Well, Oh m' gawd, it's another chapter! -bounces around like a rubber ball- Enjoy my friends!

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Chapter 9

Luffy watched Zoro walk away from him with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"Hm." he muttered worriedly before following. The bushes were thick, and the air was humid as the two fought their way through overgrown bracken, and small thorns that left itchy scratches on their arms. Zoro silently wished he could have brought his swords to cut through this damn undergrowth, but, there was nothing to be done about it.

"Come on Luffy! It's right through here." he called over his shoulder.

"Yay!" and he raced past Zoro, ducking under the branches, and bouncing easily around the bushes.

"Whoa!" Zoro jumped forward and grabbed the excited, monkey wannabe by the back of his collar. Luffy jerked back and then looked up at Zoro with a hurt expression, "Don't go on ahead. There's a narrow path with a drop on the either side, and, Nami would charge me a hell of a lot of money if I lost you." and he moved past Luffy, ducking under a swaying branch. Luffy blinked after him, pouting.

"Nawww. Zoro, you're worrying too much." he commented, "I've got luck on my side!" and he grinned happily. Zoro snorted as he walked ahead.

"Yeah right. Luck, don't believe in it." he responded. Luffy shrugged, not really caring as he looked around. He knew his luck was real. It had proved itself to be useful way too many times during his life. He was thankful it was there.

"Ah well, you do as you want." and he was jerked as a branch stuck in his shirt. He chuckled as he detangled it. Zoro grunted as an agreement to his latest statement. He stepped onto a log, that he remembered, used to lead across the ravine into his little area. Problem was, the ravine was no longer a ravine. More like, a short drop. Falling off the monkey bars at the park would be more dangerous. Zoro blinked.

"Hnh… looked a lot bigger when I was a kid." he muttered to himself. It had looked a lot bigger, but then, he had been a lot smaller. A lot smaller, come to think of it. Luffy blinked silently and followed. Zoro paused for a little longer, before walking across the small log, as easily as if it were a sidewalk. No problems there, except when the log creaked dangerously when Zoro reached the centre. Luffy had chuckled behind him and Zoro frowned and felt his face grow a little hot.

After all, the log had been there a long time, and he wasn't that heavy. At least, he didn't think he was. All the same, the swordsman quickly moved off the log and felt better when he was standing on solid ground again. He shoved a tree out of the way, and stopped. Lying directly in front of him was a headstone, a small stone bird with it's wings opened out, sat on top of it. It was cracked, and dirty but Zoro recognised it instantly, and his heart thundered in his chest.

His eyes were transfixed by the image in front of him, and his face seemed devoid of colour. It had been so long… The night, the dark… and her scream. The one that had woken him up as he lay in the room next door. Why hadn't they killed him? Instead of her?

A dark chuckle, a glimmer of gold from beneath those piercing eyes. He remembered how he had been shoved roughly back into his own room, and then somehow, the door had been locked from the other side. There was no mechanism on the inside of that door, and he had been locked in until morning. When her father had found him, he was curled up on the bed, pillow over his head as he cried, knowing his best friend was dead.

Luffy's foot caught on a root and he fell forward, knocking into Zoro's solid back. The man was as still as a statue, and Luffy pushed himself back up again and looked up at him.

"Wha?" he muttered and then realized something was up, "What?" he asked quietly. Luffy tilted his head, looking past Zoro. His eyes widened as they came to rest on the headstone in front of him. He knew it. Somehow…

"But that's…" and he trailed off, not willing to speak the name aloud in the silence. It felt like blasphemy to do so. Zoro seemed to come out of his daze, and he slowly sank to his knees before running a hand across the bird's head. The texture of the stone was rough, from years of rain beating on it's surface. His hand went down the bird's chest and then paused as it passed down past the top of it, and there his fingers stopped, trembling, as if touching the stone would crumble it.

"Kuina's…" he finished softly. He really missed her, and no words could describe how much. Zoro reached forward and slowly traced the letters that were imprinted into the stone. Luffy blinked, and he could have sworn he had heard the name before.

"Was… she your friend?" he asked hesitantly. Zoro smiled and nodded.

"Yeah." he replied. Luffy took a breath and prepared to ask the next question. He had a sneaking suspicion as to what the answer would be.

"…she was murdered." he replied and the hand that had been tracing the letters, fell to his side in a clenched fist, "They never found out who did it." But I saw him… He thought to himself. Luffy sighed and bowed his head. He was right.

"I'm sorry." he said softly. Zoro sighed and rubbed a hand over his face and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." he replied. Luffy hissed a little and looked towards the sky.

So Crocodile, you've gone this far… He silently said. Luffy wished Croc could hear him, but, he also wished he couldn't. If the Croc heard him, then he would have been in serious trouble. He looked down at Zoro and he felt a pang of pity, and sorrow in his heart.

"But, I have to worry, because-" but he was cut off as Zoro stood up so quickly, his earrings clinked as they fell back into place.

"Shh, there's someone else here…" he muttered, his sharp eyes glancing from side to side. Luffy closed his mouth and turned to face the bushes across from him. Something was definitely moving over there, quietly, and stealthily… but it was there.

Like a shadow, it moved. Whispering like the wind. Luffy's eyes narrowed. He hoped it wasn't him. If it was… A cloud passed across the sun and threw the area into shadow. Zoro glanced in the same direction as Luffy and his lip curled slightly.

"Get down low." he instructed in a voice that was hardly above a whisper. He crouched down again in front of Kuina's grave, and Luffy did the same behind him, biting his lip and clenching his fists as he did so.

"You sure about this Zoro?" Luffy whispered. Zoro inclined his head ever so slightly. His hand went instinctively to his hip where his swords usually were, but, they weren't there now, and it made Zoro feel decidedly uneasy. Luffy growled slightly and moved to a more comfortable position, one that he could easily spring up out of if something threatened them. Zoro was coiled low, like a snake preparing to strike.

What if…Luffy thought as they looked around. The silence was eerie, the wind whispering through the leaves of the trees about them. The cloud passed and the area was thrown into sunlight again. A loud squawk beside them made the two jump. It was only a flock of water birds flying up into the sky as if suddenly startled. Zoro sighed in front of him and Luffy could almost see the tension flying off the older man. He had been pretty edgy himself come to think of it.

"It's gone." Zoro said as he stood. Luffy frowned as he stood up as well, still looking around him nervously. Zoro glanced back at Luffy and blinked. The kid looked pretty worried.

"That was a freaky moment," he said, "should we continue? Or do you wanna go home? You look really pale." and he raised an eyebrow at Luffy, who shook his head. The boy looked up at him.

"It's nothing. Let's go…" he replied. Zoro shrugged and turned around, brushing a hand across Kuina's grave a final time before continuing. Luffy followed Zoro on silent feet. He was keeping even quieter than he had been before. Even if Zoro said whatever it was, was gone, he wasn't willing to take any chances. Zoro seemed to be alright though, he seemed actually, happier, than he had been before.

Which was a turn around. The swordsman led Luffy through some more bush, cursed at some more thorns, and then pushed through a last group of trees to come out in a relatively well groomed area. The grass wasn't as long as what was behind them, and it was green and lush and soft. A large, sparkling river ran past a huge, and old tree which was leaning sadly to one side. A rotting tree house was in it's uppermost branches and Zoro glanced around for a moment, memories coming back to him, and making him slightly dizzy.

"Here we are…" he announced in a bored voice. Inside though, he was thrilled to be back at his old secret hideout. The river had gotten a little wider, the tree had died a bit more, and the grass was greener, but other than that, nothing much had changed. He still remembered when Kuina had found him taking refuge in her tree house. That had been a fantastic meeting. She had nearly drowned him in the river. Zoro chuckled to himself. Luffy fell out of the trees beside him and stopped, looking around with big eyes.

"Wooooooooow!" he cried. Zoro blinked at him and then looked away, rubbing a hand over the back of his head nervously.

"It's not that great." He replied, although he secretly thought Luffy's reaction had been a perfect representation of what he was feeling himself.

"It's beautiful!" Luffy cried and he ran over to the river and stared down into the water. Tiny fish darted underneath the crystal surface, like they were caught beneath glass and swimming in a world all of their own. Small, shining pebbles of every colour lay at the bottom of the river, there beauty making Luffy want to reach out and touch them, but, at the same time, the boy didn't want to disturb the perfect surface beneath him. Zoro sighed and shook his head, but smiled all the same.

"Yeah…" he replied and then his stomach rumbled loudly… and embarrassingly. He put a hand over it as a light pink tinge came to his cheeks. Luffy turned and looked at Zoro, grinning widely which only served to make the swordsman blush harder.

"Zoro's hungry!" he announced. Zoro's eyes darted around on the ground, looking anywhere but at Luffy's face.

"Yeah, well…" he replied pitifully, not really knowing what to say. There was a short, but very uncomfortable silence for the swordsman.

"FOOD!" Luffy cried in a voice that made Zoro smile, and his embarrassment died down. That statement, had made it a little better.

"Heh, yeah." and he sat down by a tree and placed the food on the ground beside him. Luffy ran over, and then dropped to all fours in the soft grass before crawling over to Zoro and slipping into his lap.

"Ne, ne Zoro?" he asked impatiently, bouncing slightly. Zoro fought down that irritating and persistent blush as he looked down at the bundle of Luffy in his lap.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a voice that clearly said he disapproved. Thank God Sanji isn't here. He thought privately and then a smiled a little cheekily, "You have the food remember." Luffy blinked.

"I do?" he looked down at himself, "Then where did it go?" and he twisted, trying to look at his back. Zoro had to stop himself from laughing.

"You tied it to you! Aw man, don't tell me you lost it?" he called. Luffy blinked and his face became slightly stricken.

"Luffy doesn't know…" he replied in a quiet voice. Zoro chuckled.

"Wait, I have it." and he brought it out. Luffy blinked some more and then chuckled.

"Silly Zoro." and he grinned. This time, it was Zoro's turn to blink. Obviously Luffy hadn't picked up on the fact that it had been a trick. Oh well. He handed Luffy his (the boy was drooling) and pulled his hand quickly away. He needed that hand, and if he hadn't have pulled it away, he was sure Luffy would have swallowed it whole. Luffy, who, by the way, was still sitting in Zoro's lap, swallowed all the chips and fish in two seconds flat. In some country, somewhere, Luffy had broken a record. He was liking his fingers, when Zoro moved his knees. Luffy whined and looked up at him.

"You, ah, wanna get out of my lap?" Zoro asked as he raised an eyebrow. Luffy pouted.

"Naah, I like it here." he replied with a cute little smile, before he nuzzled Zoro's shirt. This made the older man blush as red as a tomato.

"You're a strange one. Why don't you, errr… go and have a swim? Or something." Luffy frowned at the suggestion and then looked down, finding a piece of grass and tugging at it.

"…I can't swim." he replied. Zoro hadn't expected that answer.

"You serious?" he asked. Luffy muttered and turned away again, an obvious blush on his features. Zoro mentally kicked himself, realizing he had hurt Luffy's feelings.

"But, hey, that's cool. I mean, there are heaps of people who can't swim. Why don't you climb a tree?" he asked as he finished off the last of his food. Luffy was still turned away, so his voice was muffled when he next spoke.

"…it's more like I'm…" and he mumbled something that Zoro couldn't hear. The boy was continuing as if he hadn't heard Zoro at all. The swordsman blinked, thinking he should let Luffy continue this time.

"You're what?" he urged. Luffy looked down at the ground.

"Afraid…" he replied. Zoro paused. He knew he shouldn't ask, but, he couldn't resist.

"Afraid? Why?" Luffy shook his head and put on a smile, that Zoro instantly knew was fake.

"That's not important." and he tilted his head. Zoro eyed Luffy for a little longer before shrugging.

"Guess not." and he moved to stand, "Come on, get off. I need to stretch." Luffy whined loudly.

"Awww," and he pouted in an attempt to get Zoro to let him stay, but the swordsman made shoo-ing signs with his hands. Luffy pouted harder but Zoro gave him a stern look and this time Luffy got up, wrapping his arms around Zoro's neck as he did so.

"Whee!" he cried and grinned. Zoro blushed.

"Right." he muttered and stood up as well. He didn't realize until he was up, that Luffy was still hanging from his neck. The boy's face was a mere few centimetres in front of his face and Zoro jerked his back a little bit, his face becoming stricken. Luffy did that cute smile again and tilted his head, the hat flopping to one side.

"Na, Zoro?" he said. Zoro just took Luffy's arms away from his neck, which made Luffy frown. Then the boy grinned as he hopped onto one foot and balanced there.

"What's going to happen when Nami and Sanji finds out about us not going to school?" he asked as he skipped onto the other foot. Zoro stretched his arms towards the sky before letting them drop to his side and shrugging. His previous paranoia and nervousness was replaced with a need to sleep.

"Don't know, don't care, how's that?" he responded and grinned cheekily. Luffy didn't see the grin.

"Because, is Nami gonna make Zoro owe her more money?" he asked and looked up at his friend. Zoro blinked, and then frowned.

"That witch probably will, come to think of it." he replied. He shrugged again and stretched some more. Luffy looked back down at the ground again.

Na, will… Zoro throw me out of the house? Luffy thought as he jumped back onto two feet again. Zoro wasn't paying any attention to Luffy as he looked around, yawning and blinking blearily. He rubbed a hand across his eyes, looking like a little kid in need of a nap. Luffy frowned as his thoughts ran wild.

Because when I did that back with my foster parents, they threw me out… Good thing Ace was there though, but he moved away… Luffy thought and his heart thumped a little harder in panic. Meanwhile, Zoro had noticed the silence, and he studied the boy in front of him with a mildly concerned gaze.

"Hey, Luffy? You okay?" he asked, but Luffy ignored him as he stared at the ground. Actually, Luffy seemed to be deep in thought.

On the other hand… I should get out of here. Luffy continued inside his mind. He honestly hadn't heard Zoro. The swordsman frowned, and walked over.

"Oi!" he said loudly and poked Luffy in the shoulder with a hard finger. Luffy blinked and looked up.

"What?" he asked, his eyes wide. Zoro sighed.

"Never mind." he replied and looked at his watch. His eyes went slightly wider when he saw the time, "We're going to have to go back."

"Awww, but I like it here." Luffy whined, jumping over and clinging to the big tree. Zoro shook his head.

"Yeah, well, if we make it back to the house before three, we might be able to fool Sanji and Nami into thinking we were home sick for the day." he replied. Luffy pressed his face against the bark and then blinked as he realized what Zoro had said.

"OOOOH! Okay!" and he jumped away from the tree and grinned, "Let's go then!"

"Yeah, yeah." Zoro replied in a bored tone as he walked off. Luffy leaped after Zoro, and grabbed a hold of his arm, clinging to it as he began humming another song. Zoro looked down with a scowl, and Luffy looked up with a grin. Zoro sighed and looked away.

No point trying to make him let go… He thought as they followed the path back to the bike. Luffy nuzzled Zoro's arm before letting go and racing ahead to the bike. Zoro sighed again, and shook his head.

What the hell has happened to my life? He wondered and then he saw Luffy prodding things on his bike. Fragile, and breakable things.

"Hey! Don't touch that!" he yelled and ran after the boy. Yes indeed, what had happened to Zoro's life? Something good? Or something very, very bad.

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Holy cookies, I think that was the shortest chapter of them all. -shakes head- Shiru, we have to step it up next week! -grins cheekily and then dodges as Shiru throws rotten vegetables at her- Reviews please! -gets taken out by a tomato-