Title: Final Betrayal
Author: AstroKender
Pairings: nearly gen, but with somewhat irrefutable hints of Luffy/Zoro visa-versa. Other pairings hinted at and/or mentioned.
Warnings: Rated T for swearing, violence, blood, and angst. Alternate Timeline. Contains Spoilers. Additional warnings for me just making shit up, like future crewmembers, fighting abilities and whatnot.
Spoilers: Spoilers span up to and possibly beyond the Thriller Bark arc. Do not read if you care about spoilers and are not up to date.
Notes: A shorter chapter, but out faster so it balances out. This chapter is for drakyrna, who draws such lovely fanart to help get my creative juices flowing. Only two more chapters left to go, three at the most. I'm getting excited, people. Are you?
Final Betrayal – Chapter 10
fear
"Delivery," Ben called out as he rapped on the doorframe of the small windowless room hidden deep inside Kuraha's castle.
Thick tapestries hung on the wall, blocking much of the draft, and a fire burned strong in the grate in the corner. In the center of the room a fur pelt of some large animal lay as a rug against the freezing floor. Along one wall stretched a bed. The figure in it stirred and two bleary eyes soon peered at him from in-between a mound of blankets and matted, green tufts of hair. Ben's lips twitched in amusement. The world's number one swordsman looked like little more than a bratty kid in his bedridden state. Acted like a brat too.
Zoro took one look at the metal cup in the older man's hand and groaned. "If my wounds don't kill me, that shit that witch calls medicine will," he said. He lay there, grumbling and helpless, as the cup was put to his lips.
"Don't make me force you again," Ben warned, fighting to keep the smirk from his face. This had become a ritual of sorts.
Zoro gave him a dark look before snatching the cup away. Too weak to sit up, he let Ben adjust his pillows so he was in a better position to drink. The smell of the stuff wafted up, turning his stomach.
"Where's Shanks?" Zoro asked, stalling. "I haven't seen him in a couple of days."
"He took some of the boys and left," Ben replied, settling himself down on the end of the swordsman's bed.
It had taken little time for the two to get comfortable around one another. As Ben had first supposed, they really were kindred spirits of a sort. They enjoyed an easy camaraderie, like they had known each other for years.
"So suddenly?" Zoro's eyebrows rose above the dreaded cup.
"He's looking into the whereabouts of a certain person," Ben said, thinking back to the witch's revelation when they had brought Zoro in. "He probably won't be back until the end of the week."
The cup clattered to the ground, the liquid inside splashing out-- hissing and spitting when it came in contact with the flagstones. Zoro had jerked upright, his injuries forgotten as he stared at Ben in growing horror.
"Not Luffy!" he choked out.
"Easy!" Ben jumped forward, physically restraining the other.
Not once since that first talk with Shanks had the boy even mentioned Luffy's name—or any of the Straw Hats, for that matter. It was like a forced amnesia; Zoro had gone from day to day as if they didn't exist, freely bantering with Ben and Shanks, scowling whenever Kureha entered the room, and nodding politely at Dalton when he came up to visit. Any time his friends' names were brought up, Zoro ignored the words like they hadn't been spoken. Their names had become a taboo that Zoro himself had just broken in his panic.
"He can't--!" Zoro gasped, his eyes wild as he pushed against Ben's hands, fighting to rise.
"Relax!" Ben shook him, lightly. "It's not Luffy he's looking for."
Zoro stared at him for a moment, then, seeing the truth in the older man's eyes, collapsed panting back onto his pillows. He lay there in silence with a face set like stone. Ben saw the way his hands were shaking, however, before Zoro shoved them under the covers and out from under the older man's gaze. Ben sat back, carding his fingers through his grey hair with a sigh.
"Damn," he muttered, looking down at the medicine splattered over the floor. "Kureha won't be happy about that." His heart rate was just now beginning to return to normal. He watched Zoro from the corner of his eye, giving the other a moment to pull himself together. When Zoro's color had returned to normal, he twisted to face him.
"You're that afraid to face him again?" Ben asked him quietly.
Zoro's reply was pained and bitter. "How can I?" he said, his eyes gazing out at nothing. Memories overcame him and his face twisted in anguish. He quickly slid an arm over his face to hide it from view. His next words came out barely audible against the crackle of the fire.
"I stole his dream."
dishonor
The next day found Zoro lying prone on the floor, after unsuccessfully trying to sneak out of bed. Gritting his teeth, he gripped the mattress and attempted to pull his uncooperative legs back underneath him, to no avail. Cursing and panting, Zoro pulled himself halfway back into bed, thinking there might have been something to Ben's words when he had told him not to push it. His chest ached and his right lung burned like fire. Sweat beaded across his forehead and soaked the blankets where his face was pressed against it.
He had survived his own execution. That had been a surprise. Shit. Everything ached.
It had been a moment's cowardice, Zoro had decided, letting those blades pierce him. The very idea of facing Luffy after saying all that stuff…
Zoro fingers twisted around his blankets, Luffy's anguished face floating clearly through his mind. Dying…dying definitely hurt less.
Except that he was alive. And he had no idea where to go from here. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't go back to the others, that was for sure. Far better that they assumed him dead. After all, they couldn't hate a dead man. Could they?
He must have blacked out after that because, the next thing he knew, he was being flipped around to stare up into two glittering yellow eyes.
Zoro felt the shock run through him like lightning. "You!"
"I persistently seem to be in the position of seeing you half-dead," Mihawk stated, as he manhandled Zoro back on the bed with an almost clinical detachment.
Zoro quickly curbed his surprise and looked away. He had dreamed about Hawk Eyes while in his coma. That dream had stood out strong and irritating against the comfortable darkness, keeping him from sinking. Zoro couldn't help but have the feeling that this man was part of the reason why he was still breathing. He cleared his throat, his face flushing.
"Nice words for a guy that put me there. Twice," he retorted, finally finding his tongue.
"Heh." Mihawk smirked before regarding the other with an arched brow.
"Two more for your collection, I see." his pale hand moved forward, smoothing the red-stained cloth of Zoro's bandages. Mihawk moved to trace the long, much older wound running from Zoro's left shoulder to his right hip. Fire seemed to travel in the wake of the man's touch. "Does this scar give you trouble?" he asked in a quiet voice.
Zoro scowled. "Of course not."
"Good to hear." The fingers trailed over to a thick, pink scar just below the navel. Zoro shifted uncomfortably. "That one looked rather serious."
"A gift from Donflamingo's puppet technique," Zoro muttered, his scowl deepening as he very pointedly didn't look at the other man or his wandering hand. He felt hotter than warranted in the chilly room.
"I see." The hand moved slowly back up Zoro's body to rest against his forehead. "You have a fever," Mihawk stated.
Zoro suddenly grabbed the hand, holding it in a tight grip and pulling it away from his overheated skin.
"Why are you here?" he demanded, angry at the huskiness of his own voice.
Even after besting the man, there was something to Mihawk that tended to make him unusually jumpy. It was as if, after being his goal for so long, the master swordsman had somehow claimed a piece of his soul. Zoro pulled himself into a sitting position, determined to face the man on something close to equal footing.
"Come to take your title back?" he asked, forcing a smirk upon his sweat-drenched face.
"Me?" Mihawk huffed out a small burst of breath in what must've been a laugh. "I'm currently retired. The only reason I'm here is because we happen to share the same nannies." His eyes suddenly turned hard and piercing. "And while Red Hair is off looking for Portgas, I thought I'd drop in to see just how betrayal has marked you."
Zoro reared back as if the words had been a physical blow-- his face quickly loosing all color despite his fever.
"I see it's left quite the scar," Mihawk said as he studied him.
Zoro's fingers twisted harshly around his blankets, nearly tearing the fabric. His head lowered, with no biting reply forthcoming. This caused Mihawk's eyes to narrow dangerously.
"I have a question for you," he said in a clipped voice, while pacing the floor beside the other's bed. "I've done some digging in my spare time. The island where you're from, it has a fairly old culture full of traditions concerning the pursuit of swordsmanship. In it one's honor is valued as much as one's skill with a swords, am I right?"
"Is that your question?" Zoro bit out, refusing to meet the man's heavy gaze.
"No. But there was a certain ritual that particularly intrigued me. Swordsman, when dishonored, would often commit seppuku: killing themselves upon their own blade. What say you on this?"
Zoro was silent a moment. When he spoke, his voice was soft, his teacher's words floating back to him through time. "Master Koshiro didn't buy into that sort of thing. He said life—it was too frail and precious a thing to throw away on something like pride."
"Wise words, I think." Mihawk nodded, as if expecting the answer. Arms crossed, he watched Zoro from the dark corners of his hawk-like eyes. "And, if you had your blade?"
"That's two questions."
"Answer me, Roronoa."
Zoro touched the small scar below his navel.
"I think I would run myself through," he said, his voice and face void of any emotion.
"I thought as much," Mihawk stepped away, anger apparent only in his tone. "It's a good thing it is not with you then. A fine sword like that shouldn't suffer for its master's dishonor."
Without another word, he left, his boots making sharp echoes across the floor. Zoro was left alone in the room, staring down at his hands with an aching chest and stinging eyes.
"My ring's gone," he suddenly noticed.
His hands clenched, echoing his heart.
healing
The weeks had passed somewhat peacefully, considering everyone involved. Robin spent most of it studying her Ponegryph rubbings, or browsing through Kaya's library. The petite blonde had given her permission to take whatever she pleased—as long as they weren't medical books. Robin would often hear her and Chopper talking in another room, where the reindeer was happily teaching everything he knew to his new apprentice. Chopper has been practically floating on air; Robin hoped Kaya had gotten accustomed to the cursing and wiggling fits. She was a delicate girl, after all.
Quite a stark contrast from their navigator, really. No wonder Nami has spent her time in Syrup alternately fidgeting and fuming. Robin's heart went out to her, though she suspected that everything would clear itself up before long. Though, to date, Usopp had consistently avoided them both. As far as Robin could tell, he's been hanging out with the ex-Usopp Pirates, who were fast threatening to become Kidd's Super Squad thanks to their newest member. Kidd was younger than the trio but, since he had real pirating experience, he was fast become the idol of the youths of Syrup village. Onion has already sworn to write a book on him.
When Usopp wasn't running about desperately trying to defend his title as captain, he was being forcibly employed by their real leader. Luffy and Usopp had made up a week prior, an act that involved much blubbering and runny noses. Afterwards Luffy immediately cornered the sniper, making him draw the same picture of Zoro over and over before taking the finished product and disappearing, sometimes for hours at a time. The only other instances she'd see Luffy were at mealtimes: where he'd sit, stuffing food into his mouth while muttering over Nami's maps of East Blue.
The whole thing had Robin quite curious. But really, she was just happy to see the wounds caused by Zoro's death start to heal over. The scars would be large, but they would survive them, smiling and laughing once again.
Derishishi….
choices
Sanji was waiting for Usopp when the other stepped into the house. Straddling a kitchen chair, he wordlessly gestured for the sniper to sit in the seat across from him. Usopp reluctantly did as he was told, all the while staring nervously about as if he were expecting to be attacked. Grinding out his cigarette, Sanji had to give Usopp credit for his instincts.
They were alone in the expanded dining room. Franky had been called away, having quickly gotten a job repairing roofs and generally fixing up things. Brook was out playing for Laboon; the whale's happy cries could be heard even this far inland. Nami, as usual, was holed up in her room on the Thousand Sunny. And that last fact was part of the reason why Sanji had decided to ambush the sniper.
"Have you made your choice?" Sanji asked, never being one to beat about the bush.
"C-choice?" Usopp's eyes were wide with false ignorance.
"Nami. Kaya. You've been stringing them along for weeks-- I'm sick of watching it." He leaned forward, his face deadly serious. "You need to make a decision, Usopp. Because, if you keep toying with the hearts of those lovely ladies, I will slowly and personally break every bone in your shitty body."
Usopp's eyes bugged out as he stuttered around for something to say. Sanji watched him silently, not speaking a word of the vested interest he had in the matter. In Nami, who had been his first love and whom he still adored even when that love hadn't been returned-- and Kaya, who Sanji had quickly gotten to know as someone sweet and witty and refreshing as a falling snowflake. Sanji had found himself wanting to spend every free minute in the young girl's company. Sanji had plenty of experience with crushes. He recognized the signs; he was falling and falling fast. But, if he wanted a snowflake's chance in Alabasta, Usopp had to cut Kaya free.
It sounded selfish, but Sanji knew more about Usopp's inner feelings than the sniper thought he let on. He saw the way his eyes trailed after Nami when she walked past. He saw the same look turn almost brotherly when turned to regard Kaya. Usopp had grown up, leaving his boyhood love behind. Now if Sanji could just get the man to realize it.
"L-look, Sanji, I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't been stringing anyone along! I've just been really…busy, lately. That's all…."
"Is that so?"
Biting his lips and staring at his knees, Usopp nodded once. Sanji sighed a lit up a new cigarette.
"Sorry for bothering you then," he waved the other away dismissively. "I was just hoping—well, never mind."
"What?" Usopp suddenly leaned forward. "Hoping what?"
"It's nothing…"
"What's going on in that head of yours, Love Cook?"
Got him, Sanji thought. He took in a deep draw of smoke. "Well, it's just… Nami's been pretty broken up by everything. Luffy too, as you know. I was just hoping, you know, if you were going to choose Kaya, that those two might just hook up and help each other…" Here he paused for effect. "Pick up the pieces and all." Gods, he was a louse for using his friends like this. "Never mind though. It was a stupid idea."
"You're damn right it was stupid." Usopp shot to his feet, his face dark. "Luffy would never—and Nami--!" the sniper's hands clenched. "I've gotta go." He whirled around and stomped away.
Sanji ran a hand through his hair, guilt and joy spreading through him in alternate spurts. Of course Luffy and Nami would never get together. There were a million reasons to back that fact up. He had just said it to put a tack under the sniper's ass. And it had worked.
This would probably make Kaya sad, though. Sanji frowned. He didn't want her to get hurt. He knew what a broken heart felt like. He'd make sure to stick close to her, just to see if he could help ease the pain somehow.
Yeah, right. Sanji laughed mirthlessly, his hand moving to cover his eyes. Shit. He really was a louse….
eavesdrop
"You're back."
"Aye."
"Found anything?"
"The trail's gone cold, but I think I have a lead. I just came back to check up on things."
Ben leaned against the wall, nodding his head towards the door beside him. "As you can see, he's in with the doctor now. He's better, but…"
"Aye, but." Shanks stood close to the wall as well, craning his head slightly to get a good view inside the next room.
"I no longer think his physical wounds are the ones we have to worry about. The other day—"
"Hush, Ben." Shanks put his hand out. "I want to hear this."
"Then why don't we go in?" Ben whispered, sounding slightly exasperated.
Shanks grinned. "Now where's the fun in that?"
Ben sighed.
questions
"You're fighting an infection, thus your continuing fever. It's good for you, so we'll let it ride unless your temperature gets too high."
Zoro sat up, allowing himself to be poked and prodded by the scary old witch. Kureha had torn off his bandages and removed all the stitches on his chest and back. The healing skin was an angry red, but the marks were straight and smooth, without any of the stitch-marks that characterized some of Zoro's other scars. Looking at them, he had to grudgingly admit that the witch had done a pretty good job.
After a few pokes with a needle and a liberal application of salve, the skinny woman spun away, scribbling something on a bit of paper.
"Well?" Zoro grunted, hoping at least to finally get to put some clothes on. Not that he cared much about being in the buff around people just; the castle was too damn drafty. He shivered and pulled his sheet closer about him.
Kureha was busy cleaning up her supplies, so it took her a moment to answer. "You have a weak heart," she pronounced finally, not looking at him.
Zoro didn't even blink. "Oh?" he said belatedly.
"Hmph. You don't sound surprised." The doctor stuffed her tools into her bag. "Makes sense seeing how you've been taking medicine for it."
Zoro crossed his arms, impressed despite himself. It seems the crazy quack really knew her stuff. Made sense, he supposed, considering what a good doctor Chopper was. "Up until now, at least," he clarified.
"Ha!" Kureha's head turned slightly, her sunglasses glinting in the firelight. "You think that hog piss I've been giving you was just to make you miserable?"
Zoro's eyes widened slightly before narrowing. "Since what Chopper gave me were little yellow pills: yeah."
Kureha began to cackle. "You caught me!"
Zoro rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the smirk twitching on his lips. He was beginning to like this old bat. She was a serious sadist. No wonder Sanji had looked so horrified whenever Chopper had brought her name up.
Sanji…Chopper…. He hadn't meant to think of them again. Zoro's smirk faded.
"So, how did it happen?" Kureha was asking, and Zoro forced himself to pay attention. "Other than some scars you are the peak of physical perfection." Her eyebrows raised in such a way that Zoro reflexively tightened the sheet around his waist. "I bet you've never so much as suffered through a cold. What have you done to strain your heart to its very limits?"
Zoro remembered vividly a glowing orb filled with pain, exhaustion and suffering. "It was the price I paid long ago to protect something precious to me," he answered quietly.
"That's not the voice of regret." Kureha crossed her arms, regarding the other intently. "Still, you should be dead. Your heart was bruised in Loguetown; the strain on it should have been too much." One long, bony finger pressed painfully against the wound on the left side of Zoro's chest. "Never mind that. The blade that entered there pierced your flesh but not your organs. It burst out of your back from sheer momentum alone, as if it's edge had lost all sharpness." Kureha's eyes were mere slits behind her glasses. "Do you think you can explain how that happened?"
"Beats me." Zoro shrugged. "I don't recall much about that time. I remember the heat and the light and roar of the crowd and—"
Luffy screaming.
"And?"
Zoro looked away. "And nothing."
From the other room, listening in through a crack in the door, Shanks shook his head. "Lying to his elders… I strongly suspect what that lad needs is a knock on the head from his captain. He clearly has some stupid thoughts in his head."
Ben dragged the redhead away from his espionage. "Maybe. But there's nothing to be done for it for now."
Shanks laughed darkly. "We'll see about that, now won't we?"
Ben's grip on him turned iron. "Shanks," he began, his voice deep with warning, his gaze boring into the other intently. "You can't contact Luffy yet."
Shanks just looked at him.
"You should've seen his face, Shanks! He's not ready!"
"Ben…"
"You've read the papers; you've read what happened. What he's done is plaguing him."
"Ben."
"It'd kill him to see Luffy before he's sorted himself through."
"Ben!"
"What?!" Ben backed off, his eyes looking into the other's slightly apologetic ones with a growing sense of dread.
Shanks scratched at his nose before giving his first mate a repentant smile. "Your argument's come too late."
talk
Usopp was still rubbing the throbbing knot on his head when he left the Thousand Sunny and went back inland. Whoever talked about kissing and making up being the best part of arguments was full of it. Nami hadn't exactly fallen into his arms like he'd expected. Still, judging from the fact that he was still conscious, Usopp figured he'd been forgiven.
He drew in a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh. He still had one talk to take care of tonight, and he wasn't looking forward to it. His stomach clenched up as he walked with leaded feet towards Kaya's mansion.
confessions
The air was wet and clean as Kaya threw open her windows in response to the hand-full of pebbles bouncing off them moments before. The sky was that blue-black color that's only seen when the moon is full. It was a lovely evening, made lovelier by the familiar form perched in the tree across from her windowsill.
"Usopp!" she greeted him warmly. "I haven't seen you lately."
Usopp sat on his tree branch, smiling sadly. Kaya watched him for a moment, her delight fading. So, this was it. She carefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You'll be leaving soon, won't you?" she said. She crossed her arms as if to ward off a chill, even though the night was warm and humid. "I can feel it."
Usopp picked at the bark beside him. "I think so. Luffy has been looking at maps every day now, and the Marines have been too quiet lately; I don't like it."
"This village is so small; surely you'd be safe here?"
But Usopp was shaking his head before she had even finished her sentence.
"The longer we stay here, the more dangerous it is for all of you. We're wanted criminals, remember? If we don't move on soon, someone will end up getting hurt." He looked up at her, finally. "And I wouldn't be able to live with that."
I don't want to see you go, Kaya thought to herself. The first time was hard enough. Still, her lips remained sealed.
"You know," Usopp began. "I never thought I'd live long enough to come back here." he scratched his head ruefully.
Despite her determination not to cry, Kaya felt her eyes welling up. "Usopp…."
"So much has happened." Usopp continued, gesturing vaguely but with a hint of desperation—as if he needed Kaya to understand. "The battles and crazy adventures and the laughter and the love—it took hold of me, just like it did my father. I guess I can't begrudge him not coming back all those years. Not after experiencing it myself."
Kaya bit the inside of her lip as she listened to him. She did understand. She also understood that he wasn't telling her the full story. Something of that must have shown in her eyes, because Usopp stammered for a minute before plowing on.
"And then, Nami and I…."
There it was. The words didn't hurt her as much as she'd feared.
"And she's great! Really great, but I just couldn't commit because, well…" Usopp was staring at the tree again, picking a leaf off and slowly tearing it to pieces. Kaya felt a moment's sympathy for it. "Cause there was you—n-not that we were together or anything!" he swiftly amended. "But all this time I couldn't help but feel like I was betraying your memory somehow."
By this time, Kaya wanted nothing more than to curl up on her bed and have a good cry, but she held back. She'd show Usopp just how strong she had become. She'd lost both of her parents, had the man she trusted with her life betray and try to kill her… a little heartbreak should be nothing.
"It's okay. I understand," she said, and it sounded like somebody else's voice coming out of her mouth. "I've been expecting this to happen since the day you left this village. I'm just happy to be able to see you again. I've—" she mentally cursed her slip. Chopper had definitely helped her increase her vocabulary. "I mean-- we've all missed you."
Usopp leaned forward, almost falling off the branch as he stared at her with shiny and desperate eyes. "That's why I came back: to tell you everything. The Straw Hats… are my family now. The Sunny is my home."
Kaya's chest tightened as she listened to the words she always knew --no matter how hard she worked and studied, no matter how she told herself otherwise— that she would one day hear.
"You are still one of my important people," Usopp's voice was painfully earnest. "But I want to keep walking forward with these guys, and where we might end up is a place where you can't follow."
"Usopp…" Kaya's chin hit her chest for a moment, before rising. Her eyes were glassy and her voice slightly choked, but she didn't cry. Actually she was smiling. "You've grown up so much. You really have accomplished what you set out to do," You make me try my best, even now. "I'm happy for you, really." I'm proud to be anything to you, even a friend.
"If there's anything I can ever do for you…."
Kaya's smile held true.
"Just tell me one last story," she said.
Usopp laughed weakly, while surreptitiously rubbing his eyes. "You got it."
balm
Sanji lounged against the fence along the main road, enjoying the moon and a cigarette. Nami had come to the house for dinner, looking happier than she had in a long time. It was then Sanji knew that Usopp had made his choice. So, when the long-nose stepped out after the meal, the cook excused himself and followed.
Oh, he didn't go all the way to the mansion. He was still a gentleman, after all, and he knew that whatever Usopp had to say to Kaya was between them only. And it wasn't as if Sanji planned to appear under her window afterwards, citing prose and pretending to be Romeo. He may have tried that stunt with other girls, but Kaya….
Sanji respectfully ducked into a bush, hiding from Usopp's view when the sniper walked past, his hands jammed deep into his pockets as he gave a little sniffle here and there.
"I'm proud of ya, Longnose," Sanji murmured. "You may be worthy of Nami yet."
When the coast was clear, he crawled back out, finding his sweet spot against the wood fence and staring out at the orange-tinged moon with a thoughtful expression.
Everything was beginning to settle back down. The Straw Hat's were rebuilding after the typhoon that was Zoro's death. Sanji hadn't thought it were possible, really. Never faced with the death of someone close, he honestly thought the world would simply end. He felt a bit melancholy to be proven wrong. Somehow, it didn't seem right to be able to worry about everyday things, now that the shitty marimo was gone. His heart still ached at the thought of him, but it was bearable now.
A small noise shook him out of his musings and Sanji straightened, peering into the darkness with tense shoulders. A pale figure wandered into view, robed and rumpled and audibly crying. Something twisted within Sanji, but he hid it well as he stepped forward.
"Miss Kaya?"
"Oh. Mr. Sanji," the girl looked up in surprise, before quickly drying her eyes. "I'm sorry to disturb you. I just felt like getting some air. It's a lovely night and all."
"You seem sad."
"Oh, well…maybe a little," she said.
Sanji leaned back against the fence, affecting to look casual. "Would you like to talk about it?"
Kaya stood there for a moment, hiccupping slightly as she stared at him uncertaintly. Finally, though, she moved to the cook's side. There she crouched on her heels, picking at the grass and while hiding her face in her knees.
"Usopp…." She began in a small voice.
Sanji put out his cigarette, and slid down to join her. "He broke your heart, didn't he?"
Kaya made a tiny noise to the affirmative.
They sat there in silence a moment. Kaya finally shook herself and sat up.
"I always believed he'd come back from his journey and together we'd make a life here on this island." Her eyes looked huge under the glow of the moon. "I guess I misjudged his love of the sea, and his regard for me."
Sanji risked placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Your light would never fade from his eyes," he said. "I can tell that from the way he always talks about you. You'll always be his princess, even if he grew to love a thief."
Kaya laughed softly, even as a few tears slid down her cheeks.
"Love may change over time but it never leaves us completely. Trust me, I know."
"Mr. Sanji, you?" she asked, twisting to look up at him.
Sanji's smiled ruefully. "Three times I've let my heart get broken."
"Oh my! Three?"
Sanji chuckled. "I tend to fall in love a little too easily," he admitted.
"And, was Nami one of those?" Kaya asked slowly, as if afraid the question would offend.
"Got it in one, Missy," Sanji's smile seemed a little more brittle as he pulled Kaya close in a moment of communal heartache. But the sweet scent of her hair quickly brought him to his senses, and he reluctantly pulled away.
"Ah," he stood, stretching. "This is too heavy a conversation to have without wine." He turned around and extended a hand down to Kaya. "There's no hope for it, then. I'll just have to do the gentlemanly thing and escort you home."
She took it. "Thank you, Mr. Sanji."
"Oiy, I poured my heart out back there!" he griped. "The least you can do for me is drop the honorific!"
Kaya's eyes turned into amused crescents as she smiled. "Oh, do forgive me, Sanji," she giggled. "But in return, you must call me Kaya."
"To receive such permission from a beautiful lady like you is truly an honor." He kissed her hand, making her blush.
"You are a shameless, Sanji."
"Kaya is so smart to peg me so quickly! Beauty and brains! My heart flutters!" He twirled around her, hearts in his eyes.
"Oh, you!" Kaya pushed him, her laughter echoing clearly in the night.
Sanji grinned broadly, finding a light in the darkness and clutching at it like a lifeline. Kaya's voice was like a balm on his battered heart. He found himself wanting to soak up her presence like sunshine. His heart pounded even thinking about her.
Extending his elbow, he dashingly escorted her back to her mansion. Seeing Kaya to the door, Sanji gave an exaggerated bow goodnight and then darted off into the night.
And when he was out of sight, he slumped, lighting up a cigarette with trembling fingers. He walked along the road, unmindful of where he was going as he replayed their conversation in his head.
I did tell her, he thought with a sigh. I fall in love far too easily.
edge
Kureha chugged down some wine and stared into the fire with reminiscing eyes. She had her lags propped up on the arm of her overstuffed chair while she soaked up the silence of the snowy night and the memories that it brought. Treating that green-haired boy made the doctor think of Straw Hat, who in turn made her think of the stupid son she had left in the idiot's care. She wondered where Chopper was, if he was happy, if he was safe. If he was ever gonna drop by for a visit, that ungrateful brat.
She wanted to ask the boy, but she recognized the invisible wounds lurking behind his eyes and held her tongue. Who said she didn't have tact?
Doctorine's sharp ears caught the sound of steel scrapping against stone, followed by a muffled thump. Eyes narrowing, she swung her legs about and launched to her feet. Leaving her quarters, she prowled the corridor, moving towards the brat-swordsman's room. She threw the door open.
The room was empty.
She stood in the hallway, tapping her foot as she immediately took note that three of her precious wall ornaments had gone missing from their pegs. As had her patient. It didn't take a doctor to put the pieces together. Kureha began to move again, stalking with a purpose to the opposite end of the corridor. He couldn't have gone far.
She found him a half an hour later, where he had somehow gotten up on the blasted roof.
Zoro was standing in flickering torchlight, barefoot in the snow and having somehow appropriated a pair of pants—which was a shame. He held two of the castle's ornamental swords in each hand, with a third clenched between his teeth. His face was red from cold and exertion and his breathing was strained as he forced his body into a series of movements designed improve both strength and flexibility. Watching him would have been a thing of deadly beauty, if not for the fact the stupid kid had been strictly confided to his bed. A deadly aura began emanating from the doctor.
Zoro, having sensed the killer intent, whirled around in time to knock aside a large truncheon aimed for his head.
"I didn't say you could get up," Kureha said, lifting up a spear she got from who knows where. "If you wanted to play with something sharp, you should have asked." She launched the thing.
Cursing, Zoro dodged it.
Laughing, the witch's arms suddenly contained an arsenal of weaponry, from cutlasses to morning stars to battle axes, all flung with expert aim at the swordsman.
"Ack!" Zoro ducked and weaved out of the way. "Stop, you crazy—!"
Even in his best condition, Zoro wouldn't have been able to dodge them all, due to the sheer amount flying his direction. So when a butcher knife sliced through the air too fast for him to parry, Zoro could only lift his arm up to try to block it from causing a fatal wound. The knife struck his forearm, the blade running cleanly across his skin…
…Only to slide right off.
Zoro dropped his swords. "What the hell?" He kicked at the knife, certain it must've been some sort of trick.
"So it's true," Kureha murmured, suddenly stopping her attack. She bent over and picked the knife up by the blade, showing the swordsman how easily it cut into her palm.
"What?" Zoro stared from it to his arm, confusion reigning over his features. "What's going on with me?"
"Go ask your swordsman friend," Kureha barked testily. "I'm just a doctor." She pulled out a bandage, swiftly wrapping her wound.
Zoro stepped forward, looking like he wanted to say more. But, as it happened, his eyes suddenly rolled up and he ended up falling flat on his face into the snow at the doctor's feet.
"Over-exerted yourself, did you?" she gave him a not-too-gentle kick. "That'll teach you to get out of bed before I say."
Zoro's reply was a healthy snore. Doctorine shook her head.
What monstrous strength men have these days, Kureha thought to herself as she went back to her wine, her fire, and her musings. (After she'd made sure to send someone up to clean up the mess, of course) Must be to make up for their lack of brains.
But still, a man who can control the spirit of a blade… to make is as sharp or as dull as needed… that sure is something you don't see every day. No wonder they call this pup the Greatest.
news
Luffy ate breakfast with a voracious appetite not seen for many a week. He was even starting to snatch food off the other's plates again, humming all the while, positively thrumming with excitement. If the others were happy with this new development, it was hidden well behind their outraged cries for their pilfered bacon.
Zoro's statue would be finished tomorrow; the guy working on it had assured Luffy. Supposedly it had become his greatest masterpiece. Luffy liked the sound of that. It was hard keeping it a secret from the others, but he wanted to surprise them.
Usopp and Nami were talking to one another again, Sanji was whistling cheerfully as he cooked, Kidd and Chopper and Franky were all laughing at a skull joke Brook had made (that Robin smacked him in the head for, because she'd long ago forbidden such silliness in her presence). Things were almost back to the way they used to be. Luffy was glad for them.
As for him… well, he was living, like Zoro wanted him to. Even if real happiness still seemed out of reach, as long as there was a goal in front of his eyes, he could move forward. With his first objective nearly complete, Luffy had already set his eyes on the next. His hand lifted to briefly touch the black cloth around his left arm, his mind on the white katana stored safely on the Sunny.
"Franky?" Luffy spoke up over the din. The cyborg looked up.
"Yeah?"
"I need a boat. Can you build me one?"
"In a heartbeat, bro," Franky combed back his gravity defying hair. "How big of one do you need?"
"Something with a sail," Luffy replied. He quickly chugged down his orange juice then wiped his mouth with his arm. "Small enough that one person can make it go."
"Wait," Nami leaned forward suddenly, her hands on the table. "Where exactly are you going?"
The others fell silent, awaiting their captain's reply.
Luffy was silent for a moment, running his finger along the side of his empty glass, tracing the orange-pulp that was left against it. When he looked up, he had his new smile on: a thin line stretching across his face, with crescent eyes that hid whatever may lay behind them. This was the smile that he'd adopted since losing Zoro. This was the smile he showed his friends now.
"Shimotsuki Village."
The name was foreign to all but the original four crewmembers. Usopp suddenly found the floor fascinating. Sanji frowned around his cigarette.
"Where is that?" Chopper asked in confusion.
"Somewhere in the East Blue, I presume." Robin said.
Nami sat back, rubbing her head. She suddenly appeared very tired. She looked at Luffy.
"Why?" she asked.
"Zoro's teacher lives there." Luffy answered lightly, stretching his arm to grab the pitcher and refill his empty glass. "Zoro once talked about returning his sword to him once he'd achieved his dream."
"Is that what Luffy intends to do?" Brook wondered aloud.
"Yup." That smile again.
Nami shook herself. "But, shouldn't someone go with you?" she reasoned. "I mean, you know nothing about navigating; how will you even hope to get there?"
"I'll manage."
"But—!"
"Nami," Luffy's eyes vanished under the brim of his hat. His smile, too, disappeared, going our like a flickering candle. "I have to do this alone."
Silence fell, a direct contrast from the lively atmosphere of mere minutes before. None could argue with their captain when his voice sounded like that. The crew looked at one another, at a loss. But, gradually their faces displayed grudging acceptance. After all, if this was what Luffy had to do, they would support him on it.
The door to outside suddenly flew open and slammed against the wall with a jarring sound. Kaya came darting in, her hair flying about her wildly as she clutched at the morning paper.
"The Marines are performing an island to island search," she gasped out, her lips white. She had to stop to catch her breath, leaning against the table for support. "It says here that permission has been granted to use the Buster Call on any island found to be harboring you guys.
Shock surged through the group. Everyone but Luffy shot to their feet. Everyone began talking at once.
"What?"
"Oh, no!"
"Usopp, isn't that the thing you told me about? All those ships, with their cannons?"
"Damn it! They can't!"
"They can; we've seen them do it before."
"But--!"
Luffy stood. "It's time," he said, in a quiet voice that nevertheless grabbed the attention of everyone in the room.
"Time for what?" Sanji asked the question on all their minds.
Luffy eyed each one of them in turn, his expression frighteningly blank. The crew shivered, dread creeping up on them for no apparent reason.
"Time…to disband the Straw Hats," Luffy answered, his voice sounding like a death knell in the silence.
tbc