Well, the two week update time sure had worked this time... I won't bore you with my nonsense this time.
Enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.
Chapter 4: A New Path
Sanji hummed happily as he awakened out of his deep slumber. A warm weight was pressed against his back, strong arms wrapped around his torso and hot, even breathing tickled the back of his neck.
In his sleepy haze, Sanji felt awareness scratching at the surface of his consciousness. It... shouldn't be like that, right? He didn't have a hot girlfriend to wake up to and... those arms... weren't they a bit too bulky? The body against his back... too firm?
Sanji frowned.
Slowly, he touched the arm that was wrapped around him, caressing the skin with careful fingers. It was smooth alright... nearly hairless, even.
Did he get lucky the night before? Sanji remembered drinking with his crew after dinner, but he surely hadn't drunk enough to hit on one of those bulky girls from the Amazon crew, had he?
Swallowing, Sanji took heart and decided to take responsibility. No matter if his type or not, a lady was a lady and he was too much of a gentleman to make any woman cry!
No matter how... manly she seemed to be.
Eyes still closed, Sanji slowly turned around. "Wakey, wakey, my beautiful rose... Rise and shine, milady!" he chanted and slowly opened his eyes.
A deep groan answered him at first and Sanji's eyes widened in shock as a deep voice replied, "Who the hell are you calling 'milady', shitcook?"
Crash!
"What the hell?" Zoro yelled at him from the floor, holding his stomach where he had been kicked.
"What the hell? What the fuck are you doing in my bed, asshole?" Sanji returned, his face red with anger and embarrassment.
Zoro glared at him. "What do you think I did? I was sleeping a minute ago!"
"I don't recall inviting you!"
"Not my fault that you can't hold your liquor, idiot cook! Geez... it's not like you complained, either! You even cuddled with me!"
"I... I obviously thought you were a woman!"
"Yeah, 'cause I'm easily mistaken with one," Zoro said, rolling his eyes and standing up. "Whatever, it's nearly time to get up, anyway. You have to cook again, don't you?"
Sanji turned his head away when Zoro took off his shirt as he was on his way to the bathroom.
Cursing, he kicked his bed and glared at it when a small crack appeared in the wood. Then he went over to the cupboard to select his clothes for the day.
Fifteen minutes later, Zoro came back out of the bathroom and Sanji, who was just busy packing his bag, dropped the books he had been holding as he saw him. Eyes wide, he looked Zoro up and down, swallowing when he came back to his face.
The swordsman was completely and utterly naked.
Using a towel to dry his hair, Zoro smirked as he looked at Sanji. "Finished checking me out, cook?" he asked as he walked to his bag to get some new clothes.
Sanji quickly turned around to hide his blush. "W-Who is checking you out, idiot? I was just shocked at your shameless behaviour."
"Did you spend too much time with Paulie?" Zoro asked, snorting. "We are both men, aren't we? Unless it's true what Ace said yesterday, it shouldn't be a problem, or... are you really gay, cook?"
"That's a lovely imprint Zoro has on his face there... Did something good happen last night?"
Sanji growled as he cut the rest of the carrots and threw them into the boiling water, completely ignoring the grinning Ace at his side.
After Zoro's comments that morning... well, Sanji's foot had accidentally 'slipped'.
"Shut up, Ace! I'm trying to cook a meal here..." Sanji said irritatedly when Ace just continued to grin at him.
"Yeah... the oven is smoking, though."
Sanji's eyes widened. "Shit! The roast beef!" He ran to the oven where thick smoke came out of, turned it off and cursing, he opened the stove to take the now nearly black meat out.
"More roast than beef, huh? Wow, Zoro is really effecting you, isn't he?"
"Ace... please, shut up..."
"No worries, babe! Luffy eats anything that's meat, no matter how burned."
"That's not the point!" Sanji cried out, running a hand through his blond hair. "Dammit, I haven't messed up that much in years..."
Seeing Sanji's distraught expression, Ace lay an arm around his shoulders. "What happened, blondie? Did Zoro grab a feel? Want me to burn his sexy ass for you, hm?"
"No, he didn't really..." Sanji began and then looked at him. "Ace, was I... like that again, yesterday?"
When Ace just shot him a perverted grin, Sanji groaned.
"No worries, honey. We only made out a little, nothing major."
"Y-You-..."
"Zoro protected you, though," Ace said, removing his arm from Sanji's tense shoulders and scratching his chin. "I wanted to bring you back to your room and he said he would do it instead. I only insinuated a little that I could do something to you..."
"Ace, I'm so gonna kick your sorry-"
"So, you slept together, huh?"
The pot with the roast beef Sanji had been holding fell onto the ground, making several heads turn as the ear-splitting sound carried all the way into the canteen. Cursing, Sanji bent to pick it up.
"We didn't sleep together, Ace... w-we slept beside each other! That's different..."
"Was Zoro restless again?"
Surprised at the lack of innuendo, Sanji turned his head quickly to look up at Ace. "What?"
"Well, out of experience, I know that you're a light sleeper... if he had tossed and turned again, then you wouldn't have gotten a wink of sleep, no matter how drunk. Did he do anything?"
Sanji frowned as he placed the pot on the counter. "No..." he said slowly. "Now that I think about it... he was fast asleep the whole time. But, wait a minute... how the hell do you know that I'm a light sleeper? We've never-... Oi, Ace! Get back here, you damn bastard!"
But Ace was already walking out of the canteen, laughing loud enough that people looked after him.
Sanji glowered when he was gone, a vein popping angrily on his forehead.
That shitty bastard... Sanji should bribe Luffy with food one day, so he put a leash on his brother.
Well, at least Ace had given him something to think about.
Zoro seemed to have slept like a baby that night... was it because of Sanji's body heat? Was that the reason, Zoro always wanted to sleep with him?
Working quickly to save his failed roast beef, Sanji decided to ask the marimo later about it.
A few minutes later, everyone sat at the dining table and appreciated the meal Sanji had nearly cooked from scratch.
"So, you, Sanji and Zoro are going to patrol from now on?" Nami asked, watching her captain eat.
Luffy, mouth full of burned meat (which hadn't dampened his enthusiasm about it in the slightest), swallowed and nodded quickly. "Yeah, it was Sanji's idea!"
Nami hmm-ed and rested her chin on her hand. "Might be a good idea, too... Coby nearly got himself killed, yesterday. Good thing he is such a quick runner."
"Coby did?" Luffy asked and frowned. Things like this had happened a lot of times but Coby usually was smart enough not to go out alone at night.
"Yeah. It was Buggy's gang this time... Well, at least, it wasn't Alvida! He might've never come back then..."
Luffy crossed his arms and looked over at Coby who was talking to Vivi about something. Not being able to protect his friends at all times... it had bugged him for a while now. There were so many people who had gotten hurt lately and the thought that he hadn't been able to help was unbearable.
Putting on the hat that had been dangling from his neck, Luffy's gaze darkened as he saw the bandages on Coby's arms and forehead.
"You can't be everywhere at once, Luffy," Nami said urgently as she followed his eyes. "It's not your fault when-"
All of a sudden, Luffy stood up and Nami nearly fell off her chair.
"Luffy! Wha-"
"I can't be everywhere but... in this school, we're all allies. Together we can-... I'm gonna go talk to Traffy and Kidd. See you later, Nami!" he said and then left the canteen.
Frowning, Nami looked after him for a while before she shrugged and went off to get another glass of orange juice.
Not to worry about anything their captain was planning, had long since become the number one Strawhat rule.
As expected, Luffy found Kidd and Law in the Common Room, where Kidd tried to watch one of his favourite action shows and Law did everything to annoy the hell out of Kidd.
"That guy could never have survived an explosion like that with only a few scratches!" Law just said as Luffy came in. "Do you know how people normally look after something like that, Eustass? Missing body parts, intestines hanging out of their stomachs, burned skin... And, I can tell you, the cuts aren't nearly as nice as seen on TV. Pieces of flesh lying around everywhere can make your stomach curl... if you aren't into that, I mean."
While Law was grinning broadly, Kidd's mood became darker and darker. "Will you shut the hell up? I'm trying to watch this..." he said through gritted teeth.
"I'm just informing you about the obvious mistakes of this dreadful series..." Law explained and then groaned. "That guy is supposed to have shot himself in the head and only has that small hole? Where are the pieces of scull and-"
"Shut the fuck up already, Trafalgar!" Kidd suddenly cried out, jumping up from the couch and glaring at Law with malicious contempt.
The other students in the Common Room seemed to have seen that outburst as their cue to leave and only Law, Kidd and Luffy remained inside the room.
Curious to know what was going to happen next, Luffy leaned his back against the wall, crossed his arms and decided to watch them for a while.
Not bothered at all by Kidd's reaction to his comments, Law leaned back in the couch and smirked up at him. "Sure you wanna talk to me like that, Eustass?"
"I'm fed up with your damn threats! Do you think I'll listen to your crap forever?"
"Ah, then you don't fear my powers any more?" Law asked and raised his hands.
Kidd didn't reply but his wide eyes and clenched fists spoke volumes.
Chuckling, Law stood up. "Fine, I'll leave you alone for now. I think Strawhat has business with us, anyway," he said and Kidd followed his eyes to Luffy who grinned back at them.
"What do you want, Strawhat?" Kidd asked, his jaw clenched as he looked at Luffy. Normally, everyone knew when it was time to leave the room but that guy, just like Law, didn't seem to have any sense of danger at all.
And Kidd didn't like that lack of control one bit.
"I wanna talk about those attacks at our students," Luffy said, pushing his body away from the wall. "Did you hear about Coby?"
Law and Kidd looked at each other and Law asked, "That marine boy?"
Luffy nodded. "Yeah... he is my friend. Everyone here is my friend and... they keep getting attacked. I don't like it."
"Hm, truth be told, I don't give a damn about other students, but... Shachi had been attacked last week as well," Law said.
Kidd laughed. "It's his own fault if he is too weak!"
"Didn't Heat have trouble before, too?" Law asked him. "Those pirates in the alleys might not be all too strong, but they outnumber us one to thousand. Anyone can be in danger that way..."
Luffy nodded. "I want to protect them."
"And how do you want to do that?" Kidd said, looking at the two other captains. "Wait... you can't mean-"
"I want to work together," Luffy said, grinning. "If our crews were to fight them then they wouldn't stand a chance! We can beat them! All of them!"
"You're suggesting an alliance?" Law asked. "With us?"
Kidd smirked. "You sure have guts, Strawhat."
Luffy just laughed in return.
"An alliance with the Heart and Kidd pirates?" Nami asked later at dinner. "Is that really a good idea?"
"Don't forget that we're enemies, Luffy! You have the same dreams as them, don't you?" Usopp asked.
Luffy crossed his arms as he looked at his nakama. "It's the only way to protect the school and the students," he said. "They agreed to make patrols with us."
"What about the curfew?" Usopp asked. "I know that barely anyone follows the rules, but... if we go out every night, then-"
"I've already talked to Iceburg-san and got the permission," Ace said, coming up behind them. Then he looked at Luffy. "Marco agreed to help, too."
"Yosh! That settles it," Luffy said, grinning. "You gonna help, too, Zoro?"
Zoro who was seated with them and had stayed quiet until then, shrugged. "Sure... I'm fighting them, anyway."
"Shishishishi... we should have a feast to celebrate! Oi, Sanji! Cook meat! Lots of meat!"
Sanji, already standing at the stove, held up his hand to signal that he understood.
"We only had a feast yesterday, Luffy," Nami remarked but Luffy ignored her as he was too busy drumming with fork and knife on the table, chanting a chorus of 'Meat! Meat! Meat we'll eat! Meat! Meat! Lot's of Meat!'
"Listen when people talk to you, you damn-"
Dodging Nami's fists on his way (she always reminded him of his grandpa for whatever reason), Ace dropped down next to Zoro. "Hey, babe! How is it going?"
"Whatever I'm going to say, you'll reply with some innuendo, won't you?"
"Hm, you're paying quite a lot attention to me, swordsman-kun. Does that mean there is some hope for me?" Ace said, laying an arm around Zoro's shoulders and invading his personal space.
Zoro tensed immediately but didn't push him away. He saw it as some form of endurance training... a way to steel his mind. He could always end up having to fight some pervert in the future, right?
"See? Innuendo, just like I said. For a commander from Whitebeard's crew, you're surprisingly easy to figure out..."
"Oh, only if I want to be..." Ace replied. "There is more to me than meets the eye."
"I'm sure there is..." Zoro said, his eyes turning to slits. "What exactly are you planing, Ace?"
Grinning, Ace played with Zoro's earrings, letting them jingle with his fingers. "That's for me to know and for you to figure out, love," he said quietly.
From the kitchen, Sanji watched how Ace and Zoro slid closer and closer together, Ace's hand on Zoro's cheek as he whispered something to him.
The cook frowned, his mouth curling around his cigarette in an angry sneer. Was that swordsman gay, after all? He never did answer any questions about his sexuality...
Not that Sanji cared, not really. Although, considering the way he had woken up that night... maybe he should care, after all.
Well, even if Zoro was into men, he sure as hell didn't show any interest in him... and even if he did, he didn't seem the flirtatious type who just went and slapped asses left and right.
Sanji shuddered. That sure wasn't an image he liked inside his head...
No, other than this unhealthy desire to cuddle with Sanji, there didn't seem to be any 'danger' coming from Zoro. Well, if there was, Sanji would kick his ass, obviously... Still good to know that he didn't have to be on his guard all the time and/or had to pay attention not to do anything that could make Zoro uncomfortable, though.
Well, Ace always said that straight men worried too much about gay men liking them and all... Sanji had obviously become used to being around people like him but Ace's continues flirting and the way he always took advantage of Sanji's little weakness of being unable to hold his liquor were-
"Woohoo! Sanji is making that crispy meat again tonight!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed and with a jolt, Sanji turned around to the stove.
Fucking swordsman! It was all his fault...
After lots of name-calling, flying fists and the occasional exchange of cut off body parts, the three captains had decided on a schedule for their patrols.
Still reluctant to be considered part of a crew, Zoro had insisted not to be divided into one of the groups... he would be joining them however he saw fit then.
"You're really stupid, you know?" Sanji remarked a day after the alliance as he prepared his bed. "You're eating, fighting and always talking to us... why don't you join the crew for real?"
"I told you that I don't want to be a pirate, didn't I?" Zoro answered. He sat on his futon with crossed arms and put up bottom lip. He obviously wasn't pouting.
Sanji shrugged. "Joining doesn't mean that you have to stay with us after graduation, you know? You can always leave and do your own thing then."
"I'm not doing such half-assed things, cook," Zoro replied, glaring at him. "And I won't do anything that doesn't help me to become stronger..."
"And you think having someone like Luffy for your captain won't help you with that? God knows what kind of enemies he'll make in the future... I mean, he is already picking a fight with the government, isn't he?"
Zoro frowned as he looked at Sanji. "What's up with you, anyway? I thought you didn't want me to join you guys..."
Looking surprised at the question, Sanji's eyes widened. Letting himself fall onto his bed, he buried his head into his pillow and mumbled a barely audible, "No reason."
Zoro seemed to let it drop because Sanji heard how he lay down as well.
It had been a good question, though.
He didn't really want Zoro with them, or... did he?
"Hey..." Sanji said slowly. "About this sleeping together thing..."
"If you want me to apologise, then-"
"I wouldn't expect that much from you, shithead," Sanji said, rolling his eyes. "No, I just wanted to ask... You're sometimes pretty restless when you're sleeping. Is there... a special reason for that? Because... last night, I didn't notice anything, so you must have slept calmly then."
"I'm just used to having someone next to me," Zoro said, shrugging from his place on his futon. "I've told you about sharing beds in the orphanage, didn't I? It's just... like a habit."
"That's why you always want to sleep with me?"
Zoro grinned. "What? Are you disappointed now?"
"As if, bastard!"
In the next few weeks, Zoro got used to the way things worked at EBU.
While he had been weirded out by all the strange people, rules and study methods at first (some of the robots in Combat Class had freaking lasers), he had soon settled in and got used to life at the unusual school.
A few things still got on his nerves, though...
"Zoro, duck!" Usopp cried out but Zoro had already sensed the fire ammunition flying towards him and evaded the attack with a quick step to the left.
"Ah, sorry about that!" Usopp said, scratching his head as several students calmly grabbed the near-by fire extinguishers to save the burning curtains. Taking care of such things was as normal as toilet breaks at this place. "The ammunition is great and all but I still have to work on the control... it's supposed to fly like a bird, you know?"
"And you think that will work?" Zoro asked.
"Oh, yes! I... might not be the best fighter, but I have great aim!" Usopp replied honestly and without his usual boasting voice. "It's just a matter of finding the right chemical substance, calculating the air pressure right and-"
Zoro held up his hand. "Don't bother explaining. If it works, it works. That's all I have to know."
"You're just like Luffy," Usopp said, grinning. "He called it 'mystery fire' when I tried to tell him about it."
"Your captain is rather carefree, isn't he?"
"Yeah, but his heart is in the right place and that's what counts," Usopp said and took out a few other red bullets from his bag. "Well, I gotta go and asked Chopper if he can help me with the chemicals... Maybe Robin, too. She reads a lot, you know? Well, see ya!"
And with that, Usopp hurried off before Paulie could come and spot the ruined curtains.
Zoro scratched his chin as he looked after him.
What Usopp had said about his aim was true... Zoro had seen him putting on quite a show in Combat Class. Sharpshooters were essential in a pirate crew, so Luffy was lucky to have someone like him in his crew.
And the others had valuable abilities as well.
Nami had proven astonishing talent in Navigation Class (the only subject Zoro would surely fail), Chopper was a great doctor despite his cute look and Robin had this vast knowledge that would be incredible useful in every treasure hunt.
Robin... she seemed to open up more and more lately and little by little, she had told Luffy and the other's about her past. There were still CP9 members following her around, but thanks to the Strawhats accompanying her wherever she went, they hadn't been able to do anything to her.
It had surprised Zoro a lot to get to know about Luffy's influence. With his carefree nature, he had seemed more like a guy who grew up somewhere on the countryside and not like the son and grandson of a revolutionary and a marine vice-admiral.
Not to mention the connection to one of the emperors and even the relationship to Whitebeard's second-in-command... Sanji was right, though. The government will see Luffy's act of making Robin join his crew as a threat and, alliance between pirates and government or not, they will most likely do everything in their power to get the right of arresting the Strawhats after graduation.
Yeah, Zoro could already see that they would be feared by the world in the future.
To find such a team that complemented each other perfectly could only have been fate or incredible luck.
Whatever it was, Luffy becoming the pirate king seemed less and less incredulous the longer Zoro knew him. The boy just had an air around him that made it seem as if he could make anything possible.
While walking down the corridor like that, Zoro thought more and more about the Strawhats and realised for the first time how much the crew had grown on him.
Crewmember or not, they had become great friends in the past few weeks and Zoro had even caught himself thinking about just giving in and joining them but... there was still his promise holding him back.
To become the best, he had to beat 'that person' and how was he supposed to do that when he was sailing with Luffy somewhere on the Grand Line? Could he even become stronger when he had to protect his friends... his crew?
"You have to live your own life, Zoro. She wouldn't want you to live in the past..."
Koshiro's words... Zoro remembered them more and more, lately.
"Find your own path, Zoro... trust your intuition and you might end up in an unexpected place but still reach your goal in the end."
Ending up in unexpected places... Zoro was an absolute pro at that.
Frowning as he was suddenly standing in front of a wall, Zoro scratched his head and turned around. Strange... he had been sure that way would lead him to the classrooms.
His next lesson was maths and before now, he had always had a few people accompany him... if not Usopp or Chopper, who hoped he could protect them from Kidd, then one or more captains who couldn't shut up about him joining their crews.
He had about half an hour left before class, but... all these corridors were so damn confusing!
How the hell was he supposed to find anything when the layout of the place kept changing?
Cocking his head as he somehow ended up in another dead-end, Zoro turned around and tried his luck again.
While walking he kept thinking back to the crew and their insane captain.
He did get along well with everyone... even Sanji, as prissy and annoying he could be, had slowly grown on him and ever since the time he had been drunk, Zoro couldn't help but be curious about him.
What Ace had said about Sanji's sexuality... how the cook drank too much even though he knew what Ace would do... strangely enough, it had caught Zoro's interest.
Maybe it was just Ace and Law rubbing off on him, but the reason for him coming out of the bathroom in his birthday suit had been a sort of test. He had wanted to know how Sanji would react and... well, the cook sure had given him a once-over.
Zoro grinned as he remembered Sanji's face from that moment. The wide eyes and blush, he had thought he could hide from Zoro, had been incredible funny! Zoro still couldn't be sure if Sanji was just overly conscious of other men or really had a thing for them, but at least he had found out something interesting: another sure way to annoy the hell out of the blond.
It might not have any valuable effect on his training, but it was a sort of entertainment, Zoro didn't want to miss.
Being completely lost in his thoughts, Zoro frowned as he suddenly realised, he had left the building and was stepping out into the blazing sunlight.
Shielding his eyes, he looked around and recognised the courtyard. Hadn't he been on the third floor before? When the hell had he gone downstairs?
Just when he wanted to turn around and go back into the confusing building, he heard the familiar sound of swords clashing together.
His curiosity peaked, Zoro walked to the dojo where the sound was coming from and looked through a crack in the door. His eyes widened at the sight.
A man stood in the centre of the room, surrounded by the metal training dummies, they often used for practice. Even from a distance, Zoro could see that they were set on the highest fighting level and even though Zoro had beaten one of them easily in practice, he knew it had to be difficult to fight more than three of them at once... and that man was fighting about fifty!
A look at the giant black sword on the swordsman's back, told Zoro what he had already expected: he had finally found the man he had been searching for... he had found the best swordsman in the world: Juraquille Mihawk.
Without a second thought, Zoro opened the door.
Right at that moment, nothing could keep him from his duel.
"You damn bastard! You jerk! Look what you've done!" Chopper pressed out between thick tears as he treated Zoro's wounds: a giant gash on his chest as well as several smaller stabbing wounds.
"Such an idiot! Could have died! Stupid! Stupid!" the reindeer went on and on and Zoro let him.
He felt bad to cause the little guy such distraught but what could he do? Zoro hadn't been able to resist the urge of fighting the best... not when he had been right in front of him and he wanted to fulfil his promise to his friend.
"Stop crying, Chopper. I'm alright, aren't I? Sanji said you're the best doctor in all of All Blue Central... I'm in good hands."
His teary face splitting into a silly grin, Chopper clapped his hooves together and began to make a strange dance. "Shut up! Your compliments don't make me happy at all, you jerk!"
Zoro frowned but didn't say anything. He had already grown accustomed to taking strange behaviour (and even stranger habits) in stride.
Both, reindeer and swordsman jumped as the door slammed open and an annoyed Sanji came in.
"I'm here. Where is that shitty swordsman?" he said as he only saw Chopper while Zoro stayed hidden behind a curtain.
"I'm here, shitcook. Don't scream like that, you idiot," Zoro said. He felt an eyebrow twitching as he talked to the cook... for some reason, he really annoyed him at that moment.
"Shut up, bastard! My Home Economics class was interrupted because of you! Che, I bet you aren't even hurt that badl-" Sanji shut up the very moment he had opened the curtain and was staring at Zoro's chest. "What the fuck is that wound?" he screamed, his eyes wide as they wandered over the stitched up gash that run over Zoro's entire chest.
"Don't worry, Sanji. I've cleaned the wound and stitched him up. The wound would've been fatal if Mihawk had slashed him a bit deeper but it seems like he wanted him to live."
"I... I'm not worried," Sanji said with still wide eyes and Zoro looked away. He felt strangely exposed at that moment. "You said... Mihawk did this? I only heard he had a duel..."
"I challenged him," Zoro said. His eyes were still fixed to the wall. "My dream is to become the greatest swordsman, so I had to fight him."
"You moron! Even an idiot would know that you aren't a match for him! He is a fucking Shichibukai!"
"I still had to fight him."
Chopper looked from one of them to the other and then cleared his throat. "Ehm, Sanji... there is something I wanted to ask you. You're Zoro's roommate, so... could you help him out a bit? There are a few things that will be difficult for him... with that wound and all."
"Help him out? With what?" Sanji asked and then his eyes widened. "Wait a minute... he can still piss on his own, right? No way in hell will I ever touch-"
"No! Not that!" Chopper said after changing into his human form and holding Zoro down who made to strangle the cook at that moment. "Just putting salve on his wounds. He has a few ugly bruises on his back that need to be taken care of. I would come to your room to help you, but I have to help the school nurse out for the next week... it would help me a lot if you could do that."
"... Just putting that stuff on his back?"
"Just his back."
"Nothing... strange? Like washing him, or... or..."
"W-Well, you could help him to bathe, but-"
"NO WAY IN HELL WILL I DO THAT!"
"NO WAY IN HELL WILL I LET THAT PERVERT BATHE ME!"
Sanji and Zoro had cried out together and were now glaring at each other, their eyes blazing fire.
"What did you say, you shitty swordsman? Who is a pervert, huh?"
"The idiot with the curled eyebrow! I bet you can't wait to get your hands on me!"
"Shut up, you bastard! You were the one who climbed into my bed when I was drunk!"
"You held onto me, asshole! I had no choice!"
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, marimo! I know you want a piece of my ass, you homo!"
"That skinny thing? Don't make me laugh!"
Chopper looked back and forth between him, frowning as they kept saying stranger and stranger things. Humans could be quite silly...
"Um, it was just a suggestion, I-" Chopper began but was soon interrupted by Sanji.
"Who is skinny, you Neanderthal? Not everyone is a damn bull like you, you moss-head!"
"Z-Zoro, Sanji, I really-"
"Che! You're just jealous of my great physique! Bet you would love to look like me... maybe then you'd finally get a chance of getting laid!"
"As if any woman would ever touch a stupid oaf like-"
"WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?" Chopper cried, transforming into his human form again and hitting them on their heads. They fell face first to the ground and it took Chopper a whole of two seconds to realise what he had done. "Oh, no! I've hit an injured person!" he cried out as he held an unconscious Zoro in his arms. "Someone call a doctor!"
Sanji sighed deeply as hours later, he put the thick, green salve on Zoro's back.
"Oi, what's with the sigh?" Zoro asked, irritatedly.
"I just wish you were a woman... then I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with you, applying lotion to your body, helping you shower..." Sanji replied slowly.
"You're such an idiot... I really don't get your obsession with women."
"Don't tell me you're gay, too."
Zoro snorted. "I just think a man should've better things to do than chasing skirts."
"Are you kidding?" Sanji exclaimed, his hands stopping its movement on Zoro's back. "Women are... women are the best thing in this world! They're like... like... a dazzling light in the dark or... or an oasis in a desert of brute, filthy men! Oh, what would I do if goddesses like Nami-swan or Vivi-chwan weren't wandering upon this Earth... how would I be if-" Sanji's side trip to poetry was raw interrupted by an elbow hitting his stomach. "What the hell, you idiot! That hurts!"
"Then stop blabbering nonsense and go on with the creaming, cook. Do you think I like having your hands all over me while listening to your verbal diarrhoea?"
"You little... I'm doing you a favour here, bastard! I'm not enjoying this any more than you do!"
"Good, because you'll have to help me wash my back as well," Zoro said, smirking. "Wouldn't want to have your hands wandering anywhere..."
"You... you..." Sanji stuttered, staring at the bastard's back. "I would never-... I'm not-..."
"Then get on with it, shitcook. I don't have the whole day."
"You ungrateful, little..." Sanji mumbled as he rubbed the salve not all too gently on Zoro's wounds. "Don't you have any interest in women at all? Not at least a type or something?"
"What do I need a type for?" Zoro asked. "When I fall in love, I fall in love. It's not like I can control it..."
"Then... you never thought of someone: 'I wouldn't mind sheathing my sword into that' or anything?"
Zoro snorted. "Never heard that one before, shitcook."
"Seriously, though. Don't you ever think about sex? Not at all?"
"Why should I do that?" Zoro asked. "Falling in love, that would be something I can't help, but why should I think about sex before that? It's useless, isn't it?"
Sanji stared at the green head in front of him. "H-How can you even say that?" he asked. "And you call yourself a man? Sex is... it's just natural! Don't you have any urges?"
"Trained myself out of them," Zoro replied and Sanji couldn't help but stare open-mouthed at the rare animal in front of him.
He had to be an alien. A green, asexual, bulky alien... from Mars!
Yeah, that sounded about right.
Meanwhile, Luffy and Usopp stood outside Sanji's and Zoro's room, talking quietly to each other.
"Why don't we go inside, Usopp?" Luffy asked, frowning at his friend. "I need to tell them about Ace's idea"
"I-... I think we should wait a bit longer Luffy... I-It wouldn't be good to interrupt them now..."
"Interrupt? Interrupting wha-"
"Can't you rub me a bit harder, cook? I barely feel anything..." came Zoro's voice from the room.
"Not my fault that an oaf like you needs longer..." Usopp and Luffy heard Sanji reply.
"Che... do you know where that other lotion is?"
"You mean the slippery one?"
"Yeah, we'll need it in a bit..."
"We definitely can't interrupt!" Usopp cried out, his face pale as he looked at the door.
"Oh, are they playing a game?" Luffy asked, excitedly. "Ace always says stuff like that when he is playing with his friends and I have to leave the room." Luffy frowned. "There isn't a sock on their door, though. Ace said I can't go in when there's a sock on our door... and when it's gone, the game is over."
Usopp stared at him. "Are you really seventeen years old?"
"Sure! Why do you ask?"
"No reason..." Usopp said and then looked at the door again. "We can't go in, though."
Luffy pouted. "But I wanna play too! It sounds like so much fun!"
"Zoro can't you bend a bit forward? It's hard to reach the right spot this way..."
"Better this way? Ngh... not that fast, shitcook. Can't you be a bit gentler?"
"Pah, it's not like you can't take it, idiot. Well, this better?"
"Mh... yeah."
"Good, we... I should be finished in a bit. It would still be better if you were a girl, though."
"Shut up! You know you love it, cook."
"In your dreams, you shitty bastard."
"Usopp, why are you hitting the wall with your head?" Luffy asked.
Teary-eyed, Usopp grabbed Luffy's shoulders. "Is everyone in this school gay, Luffy? Everyone?"
Cocking his head, Luffy crossed his arms and crouched his forehead in deep thought. "... Are you gay, Usopp?"
"Of course not!" Usopp yelled back and Luffy laughed.
"Shishishi! Nope, not everyone then."
Usopp kept crying for hours.
Sanji sat on the windowsill, looking at the big gate of their school, his eyes unblinking as he searched for any and all signs of suspicious movement.
He was startled as his door suddenly slammed open and Luffy entered. "Oi! What did I tell you about knocking, idiot? What if I have a woman in here, or-..."
"Shishishi! A woman, that was funny, Sanji!" Luffy said and Sanji's eyebrow twitched. "But did you see? Zoro left the building with his swords!"
"Yeah, and alone again... even though, he is still hurt," Sanji replied. He had seen how Zoro went out about fifteen minutes ago, but knew it was pointless to do anything about it. It was the Heart Pirates' turn to patrol that night and Zoro's pride wouldn't allow him to accept the help, anyway. The marimo had been horrified when Chopper announced he would have to stop training for a while.
"Come on, I wanna follow him," Luffy said giddily, looking out of the window over Sanji.
"Luffy, I think Zoro will be strong enough to-"
"Don't you want to see him fight?" Luffy interrupted him. "And don't say you don't want to! I know you're interested in him!"
"If you're implying the same thing Usopp had claimed for days, then-"
"Naaah," Luffy said. "Zoro is just a great fighter and you love to see him in action! I love it, too!" Luffy grinned. "Zoro will join our crew tonight, Sanji. I can feel it!"
Sanji looked at the excited face of his captain for a while. Strangely enough, Luffy's hunches were usually correct.
"Alright, let's go then. It will be on your head, though! He won't be happy about this..."
"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Zoro said after he had taken care of the last two pirates and noticed Sanji and Luffy behind him.
"Told you, he wouldn't be happy," Sanji said to Luffy who grinned in return.
"We're just watching, nothing more," Luffy said and sat down on one of the garbage bins at the wall.
"Did Chopper ask you to do this?" Zoro asked, squinting his eyes at them. "He had been on my case for days now!"
"He cares about you. Not his fault that his heart is soft enough to worry about an idiot like you..."
"Oi!"
"Behind you, Zoro," Luffy said and Zoro raised his sword to parry an attack to his back.
The pirate only had time for a short 'eep!' before he was without sword and Zoro knocked him out.
"I knew that one was coming," Zoro declared afterwards.
"Yep, 'course you did!" Luffy replied. "You're a great swordsman, after all."
"I'm not the best..." Zoro said as he took down another two enemies.
"I'm not the best, either. Not yet," Luffy said and grinning, he leaned forward. "But I'll be one day. Become my swordsman, Zoro!"
"I... already refused."
"And I'm asking again. Join us," Luffy said a bit more firmly.
When Zoro stayed quite as he continued to fight approaching pirates, Sanji lit up a cigarette. "Come on, shithead! Just give it up... you've already been caught," he said, blowing out the smoke. "You've felt how strong Mihawk is on your own body... you know it will take you years to reach his level! So, why don't you come with us? Fighting off enemies of the new pirate king... what better way is there to become the best?"
Zoro struck down one last enemy and then turned to look at them. "Che... you guys really are crazy. Let's say, I'm really gonna join your crew... what position am I supposed to take? Swordsmanship is my only ability."
"Shishishishi! Isn't that obvious?" Luffy said, grinning from ear to ear. "I knew it from the start... You're my first mate, Zoro."
Zoro stared at Luffy. "You... you gotta be joking!" he said and then turned his head to Sanji who shrugged.
"No objections from me. As strange as it is, you do look the part..."
Zoro's bewildered expression turned into a frown as he looked back at Luffy who was still grinning. "Welcome to the crew, Zoro," Luffy said and extended his hand.
Koshiro's words rang inside Zoro's ears as he looked at the hand.
Find your own path, Zoro... live your own life...
Slowly, he reached out and took the hand that was offered to him.
"Thank you, captain," he said and a new path had opened.
TBC
So... this one was a bit shorter this time. Did you notice? ;)
It was more or less a transition chapter but I hope it was fun, anyway.
Well, if it was or not: please review! It always makes me happy to hear your thoughts!
Thank you for reading! :)