The part of the story will consists of four, maybe five chapters. I might make it longer since everything taking place will be pretty improtant. This may seem like a filler chapter to you, but it will be full of Zoro's character and his fastly developing feelings for Sanji. And everything after that will build on to it. If you think this section should be longer then go ahead and tell me. i don;t want to rush things to fast for them.

Thank you.

Chapter 9

The young man

Zoro had a feeling that relying on mere psychology notes would not get him far in his plight to help Sanji. As he went through the many pages he had spent money on, printing each page out after coming to the decision that they had to be important, Zoro began to doubt whether he was looking through the right information. He had learned quite a lot of information, but none of it really mattered when it came to dealing with dreams. Critical thinking aside, which did provide Zoro a few new possible strategies, most of what he was reading, while it had seemed important or noteworthy at the time of researching, wasn't really helpful at all. There were bits and articles that mentioned dreaming, but most of it went over things that Zoro really did not understand. And what he did comprehend were things that he already had some idea about to begin with. To put it simply; Zoro had wasted his time.

"Shit," Zoro grimaced to himself while walking through the empty hall of the Science Department. It was a wet Monday; rain had assaulted the campus and would make Zoro's lab last forever in the cold room he was heading to. Tomorrow he would meet Sanji, and would be expected to bear some good news. Zoro couldn't begin to think of a way to lie to the blonde. He didn't want to. Not after spending the weekend texting him and promising him things would get better, to just hold on a little longer. He had told Sanji over and over again that things would improve. He even got Sanji tot talk more about those dreams of his. The two of them had hit a milestone in their already one week relationship, and now Zoro had realized everything he had read up on was not enough. He was cold, tired, and was going to fail his Chemistry class; and Zoro felt like shit knowing it would only get worse.

He continued down the hall, going through the contents of his backpack as he debated over whether he ought to toss out the rest of his findings in to the next passing garbage bin. Zoro stopped, grabbing the printed out sheets of paper and quickly went through them, picking only a small pages that he still deemed worthy of his time. He would be late to class, but by now it didn't matter.

Zoro crammed several pages of psychology blather into the trash can, forcing the pages deep into the dark abyss. He was back at square one. He zipped up his bag, still holding the few pages he kept and walked up the flight of stairs, making sure not to slip over the wet flooring as he made his way to the lab.

It was frustrating. He could talk to Sanji over the phone and they would get along better and better with every passing moment. He could pick through the thick wall that surrounded the blonde and learn more about him, but there was still nothing he could do to actually fix the blonde. It bothered Zoro that he was lying to the blonde, promising him all these things he couldn't; possibly provide. Why?

Really, they only had three conversations during the weekend, and had texted each other a few times. But there was this developing curiosity. Zoro wanted to know more about the blonde, wanted to ask him things he knew were inappropriate to ask. All he could think about was the possibility that Sanji may have been with a guy; and it drove him mad that he didn't know. Zoro couldn't explain why this should matter to him. He had to constantly remind himself that what he was doing wasn't for these curiosities, but for Sanji.

Just Sanji. Sanji; who liked girls.

The fickle feeling grabbed at Zoro and prodded him, reminded the young man that what little feelings he had were wrong and useless. Useless because Sanji would never feel anything towards him. Sanji flirted with the girls. And once everything between them had been absolved, what was to say that Sanji would want to be around him anymore? Wrong because Sanji was sick. Sanji needed positive support. What kind of person would take advantage of those weaknesses? Zoro needed to make sure he helped the blonde because of the promise, not because he wanted to ask the blonde about his sex life.

Damn Luffy. If only Robin hadn't called, then maybe he would have slept through the morning and the conversation would have never been brought up. Only because of that conversation Zoro found him wondering about these things. Was Sanji bi? Had he ever had sex with another man? What was it like? And these questions would always come with all too descriptive images, making Zoro feel uncomfortable and hot and even more curious to know more. Sunday had been the worse, if only because Zoro found himself doing more than just thinking about the blonde. Physical urges temporarily got the better of him, leading to several minutes of self affection. Shortly after this Zoro felt nothing but guilt and anger at himself. How do you fantasize about someone who was suicidal?

And that was how he had spent his weekend.

"Where have you been?" Perona asked loudly as Zoro walked into the lab, making his way over to the table he and the girl shared.

"Not now," Zoro grumbled. He pulled out the stool and sat on it, tossing his backpack on the floor and staring worryingly at the few sheets he kept.

"We have a lot of work to do," she complained. "Did you read the instructions? Tell me you read them."

"I'll look at them in a few."

"Ugh," Perona whined. "Whatever you're doing better be important. My grades gonna lower because of you."

Zoro felt the paper crumble in his hands. His grip got tighter as he tried to focus on what he considered to be more important. Did Perona not see that he was stressed? Was she somehow incapable of detecting the tense aura of frustration and exhaustion practically radiating from his body?

"Perona?"

"What?" she asked.

"Shut up," Zoro said, looking at the pink haired girl with a straight face. He continued to stare at her, his eyes not breaking away as he stared her down with his intense gaze. Perona then gave a weak nod and opened her lab book, not saying a word.

Zoro lowered his gaze at the table, silently thinking to himself. What would he do tomorrow when he saw Sanji? What could he do in order to make it seem look he knew what he was doing? Psychology wasn't getting him anywhere; and that was the god damn study of the mind. If that couldn't help him, then what could? Dreams came from the mind, and if the very study of such couldn't provide him with any valuable information then he was fucked.

He looked over at the Perona, who was sitting quietly at her seat, looking quiet pale and hurt from his past reaction. Zoro sighed, feeling added guilt build inside of him as he realized getting angry was going to get him nowhere. Getting angry at Perona wouldn't solve any of his problems.

"Sorry," he muttered. Zoro waited for a few seconds before relaxing himself, giving another long sigh and sinking into his seat.

"Mhmm," he heard her murmur back to him.

"There's a lot going on right now," Zoro added.

"I could guess that," Perona said, turning to him. Her voice had lit up, as though she had completely forgotten Zoro's cruel attitude towards her.

Zoro nod his head, trying to break the awkward conversation. But a part of him was begging to ask Perona for help. He needed help from someone, anyone. He couldn't tell her though. There was no way she'd keep her mouth shut about Sanji.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Hmm?" Zoro said.

Perona stared at him with a peculiar expression.

"What?" he asked.

"Hmm, nothing I guess," she muttered. The girl went through her bag and pulled out her notes and lab book. "Just get your stuff out and let's get this over with…"

"Sure," Zoro muttered disdainfully.

The study of dreams.

It was so fucking simple and yet Zoro couldn't believe it. He had been born into a generation that pretty much relied on Google to make important decisions or answer any and every question imaginable; but someone Zoro missed this wonderful opportunity up until this point.

He had spent more than an hour waiting in the library for a free computer. Hopefully this wait would not go to waste. Zoro sat in the comfy chair, holding his breath as he logged on to the computer, praying that he would actually find something useful.

He typed in the four words and pressed enter.

Oneirology.

Zoro stared at the strange word. He had never heard of it, which made some sense. The word calmed him. He went ahead and clicked on the Wikipedia link, figuring he'd go ahead and get the easiest to understand summary.

"Current research seeks blah, blah, blah dreaming and blah, blah functions of the brain, as well blah, blah, blah brain works during dreaming as blah, blah, blah mental disorders…"

Mental disorder? Zoro smirked, shaking his head at the sentence he had just read, People were giving this study way too much credit than what it deserved. But from what he had read Zoro knew he was finally off to a good start. He was at the right place, finally.

Zoro scrolled down, skipping the first two sections before actually giving a look through. He could use information about how dreams worked, the definitions…he would skim through, what influenced them would be helpful thought, and dreaming disorders…well, Sanji wasn't that bad.

He did give a pause as he stared at the section with the title "drugs". Drugs; they affected dreams? Zoro knew that there were pills to help people sleep, but he didn't know there were kinds that affected dreams. And by drugs, was the site referring to medication, or illegal drugs? Sanji probably wouldn't mind taking medicine if it means helping him. But who would give him a prescription? Drugs that stopped someone from dreaming; Zoro couldn't imagine being able to buy those at the local drug store.

Nevertheless Zoro opened another tab, desperate to learn more. True, he couldn't get any drugs that would stop Sanji from dreaming, but perhaps he could find something else.

But what would he search? Typing in "drugs that help you sleep" would only assure a long night for the blonde. He wanted Sanji to get a good night sleep.

"Alcohol?" he asked himself. It was the only thing that he knew that would mess around with the brains ability to go into REM.

What about forgetting? Zoro knew pot was pretty good at making people forget things. Perhaps it could apply to dreams as well. And if you were high you were usually not horribly depressed. "Does pot affect dreams" seemed like a good enough search question. He typed in the following and pressed enter.

Cannabis…affected the ability to dream.

Zoro smiled. Then frowned.

Pot was expensive. Sure, it was twenty dollars here, maybe more during other times; but it added up. Zoro could afford maybe a few weeks worth of the stuff, assuming Sanji used every other day, but nothing long term. Also, pot was illegal. And Sanji would probably kill him if he came into his house with that stuff. Or maybe Sanji would high five him, who knew?

Zoro knew where he could get the stuff. The only problem was the expense. He'd have to hope that Sanji would be willing to shell out cash for the stuff. And there was a risk of addiction…

This would have to be a temporary solution. And emergency solution.

Zoro groaned, slumping into his seat as he placed a hand over his face. What was he thinking; giving illegal drugs to Sanji, and such expensive ones at that? And Sanji was suicidal! What if he decided to harm himself while he was high? He could kill himself without even knowing it. And if there was ever a drug test at his workplace then Sanji might as well kiss his job goodbye. Zoro wasn't sure how long pot stood inside the human body, but it was long enough…

It was stupid, ridiculous, stupid, and fucking stupid.

There had to be other ones out there. Aside from weed. Something that he could get his hands on to that wouldn't result in possible arrest. Something that got in and out without too much affect.

Till then he'd just have to bullshit Sanji into thinking that he knew what he was doing. It would be better than offering him a dime bag of drugs every week. Maybe. Hopefully. Please.

"Hey Zoro."

Zoro nearly jumped out of his seat. He spun his chair around, looking at the young man in front of him, smiling brightly despite the cold, rainy day.

"Oh, Johnny," Zoro muttered.

"Oh?" Johnny said with a frown. "Don't seem excited to see me?"

"It's been a long day," Zoro confessed. He let his hand crept over to the mouse, trying to hide what his research. He trusted Johnny, but didn't want to risk it.

"I know, right?" the young man said, still smiling. "You studying for finals? They're less than a month away."

Zoro felt his eye twitch at the reminder. He wished he was ready. He knew he wasn't.

"Yes," he lied.

"Great. Yosaku mentioned you were struggling with one class….can't remember which one; but I think you'll manage just fine. You always pull through at the last minute," Johnny said.

"Thanks," Zoro said. "Look, I need-"

Yosaku and I are trying to get through enough training so we can compete in the next tournament," Johnny went on, not noticing the obvious displeasure in Zoro's pained expression. "I know it means extra work, but I think it'll be worth it."

Life was so cruel. Why wouldn't Johnny just leave? Why was this conversation continuing? Zoro felt his hand land on the mouse. All he had to do now was direct it to the upper right hand corner.

"What about you?" Johnny asked.

"What do you mean?" Zoro asked.

"A lot of the upperclassmen mentioned that you could probably get it; a position," Johnny said.

"Really?" Zoro asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, you're pretty good."

"Huh," Zoro muttered.

"Everyone says it," Johnny said. "You should give it a try. If you get in you can use your swords too."

Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe small little good things would pop up once in a while and throw his life the bone that it deserved. Zoro hadn't planned anything during winter break; spending it with his swords and improving his skills was always something he looked forward to.

"You smoke?"

"What?" Zoro asked.

Johnny pointed behind Zoro; at the computer screen.

Zoro thought about the possible answers that he could respond with. The two of them were in a library full of students; it wasn't like a confession would lead to him getting into trouble. However, Mihawk was a very, very strict man; and hearing that his students were taking drugs would only mean horrible, unspeakable things.

"Project," Zoro answered.

"Project?" Johnny asked with suspicion.

"Psychology," Zoro continued to lie. "You can ask Perona about it if you don't believe me." That didn't sound odd at all. He took a deep breath, letting it out in the form of a long, but soft sigh. "It's about how certain drugs affect the dreaming process, and how that affects the behavior of a person later on."

"I didn't know you took that," Johnny said.

"Friday only class," Zoro replied.

"Ugh, that really sucks man," Johnny said.

"It's…not that bad," Zoro tried to sound as authentic as he could. "Just gathering information."

"How long does it have to be?" Johnny asked.

"Uhm…at least five pages," Zoro replied.

Leave already. Zoro felt his face tighten as he continued to force a causal look on his face. He really wanted nothing more than to continue his work. He didn't want to talk with Johnny. He didn't want to here about final exams or tournaments or any of that at the moment. No distractions.

"Well…" Zoro stretched the word, trying to sound polite, yet worried over the work he was doing, and hint to the other that he really needed to get back to his duties.

"Oh, right," Johnny said, finally taking the hint. "You got work to do, huh?"

"Yes," Zoro practically yelled the word out. "Lots of work."

"I'll see you later then?"

"Sure, whatever." Zoro didn't even try to sound friendly at this point. He faced the computer and stared at the blank screen, wondering when he finally had managed to hide his page. It didn't matter at this point. He just finished lying-badly-to one of his friends. Three hours ago he had pissed off Perona. Today was going just smoothly.

When does one quit, Zoro thought. Sometimes it's best to quit while you're ahead. This may be one of those moments. Why would he go this far into making his life miserable? Did he really want to help Sanji this much? Or was there something else behind it? He ought not to give up because if he did then Sanji might hurt himself. But he might need to give up the search for today because he was hurting himself. He was making it so much harder.

He was forgetting the reasons behind his actions. And all because of some stupid calls.

Zoro logged off the computer a few minutes late.

"I wonder what you'd say," Zoro said, staring at the small picture pinned to his wall. He was alone, in his dorm room; his attention focused on the worn Polaroid picture that had been taken more than ten years ago.

Two girls. Identical twins. But Zoro could tell the difference between the two of them, knowing which one was Tashigi, and the other her older sister. The Polaroid camera had been a gift, for the two of them to share. They both took pictures of everything. It had been a sunny day when Zoro had asked if they cold give him a picture of something. Anything. He was nine; just watching them take a picture and seeing it develop right in front of him was exciting. And after all these years he still kept the picture of the two. The only picture he owned of the two.

Two weeks after being given the picture…

Zoro pulled himself away, no longer looking at the worn out picture. It was difficult to think about it. Zoro could still remember, even after all these years, the whole day. Every little moment was etched into his mind. He couldn't forget the pain that he had felt.

People died without warning. That's why life was precious.

Sanji, why would he ever think about killing himself? There are people all over the word who have so much less than him and they still cling on to life, fighting it every day in hopes of achieving something better. Why would he give up so easily? Could something as mysterious as dreams, something that Zoro considered simple and pure, really be the cause of it all? Did the nightmares stem from something else? Either way, it just didn't seem like a good enough reason.

It was lightly sprinkling outside. Sanji was done for the day. Zoro had already considered missing his evening classes to visit the blonde. He gave up on the idea after failing to come up with a valid reason.

Kuina would have been twenty-two. How old was Sanji?

Zoro looked over to his cell. It had been a quiet day. Sanji hadn't called him yet. Zoro only had about twenty minutes before he had to go to class.

When would Sanji call him? When would he hear that voice?

He grabbed his bag, checking and making sure all his work was in there before zipping it up. Zoro reached for his phone and placed it in his bag as well; sure of himself that Sanji wouldn't call anytime soon. A text could wait.

Was it really so bad that he was eager to hear from the blonde? Maybe a little initiative would help him reach his goal. Zoro knew he couldn't ask Sanji about his personal life, at least not his love life, but there was nothing wrong with letting it drive him. Right?

"No," Zoro answered himself. No, he couldn't do that. Sanji was…suicidal. He'd keep repeating himself over and over again till it sunk in. Sanji needed security, not someone flirting with him.

You don't even know," Zoro quickly added. Sanji still could be strait. Luffy might have just been saying things. Sanji didn't even want love. He didn't want anything.

Zoro's face still warmed up as he walked out the door, remembering how Sanji mentioned that he didn't have anyone special, no one worth living for. He had felt hurt to hear this, even though he barely knew the man, and the two of them didn't get along too well. But now, as strange as it was, he was secretly thinking about how he could change that.

Wouldn't it be great if Sanji changed his mind…for him?

Zoro closed and locked the door, walking out of the dorms and over to the campus.

Next chapters will be dedicated to awkward moments and relationship development (finally, right?). I think it'll be a bit one sided for now, till Sanji get's a better grasp of what may be going on. I know it feels like forever, but a week has finally past in the story. Sanji and Zoro have now known each other for a whole week. That's long enough.

Reviews will be loved.