For the record, I have said balls on French toast, in fact, I said it just before I started typing it. Why? I was angry with my Zune program.
Chapter Four, yo.
"Oh, balls on French toast." Usopp growled. "That's the fifth time this week I've lost my slingshot. Where the hell could it be?"
"Speaking of French toast." Franky drooled. "That sounds amazing right now."
"It's way past breakfast, Franky."
"A man can have breakfast any time of the day he wants."
"Then it would be brunch or... brinner?" Usopp shrugged then folded his arms. "If you're having breakfast at dinner time then there's something wrong with you*."
"Having waffles for dinner is the best thing ever! Didn't you ever try it before?"
Usopp's brow furrowed. "What's the difference?"
"They taste better!"
"What? How the hell does eating waffles at dinner make them taste better than they do in the morning?"
"Because, it's like breaking the universal and unwritten rule that waffles are to be eaten at breakfast. When eating waffles for dinner evil has never tasted so good!"
The marksman stared blankly at the carpenter.
"Come to the dark side, Usopp!" Franky laughed with a cracked grin.
Zoro had now taken to meditating, still unwilling to leave the uh, observation room? Crow's nest/gym, who the fuck cared anymore? At least there was no one was here to bother him or give him that look. A look like he was secretly being pitied and feared from afar. Never mind them. Meditating. Meditating was good for the soul. Think soothing thoughts. Soothing, relaxing thoughts. That ought to to ease his mind. Yeah.
As Zoro settled into the quiet confines of his mind, he began to suddenly feel a surge of adrenaline. He could hear the sound of water, not the ocean waves, but water slapping a hard surface and splashing. He opened his eyes.
Not one drop of liquid in sight.
Nettled, he attempted to resume his meditating, but found his mind far too muddled to relax. Frustrated, he threw himself on the couch. He checked to make sure his katana was with him. Just to make sure.
He would never forget that time he nearly lost them to that freak way back when he first met Luffy. What was his name? It danced on the tip of his tongue.
If it hadn't been for Luffy, Zoro probably wouldn't be here today. He probably would've lost his life and broke the promise he made to Kuina. It would've been the fault of that one jerk. What was his name again?
The swordsman could recall Luffy's surprise when they met Koby on Water 7. The kid looked so strikingly different. He had matured a lot since they had last seen him. Then there was the one weirdo that stood next to him and fought with a strange set of blades that had been no match for Zoro. Tall, blond, a real airhead with a massive ego that was only backed by his dad's power. Until Luffy crumbled it.
His name. What was his name?
Out on the deck below him, he spotted Luffy, swaying lifelessly on the swing. He had a look on his face that Zoro seldom ever saw him express. Luffy was lost.
Luffy never got "lost". Luffy always knew where to go and where he had or needed to be. He sometimes strayed from the path, but it was like his own little shortcut. Only longer. Luffy logic, one of the world's greatest mysteries.
But the Luffy he saw before him was not one he was used to seeing. To add to the drama, the captain was also ex-animate. Luffy was never idle, only when he was asleep was he ever this peaceful. This just didn't make much sense at all.
As if the boy could sense his gaze, he looked up and met Zoro's eyes. Seeing that he wouldn't break eye contact any time soon, Zoro looked away, feeling slightly uneasy in the line of Luffy's vision.
He had that look on his face like he had been caught sneaking food back when they had the Merry. At times, Luffy would end up depleting their rations by half by himself and the cook would go through all odds and ends to force him to fess up. Luffy would give him that face as if he didn't know what he was talking about, but when the captain did slip, he would have that "Oh shit, I'm totally screwed." look on his face in an instant. Rightfully so, for the cook would swab the deck with his ass.
Zoro's stomach growled, which not so subtly hinted that it wanted food, now. First breakfast had gone unserved, now lunch was slowly ticking away and there was no sign of food being prepared.
The lack of food preparation was also becoming an increasing problem for Zoro. Food was Sanji's job, but since he couldn't do the job at the moment, that left the rest of them to fend for themselves. With no cook, there was no food, with no food, Zoro was left to think on why there was no food. Thinking about why there was no food made him think about Sanji. The REASON.
The REASON was something Zoro wanted to avoid for the moment, an advantage of no longer having the Merry. The Sunny was much more roomy and gave him plenty of space to separate himself from awkward moments. On the Merry, the only place you could really go for isolation was either the men's quarters or the Aquarium Bar. Sometimes.
Zoro looked down to his hands. Had it been a dream? It all seemed so vivid yet so distant all at once. He could see himself wringing that bastard's neck but it didn't feel like it was his own body doing it. Maybe he had clawed himself in his sleep? Chopper would know, but Chopper was with the REASON. The source of Zoro's misery at the moment.
He could probably isolate himself in here all day and sleep, but even he was limited to the number of hours his body would allow him to be unconscious. Besides, what fun would that be? Not that he lived off fun, he just wanted some... diversity? That was a luxury on any typical ship, but then again, being part of the Straw Hat crew meant things were usually not boring. Unless everyone was being so damned depressed.
The sound of water splashing came to his ears again.
It was the sound from his dream, when he beating the crap out of someone for taking his swords. Had it taken place in the bathroom? Why in the bathroom?
Zoro took a deep breath.
Yesterday hadn't been out of the ordinary. He was confined to bed, slept most of the time and ate and took his medicine when told to. So basically he had been treated like a baby, which he utterly despised. Lunch had passed and his clothes had started to feel rather unpleasant and sticky from all the sweat. Chopper hadn't deemed him healthy enough to clothe himself so he ordered someone else to do it. Someone who could lug the swordsman's weight around. That ruled out the girls, Usopp and Brooke. Luffy wasn't the ideal nanny nor was Franky. That left either Chopper or Sanji and since Chopper was the one giving out orders then, it must've been Sanji. That's right. After Sanji helped/dragged him out of bed everything else was a blur.
Zoro caught Luffy staring up at him from below. The boy had that same pathetic look on his face. It was a look that Zoro could not quite read. Luffy looked sorry about something, but what and why? Why wasn't he running around playing with Usopp and Chopper like he usually did? Why wasn't he sitting on the Sunny's head and looking out to the horizon? And why won't he stop staring with that look?
"Oh, nartkin bulloffer hopper..." Chopper muttered under his breath as he flipped through a book, exasperated.
"Uh, come again?" Usopp asked.
The doctor looked up at the marksman. "What?"
"Never mind," the marksman waved a hand. "Anything new?"
"No, other than Luffy kind of sulking, which I didn't think was possible." Chopper mused. "Zoro hasn't really shown himself much, I think he locked himself up in the crow's nest."
"Hm, I wonder if he remembers anything." the man sighed as he laced his fingers behind his head. "It's really unnerving, waiting for the truth."
"What if..." Chopper started. "What if we don't want to know the truth, is that a bad thing?"
To ask a liar that question was quite the moral conflict there. Truth was, Usopp feared the truth as well. He hadn't thought of it before, but he was quite nervous to find out what really happened. What if the swordsman actually had tried to maim their cook? No. Zoro would never do that, right? Of course not. Still, the thought of it being possible was frightening, but he couldn't betray Zoro's friendship and suspect that he would do such a thing. No.
"It isn't a bad thing, Chopper." Usopp said in a serious tone. "But sometimes, if you just go on without knowing the truth you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
That summed it up in a nutshell, yes it did. Truth was meant to be known.
The reindeer gazed up at the marksman in awe.
"You're so truthful and inspirational, Usopp!" Chopper beamed.
Truthful? Usopp was not often such a thing. Inspirational? Yes, Usopp was an inspiring man in more ways than one. Captain Usopp, never missing a chance to bask in the admiration of his fans since the day he was born.
"Well, I gotta get back to the workshop, those gadgets don't invent themselves."
Chopper rocked in his chair with mirth, "Glad you found your slingshot, Usopp. I'll let you know if anything changes, alright?"
"Later."
The doctor set to organizing the various herbs and mixtures he had. They had become so disarranged over the past few days. Hmph, his first aid supplies could use a little restocking as well. A doctor needed to always be ready. Ready for anything. Ready for action and adventure. He needed to be ready like Usopp, always taking on whatever enemy no matter what size. Yeah. He could be like Usopp.
"Hiyah!" Chopper slashed the air with a tongue depressor. "Have at thee, villain! I dare you to challenge me! Hahahaha!"
He got low to the ground. "Oh no, it's the hero, Doctor Chopper!" he said in his lowest and roughest voice. "Us bad guys don't stand a chance against him!"
The little reindeer leaped up on his swivel chair. "That's right! You are no match for me!" He pointed in the air with the wooden stick. "For I am the Great Doctor Tony Tony-"
Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.
Sanji was propped up on his elbows and squinting in the dim light. He was staring at Chopper with an amused expression.
* as I typed this, I came to realize that I have ordered breakfast at dinner time on at least three different occasions at Denny's.
HELMEPPO. I just discovered today that's actually how it's spelled.