[[ AUTHOR'S NOTE Yet another dramatic chapter. XD I've been watching too much anime, not to mention reading too much shoujo mangas... Darn you Yuu Watase and your wonderful, sappy, dramatic, lovely romance stories! TT.TT FYI, I do my best to indicate who's talking, but the only one in the crew who uses "chan" or "san" is Sanji. Robin uses "San" as well, but she indocates who the person is, EX: "Navigator-san" equals Nami, etc.

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CHAPTER 10: Crime and Selfishness

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It was a beautiful new day and Sanji was already up early preparing breakfast. Usopp opened the door to the deck and stretched out his arms with a loud yawn.

"Aaah! What a sunny day! ...Huh?" He spotted a wet black and orange rope lying on the floor near where he was standing.

"Hmm. Strange... we don't have any rope aboard this color..." Something caught his eye. He could see the corner of a navy blue rag peeking out from the back of the cabin. He walked over to it and gasped. "M-M-M-M-M-Minna!! Come quick!"

Everyone came outside and stood behind Usopp.

"Why are you yelling so early in the morning?" Yawned Luffy.

"Look!!" Usopp pointed at the limp blue body curled up on its side.

"LACY?!" Everyone yelled.

"LACY-CHAN?! Oi!" Sanji rushed over to her body and tried to wake her up. But no response.

"She's numb! Her body's frozen from the cold night air!" Nami pointed out.

"Not just from that. Her clothes are damp." Added Robin, noticing her wet soggy clothes.

"What's all the commotion?" Yawned Zoro as he walked out onto the deck by everyone else.

"It's Lacy! She's frozen!!" Explained Usopp.

"NANI?!" Zoro pushed his way through the crew and stood in shock at the cold body. "Nan– Lacy!" He knelt down by her and tried picking up the blue body. But it stayed in a ball.

"Quick! Turn on the heating pad on my bed, Sanji-kun! Robin and I will get some hot towels!" Nami ran inside with Robin and Sanji following closely behind.

Zoro brought Lacy downstairs fast and placed her under the covers. Nami came downstairs carrying a big tin bowl filled with steaming hot water while Robin brought down the towels. After everything was in place and some color was coming back into Lacy's cheeks, everyone settled down.

"Don't worry," Chopper began. "She'll be alright."

"How did she get here?" Zoro asked frantically.

"I don't know." Replied Nami. "But from what I can see, she must've swam her way to the ship and somehow climbed up."

"I think she climbed up with this." Usopp took out the rope he found earlier.

"She must've wrapped it around the bar of the ship and climbed up over the side; but from the ocean?" Questioned Sanji.

"It's possible. She just needs rest and plenty of heat to keep her warm." Chopper explained. "Once her body's back at it's normal temperature, she should gain consciousness again."

"Will meat help her?" Asked Luffy.

"You're an idiot..." Responded Nami as she and everyone else walked out the room; everyone that is, except Zoro. He knelt by the bedside and held Lacy's cold hand.

"Doushite, Lacy... Why did you come back?"

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After a long while passed, Lacy finally woke up. What happened...? She popped up, noticing she wasn't on the deck. Oh no! They weren't suppose to see me yet! Am I on the Going Merry still? Did they turn around and send me back? She scanned the room and recognized all of the familiar furniture. This is... the girl's room. She got up out of bed and stopped as she noticed she was in different clothes. Pajamas, actually, but who's? Obviously one of the girls' and most likely Nami's since they were about the same size. Robin was too tall and busty. She wrapped a blanket around her and threw on some slippers that where set at the end of the bed. She walked upstairs and when she opened the door, she was caught back when walking in on lunch.

"Lacy-chwa!" Sanji ran over and gave Lacy a big hug. "I was so worried about you!"

"Oi... Give her some breathing room, she just got up" Usopp pulled Sanji off of her and brought him back to the table.

"Um... H-hey everyone." Lacy finally spoke.

"How do you feel?" Nami walked over to Lacy and felt her forehead and her cheeks.

"Better, thank you. What happened?"

"We found you stone cold on the deck." Answered Robin.

"Oh, that's right! I fell over and I guess I dozed off..."

"How did you get onboard?" Zoro was leaning against the front door with his arms crossed and a serious look on his face. Everyone went silent. Lacy stared at him for a minute, then walked slowly over to him.

"I climbed aboard." She answered firmly, standing her ground.

"When?"

"Last night, after you dropped me off back at home. I grabbed my father's rope and swam to the back of the ship and climbed on."

"What about your things? Your luggage?"

"I hid them before you took me back. The suitcases that Luffy carried were filled with useless junk."

"Why did you come back? I left you home for a reason."

"What reason?! So we could both continue our lives in heartbreak?!" Now Lacy was getting upset and raised her voice at him.

Zoro yelled back at her. "You know damn well why you had to stay! You were leaving your entire life behind!"

"I'm 18 now, Zoro! I'm old enough to make my own decisions and I decided to come along!"

"You can't survive out here! You're artwork is at stake! Now you've gone and thrown it all away!"

"I threw it all away for you! What is this to you anyways? Is this something to do with pride and domination? What about love for once, huh? Ever thought about us staying together?! Not just me or you alone?!" She was beginning to think she was acting dramatic and even a little corny, but it's what she felt from the heart.

Zoro fell silent. Everyone was frozen in the back of the kitchen and no one dared to say a word. They all thought it was strange for them to act so close when they have been only seeing each other for a few months.

Lacy broke the silence, but in a calm, sad voice. "Don't you even want me here, Zoro? ...With you?"

He stared into her eyes for a moment. He had a million things buzzing wildly around in his head. But instead of listening to his thoughts about what to say or do, he grunted and walked out; slamming the door.

"Lacy... chan..."

She stood there staring at the door. Her face was as serious as when she was talking to Zoro. But a tear rolled down her cheek.

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The day dragged on while Nami and Chopper was tending to Lacy's needs to get her health back to normal. Usopp was on deck creating new bombs for his slingshot, Robin was sitting in a lounge chair reading a book, and Luffy was sitting on the railing, fishing. Sanji walked out on the deck and found Zoro training in the back of the ship. He noticed Zoro looked different with his training than before. His movements were more forceful and his face seemed twisted and upset.

"Oi."

Zoro ignored him and kept on with his training.

"I said 'oi', marmio head."

"What the hell do you want?"

"Take a break. I need to talk to you."

"You?! Want to talk to me?! Don't make me laugh!"

"I'm being serious, dolt! Now get over here and drink some ice tea."

Zoro grunted as he dropped his weights, grabbed a towel to wipe his sweaty face, and sat down next to Sanji, grabbing the ice tea out of his hand. It was silent for a while. Sanji lite himself a cigarette and puffed into the sky while he leaned against the cabin. Zoro stared into his glass.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Sanji finally said.

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"You know, with Lacy-chan."

"What is there to say? She snuck onboard. There's nothing we can do until we reach the next island."

"Then what?"

"We ship her back to her island, that's what."

"Mattaku, Zoro. You really don't know how to handle the ladies..."

"Get off my back." He snapped.

"Listen. What you said back there was really hurtful to Lacy-chan. You should go in and apologize."

"Don't tell me what to do. I'm not happy she snuck onboard."

"Is that how you really feel?"

"Hm?" He glanced a curious look at the man.

"I see what you're trying to do from your point of view. But you can't always decide what's 'best' for her or for anyone for that matter. It's her life, you know. You should be happy she's here and wants to be with you. Besides, it's cute how she's doing all of this for you. It's usually the guy who does all the sacrificing to make a relationship work."

"Shut up."

Sanji sighed. He stood up straight and started walking away. "Fine. Be that way, I really don't care what you do as long as you don't hurt Lacy-chan. But you know..." He glanced back at Zoro. "It's ok to be selfish sometimes. If it's for all the right reasons." He walked away again and went inside to the kitchen.

Sometimes... it's ok to be selfish? Zoro stared into his glass again and tried to search in the back of his head about what Sanji meant.

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Night fell quick, and Lacy was at full health. But when called to dinner, she refused and practically locked herself in the girl's room.

"Maybe I should check on her..." Suggested Sanji.

"Just leave her alone. It's between her and Zoro. It's a love affair that needs to be mended by the lovers." Answered Usopp.

"Wow... for once, you're right." Nami commented, impressed and agreeing with Usopp's words. "It's up to those two now."

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Knock! Knock!

"Please go away. I'm not hungry." Lacy yelled from under the sheets.

She heard the door open. I should've known Sanji wouldn't give up. Suddenly, the sheets were torn off of her and before she knew what was going on, her lips met another's and was given a deep kiss. She lied on the bed in shock as the clinging of 3 gold earrings rang in her head. When their lips departed, two arms wrapped around her, holding her close.

"Forgive me."

She blinked. "Zoro...?"

"I was wrong. You can do whatever you want. I didn't mean to treat you like a child." Zoro released her body and rested his hands on her shoulders; staring into her bright blue eyes.

"Zoro... I'm sorry I made you upset. I didn't mean those things–"

"You were right to be angry with me. I deserved it."

"I only wanted to be with you. I don't want to be alone anymore... without you..."

"I don't either. It's just that you had friends and family who care about you that you'll be leaving behind. I just didn't want me to get in the way of your future."

"But, Zoro. You are my future." She blushed a little bit as she smiled at him.

Zoro smiled in return and gave her another soft hug. "Lacy?"

"Yes?"

"It's... ok to be selfish sometimes, right?"

"You mean, to think of only yourself and your intentions?"

"Yeah."

She giggled. "Of course. You wouldn't be human if you didn't think of yourself every once in a while."

"Good. Because I want you here and to never leave me."

Lacy closed her eyes and smiled; squeezing Zoro. "I won't leave you. Ever."