes me feel all silly and giggly inside.