Title: The Wastelands
Pairing: ZoSan/SanZo
Summary: A series of drabbles in a post-apocolyptic AU in which a guy and his reindeer end up getting more than they bargained for when they pick up a certain blonde.
Warnings: Yaoi, foul language, slavery and discrimination (in later chapters).
AN: Another chapter done and dusted! :D It felt like a genuine effort to write this but that was probably because of all the homework I had to fit writing it around and also I was sick so that delayed this chapter by a few days. But may I just say... O MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW POPULAR THIS STORY IS! O.O I'm gonna be honest here, but if you guys hadn't of actually reviewed then this story wouldn't have been a story. This originally was just going to be some drabbles I wrote whilst I was bored but it sort of developed and mutated and became this- a full on story with an actual plot and everything! : ) I actually have the whole storyline wrote down in my notepad so it's just a matter of writing it all now ^-^ so thank you all of you for inspiring me!
Also, Kumiko Hasegawa- I'm sorry for making you obsessed with Chopper :L
Enjoy!
Oh also, there is only the build up to the fight here because it had to be this way for the next chapter, trust me on this guys. Also, the next chapter will be twice as long. Think, a two chapters in one sort of thing :D
The trio pulled to a halt as they reached an entrance that seemed to have been blasted through the rock. Chopper snorted and scuffed the ground with his hooves, Sanji steadying him with a small, tentative tug of the reins. The blonde looked down at Zoro who was leaning all his weight on his right leg, hip jutting out and his wrist resting on the handles of the three swords that were strapped to his side. He was shielding his eyes with his left hand from the afternoon sun as he took in the sight before them.
It was a huge wasteland plain stretching out to the horizon with enormous cliffs, mountains even, surrounding it in a perfect ring before leaving a gap the opposite side. There appeared to be what Sanji assumed was a worn path running from the entrance to the exit and Zoro seemed to notice it too as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and grinned to no one in particular, "We'll head on further in and make camp alongside this road. Chopper, you're on first watch tonight," He said, nodding at his own orders. Beneath him, Sanji watched the large animal snort then seemingly nod its large head. Zoro smiled, "Good boy. Sanji," He turned to the blonde, "I'll take the next watch."
Sanji hummed his affirmation and fiddled with the reins, twisting the worn leather around his hands. He waited for his instructions- to be told he had to take watch as well- but they never came. Instead, Zoro hooked the fingers of his left hand through Chopper's bridle and led them on.
They walked in silence for a good while, the only sound being the rhythmic clop of Chopper's hooves, and Sanji fidgeted in the saddle. He was sure the peace was supposed to be what they called 'comfortable' but to Sanji it felt awkward, like it needed to be filled with words. He picked the first thing that came to mind, but it seemed the green haired man had beaten him to the chase.
"How old are you, Sanji?"
Surprised by the abrupt question, Sanji blurted the only response he had, "Wha-?"
Zoro chuckled and shook his head, "I just thought that, you know- if we're gonna be friends- that we should get to know each other..." He paused and the smirk on his face shifted quickly into a sudden worried look, "That's what friends do, right?"
His two very odd eyes looked up at Sanji, asking for approval and the blonde shifted awkwardly, "I think so," he replied, "But..." He let out a dry laugh, "I never had many friends." The memories of his childhood; All Blue and the slave center and the fights he started both there and in his home city; flickered in his mind's eye and he looked down at the hairs on Chopper's neck. He didn't know what kind of response he was expecting from Zoro, but he wasn't happy that the man's first reaction was to laugh.
It wasn't a loud bark, or an embarrassing taunt of a laugh though and when Sanji listened he heard the sealed note of sadness in it. He looked across, blue eyes emerging from their hiding place behind his fringe at the other who walked beside him. Zoro was smiling up at him but Sanji could tell instantly that it was forced. They all smiled like that back at the center- every last slave. Trying to put up a brave wall around the painful world they lived in. 16 used to smile like that all of the time and Sanji winced, thinking back to that natural smile he'd given Zoro when the man had proposed a friendship between them. 16 and the other slaves would never get to smile like that and, in a way, it made Sanji feel guilty that he'd been so carefree with his emotions- taking them for granted when people he knew were suffering without them.
Zoro blinked calmly, "That makes three of us," He said.
Sanji frowned, "Three of us?"
Zoro turned his face away and moved closer into Chopper to fuss the reindeer's ear. Chopper whined gratefully and stopped walking, too distracted in trying to lick the man who was giving him attention.
"Yeah," Zoro said as he pushed Chopper's curious tongue away from his nose, "Chopper wasn't too good when I met him... Poor guy," His hand was rubbing at the base of the deer's antler as the large animal settled for drooling up the man's neck. Sanji tried not to watch the way Chopper's tongue ran in to the scars on the tanned flesh. This close Sanji could see how they were like little ditches, grooving into the skin of his neck and he wondered just how bad the orginal injuries were. He stomped the burning desire to ask about them and decided it would be something to ask later when there was a level of trust established- it seemed a sensitive subject and Sanji didn't want to be punched for the same reason he'd punched Zoro.
"But," Zoro continued, "He's alright now. We're all alright now."
Sanji wanted to protest about how no, he was not alright, but the way Zoro was smiling as he fussed the reindeer had him nodding and smiling too.
"So, how old are you?" Zoro asked again and this time Sanji managed to answer sufficiently.
"Just turned twenty last month. What about you?"
Zoro pushed away the overly affectionate reindeer and nodded, "I'm nineteen. But I'll be twenty soon."
"So I'm older, huh?"
"Yup," The other replied, taking Chopper's bridle back into his hand, "Hey, Sanji?"
"Yeah?"
"Where-?"
The green haired man's words were cut and he paused, looking up at Sanji with a dumbfounded expression on his face. His mouth opened then closed but no sound came out.
Sanji narrowed his eyes, "Zoro, what's wron-"
Zoro's eyes rolled back and his fingers fell limp, slipping from their hold on Chopper, and he collapsed backwards, hitting the ground harshly. Sanji panicked,
"Zoro!"
Sand Dragons are relatively harmless- being one of the more placid forms of Wasteland wildlife- despite their looks. They are the fastest reptile of the land and are armed with razor claws and two fangs that overhang their bottom lips, but they are purely for defense and have never been known to attack humans unprovoked which is why, in many of the remaining clans of civilization, they make such good working animals or pets.
Currently a man was stood on one of said creatures, perfectly upright and balanced on the flat planes of the large lizard's back. Attached to his waist was a harness that was linked to the strap around the Sand Dragon's neck by a length of hardened leather so that if he toppled he'd never hit the ground. He was clad in nothing but dark buckled boots and black slack shorts that were a little faded and well weathered. Attached to his thigh was a hunting blade, his long back and left arm were branded with a symbolic tattoo and his eyes were shaded by the low brim of an orange hat that complimented the red beads and leather talisman around his neck. He whooped noisily as the Dragon bolted again, all muscle, speed and glittering purple scales. He leaned to the right, placing all his weight onto the leg and the reptile veered in a neat arc to the right to begin running circles around the boy who was calling out to him.
"Aaaaace! Ace, when's it my turn? AAAAAAACE!"
Pulling the Sand Dragon to a halt by leaning back on his heels, Ace sighed, "Stop whining, you're putting me off!"
"But Ace, you promised!" The younger boy was uncannily like the elder man minus the freckles and the fact the child had a scar under his left eye, "Please Ace, pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase!"
Ace sighed again, irritated, and began unbuckling the harness much to the younger's delight. He leapt down off the Sand Dragon and landed neatly on the ground, "Fine, but if you break your arms or something stupid don't come crying to me. I did warn you, Luffy."
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Luffy crowed and bounded forward with more enthusiasm and energy than a normal person would. Ace couldn't help but smile at his brother as he flung himself on the animal and strapped in. Looking up every now and then to keep an eye on him, Ace sat himself down on the large rock that stood proudly from the coarse dry ground at his feet. Behind him, the banging and dull clanks of metal rang out from the house as Franky worked on yet another one of his projects.
The three of them, Ace Luffy and Franky lived on the outer edge of Alabasta city. There were few occupied houses in the suburbs, most people not wanting to brave the unpredictability of living at the starting point of the Wasteland, but Ace liked it here and Franky preferred being somewhere where his metalwork wouldn't disturb the neighbours and Luffy was as carefree as always and had never complained so Ace had never felt the need to move. He crossed his legs on the rock and tilted the brim of his hat down. He checked on Luffy one more time to make sure his little brother hadn't killed himself yet and closed his eyes, deciding it was the perfect opportunity for a quick nap. He felt the lulling sense of lethargy beckoning him into sleep and he began to snore lightly, the deepness of his sleep and the volume of Franky's banging making him blissfully unaware of Luffy's cry of alarm as the Sand Dragon took a mind of its own and bolted into the Wasteland with the young teen still trapped in its harness.
"Zoro, Zoro! Wake up!"
Sanji slapped at the other man's face, hitting his cheeks lightly enough not to hurt him but firmly enough that it should have woken him up. When Zoro didn't stirr, Sanji took up his shoulders and gave him a rough shake, "Zoro!"
Chopper was pacing frantically, pawing at the dust with a hoof and tossing his head making whiny, pained noises in the back of his throat. Sanji was hunkered down at Zoro's side having jumped off Chopper's back with, in his weakened state, as much grace as a drunken camel. His ankle twinged slightly after landing awkwardly but it was just a weak sprain and he could care less about that right now. He shook Zoro again but to no avail; his head heavy and it rolled on his shoulders.
Sanji gave up on trying to rouse Zoro and slipped his fingers under the other's chin to feel around for a pulse. He pressed firmly in to the skin as he searched when Zoro hissed unpleasantly and his eyelids half opened to reveal glassy eyes. The blonde looked down and lifted his hand slightly and swallowed thickly at the sluggish trail of blood oozing in a thin line from a puncture mark just above the topmost scar in Zoro's collection. Sanji pressed it again tentatively and Zoro whined, his eyes fully opening. Sanji briefly wiped the blood on his hand off on his ragged jeans,
"Zoro? Oi, wake up,"
The green haired man stared at him, a dazed and confused expression on his face. Sanji waved in front of his face and bit his lip when Zoro's eyes didn't respond to the movement, "Zoro?"
"It's alright Sanji, he's just stunned."
The blonde froze as someone moved behind him. The familiar clank of chain and buckles rattled every so often and made the ex-slave's heart leap. His whole body tensed. Somewhere behind him, he could hear Chopper's distressed whines and short, deep growls.
"Twenty Eight, you will look at me when I'm talking to you."
Sanji tried not to tremble. Every bone in his body was screaming at him to not turn around, that he didn't have to respond to that number anymore. But, whether from sheer force of habit or something else he didn't know, Sanji turned his head to look over his shoulder and what he saw made his mouth run dry.
Chopper was backed up to the side, a gash that suspiciously looked like a bite mark on his shoulder and a wild, terrified look in his eyes as he tried to put distance between himself and the animal that prowled ever closer at him. Sanji recognised the beast instantly- the last time he'd seen it was when he'd almost been killed by it had his Master not stepped in. Slowly Sanji's hand crept down to Zoro's right hip, his movements masked by the fact his back was facing the enemy. His fingers slunk around the handle of a sword and his blue eyes narrowed,
"Bellamy..."
Bellamy cackled, amber eyes flashing and a sudden movement had Sanji bringing up Zoro's sword, the large blade heavy and unfamiliar in his hand, to fend off the attack but the weapon cut through thin air as the Slavemaster's movements neatly dodged it. Sanji's eyes widened as a length of chain made for his neck in a snake-like movement...
... A slave collar attached to the end of it.
'Shit.'
Whatever it was that had hit him, was making Zoro start to see some funny stuff. He watched as some big bear thing danced with Chopper out of the corner of his vision. It felt like a haze; one minute everything was moving stiffly and rigidly and the next it sort of flowed into a blur of images that made no sense. He could feel his body still, the rough ground beneath his fingers and the stifling hot air on his face, but he couldn't control it. It didn't seem to move, no matter how much he wanted it to.
At some point, he was sure, he'd seen Sanji. All blonde hair and big blue eyes that were wavy through his eyesight like a mirage. The guy was trying to tell him something. He heard his name a few times but the other words? No. They made no sense.
'Sanji?' He tried to ask but his mouth wasn't having any of it, refusing to move. Then Sanji vanished again and he felt a slight tugging sensation at his hip. He heard Sanji say something and he had to really force himself to listen to catch it. A name. 'Bellamy'.
'Bellamy?'
Zoro had never heard that before but it didn't sound like a good thing, not from the way Sanji had said it. Who was it? Zoro wanted to see. He tried to move but his body wouldn't obey. There was a sudden, frightened bray and Zoro's heart tightened.
Chopper.
What was happening? What the Hell was happening?!
A clash of metal and a yell, a hoarse and broken cry.
Sanji?!
Zoro growled inwardly- he had to move dammit! Sanji, Chopper... they needed him! Another scream cut through the strange atmosphere around Zoro and was strong enough to make him flinch bodily. He focused all his energy on willing his body to obey him. His heart was racing so loud and fast he could hear it in his ears. Slowly, painfully slowly, Zoro's fingers began to twitch.
Sanji's cries were reaching above and almost beyond hysterical. It was awful and it felt like they were grating at Zoro's very soul. He forced them out of his head, more intent on getting his limbs to move.
'Get up!' He snarled at himself, 'Get up, get up, get up!'
Sanji's last scream cut it, cutting through him and giving him that short burst of anger he need to get up. He staggered to his feet, the world swirling dangerously around him and he had to close his eyes against the sudden rush before opening them again. He felt heavy and sluggish but it didn't stop him from reaching to his swords and drawing them, surprised to find there were only two out of the three there. He shook his head, trying to clear some of his clouded mind.
"Piece of shit!" A crude bark followed by an inhuman wail and a laugh. Zoro turned slowly, almost losing his balance, as he followed the sounds. He had to pause a second and let his eyes register the awful sight before him.
A man clad in tanned leather and metal guards had his back to him, his interest taken by something else. He was laughing, saying something that Zoro's muddled mind couldn't understand. But Zoro didn't care about his words as his eyes took in what said man was doing.
Blonde locks were grabbed tightly in his free hand, holding his victim up by the hair whilst the other held a gnarled looking chain. He was jostling his arms roughly and whatever it was he was doing with that chain it seemed to be working, if the screams and the two bare feet kicking at the ground were anything to go by.
"What I'm doing is nothing compared to what Joker-san will do... So scream for me, Sanji. Scream..." The leather-clad man ordered and Zoro's chest instantly froze up.
Sanji?!
The man before him turned sharply and it took Zoro a moment to realise he hadn't just thought that but yelled it as well out loud. The other man looked angry for a moment before his face became twisted with sick glee, "What d'you think, hm?" He asked before dragging the man behind him out.
Zoro almost dropped his two katana.
Sanji's face was streaked with ashamed tears, his cheeks red from screaming and a small cut under his right eye. He was gasping for air, his body twisted in obvious pain and his fingers clutching around his neck. Zoro watched wordlessly as lines of red crept down the pale flesh of his chest. Sanji looked at him with broken, watery eyes that said more than the blonde ever could as the two pale hands fell away from his neck to reveal what it was attached to the ragged chain.
A collar.
Zoro felt a surge of power course through him and in an instant, all that weird dull headedness had gone. He raised his two swords in front of him,
"Nitoryu."
