A Happy Ending or a Dangerous Start?

He didn't know how long he'd stayed up, really. The sun had already gone; the Merry sleepily lazing through the calm waters of the cold night. Zoro tossed in his hammock, facing Luffy's bunk across from him. The captain slept without a care, now knowing the well-being of his crew would be safe until another life threatening adventure crossed their paths. Drool fell out of his mouth and dripped onto the floor boards, creating a small puddle. Zoro grimaced. He'd probably have nightmares about drowning in that.

Usopp and Chopper went to bed far earlier than all of them, claiming they had to wake up early to finish some kind of project they started below deck. Sanji…began treating him rather coldly after Azami's visit. Everyone had noticed it, but no one could figure out the reason for it. It wasn't like Zoro actually considered going with her! Even now as they slept on opposite sides of the room, the cook's back was turned to him, seemingly tense and uninviting. How could the back of a person hold so much emotion? "Oi," Zoro whispered and quickly searched the room for something in arm's length.

Sanji growled lowly as a pillow slammed over his head.

"Cook," the first mate hissed.

Another pillow fell on top of the first, most likely Chopper's.

"Shitty brow, I know you're not asleep." With no response, Zoro gently lifted Luffy's head and took his worn out pillow and threw that as well. Apparently, Sanji drew the line at spit covered fabric ripping away his ability to breathe freely. He swung his feet outward and hopped out of bed, quietly storming out of the men's quarters. Zoro took it as a request to follow him.

Once they were both out of earshot, Sanji finally faced him. His arms were crossed, lips had been stressfully chewed in place of a cigarette, his eyes were saggy bags of anxiety, and he was silent as he leaned against the wooden wall of the hallway. Zoro was genuinely concerned for him. "Just tell me what's on your mind, cook," he pressed on, "please?"

Sanji uncrossed his arms at the sight of Zoro's worry, and suddenly he couldn't keep a frown present for long. With a defeated sigh, the blonde rolled his eyes at him. "I'm just…you were…I saw…"

The swordsman cocked his head, "What're you talking about?"

"The witch!" Sanji's voice rose, but remained at an acceptable tone. The others wouldn't be disturbed. "I saw the way you stared at her big…womanly parts! I'm not stupid, Marimo. You thought about leaving us for a split second. Leaving me…"

The sheer look of annoyance, disbelief, shock, and utter detestation he received was enough to make the cook's eyes bulge. He'd never seen someone so honestly hurt and insulted, and Zoro usually ignored most heinous insults that were directed towards him. This reaction was as real as physically possible. Somehow, Sanji wasn't mad anymore. If anything, he grew angry at himself for blowing this out of proportion and treating the bewildered first mate so coldly all day. Avoiding the other's gaze, he outstretched his arms; it was a bodily request for forgiveness. Zoro chuckled quietly. He wrapped his arms around the other's warm torso, and squeezed him securely. He really missed this sensation. He pressed his cheek against its counterpart's and realized just how cold his body was. The Merry was freezing! Even the lantern above their heads began to form icicles!

"Okay, I guess I'm sorry. But, hey, can you blame me? You could have anyone you wanted," Sanji declared.

Zoro started getting a big head as he grinned smugly, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, green is in season."

Zoro shivered promptly. "Maybe we should go back to bed before we freeze to death or something," he suggested, ignoring the technical fashion slander, and pulled away. The blonde grunted in affirmation; he was beginning to feel it as well.

Loud steps trampled the deck hurriedly, accompanied by an obnoxious chant of warnings, stopping them in their tracks. It was Nami. She had watch until morning tonight. What could she be so worked up about in such a calm atmosphere?

"Guys!" The navigator waved her arms frantically towards outside, "I-I! T-There's—In the water! L-Look in the water!"

Together, they ventured onto the deck and stared over the ship's high railing. The others soon joined after hearing the shouts of terrified anguish. There, in the rippling waters, appeared several steel helmet covered heads, slowly rising in unison. Their numbers were great; the group, no, the accumulation of women stretched far and wide. Well-sculpted torso straightened and strong tails flicked through the water to keep them balanced. A specific woman, adorned in nothing but broken seashells to cover her breasts, made a motion with her fingers, causing a continuous geyser to hoist her into the air, towering above the ship. Her stance was stern and unwavering; she was clearly here for one reason and that only. Long, uncut burgundy hair pushed out her round face and eyes piercing through each crew member, she spoke with authority, "Who is this vessel's leader?"

"Naa, that'd be me," Luffy chirped. Zoro shook his head in hopelessness without anyone noticing.

The woman suddenly grimaced at him, and pointed the tip of her flaming spear to his head. "So you are the one named Roronoa?"

Zoro swallowed. This was a bad timing; his strength hadn't returned yet! Luffy didn't give enough time to stall. The captain laughed, seemingly confusing and offending the opposing leader. "Shishishishi! Course not! I'm Luffy, I'm the captain. Zoro's my first mate," he clarified.

Sanji nudged the swordsman lightly. "Oi, why are five million women trying to decapitate you?" he whispered. Zoro shrugged. Had this had something to do with Azami? And if so, didn't Zoro help her in her conquest for love? What bone did she have to pick with him now?

The woman stepped off the geyser as if it were apart of a leveled floor, keeping her weapon's aim on rubber boy. Everyone took a cautious step backward as she got closer and their guards shot up in mere seconds. Except the swordsman; he took coverage slightly behind the scowling cook. "I demand you step forward, Zoro," she hissed, "for I am General Chimautsu of Her Majesty Queen Azami's Salt Chuck Army. You are being arrested on account of our queen's capture!'

"What the hell did I-" Zoro threw his hands over his blabbering mouth. The Straw Hats stood stock still, waiting for their attacker to make a move. General Chimautsu's spear flew to Zoro's sweat coated forehead immediately, its heat making itself known. "Our queen is currently in the filthy dungeons of the Western waters, otherwise known as warlock territory. This ship was the last place she visited before we received a letter for ransom. You were her last client, Roronoa! Confess what treacherous deed you've committed!"

"Hold on a second!" Nami yelled, instantly gaining the evil eye, "Azami-"

"That's Her Majesty to you, mortal peasant!"

Nami gritted her teeth and ignored the urge to assemble the Clima-Tact, "She went to warlock territory willingly. She told us that's where she was headed after she left. To make peace with them once and for all."

"Silence! I shall hear no more of your lies! Our queen would never!"

Robin stepped forward with her arms crossed defensively, and her frown deepened. "You don't care about Queen Azami," her gaze went farther out into the water, glaring wholeheartedly to every stoic soldier waiting for command, "None of you do. You've been using her for years in order to have a royal advantage in the war. Tell me her birthday!" Robin suddenly screamed. Not one sea witch uttered a sound. "Tell me her favorite food! Her favorite color! Hobbies! Likes! I bet not a single one of you could even tell me her dream!"

Chimautsu swung at her with a battle cry, Robin summoned more than five arms at once, and the army (both witch and allied mermaid) surrounding them jumped out of the ocean simultaneously, creating a ripple of motion that rocked the Merry violently. Would they survive this? Zoro thought. How could they fair against this number of enemies?

Luffy's yells could be heard towards the stern, all either from frustration or the amount of effort he put into each of his blows. Nami and Usopp had teamed up together, fighting back to back and dodging various thrusts of spears and large axes. Zoro was lost, and, for once, he didn't deny it. He wasn't on the Merry or on an island for that matter. He couldn't…describe it or comprehend what he saw in this moment. It was a desolate piece of dry land in which he was slowly suffering, having to watch his crew members, his nakama; his beloved family fight for his life. Everything was happening ever so slowly, too agonizing to hear and watch. This invasion was his fault. He should have just dealt with the sea witch properly instead of waving her off like everything else he did. Was there a lesson the universe was trying to teach him in all this? A cruel, unfair, deadly lesson?

After what seemed like an eternity, the Straw Hats were eventually surrounded from all sides, huddled around the mast, huddled around their defenseless first mate. Being the closest and most devoted, Sanji did what he could to protect Zoro; he fought until his very soul burned heavily from exertion. Hurting Zoro was not an option. There had been enough pain onboard already; the cook owed it to everyone not to let anymore be caused. He refused to strike a woman, even if they were trying to kill him. As the others fought to their fullest potential, Sanji covered Zoro with his body protectively. It then became an endless, tiring cycle of dodging and blocking and dodging and blocking and dodging and blocking until he finally managed to ruin this rhythmic, frivolous routine.

He accidentally blocked when he should have dodged.

A sharp, hot jab to his abdomen later and suddenly the cook collapsed, soon lying in a widening pool of his own blood. Zoro's heart sunk and his breath hitched. He kneeled beside the lovecook's groaning, shaking form, and buried a hand in his messy crop of blonde hair. The witches suddenly ceased their attacks as they observed. "No," Zoro spoke softly; his voice was a mere hoarse whisper. "Cook…Sanji…No, no, damn it! Y-You can't die on me, on us! Don't leave us like this! I can't let you go now!" The swordsman noticed how moist the blonde's face became. He was crying? That's what was causing his spiraling headache and not severe sorrow? "I…I just got you…"

He rose slowly to his feet; the terrifying, murderous eyes of an angered, soulful demon stabbing through each and every still opponent by his sides. The witch soldiers were struck motionless by the evil glint. They had suddenly regretted coming onboard this ship, advancing towards this vengeful monster, and obeying every single order their general commanded.

Zoro felt his chest grow heavy with various overwhelming emotions swelling inside, but mostly a sense of newfound loneliness touch the depths of his heart. The Straw Hats quivered as they watched their swordsman shed a river of tears and march boldly up to the commanding chief, disregarding her spear pointed at his throat. "Do it," he growled.

Chimautsu was taken aback by this. "Wh—what was that…?"

"You fucking heard me; do it. I dare you to stick that thing through my skull. You wanted me? You got me. If you win, you'll leave. Period. Without hurting a single hair on any of my nakamas' heads. But you miss your shot, you'll be dead within a second," Zoro growled loudly, feeling his curled fist tremble in hatred."So better pray you don't miss."

Chimautsu was quick, but Zoro bested her. The spear slid off his skin with a cautious, precise sidestep to the left, and he took this small chance to run. His neck was on acidic fire from the touch. Battles of their own started up again around him as he maneuvered through crowds, aware of what was tailing him. His only option, his only chance, his very survival counted on what has been lying in the infirmary, collecting dust for quite some time. Zoro ran like hell for his swords, silently biding his strength to return.

He could hear the brutal warrior behind him, ripping apart the poor Merry's woodened walls as she pillaged on. Finally making it to Chopper's domain, he found that the door was already thrown open. The cold, wet grip of a hand suddenly grabbed the back of his neck, and slammed him against the far wall face first. Zoro shivered as he forced his weakened muscles to cooperate and help him stand. He felt blood dribble down his nostrils, and smelt nothing but bitter copper. That bitch broke his nose!

"My, Roronoa," a foot suddenly stomped his lower back, unleashing a shaky, loose grunt, "I never knew you'd be this much of a disappointment. I mean, for the man who got our queen captured, I expected him to be more of a challenge. Cunning, strategic, strong with the hundreds of men at his disposal; my, my, was I expecting an epic battle of the Gods." Zoro gritted his teeth as she pressed down harder, "It's a shame you're so weak. I could've used the exersi—"

General Chimaustu's weight disappeared, and the swordsman noted the sound of hard impact on the infirmary's bed, shattering the fragile support beams. He stood up, ignoring his muscles' cries of pain and the fact that he was swallowing a large amount of blood in his lungs. In the middle of the threshold, Sanji breathed heavily, beaten, bloody, chewing the end of a lit cigarette, and fuming with concealed rage. The smoke gathered around him as he chuckled with the devil's own glare. Now, Zoro's seen Sanji seriously damaged and still standing before. Hell, they've patched each other up a few times in the past. But in this moment, he could see the cook was really at his limit. There was literally less than a pint in the cook's body. What kept him going? What kept him from dying?

"It's okay. I'm not dying today, marimo. Oh, hell no," he smirked, taking a quick drag. Zoro felt his chest burn with a new roaring sensation toiling inside.

"I just got you."

He felt like utterly tackling him. There was a happiness jumping and somersaulting in his stomach that he wanted to mimic, but Zoro didn't have the time or the energy to. Wadou, Kitesu, and Yubashiri were ice cold against Zoro's palms as he touched them; he feared he might drop them if he tried to carry their might. Chimautsu was beginning to stir lightly. He needed to take the dire risk immediately.

Wadou weighed him down like a pile of boulders. Zoro debated on whether or not he should even try to pick up the other two. Slumped over, sore and tense, he held the hilt with great struggle; arms trembling, lungs breaking, fingers cramping, but he managed to get it between his teeth eventually. Kitesu and Yubashiri were more difficult to handle, especially with Kitesu practically screaming her bloodlust at him, craving to cut through skin. Zoro could sense that she was furious with him. It had been too long. Zoro grinned and chuckled darkly. He finally felt whole with them in his possession. And Sanji watched it all. He actually watched Zoro slowly gather his prized, missing pieces, and become himself again. Tears burned behind the first mate's eyes.

"Go help on deck," Zoro spoke clearly through his teeth, "I'll take care of her."

Sanji hesitated. Like he would be dumb enough to leave the idiot swordsman in this state! "Zor—"

"Go now, cook!" I can't bare for you to see me if I lose, he wanted to say, but something told him being honest in this situation would only urge the cook to keep his feet planted. Zoro knew how this fight would play out, ending with a 99.9% guarantee that he would die, but he'd be damned if any of his crew members had to witness it.

Vigorous footsteps started towards the deck; Zoro doubted he could turn his head at the moment, so he assumed the cook was gone. Low, snarky laughs erupted from the broken bed as Chimautsu slowly sat up, retrieving her spear at lightning speed. Zoro hardly saw her body movements. "Touching, really. A dead man returned for you, but you sent him away I so he wouldn't see me kill you. "I can't bear for you to see me lose,"" the general made a whining, irritable noise as she cracked the bones in her neck with little concern. "Adorable."

Zoro paled. "How—"

"Sea witches are the superior ones in every way, Roronoa. A daily dose of spells can really be useful. For instance, mind reading."

"You—"

""Sick bitch," blah, blah, "invading privacy," blah, blah, "not the way to win." I've heard it all before, you pig-headed mortal. What better way is there? There's nothing better than knowing your opponent."

Zoro clenched his incisors down tighter. He was starting to lose his grip. "The saying's not supposed to be taken like that!"

Chimautsu stifled a bone-chilling, cocky laugh, "I assume you'd say it's cheating? Oh, please, it's merely survival."

Luffy panted as he briefly rested his body against Sanji's bloody back, staring at the mess they've created. It had taken hours, but majority of the army had been either knocked out or killed. Some took flight once they noticed how greatly their numbers had been dropping. As Luffy caught his breath, Nami and Usopp had already begun rolling bodies into the water below. Suddenly, his support had vanished, causing him to fall back onto the cold, wooden floors on the Merry, spreading a jolt of pain throughout his entire self. He stared at the dark blue, starry sky above, completely free of all but one thought. Where had Sanji taken off to so quickly?

Everything hurt so badly. He wanted nothing more than to die, to finally stop the agonizing pain he'd been in for years, decades, for centuries, but he didn't. Sanji hobbled towards the infirmary, limped around the jagged pieces of Adam wood sticking out of various crevices, and prepared mentally for what he was about to see around the corner.

The first sight that came into view was General Chimautsu's mangled form lying on the ground, unmoving and sliced in half at the torso. She still had a look of disbelief on her features. A look most people had when they fought the Straw Hats and lost. Zoro had taken over the destroyed bed, minding the few sharp springs that jutted out from the mattress. His swords were placed on the floor respectively and aligned. With his eyes closed and still, Sanji heard the bastard snore. He shook his head, not bothering to stop the smiling sprouting from his busted lips.

"Oi, marimo," Sanji poked the other's leg, "Ever occur to you that checking in with us instead of clocking out would've helped our sanity?"

Zoro bolted upward with a gasp, and then coughed violently afterwards. He should have been a bit more cautious with moving, he realized. Sanji sat down beside him, studying his wounds carefully as Zoro propped himself against the wall. "It happened so fast," he claimed in awe.

Sanji frowned, pulling out his pack of cigarettes. Chopper shouldn't give a damn if he smoked in the room. It was ripped to shreds after all. "What did?"

"My…it's back. My strength," Zoro clarified, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "My attack would have been useless if it hadn't returned at the time it did. My blades would have literally just gave her a paper cut. She obviously wasn't expecting to be looking at her own ass moments later."

It was silent then. The two men just relished in each other's company, both ecstatic about being alive and having the other to be alive with. Sanji sparked up after a few clicks of his lighter, and Zoro closed his eyes, relaxing his mind and abused willpower. "Kind of feel bad for the soldiers though," the swordsman huffed.

Sanji puckered his lips, disgusted at the blood he found on the cancer stick's bud, "Why's that?"

"They were just mindless puppets, only taught how to swing a sword and throw a spell. I bet majority of them didn't know what was going on or who the bad guy was. They didn't deserve to die…"

"If it makes you feel better, not all of them are dead."

"Oh, that helped a heap. Thanks," Zoro retorted dully. Sanji yawned and held his head. He was so tired a headache was coming on. "Shit, I feel sorry for Chopper. Poor little guy's gonna be heartbroken."

Zoro yawned fitfully as well, catching the cook's contagious chain. He agreed, but knowing Usopp and the rest of them, the infirmary would be brand new in no time. And they sure had their work cut out for them.

The blonde blew out a puff of cloudy smoke, casting his eyes down at the floor, and seeing past the brutally chipped parts. "Sorry you thought I was dead," he said, reaching over and delicately stroking the small burn mark on Zoro's Adam's apple, "It must have been hard."

"Hm," Zoro paused. "Sorry for getting you "killed.""

"Idiot, you don't gotta apologize for me protecting you."

"You don't have to apologize for being dead, shit cook! Who the hell does that?"

Sanji chuckled; he couldn't argue. He pulled Zoro into a hug, ignoring the crushing pain he felt around his abdomen. He needed to hold the swordsman right now, no matter the injury. Zoro smiled warmly and wrapped his arm around him as well. They were both love struck idiots in a great deal of pain, but neither of them minded. Chopper could patch them up while they slept.