Author's Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZORO! (Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sanji's Marimo, happy birthday to you! I'm not insane.) Okay so as promised for Zoro's birthday we have a new chapter! Yay! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, but some trouble too since I didn't want him to come off as too weak, but I had to consider his injuries ... I've never actually gotten into a fight before so all of these moves are based off of things I've seen and what I wish I could do. I don't own One Piece.

Speechless
By: Setkia

Full Summary

Sanji is a cook at the Baratie who, for a reason not fully understood by all the other cooks, has not spoken a word in three years. He goes through his life normally, communicating through paper and pen. He hasn't felt the urge to speak since he's decided he would never speak again. Things change though when one day, while taking out the trash, he accidentally runs into the "Demon the Streets".

Roronoa Zoro, the "Demon of the Streets" is a mystery but he's feared by everyone who hears his name. He's on the run from the police with a wanted poster and a big prize if he's found and captured. With an accidental wrong turn, he encounters a strange man with long legs and blond hair. Zoro learnt pretty early on that in his line of work, you don't get attached to people and yet somehow this cook is working his way through his barriers.

PART ONE: BATTLE SCARS

X

What was he doing here?

Zoro stared up at the dotted ceiling of Sanji's guest bedroom and wondered for the thousandth time why he hadn't left. Technically this was an abduction and he was unwillingly taken in by the blond and yet there were tons of opportunities for him to leave the apartment and yet he had never done it. Today Ace had come by and Sanji had looked slightly unnerved. It makes sense though, housing a criminal hardly lets you have peace of mind.

Zoro sat up in the bed and threw the covers off of himself. Slipping out of the bed, he grabbed his swords that were leaning against the wall. He secured them tightly around his waist before he creeped out into the hallway.

In the dark with his horrible eye, he was having some trouble seeing what was in front of him. Feeling along the wall he stumbled along. When he reached the door, he pulled it open and prayed to a God he didn't believe in that Sanji wouldn't wake up. That bastard had already gotten into enough trouble thanks to him.

He was fine walking down the street for a few blocks. He wasn't sure where he was going and he needed to keep out of the lights from the cars, as few as there were out at this hour. He had to keep out of street lights and basically hide under the darkness of the night, despite being absolutely terrified and certain each step he took was into a deep, bottomless abyss.

He took a left, a right, two more lefts and then just walked straight until he found himself in front of an alley. A dead end. Fucking fantastic.

He turned around, about to go back the way he had come and retrace his steps when he heard it.

Footsteps.

The alleyway was dark and damp and everything seemed to echo. He could hear them as they approached, slowly closing in on him. His hand immediately went for Wado, pushing up the hilt, ready to draw at any moment. He held his breath staying as silent as he possibly could when the footsteps stopped.

Had it been a few weeks ago, he'd have relaxed but he had learnt early on that the streets were ruthless and if he thought he had heard something, he was probably right. He drew Shusui and Sandai quickly, placing Wado in his mouth. His sword's blade happened to be in the direction of his bad eye, making his vision even more unstable. He'd have to change that but he didn't have time too, not when he was certain something was about to jump out at him.

There was laughter that chilled him to the bone suddenly.

"Look what we have here."

There was a deep chuckle and then suddenly there was a hand on his neck, squeezing tightly. Zoro twisted, trying to shake them off, but they only tightened their grip. His breathing came out quicker, laboured and unsteady.

"What are you doing here, lost boy?" asked a man, whispering in his ear.

Zoro shoved his arms back, trying to strike at him but the man side stepped. Damn his eye and awareness, it was throwing him off completely.

"Wait a minute," a new voice whispered. "Do we know you?"

"I think we do," said another voice. "Roronoa Zoro, right? The Demon of the Streets."

"This is a demon?" demanded another one of them.

Okay, three voices meant three people. Zoro had taken on more than just three people on before at once. Three, one for each of his swords.

"What a joke!"

The one behind him pushed him in the back, probably using his foot and Zoro stumbled forwards. He steadied himself though quickly and raised Sandai and Shusui, ready to strike them down. The men on his sides tried to grab his arms but Zoro flailed frantically, forcing them to let go. He struck at the one on his right and they fell back but the one on his left kicked him harshly and forced Zoro to stumble forward towards the man he had just hit.

They jumped onto his back. Zoro sheathed his swords quickly and tried to back up and slam his body against the cement. The man fell down harshly. Okay, two down, one to go. As Zoro tried to stumble back to stand, he tripped and fell forward. The man in the back of the alleyway grabbed Zoro's leg and pulled.

The swordsman lost his balance and fell down. He could feel the blood as it dripped down, the pain in his eye getting worse, as though the wound had reopened. He could taste metal in his mouth as his whole world seemed to spin. There was a harsh kick at his ribs and his vision blurred. What was going on around him?

"You're some demon," the man said with a chuckle. "They called you a criminal and the police believed them? This is pathetic." He kicked at Zoro again, his body lurching against his will. "You're almost as pathetic as that other man, the one who was crying. How long ago was it again? Oh, it doesn't matter. Just crying for his mother and father, the baby. He totally lost his shit though when the old man lost his leg …"

Zoro forced himself to move, extending his leg and wrapping it around the man's ankle, pulling until he fell to the floor.

Picking himself up off the ground he stumbled out of the alleyway only to see the blazing light of flames.

That was it, Zoro was just ready to surrender, regardless of whether or not he got a fair trial. Even if he had been wrongly convicted before, they could safely arrest him now, having escaped jail. That made him a fugitive, didn't it?

"Portgas, get your damn squad under control!" came a loud booming voice. "We don't pay you to flirt with cops!"

"I'm talking to someone!" a familiar voice screamed. Wait, was that Ace? Zoro looked to his right and saw a man dressed in a fireman's uniform but there was no denying those freckles, visible in the firelight. "I'm telling you, it wasn't arson," Ace told the man in front of him, shaking his head. He was talking to a tall man wearing a large jacket, smoking two cigars. "You think I don't know how fires are started?"

"Was a Roronoa anywhere within the premises?" demanded the man in a gruff voice.

"Roronoa? You mean that escaped criminal?" Ace shook his head. "Are you kidding me? That guy's a swordsman right? What would he be doing playing with matches? Look, the fire started because of a gas leak, the piping in the condo is really old."

"Don't play dumb with me Portgas, you're a complete pyromaniac—"

"So now you're accusing me of starting the fire?" Ace shook his head. "Look if you think I did it, it wasn't my fault, I told you, it was a gas leak."

"I don't trust you," said the officer.

"You're the only police officer here, so I'm guessing you're here on your own volition? Are you breaking protocol by any chance, Officer Smoker?"

The man stiffened. "How do you know who I am?"

"You're infamous," said Ace.

"Smoker" averted his eyes from Ace's and suddenly, through the flames they locked on Zoro.

Shit.

"Hey!" Smoker yelled, running towards him. Ace followed behind the tall man and suddenly the officer was in front of Zoro, staring at him. "You, who are you?"

"Choro?" Ace asked, giving Zoro a strange look. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Choro?" repeated Smoker.

"Yeah, Choro," Ace said.

"That can't be whoever the fuck 'Choro' is, that has to be Roronoa Zoro. No one else in this city has green hair," Smoker said, glaring at Zoro scrutinizingly.

Recognition seemed to dawn in Ace's eyes. He knew. Shit. This was the end of the line, Zoro was totally screwed. And then Ace surprised him.

"Does this Roronoa person have a damaged left eye?"

Smoker gazed at Ace in confusion. "What?"

"Look, can't you see his eye is clearly injured? And you know, hair can look different colours under different lighting. Sometimes my hair looks pink when there's fire," Ace added. "You must be hallucinating or something, the smoke and flames tend to do that to some people." He turned his attention onto Zoro specifically. "Come on Choro, we should get you back home, Sanji must be worried sick about you."

"Sanji?" repeated Smoker.

"Did I say Sanji? I meant Sandi," Ace said. "Come on Choro, let's got see Sandi!"

With that, he guided Zoro away from the officer and down the street. The moment they turned the corner after Ace yelled at his team that they were doing great and he was taking an impromptu break (much to their displeasure), he turned on Zoro.

"I knew it!" he screamed. "I knew it, I had seen you somewhere before! What kind of a fucking name is Choro anyway?!" Ace ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Sanji knows about this, doesn't he? That you're a criminal?"

Zoro stayed silent.

"Why would he— you were hungry, weren't you?" Ace sighed. "Of course you were hungry. Let's just look past everyone's flaws, even convinced serial murderers because oh, their stomach's empty! God bless you Sanji …" He glared at Zoro. "Don't think I'm not still pissed at you, but if Sanji's decided to keep this a secret, then I won't be the one to betray his trust. For some insane reason, Sanji trusts you. Let's just make something clear here though: though Sanji might've put his faith in you, I don't trust you one bit. You do anything to hurt him and I snap your neck in half, got it?"

Zoro nodded.

Ace took out his phone, about to call someone when his phone rang. He picked it up. "What?— Oh, it's you Luffy, I was just going to call." There was a moment of silence for a second before Ace continued. "What do you mean you're over at Sanji's?"

Zoro could hear Luffy's voice slightly over the phone.

"Who the heck is that? I thought we were looking for Choro!"

"I've got him with me," Ace said, interrupting Luffy. "I'm bringing him over, the idiot decided to go wandering." He sighed and shut his phone. "You've got Sanji worrying about you, bastard. Come on, let's just go."

Zoro was silent on the way back.

When he entered the apartment again, he found Sanji sleeping on the couch, a notepad on the coffee table. Zoro flicked on a switch in the kitchen and stared at the note. If given enough time, he was sure he could read it properly. He wiped away the blood from his eye, squinting, trying to read it.

We … We're … where … where is … Z … Zoro. Where is Zoro?

He spelt it right.

Zoro looked over at Sanji's sleeping form, noticing the way his brow seemed furrowed. He had his secrets, he had a right to them but for the first time, rather than being concerned about hiding his own past from the blond, Zoro was now wondering who exactly was this cook who took in the hungry?

Author's Note #2: The thank-yous!

GPEG: At this moment in time though, Sanji doesn't exactly feel anything romantic towards Zoro yet, he's just kind of ... acting like Zoro's his child? In a sense?

Dyloa: Yeah ... I realize that ... I'm not sure which Sanji's more screwed up, the traumatized one or the raped one ...

crystalbluefox: Thank you! I can't believe my senpai is reading my stories! I'm still in shock!

Random Person: Thank you for the idea, it might just happen.

NaruHinaLuvr: He IS a Marimo after all.

Ideop's: Okay so, the reason why Zoro came running is because that while Sanji doesn't consciously make any noise when he's awake, when he's asleep is an entirely different story. As you might've noticed in Beautiful Disaster, Sanji's a screamer when it comes to bad dreams. I figured I'd keep it in this story, but he himself, like in Beautiful Disaster, is unaware of his screaming when he's asleep. Also the reason why it's taking me long to answer to your e-mail is because I'm trying to check out all those stories you mentioned.

tenshuni: To regurgitate is to throw up something that you've already eaten, DID YOU EAT ZORO?! NOOOO! I like both of the relationship builds quite personally, but Beautiful Disaster was a bit more fun with more humour, I know this story's missing my dash of humour amongst the angst, but it's coming! But why rush a good thing?

Shizuka Taiyou: I love how I can't fool you guys for a second and you just all seem to know that Sanji's never killed someone ... Dammit and I was hoping to be all mysterious. I've never heard of that thing, but that could be because I just spend time on YouTube and watching anime ... And editing ridiculously long stories ...

lilcutieprincess: I wonder why you think that... I just think I suck at coming up with non-horrible ways to form relationships. I mean sure, it eventually develops into something beautiful, but still ... Just about the only story without bad beginnings are the ones where Sanji and Zoro have already met each other ... I enjoy traumatizing them ... I wonder what that says about me...

bronze andromeda shun: I think this story has a deeper development that's easier to pinpoint from Beautiful Disaster.

Okay so my question for you guys: before, in all past chapters, Sanji only ever calls Zoro "Roronoa", or "Marimo", only ever saying his first name when combined with his last name. Since the whole chapter is told by Sanji's point of view, you can understand the narrative to be his thoughts, his lack of using the term "Zoro" was impossible for me to deal with. However near the end of chapter 9, he started to use the term Zoro. In this chapter, he asked where "Zoro" was, not "Roronoa" or "Choro" or "Marimo", so my question is: what do you think that means? (BECAUSE IT MEANS SOMETHING, I WAS DOING SOMETHING HERE! PLEASE NOTICE IT!)