IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! Hi, this is Haru. I'm the one who shares this account with Shadow-chan. I'm sorry to say this, but she's giving up on this fic. A lot of things have been going on in her life lately and she just doesn't have time for this anymore. She said she lost inspiration for it as well… I will try and keep the fic going, although it will be different. I have very high standards and am a perfectionist. It probably won't be updated very often, because of school and such, but I will try. Again, I'm very sorry and I hope you continue to read.

Also, before she left, we decided that Zoro would have long hair and that he CAN get pregnant; I personally don't like that idea, but it's Shadow's story and I'll do it for her. He spent two years in a cage with no sharp objects so it makes sense. Plus his hair was giving me hell because he lacked ears on the sides of his head. Having long hair will make it easier for me to draw it. As for the pregnant thing, it makes sense for the plot, sort of.

Zoro followed the blond prince down the large hallway; he still wasn't used to the ornate décor. The green haired male studied the richly colored tapestries in silence, unable to think of anything to say. Finally getting tired of it, he turned back to the blond.

"So, why did your dad want to see me?" He questioned.

"Why would I know?"

"I dunno… maybe because you're his son?" The wolf answered sarcastically.

"Shut up, fur ball."

"Bastard," He muttered, pulling his hair back and tying it into a low ponytail and leaving two chunks hanging down to cover where humans had ears. Stone castles got extremely hot in the summer.

"Here we are, you uncouth slob." Sanji presented the large oak double doors to his bristling counterpart, gesturing to them with his slender arms.

"Thank you, Prince Charming." He spat out another sarcastic remark before yanking open the door, possibly opening another wound, and marching inside. He looked around the surprisingly well light room and spotted an old man sitting on a throne. "Yo." He called, tossing a lazy hand up in greeting.

"Where's your respect, you scrawny pup?" The old man barked.

"I think I might have left it in my cage!" He snapped back. Stupid old guy.

The old man's glare darkened and Zoro tromped closer to the raised platform that housed the flamboyant golden throne. He sat down in front of it, cross-legged, and continued his examination of the aging king.

The first thing he noted was the fact that he was missing a leg. He also had a very strange beard and mustache. All his hair was white as was his clothing. It wasn't showy by any means. He probably had the more dramatic clothing saved for guests more important than his son's below average slave.

"What?" The gruff voice broke the Lycan out of his reverie.

"I was just thinking that you look kind of familiar."

"I don't see why. An idiot like yourself probably doesn't know up from down."

"You're obnoxious. Why did you want to see me, anyway?" He questioned, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

"I wanted to know why the Demon Prince Roronoa Zoro was reduced to a mere slave."

"Demon Prince? Huh, that's news to me. I never really paid attention to public affairs, though." Did I really just say public affairs? I'm spending too much time with Robin. "But it's none of your business."

That remark sent our happy little protagonist off to make friends with the wall. As he pulled little pieces of wall guts out of his hair he glared at the offending party. "I take it back, you aren't obnoxious. You're a grumpy old asshole."

"And you have no respect for your elders."

"I have respect for that kick, and your fancy mustache, but that's about it."

The old man, who Zoro still didn't know the name of, rolled his eyes. At least, that what the wolf figured he did, who could really tell with a face like that? "You're very simple, aren't you?"

"Yup. Never claimed otherwise."

"King Zeff!" A servant called out, bowing as he entered. "Princess Nami wishes to have an audience with you!"

"Fine, bring her in."

The princess entered, dressed in an intricate pink gown. She marched straight up to the old man and put her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry, King Zeff, but I'm afraid I can't marry your son."

"WHAT?" He demanded, slamming his fist down on the armrest.

"You see, the Water Seven Kingdom offered me 100,000 Beri to marry their prince, Paulie. You only offered me 30,000. If you can't go higher than Water Seven's offer, I'll have to go with them."

The king narrowed his eyes in thought, the room was silent. Finally, he dropped his head and waved his hand at her dismissively. "Fine, fine. I can't afford to give you that much."

She bowed and left. Zoro stared after her. Was she really that desirable? He would admit that she was pretty, but she also seemed mean and conniving.

"You leave as well."

"Okay." He figured it was best to leave the old man to himself.

Zeff… Zeff… Holy shit! Red Boots Zeff? Wow, I knew he was royalty, but I didn't think he's leave his life of crime to rule a kingdom. I wonder if Curlicue knows…

The former prince walked through the halls, wondering where he was going. He had no clue how to get back to his room, considering the fact that he hadn't paid attention as he was led there. As he was lost in thought, he bumped into something hard, very hard. He looked up to see a very tall man, over seven feet, with crazy blue hair and an odd nose.

"Um… Sorry?"

The large man just looked at him before cracking a grin and laughing. "You must be Zoro-bro!"

Zoro's face dead panned, he was always annoyed by Johnny and Yosaku calling him that, and now this weirdo was doing it? Just his luck. "Um, yeah, I'm Zoro. Who are you?"

"Lord Cutty Flam, at your service. But you can call me Franky."

Lord Cutty Flam… "Oh, Robin's fiancée."

"The one and only!" He struck a pose. "I'm super glad you're so young, otherwise I might be in trouble." He joked.

"Huh?"

"Oh, Robin talks about you all the time and how cute and smart you are, but I'm not worried; she hates younger men."

"… I thought she liked me…" He muttered, furrowing his brows and looking down.

"Not hate like that, she hates dating younger men." The older man consoled the boy, patting him on the shoulder.

Zoro nodded in understanding. "Hey, have you seen a guy that looks like me? He's taller and has blue hair though."

"Yep. I saw him in the garden, come with me!"

"I don't need help." The green haired male muttered indignantly, crossing his arms.

"Don't bother lying, Zoro-bro. Robin told me all about how you're super 'Geographically Challenged.'"

Zoro turned his head away to hide his blush. After his face cooled down, he followed the other man through the maze of hallways. He sniffed once… twice… The smell wouldn't go away, it was following him… or leading him. He hurried forward a little and caught up with Franky, sniffing him. The lord gave him a strange look and he decided to explain himself, not wanting the man to think he sniffed people for fun or anything.

"You smell like a sword, but different. Like, not entirely human."

"Well, that would be because I'm a cyborg!" (1)

"… A what?" He asked, quirking his eyebrow.

"I'm part machine, part human. See, I was hit by a train once and-" The wolf man cut him off.

"What's a train?"

"A train is kind of like a carriage, but it's super huge and made of metal. And a whole bunch of people can fit in it at one time, but they have to pay."

"Okay." Trains sounded weird.

"And so I fixed myself up with metal from a scrap yard. Only my front half is metal. It's impossible to operate on your own back."

"… That would explain your nose…" He mumbled, he'd been staring at it unabashedly for the past five minutes.

Franky just laughed. "Here we are!" He exclaimed opening a door.

Zoro squinted his eyes at the bright light that invaded his irises. Thanking the blue haired man, he set off in search of the other blue haired man. After a few minutes of searching and what could be considered dumb luck, the teen saw a flash of blue behind a tree. Quietly, he snuck up and poked his head around.

Zoro felt his brain implode.

Again, very sorry that Shadow-chan's given up. She just doesn't have the time or interest to carry this story on. I really hope you'll continue reading it. I'll try my best to keep it up. It might be more serious though, as I actually plan chapters out and don't just type down whatever comes to mind.

I'm truly sorry!