Chapter 10

*Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its wonderful characters.
A special thank you goes out to HadenxCharm, my wonderful beta-reader. Anyways, thank you so much for reading. Please enjoy!*

'Shit,' Zoro thought as he slowly woke from his slumber. Apparently sometime during the night, he'd fallen asleep. He let out a world-weary sigh as he rubbed his face with a hand and realized the time - according to the alignment of the sun - it was about seven in the morning. How was he supposed to make sure Sanji was okay if he was taking a nap? Even though he would usually just wake up raring to go and decapitate some fuckers, he hadn't been sleeping well for a quite a while, so he wasn't sure if he would be able to wake up if trouble decided to pay them a visit.

'Damn it, can I really protect the ones I love?' Zoro thought with a sense of worthlessness as he slowly sat up and looked out to the blue ocean to see nothing but waves, all of which reminded him of the insufferable yet sexy chef's glorious eyes.

'Fuck, I'm falling apart, aren't I? I'm losing it. I'm slipping.'

There he was, his thought pattern spiraling downward further and further, still thinking about those beautiful eyes, but then, he remembered an unresolved predicament he'd gotten himself into, that of which involved those oceanic, determined, blue eyes and the person who possessed them.

He still hasn't decided if he was going to tell Sanji about his… depression. Just thinking about opening up about it made his stomach churn.

'Shit,' he thought again. 'What the fuck do I do…?... Should I… Lie to him? Say that I'm fine?' As soon as he considered that, he immediately shot the idea down. Sanji would know it was bullshit, for one. For two, Zoro felt like lying would be admitting that this was something worth hiding, that this was something disgusting and shameful that needed to be kept secret.

'What? No, I shouldn't lie about something like this...! I can't let this depression make me into something even more pitiable and worthless! Besides, I'm Roronoa Zoro! I'm supposed to be honorable and honest! That's who I am! Isn't it?!' Zoro thought harshly, mentally slapping himself as he gritted his teeth. Then he paused as his thoughts continued.

'Ha. Yeah, right. I've been lying, acting, for a long time now. It's a little too late to be thinking that I'm 'honest and honorable'. That's authentic bull shit right there… Anyway… going back to the problem at hand… What should I tell him…? Should I divulge everything to him? He said he wouldn't think of me as weak. He said that… I was his equal. But I can't help but think otherwise… He's gonna' think that I'm a pathetic bastard… isn't he? He's just gonna' think that I'm fuckin' shitty, mental, emotional, wretched, cowardly, pitiable… Shit. Why does this have to happen? Why am I no good? Why am I so pathetic? Why can't I fight this? Am I not strong enough? Shit, I even feel fucking guilty for feeling things like fucking sorrow! ... I mean I'm so lucky. People who love me surround me, I do what I love, and I chase my dreams. Why can't I revel in thatbliss?! Why am I so fucking ungrateful?! Can't I be happy? Can't I be content with all of those things I'm gifted with…?'

Zoro lifted his forlorn gaze to a bright blue sky spotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily along. His emotions were a strange yet woeful mix of emptiness and a great deal of dejection that dwelled within his sunken heart. Even so, he was oblivious of the trembling that his cursed katana seemed to be doing whenever he was lost within his melancholy thoughts.

'Isn't it my own fault that the guilt and the shame loom over me… that they consume me?' Zoro thought absentmindedly as he stared blankly at the sky.

'How can I be strong enough to deal with this feeling of complete hollowness? How can I be strong enough to swim above the waves that try to drown me? Its not like there's some sort of fucking training I can do to make this go away. Meditation doesn't help… I don't know what else there could be that would work.'

Zoro dropped his gaze to his calloused hands. His mix of emotions strained away thanks to the recent thoughts, and now, he was only left with one emotion: desolation.

He felt so empty. It was as though the void in his chest succeeded in sucking in everything that he was. It was as though Zoro was trying to grab onto his cherished katana, Wadou Ichimonji, but it was just out of reach, so he was left to clench the air. He was defenseless against this desolation within him. The emptiness was so intense that he found himself longing to feel an absolute flat, neither high nor low, just so that he didn't have to feel empty; he would just feel indifferent to everything.

'What am I going to do with myself? Should I continue to live a lie and pretend that I'm okay? Should I revoke my nakama's right to worry about me and tell them that they're just imagining things? Or should I tell Sanji the truth and leave myself vulnerable? Maybe… Maybe it might help to let some of it out and tell one person, just one… but, what if that just makes it worse, giving myself another weak spot? Ugh, what am I gonna' do with myself? Can… Can I live with myself if I don't tell him anything? Can I live with myself if I do tell him everything?' Zoro clenched his fist so hard that he drew blood, even with his short nails, but he didn't notice, for he was too lost within his head.

'How can I contemplate on whether I should tell the truth or not, again? … How can I not consider whether I should tell the truth or if I should lie? If I tell the truth, then I'm just going to cause unrest amongst my nakama; all I'll be doing is making them worry about me. Even if it was only Chopper and Sanji that was going to worry… I can't have that... I can't live with that… The knowledge of making someone worry about me already eats away at me, and I haven't even decided on what to do yet. But, if I lie and say I'm fine and that I don't need help… What'll happen? Will Sanji trust me ever again? He'll know I'm lying… If his little group figured out what was fucking wrong with me, even when I didn't know what was wrong with me, then they can certainly figure it out... They'll eventually figure out that I lied and that I'm not okay. Then they'll up the guns and try to make me spill it, and we might have a falling out… something as bad as that time with Usopp and the Merry… Damn, I can't let that happen. If they find out that way, won't that just make them even more worried? Or will they just lose their faith in me? Or… Would they worry and lose faith? If I lie and somehow manage to pull off the acting this time… then couldn't I avoid all of that fretting? If I do that… then I'll have to live a fucking lie again… Can I live with that?' Zoro shifted his tired eyes to the forsaken ocean once again.

'Damn. I'm pathetic. I'm so weak. To think that I have to consider lying to my nakama… If I were stronger then I wouldn't have to think about any of this shit! ... Fuck…' Zoro gritted his teeth, put his head in his hands, – unbeknownst to him that there was blood on them, causing red and green to mix - and placed his elbows on his knees as he tugged on his hair in frustration.

What was he supposed to do? Was he willing to fake his whole fucking life? This decision was everything. It took whatever life was left within the young desolate swordsman. Even though, it wasn't like it was the first time he'd made this decision, his experience didn't make this decision any less difficult than the first time he'd made it.

Kitetsu shook fiercely besides him, yet he paid no mind to it. He kept searching for an answer within his head, but he was fruitless in his search and became lost; he couldn't find a way out of his head and was quickly entangled in his torturous thoughts.

'I'm wretched. And I hate it. I detest what I've become. Honorable? Honest? Complete bullshit. I decided to lie about my feelings long ago. But now? What the fuck am I to do in this situation? When I made the decision before, they knew nothing, but now? I've been exposed. I was found out, and even though I didn't know what was exactly wrong with me, that doesn't excuse the fact that I was willing to live a lie and die with my secrets… Since I was found out, it doesn't make much sense to continue lying to them. I would just be spinning myself a larger web of lies, and this time… that web will be the end of me. Besides, looking back to when Sanji found out about my headaches… he was comforting and understanding… He was like some kind of big hug that I've been needing for… a very long time now…'

Zoro's thoughts were melancholy, but knowing. His head remained in his red hands, green hair threaded and pulled with bloodied fingers as a steady hum came from the shaking, cursed katana. However, that hum became mere background noise that barely registered within the swordsman's tragic mind.

'Ha. All of my efforts to conceal my… well, my everything… were for naught. I tried to hide my worthless feelings; I tried to hide my history; I tried to hide things I've kept hidden since childhood; I tried to hide my troublesome, worrisome thoughts; I tried to hide many things, and they all are going to be dug up by a prissy chef. But… Can I really help that prissy chef dig? Or will I stop him and keep these secrets six feet under?'

Zoro signed as he resumed his position. He was so consumed within his thoughts that he was oblivious of the time that had passed and the events that were taking place upon the deck beneath him and his trembling vexatious katana.

That is, until he heard alarmed shouts on deck. One of these shouts belonging to a terrified chef that Zoro had vowed to himself to protect.

: -:

Sanji sighed as he finished cleaning up his kitchen and putting away leftover food from breakfast. Zoro hadn't come to breakfast. So it was just Sanji and a distracted Franky, who was more worried about his damn inventions than Zoro being absent. Chopper dropped by too, but he'd quickly left after he'd eaten his breakfast. Apparently, he was onto something with the anti-depressant and different treatments for Zoro, so he'd just went to his office to experiment and shit.

But, more importantly, Zoro was skipping his fucking meals. Needless to say, Sanji was pissed.

That bastard was wasting food and neglecting his health. Under normal circumstances, Sanji would've already hauled that marimo's ass to come eat some g-d damn food if it weren't for his own physical condition. Though, even in the usual circumstances, he could only get Zoro to eat small amounts of food… That was still better than that shitty marimo skipping out on meals… but, still…

Sanji sighed again. How was he supposed to be helpful in his current state? Frustrated with the situation, Sanji decided to go have a smoke out on the deck since it was a rather nice day outside and he needed to go calm himself. Besides, how was he supposed to be helpful if he was a worried wreck?
Once he was outside the galley, he slowly made his way to the mast and leaned against it. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, inhaled the delicious smoke, and redirected his gaze to the cloud-spotted sky. He felt himself start to relax as he stared and smoked. His tense muscles, frantic mind, anxious heart, and fidgety hands: they all began to slow and calm with the influence of nicotine.

After he'd scuffed out his spent cigarette, he stuffed his hands into his pants pockets and continued to stare up, letting his head fall back against the mast, almost as if he were hoping for the answers to all of his problems to fall from the sky.

However, his pensive silence was disrupted when he heard a shout come from the dock. Curious, Sanji walked over to the rail and saw an old panda-like man look up expectantly at him and wave.

"Hey, young man. Do you know Luffy?" the old man asked with a composed countenance. Sanji stared at the old man in suspicion for several minutes before he responded.

"Um, yeah. He's my captain," Sanji answered cautiously. 'Why is this old panda here? How does he know Luffy? Does he know Luffy personally or does he know him from his wanted poster? Hmm, but if it was from the wanted posters, how does he not know me? What if this is some stunt pulled by the marines? Would they put together a trap like this? You never know on the grand Line, this might be a devil's fruit user… Either way, I can't fight like this… Well… I can, but Chopper would be pissed and I'm sort of set on recovering so I can have the strength to haul Zoro's ass to eat some g-d damn food.'

"Well," the old man began, once again grabbing the chef's attention. "I need to talk to Robin. She should be on Luffy's crew and since you're on his ship, you should be on his crew too."

Sanji paused as he let those words fully penetrating his brain. "You know Robin-chan?" Sanji asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yeah. Now are you going to let me on the ship or what?" the old man asked blandly. Sanji paused and as time passed, his mouth twisted into a small scowl. 'Are all old men tasteless and shitty?'

"You say you know Luffy, huh?" Sanji questioned in a slightly rude manner. The old man nodded. "How?"

"He rescued me from marines that were falsely accusing me of keeping a green-haired man - who's apparently on your crew – hidden, and then I fed him about twenty to twenty-five plates of food until the marines came back. However, there were so many of them that the poor lad was almost up all night fighting them. Then we managed to escape, but the marines chased us, so he let me go ahead, and now I'm here." Chie finished his tale and waited. Sanji stared at the old panda for a little while longer until he finally relented. The poor old man looked exhausted. His cute bamboo-designed Japanese-clothing was torn, ruffled, and dirtied, and he had deep dark bags under his old eyes.

"Eh? Why are small fry marines giving Luffy trouble?" Sanji asked, perplexed at the mere thought of this occurring.

"For some reason, each time a marine got knocked down, he came back stronger. Moreover, there were tons and tons of marines. You can assume what happened," Chie explained. Sanji puzzled at the man, but eventually threw the rope ladder over and waited for the old man to pull himself on deck. After the old man managed to get himself on board, he was breathing heavily and glared daggers at the unfazed blonde chef.

"Don't you help your elders?" he panted in an irritated tone.

Sanji shrugged. "I would've helped you if I were in a better condition, Ji-ji, but I can barely get myself around. I can't help you up the ladder," Sanji stated flatly as he slowly raised the rope ladder to avoid pulling his stiches.

The old man looked at him for a second and then nodded, seeming to have lost all of his anger toward the injured blonde. After a few minutes of staring at each other the old man grunted and sat down on the lawn.

"So? Where's Robin?" the old man grumbled as he crossed his legs and arms. For the first time, Sanji noticed that this old man had been holding a timeworn book. Assuming that his old man wanted to talk to Robin about history, he just mumbled an 'I don't know' and looked up to the sky again.

"What?" The shock in his voice made Sanji look down at the old man. This old man had mild surprise playing upon his face.
"She's not here. She's probably at the library, but I'm not really sure where she is," Sanji informed. The old man looked at him for a bit longer and then slowly nodded.
"Okay then," he began. "I'll just have you tell this to Robin, since I have no time to waste and I'm sure you guys don't either."
Sanji's curly eyebrows furrowed. "What're you talking about, Ji-ji?"

"What is your name, lad?" the old man questioned, disregarding Sanji's question. The chef gritted his teeth to calm his temperamental self and answered the old man's question. If he answered this old man's question's he might get his own answers.
"I'm Blackleg Sanji, the first-class chef of the Strawhat pirate crew," Sanji introduced himself.

"Hello, Sanji. My name's Chie," the old panda man stated with a smile. Sanji's eyebrow's furrowed again.

"You mean like 'wisdom'?"

"My parents weren't that creative," Chie said in a manner that made one notice that this old man must have said that same line for a very long time.
"… Okay. Anyway, what were you talking about before? About telling me something to tell to Robin?"

"Oh, yes. I need you to tell Robin about something that she seemed very curious about. I was going to tell her directly, but she's not here and I have no time to waste. Will you tell her?"

"Yes! Anything for Robin-chwan!" Sanji shouted as he flailed his arms and hearts filled his eyes. Chie stared at this strange young curly-man for a minute or two before he continued.

"… Okay. Anyways, for you to understand, I'll have to tell you the whole story from the beginning. Do you want to know too? Or do you want me to just tell you what I need to tell Robin?" Chie questioned with a certain seriousness that made one know that this was a pretty important topic, and with this knowledge, Sanji's curiosity is piqued.

"Sure, you can tell me the whole story. I'm listening," Sanji stated as he pulled out another cigarette, preparing himself for the tale.

"Okay, however, this is more of a legend than a story," Chie began as he flipped the old leather book open.

: -:

"Hey, Usopp, is it clear?" Nami whispered. Usopp didn't answer immediately as he continued to scope their surroundings at the mouth of the cave that they had spent the night. After a few more moments of inspection Usopp turned to Nami and gave a nod and a thumbs up.

"Yeah, we're clear." He smirked.

"Alright. It's about seven currently, so if there are no mishaps on our way to the Sunny, we should be there either in time for breakfast or just after. Let's go," Nami mumbled to the small group of four. Everyone gave a curt nod and began to jog out of there hiding place.

"Let's hurry," Robin muttered to no one in particular.

"Don't worry, Robin. We'll get there eventually! Yohoho!" Brooke laughed in hopes of cheering up his tense nakama. Robin smiled in appreciation at the kind gesture, but her smile was short lived as she realized that they had just run into a predicament, quite literally in fact.

Everyone halted as they found that marines had surrounded them. Readying themselves, the small group of Strawhats eyed their enemies while tension strained the atmosphere.

"Where did these guys come from?" Usopp mumbled to anyone listening, he didn't dare move, in fear of setting off a bad reaction amongst their enemy and starting a huge fight.

"I'm not sure, but we should end this quickly. We don't want to attract the attention of someone who's of a higher rank. Why are there so many of them?" Nami muttered, clutching onto her Clima-Tact, ready to electrocute whoever decided to attack her.

Robin glanced around and noticed that they were completely surrounded and estimated that there were at least fifty marines. However, she'd also noticed a strange mark etched into just about every marine's forehead; a mark that was extremely similar to the mark she'd seen on Smoker's forehead. It was a flame symbol that was seemingly burnt into their skin.

"What is that mark?" Robin questioned, lowering her guard in curiosity. Upon seeing her distraction, a marine lunged at her, going for her neck in hopes of strangling her. Fortunately, she noticed her assailant and managed to turn around and cross her arms, readying herself to use her powers, however, by the time she crossed her arms, the marine's hands were just about to clamp themselves around her neck.

"Robin!" Nami cried as she took notice on her nakama's dilemma. Then, without warning, a green shuriken stabbed itself into the marine's arm just before he began to strangle Robin.

"Plantanus Shuriken!" Usopp yelled as the marine hissed in pain and hit the earth, trying to reach around himself to pull out the foreign plant imbedded into his arm.

"Usopp!" Robin gasped as she saw the sniper lower his weapon a bit. He smiled, winked, and directed a thumbs-up at her. Robin smiled back as a silent 'thank you' and then redirected her attention to a group of furious marines around her. Much to her surprise, the marine that Usopp had shot at stood up as if the shuriken plant was but a thumbtack that had hit him. It was as though this guy had some sort of power-up, for when he got up, he looked a bit more ripped than he did before. Robin didn't have too much time to dwell upon this, however, since the group of marines had decided that they were done waiting, and launched themselves at the small group of Strawhats.

"Let's hurry up and finish them off! We need to get back at the ship!" Nami yelled over the sounds of battle as she electrocuted several marines.
"Yeah!" the rest of the present Strawhats shouted as they commenced battle. Though, little did they know, that this was going to take a lot longer that they had anticipated…

: -:

Sanji sat crossed-legged on the lawn of the Sunny with Chie, who'd just finished telling him the same legend that he'd told Robin about. Sanji took a minute to absorb the information he was just given, while Chie waited patiently.

"So, you're telling me," Sanji began as he lit another cigarette, he saw Chie nod in acknowledgement, urging the young chef to continue with his question, " that some powerful king loved his weapons so fucking much that he refused to defend himself against them when some sadistic bastard went to assassinate him, and that same bastard used those weapons to torture him. Then, the same weapons became cursed somehow and are now looking for new masters who have to live up to their expectations. And if the master doesn't live up to one of these weapons' expectations, that weapon is going to kill the new master using their weakness, whatever that may be," Sanji finished as he puffed his cancer stick. In response, Chie just simply nodded. Sanji hummed upon seeing his new acquaintance nod.

"So, what's the part that you wanted to tell Robin?" Sanji asked with curiosity edging its way into his otherwise calm voice.

"Well," Chie started as he flipped another page in his thin leather bound book. He scanned the page, and then after a few moments of flicking through several more pages, he snapped the book shut – making Sanji jump slightly at the unexpected action - and he looked into Sanji's curious eyes as he continued where he left off.

"Weakness can mean many things, it seems," Chie began vaguely.

"What do you mean? What are you trying to get at?" Sanji asked, irritated at the old man's ambiguity and his own ignorance as to what the old man was saying.

Chie didn't flinch away at Sanji's thinning patience, and instead, he ignored it and went on to explain himself, "What I mean is that weakness can mean one's disadvantages; one's faults; one's instability; one's fragility; one's vulnerability; one's flaw; one's vice. It can mean many things, and apparently, according to this thin book," Chie held it up and shook it for emphasis, but he quickly continued, "all of those things are considered weaknesses to these weapons."

Sanji's mouth fell open upon hearing this.

"What?" he asked quietly. "These weapons can judge its owner in all of those ways? What the fuck! That's crazy!"

Chie's eyes widened a fraction in wonder. He hadn't expected the young chef to come to the same conclusion that he had, but Chie collected himself and continued on.

"Yes. Moreover, if the weapon finds that their master has an object of affection, they could somehow use that to kill their master if they find that their master has a weakness for it. In addition, they could also use their master's greatest fear to kill them," Chie paused at that. He seemed to be gathering himself. Sanji noticed this and gave the old man the time he needed.

Sanji looked towards the sky once again, mulling over everything he'd just heard. Then, after a certain amount of time, when he was sure Chie was okay to continue again he asked a question that had been bugging him: "So, in other words, if the weapon finds that the master has a weakness, they will either use that same weakness, the object of affection, or their greatest fear to kill them?" he puzzled as he eyed the old man for an answer.

Chie looked at the intrigued chef and then after a few moments of silence he answered. "Yes," the old man informed.

Sanji nodded as he filed away the information in his head. But then his curly eyebrows scrunched together as another question popped into his mind. "So, does the weapon only look for one weakness? Err, in other words, is it only one strike and you're out? Does the weapon only search for one weakness and when it finds one, it tries to kill the master that way and only that way?" Sanji mulled as he directed his puzzled gaze at the old man.

"Sort of. Basically, each weapon looks for one weakness specifically, and it focuses on it. Each weapon has a different idea of what a weakness is. One may only look at a master's vulnerability, while another may look at a master's vices, while another may look at a master's instability. It just chooses whatever it believes to be its owner's greatest downfall. And before you ask - because this is what I asked myself before I read it - no, the master does not know what weakness their weapon is looking for; and no, there is no list of what each weapon is looking for in this book," Chie clarified. Sanji deflated somewhat, since two of his questions were answered before he could ask them, but then, a new question appeared within his head and he sat up again.

"Are the weapons listed within that book?" Sanji asked as his eyes lit up with interest. Chie blinked at the spontaneous youth in front of him and then answered his question as if it were obvious.

"Yeah."

"Well, what are they?"

"Well," Chie muttered as he opened his nameless book and flipped to the correct page. "The first one listed is Sandai Kitetsu, then we have-"

"Wait… What," Sanji cut off the old man. His eyes were wide with shock and his mouth gaped, letting a spent cigarette scuff itself out as it hit the lawn of the deck. Chie looked in bewilderment at the blonde's sudden reaction to that one name. But then, something clicked within his experienced mind.

"Do… you know this weapon?" Chie asked as his eyes slowly widened and his face was gradually engulfed with shock.

Sanji barely acknowledged the old panda talking to him as his mind went a mile a minute.

'Sandai Kitetsu is Zoro's cursed sword. It's one of those cursed weapons? From that one idiot-king? In the void century? How? Though, when I think about it, I believe I overheard Zoro talking about it either with Robin or the crew… I can't remember, but I guess that doesn't really matter. What matter's is that Zoro's cursed katana had an awfully similar legend… And I doubt that this is all a lie. That book is old. It's hard to fake that kind of authenticity… G-d damn… So, Zoro's a sufferer of this curse… Does that mean… Kitetsu thinks that… Zoro's depression… Is some sort of weakness…? Is that why his headaches are so fucking bad? Is that why things kept progressing and kept getting worse and worse, like it's beyond his control?... What…?' Sanji paused at this speculation, ignoring the old panda chanting his name in the background.

'That's bullshit!' Sanji thought as he began to grind his teeth and curl his fingers into fists. His eyes lit up with rage and his face twisted in an furious snarl.

'Depression isn't some sort of shitty weakness! If anything it's a goddamn vulnerability! But even then! You have to be too goddamn strong to have that kind of shit in your head and still be able to walk around and function! You have to be way too fucking strong for far too fucking long if you have fucking depression! That shitty motherfucking katana!' Sanji seethed with pure and utter rage as his thoughts finally connected the pieces together.

Chie, sensing and seeing Sanji's anger envelope him in flames, went to get some water to put out the flame and to grab the youth's attention. Chie found a bucket lying on deck, grabbed it, and then managed to find his way to the kitchen. Then, after about five minutes, the old man came back with a bucket filled with water, and he dumped it onto the burning chef.

"Ahh!" Sanji yelled as freezing water was dumped onto his head. "What the fuck?!" he roared, eyes igniting in more anger and face contorting into a deeper scowl.

"Calm down," Chie said simply as he sat back down onto the lawn, un-intimidated by the outraged chef. Upon seeing the old man's serene manner and hearing his calm voice, Sanji's rage dwindled. After he'd calmed himself, he regarded the waiting old man.

"Do you know that weapon?" Chie asked with serenity. Sanji just nodded, in fear that if he said something, he may shatter the calm that had taken over the atmosphere. Chie hummed as he saw his young acquaintance confirm his suspicions.

"So that's why you got mad," the old man said simply. Upon seeing Sanji's mystified expression, Chie explained himself. "You thought that whoever's weakness, that Sandai Kitetsu classified as a weakness, wasn't a weakness. Right?"

Sanji's face fell in bewilderment. 'Am I really that easy to read?'

"How…?" he managed to ask meekly before the old man continued.

"Why else would you get so upset?" Chie shrugged as he got up to put the bucket back where he found it. "Besides, didn't I already tell you that 'weakness' can mean many things? Even things that you wouldn't expect. The weapons don't like humans, and aren't prone to mercy."

Sanji stared at the strange, yet not-so-shitty old man as he put the bucket away. But then, the calm atmosphere that had rested upon the Sunny was shattered as a bellow rang through the air. Chie and Sanji looked at each other as they both recognized the voice that the shout had come from.

"Luffy?" Sanji questioned as he lethargically stood up and walked over to the Sunny's rail to look at the dock bellow, all of which were actions that he'd immediately regretted as smoke rushed over, encircled him, and moved him, forcing him off his feet to be carried around like a rag doll.

Sanji could barely compute what was happening around him. All he knew was that Luffy was trying to save him; the smoke was alive and was in the middle of kidnapping him. Pain vibrated throughout his body with every movement, and there was a voice that just wouldn't shut the fuck up.

Oh, wait, that was him.

: -:

"Oi! What's with all the-" Zoro began to rant as he opened the window to the crow's nest, but then he saw what events were happening on the Sunny and he quickly grabbed his katana and jumped out of said window.

"Sanji!" he shouted as he made his descent, putting his Wado in his mouth and failing to notice the slight tremble of his cursed sword in his left hand.

As Zoro fell, he readied himself for one of his Santoryu attacks, but as soon as he was about to launch an 'onigiri', the smoke that held Sanji captive fled at incredible speeds, with Sanji still in its clutches.

"Sanji!" Zoro yelled as he landed on the Sunny's deck, running to the railing of the Sunny and staring off into the direction where his chef had been carried off in. Zoro's face was absolutely crestfallen, hopelessness crept through him and all thoughts of running after them vanished.

"Sanji…" he whispered worryingly as he became lost within his own world, failing to acknowledge his surroundings.

'I've… I've failed… again. I've failed to protect the one I love… and I can't go out to find him and bring him back as quickly as possible…! I'm directionless! I'm fucking useless! Shit!' Zoro clenched his teeth around Wadou and buried one of his hands into his messy green hair after he sheathed the sword that occupied it.

"Zoro!" someone yelled into his ear, interrupting his self-loathing thoughts.

"What? Luffy?" Zoro questioned almost desperately, turning to see his captain stare at him. Then, he noticed the old panda-like man next to the Straw-hat teen.

"Who are you?" the swordsman more or less asked as he sheathed the rest of his swords. He had to act normal. He had to. He couldn't admit out loud that Sanji mattered more to him than anyone, because if anyone caught on and said it themselves, he was done for. He would break, because that person he loved so much had been taken away from him, taken somewhere to be killed most likely. He had to keep it together and drown his problems in denial for the time being, just for this moment.

"I'm Chie." the old man introduced.

"Like 'wisdom'?"

"My parents weren't that creative. Now, enough about my name, you guys need to go save Sanji." Chie helpfully stated the obvious. Zoro was just about to get pissed off at this cute little old man, until two doors swung open, accompanied with two large bangs.

"What's going on?!" Franky and Chopper shouted in unison as they ran on deck. They looked at each other in slight confusion and alarm, then redirected their gazes at Luffy.

Chopper glanced between Zoro and Luffy with concern and then shuffled towards Zoro. He looked up at the green swordsman with big, innocent, worried, bewildered eyes and then hugged said swordsman's leg.

Zoro felt warmth from the cute little reindeer cover him as he patted his hat, but soon after he felt overwhelming guilt. He should've been able to save Sanji… Then no one would've had to worry.

"Zoro," Chopper mumbled into his leg. Zoro bent down to Chopper's height to acknowledge the little doctor as he patted his hat to comfort him. "What's going on?"

Zoro stayed silent for a moment or two before he answered.

"The cook's just been kidnapped. And I'm fairly certain that Smoker was the one who did it. Right, Luffy," he said, making his question more of a statement as he redirected his gaze to his captain.

"Yeah," Luffy stated seriously. The deck grew tense and silent. However, it seemed that only one character didn't give a fuck.

"So, Luffy, where have you been?" Chie asked with a strange sense of calmness, a calmness that seemed to infect everyone, for the atmosphere became less constricting.

"Well," Luffy began in his child-like, Luffy voice as he relayed the events that took place not too long ago.

: -:

"Whaaaat?!" Luffy wailed as another marine grunt stood up after Luffy had just knocked him down.

"Geez! These guys keep coming back! And, they get stronger and stronger each time they get up! These guys are almost as tough as Smoker without his devil fruit powers!" Luffy whined and he threw out another 'gatling gun', clearing out a good portion of the marines in the area.

He'd been fighting all night, and Ji-ji left about thirty minutes ago. Luffy was getting hungry and he was craving Sanji's delicious cooking! Luffy wanted meat! "Gomu Gomu no whip!" Luffy shouted in frustration as he knocked down just about everyone in the clearing, and this time, his efforts paid off. About one-fourth of the marines he'd been fighting stayed down! Though, they seemed just about dead… and they were acting kind of funny.

They were thrashing around, clawing at their foreheads. Luffy had noticed a while ago that each and every one of these Marines had a flame symbol burnt into his forehead and he'd also noticed that every time he'd knocked down a marine, the mark glowed and that knocked-out marine stood back up, and he was stronger than before. But what Luffy couldn't figure out was, what the hell was that mark and where had it come from? Is it a devil fruit power? A curse? Some experiment? Luffy didn't know and he didn't stick around to find out, 'cause all of a sudden, smoke lashed out at him. Luffy dodged with ease, knowing who was assaulting him immediately.

"Smokey," Luffy chuckled as the vice admiral's upper body materialized.

Smoker turned to the Marines, barked a 'Get back to camp!', and turned back around to face the Strawhat's captain. Then, without some sort of monologue, warning, or hesitation, Smoker launched himself at the Straw-hatted teen with his knife ready to plunge itself into the teen's heart. Luffy dodged and began to fight him until the smoke man darted away, towards his ship. Luffy, then, impulsively gave chase to the white smoke and then… said smoke had kidnapped his chef. Luffy didn't even see which direction Smoker had gone in… because of all the smoke. Luffy was just about to punch Smoker and make him let go of Sanji, but Smoker had evaded the straw-hatted teen using his own smoke.

Now, Luffy was on his ship with a sniveling reindeer, a confused cyborg, and a worried swordsman… and all he wanted was meat. They needed to get Sanji back right away, or there would be no meat!

: -:

"…" Everyone on deck stared at Luffy in slight shock as to the Straw-hatted boy's serious recollection of his day.

"… Okay. I more or less have a grasp of the situation and this is totally not super." Franky stated as he stepped in front of the small group.

"Zoro," the cyborg called over his shoulder, glancing back at the swordsman.

"Yeah?"

"Make Luffy some meat. We have to make a plan. Everyone to the kitchen!" Franky instructed, leaving no room for anyone to refuse as he herded everyone into Sanji's sacred place. "By the way," Franky started again. "Who are you?" he asked the old panda-like man.

"I'm Chie."

"Chie? As in 'wisdom?'" Chopper asked innocently as he intervened in the conversation.

"My parents weren't that creative."

Zoro instantly felt bad for the poor old man. 'Does he get asked that every fucking time he introduces himself? Well, damn…' Zoro shook his head to release these petty thoughts.

"Anyways," Zoro spoke up as he put on Sanji's pink apron. His crew used to laugh at him for it… but they quickly learned to contain their laughter as he made Usopp a stunning example of Zoro's hellish rage. Dinner that day was rather interesting. Speaking of dinner, Zoro had to cook something as he wracked his tired brain for any ideas on how to rescue Sanji.

"We need to come up with a plan to save the shitty cook. We don't know where Robin, Nami, Usopp, and Brooke are, so it's just us," he said in a matter-of-fact tone as he searched the drawers for a cookbook… Sanji must've moved it somewhere where Zoro couldn't fucking find it...

"Oh-ho, don't worry, Zoro-bro! I got this! This is going to be a suuuuppppeeerr plan! We'll execute it after we refuel!" Franky shouted enthusiastically, cheering up his captain and doctor while he received a passive stare from the old panda man.

Zoro watched the antics of his crewmates with indifference, as they began to make poses, then he glanced at Chie who was doing the same thing as Zoro.

"Don't you find that strange?" Zoro questioned, puzzled at the old man's unresponsiveness.

"Yeah, but strange is a good thing, no?" he asked as his eyes smiled before his mouth while he watched Zoro's crewmates. Zoro blinked at the old man, glanced at his nakama and then smiled the same genuine smile that was on Chie's face and he turned his attention to the newly acquired cookbook.

"Yeah," Zoro breathed, not sure if Chie heard him but he found that he didn't care whether or not the old man did.

Only one thing occupied his mind: Sanji.

Zoro tried his best to appear normal and indifferent, which seemed to be working out for him, since no one noticed or pointed out any abnormalities with him. However, he wasn't faring as well as he seemed to be.

Zoro was guilt-ridden. He felt worthless. He felt sorrowful. He felt anxious. He felt the loneliness eat away at him. He felt those wretched waves come back to drown him. He felt the hole in his soul grow deeper. He felt the weight of the world increase. He felt his world shake and crumble. The sky above him began to crack and fall, piece-by-fucking-worthless-piece.

Then, he felt himself long for the feeling to feel nothing. He wanted to feel as indifferent as he looked on the outside.

The one thing that killed him more than anything else was that if he's just grown some balls and talked to Sanji, if he'd stopped freaking out in a remote corner of the ship all alone and just gone to talk to Sanji instead, maybe he could've been there faster, maybe he could've protected him, maybe Sanji wouldn't have been kidnapped.

It was Zoro's fault. He could've prevented it, if he'd just been able to put aside his pride.

"ro… zoro… Zoro!" someone shouted in his ear. Reeling back into reality, Zoro quickly turned his head to find Franky next to him. The cyborg's countenance had a strange mix of concern and determination.

"What?" Zoro asked as he went back to taking out the ingredients listed in his cookbook.

"Are you ready?"

Zoro paused in his search to look back at his smirking nakama. After a few moments of wondering what the hell Franky was talking about, understanding slowly overtook Zoro. Zoro's dull eyes sparked, and his downcast countenance lifted.

"Hell yeah, I am. What's the plan?" Zoro asked with renewed interest. His negative emotions dwelling within dwindled as he regarded his nakama, though these destructive and damaging feelings never really cease. They just took breaks.

"You'll find out once you finish making dinner. We can't go on an empty stomach!" Franky grinned as he patted the swordsman's back. Giving him the motivation that he needed, Zoro smiled back at Franky and dived into his work.

"Super!" Franky yelled as he posed.

The air was still a bit tense and it was obvious that everyone was worried about Sanji, but they all knew that they had to regroup, focus, plan, and head out as soon as possible. Zoro knew this. He did. It's just…

No matter how much he tried to 'regroup', his head, his emotions were a mess. The waves threatened to drown him for the millionth time. The knife that stabbed his heart was poisoned with guilt and it coursed through his veins. Many pessimistic thoughts trapped his mind. Many negative emotions squeezed and crushed his heart.

The only thing that made him pull himself together was the thought that he could save Sanji. He could save the one he loved. This time… it won't be too late.