Wow. Hi. I'm finally back. That was not a fun winter, but I'm writing again at last, and I'm going to try hard not to take so long with the next update. Hopefully some of you still remember me, haha. This isn't what you'd call an action-y chapter, but it's important, and as promised, there's lots of Zoro.

Enjoy, and thank you so much for your follows, favorites, and reviews. I got some nice comments just as I was starting to feel I could write again, and I'm convinced they helped me get things done faster than I otherwise would have. So, thanks. c:


Chapter 12 – Ghosts 101

"Oi, Cook."

Leaning against Sunny's rail, Sanji blew a stream of smoke out over the water before glancing at Zoro. "What, Marimo? I'm trying to relax here."

"Let me see that book."

Sanji's gaze remained fixed on Zoro for a few seconds before sliding away to look out at the sea again. "Why should I?"

The silence stretched long enough that Sanji began to wonder whether the conversation had—not for the first time—been aborted on account of the sudden disappearance of the other party. But when he risked another quick glance, he saw that Zoro was still there. Zoro's fists were clenched, and he wasn't looking at Sanji. He appeared to be steeling himself for something unpleasant. Sanji looked back at the water and waited.

At last, there was a long sigh. "Because…you were right."

"Huh?" Sanji cupped a hand to his ear. "What was that?"

"Damn it, you heard me!" Another sigh, and Zoro moved to stand at the rail beside Sanji. They stood in silence for a minute before Zoro spoke again.

"I need to know. The things I can do, the things that could hurt me… If something had happened in that vault back there, I would have been stuck outside while you were fighting for your lives. If you hadn't read that book, I wouldn't even know why. And we've still got a long way to go. If we run into a situation in the future where I could do something to help, but I don't even know it's an option because it's not one of the abilities I've discovered on my own…"

He shook his head. "You were right: if we're attacked by someone that knows what I am, I have to know what to watch out for and what I can do about it. I won't let any of you get hurt because of my ignorance."

Zoro stared out at the water. "I've had more than three centuries to get used to being like this. I accepted it a long time ago. I knew I wasn't the same as I had been. But…I don't think I ever fully understood what that meant until recently. I never thought about weaknesses or any of that shit because as far as I was concerned, nothing really important had changed. I was still the same; still me."

He tapped his head. "In here, it's true enough, but my body—" Zoro broke off, sighing. "You can't really say my body is human anymore, huh?"

"I think you could find a great number of people who would claim you never were human, Marimo."

"Shut up, Cook."

Sanji chuckled.

"I should have considered that completely different rules would apply to me now. I mean, some I couldn't help but learn—you have no idea how strange it was when I realized I wasn't going to be eating, drinking, or sleeping anymore—but it never occurred to me to find out what else there might be. I guess I just figured I'd work out anything I needed to know as I went." He snorted. "Damn stupid, looking back on it."

"You said it, not me."

Zoro scowled. "You did say it, Shit-cook. That's why we're having this discussion."

Sanji tapped his cigarette against the rail. "Much as I'd love to keep a few aces up my sleeve when it comes to you, the safety of the crew is more important." He placed the cigarette back between his lips and took a deep drag. "But I can't give you the book."

Zoro stood for a few seconds in nonplussed silence. "Why the hell not? You just said—"

"You want it?" Sanji dug inside his suit jacket for a moment, then drew out the slim volume. "Catch." He tossed the book gently to Zoro, making sure to aim as far from the rail as possible.

Now looking thoroughly confused, Zoro reached out, snatching the book from the air easily. An instant later, he dropped it with a yell of pain.

"What the fuck was that?"

Sanji calmly bent down to retrieve the book. "That was why I can't give it to you." He tapped the debossed cover. "There are anti-spirit runes on every inch of this thing. You can't touch it, Marimo."

Zoro stared, first at the book, then down at his hand, which was burning bright silver. "Damn it," he said at last.

"But you're right, you do need to know the stuff that's in here. Which leaves us only one option, unfortunately."

"Which is?"

Sanji drew in a breath, trying not to think of just how wonderful the next few days were likely to be. "I'm going to have to teach your ethereal ass how to be a proper ghost."


"Okay, class, listen up." Sanji spun around, looking down the long table. Eight pairs of eyes looked back at him. The rest of the crew had decided to sit in on Zoro's "ghost lessons", as they had been dubbed, reasoning that they should all be aware of the dangers and advantages of Zoro's state. And in Luffy's case, because he might get to see Zoro do something cool.

"We're going to start off by telling you a little about the different kinds of ghosts, and what separates them from each other."

"There's more than one kind?" Chopper asked, wide-eyed.

"There are four," Robin said. She had asked to see the book shortly after he'd first told them about it, and when she had offered to assist him with the lessons, Sanji had been only too willing to accept.

Sanji nodded. "That's not counting stuff like nature spirits or those negative hollows created by a devil fruit. We're talking strictly spirits that used to be living humans."

"So what kind is Zoro?" Luffy asked around a mouthful of sandwich. They had had breakfast less than two hours before, but Luffy insisted that lessons meant they were in school, and therefore he needed a school lunch. It hadn't taken long for Sanji to give in. If nothing else, it might limit the number of interruptions.

"Marimo here is a Type One." Sanji nodded at Zoro. "But we'll get back to that in a minute."

Zoro frowned. "Shouldn't we be starting with that? I'm here to learn about things that affect me. It doesn't really matter what other kinds of spirits there are, or what they're like."

"You're here because we've decided we'd rather not send you off to the great beyond anytime soon. I'm having trouble recalling the exact reason why right now, but as the person currently in charge of making sure that doesn't happen, I've decided some general knowledge would be helpful. If you don't like my teaching methods, you can go stand in the hall." Sanji pointed to the door.

Zoro sank back in his chair with a grumble. "You're enjoying this too damn much. Fine, let's hear it, 'Sensei'. Biology, history, hell, maybe we can do a course in spirit poetry next week."

Responding wasn't worth it, Sanji decided regretfully. Fun as their sparring could be—verbal or otherwise—it would only serve to delay things. Today, tomorrow, or next week, they would all eventually need to know this information, and while there was something to be said for Zoro having to listen to him and follow his instructions, the headache he'd get if things carried on like this wasn't a fair trade-off. Best to get these "lessons" over with quickly.

Sanji cleared his throat. "As I was saying, there are four basic types of ghost. There's not much to tell about Type Fours—some people don't even consider them proper ghosts, because they're not self-aware. They're just echoes of the original that keep repeating the same actions over and over."

"The other three are more similar," Robin said. "For a person to remain in this world, they require a connection. The types differ mainly in what they use for a connection, and each has advantages and weaknesses that come with their chosen methods."

"Type Ones use their own memories." Sanji glanced at Zoro. "They're called unbound spirits, because they have the most freedom—they're not tied to a particular person or object, so they can go anywhere they damn well please. They're also the rarest, because it takes a while for a Type One to establish a full connection, and most people don't have what it takes to stick around that long, with only their own will backing them up."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better, I'd think that sounded almost like a compliment."

"The hell it is. It just proves that you're even more stubborn and hard-headed than I thought."

"Type Two ghosts are known as symbiotic or guardian spirits." Robin's gaze traveled down a page in the book. "They attach themselves to a living person—usually either someone they were close to in life, or someone that was nearby at the time of their death—often without intending to do so. They're normally in a dormant state at first, and it's possible for the host to live out their entire life without ever being aware of their passenger."

Usopp shivered. "You mean I could be walking around with a ghost stuck to me right now, and I wouldn't even know?"

"There's nothing there, Usopp," Zoro said.

"If there was, you might not see it," Sanji told him. "Until the host realizes the ghost is there and wakes it up, they can't be detected by anyone else. Even another spirit, supposedly."

"You're not helping," Usopp said.

"So how do you know?" Nami asked. "What, do you just hope that one day they'll pop up in front of you and say 'hi'?" She waved sarcastically.

"Some people never know, as I said." Robin smiled at Nami. "But if a Type Two is able to partially wake on their own, they'll usually try to communicate with their host, and in that case, there will be signs you can look for. Smells or sounds with no apparent source, unusual dreams, whispered voices, sudden emotions that don't fit your current mood, and so on.

"Type Twos can't be seen by most mortals during the day, even after they're awakened, but through their host they have a stronger connection to the physical world than the other types." Robin sent Zoro an amused look. "For example, they are able to smell things, assuming their host has not lost that ability themselves."

"Seriously?" Zoro looked a bit disgruntled.

"By drawing energy from their host, many of them can touch things, as you can. If their host has a devil fruit ability, they can make use of that as well. In exchange, they can't travel more than a short distance from their host, and when the host dies, the spirit goes with them."

"I'm glad you weren't that kind, Zoro," Luffy said. "'Cause then you wouldn't have been there when we came back."

Zoro smiled at him. "That wasn't an option."

"Type Threes are a lot like Type Twos," Sanji said, "except they're bound to a place or object rather than a person. They're called chained spirits, and they're the most likely to become the nasty ghosts you hear about in stories." He shrugged. "Imagine spending a few hundred years tied to a sword at the bottom of the ocean, or a ruined old castle that no one ever visited. Not really surprising that some of them are a bit unhinged."

"What happens if the thing they're attached to is destroyed?" Nami asked.

"The spirit goes with it, usually," Sanji said. "Though some of the old powerful ones can transfer themselves to a new object if they have enough warning."

"Or a person, Sanji-san?" Brook asked nervously.

Sanji shook his head. "Don't think so. The book's author was pretty adamant that whatever type a ghost becomes at the start, that's what they're stuck as."

"How do we know Zoro isn't a Type Three?" Franky asked. "He's been pretty close to Sunny and his swords the whole time. What if he's tied to one of them?"

"I'm not," Zoro said. "I'd know if I was."

"And if you want more proof, there are two reasons," Sanji said. "First, because Type Threes can't directly touch anything except the object they're bound to. And second, because after that dip in the ocean, a Type Three would either have been destroyed or been too weak to take form for at least a few weeks."

"Don't look so damn pleased with yourself," Sanji snapped at Zoro, who had a hint of a grin on his face. "You're not invincible."

Zoro's expression shifted, as if he was looking at something the rest of them couldn't see. "I know that."

"You've got limits, too, and the consequences of reaching them are worse for Type Ones than any of the others." Sanji set a small pot of jam on the table in front of him. "Let's try a visual aid. A Type Three is like this jam. There's not much in here; a few good swipes with a spoon would just about empty the jar. But if it's getting low—" He twisted the lid into place. "—it can be sealed up, and whatever's left will be protected by the jar.

"A Type Three can retreat to their object if badly injured, and stay there until they're fully recovered. The only way to get rid of one for sure is to destroy the object in question." Throwing the jar against the wall would be effective here, Sanji thought, but he wasn't about to waste food—or give himself a mess to clean up—just to make a point.

"Type Twos are more like this cup." Sanji placed Brook's nearly-empty teacup next to the jam jar. "They don't have much energy of their own, either. But then, they don't really need it." Sanji picked up the teapot. "If they're running low, they can get more energy by drawing on their host." He filled the cup and passed it back to Brook. "A living person generates energy much faster than a spirit, so unless the ghost is being suicidally reckless, they'll always have something to fall back on."

Finally, he picked up Luffy's giant mug. "And this is you, Marimo. Huge well of energy. You'd have plenty left even if someone took a few sips. But this mug doesn't come with a lid or a teapot. If you were hurt badly enough to drain your energy completely, that would be it for you."

"You mean he would die?" Usopp asked in a hushed voice.

"Or whatever you'd want to call it for a ghost."

"Exorcised, perhaps," Robin said.

"I didn't ask for a demonstration of my limits." Zoro was doing a good job of hiding it, but Sanji picked up the hint of unease in his posture. "I'm here to learn to avoid reaching them in the first place. So? What do I have to watch out for, besides salt, silver, and iron?"

At Sanji's nod, Robin held up a small stack of papers and began passing them out. "Please take care not to leave these lying around. We wouldn't want to give our enemies a ready-made guide for destroying Zoro."

Sanji cleared his throat. "First of all, for most of these, the purity of the substance is important. That's why salt takes longer to affect you in water, Marimo—and also why you can still use your swords, even though there's iron in them. You shouldn't cuddle the naked blades for hours, but just holding them in a fight isn't likely to be a problem."

"I don't cuddle—"

Sanji raised his voice. "We made a list, because I don't expect most of you to be able to remember all this just because you heard it once." He beamed at Nami. "Of course my lovely Nami-swan is an exception!"

"Thank you, Sanji-kun, but I think I'm better off with one of these, too." She looked at the list. "There are a lot of herbs on here."

Robin nodded. "Yes, besides salt, silver, and iron, there are at least a dozen plants that can affect spirits. Rosemary and lavender are particularly effective."

"Not all of them are deadly," Sanji added, "though you still probably wouldn't like them much, Marimo. If you look at the list, you'll see there's one that can paralyze ghosts, another that can temporarily disrupt their connection to the physical world, and so on. Also, Armament Haki can touch you, so Haki-infused weapons will injure you. That isn't a specific weakness of ghosts, though, so just touching something infused with Haki won't hurt you the way touching something made of silver would."

Zoro pointed at the runes carved into the book's cover. "And those?"

"Those are effective because someone decided that these particular markings would affect ghosts in one way or another, and they got enough people to believe it that it actually started to work. Essentially, it's pitting the ghost's will against the will of the believers. Same thing with holy water, prayers, or other faith-based items.

"The older the symbol, the more force it has behind it. I could make one up today and it probably wouldn't bother you much, because it'd only have the will of one person supporting it. But some of these are hundreds or thousands of years old."

Chopper raised a hoof. "If he gets hurt by any of this stuff, can I do something? Is there a way to treat him?"

Robin answered him. "As we've seen, it's easier for Zoro to recover in an intangible state. The less connected he is to the physical world, the less these things will affect him. However, if he lost the connection entirely, he would disappear, so it's a delicate balance. As for an actual countermeasure—" She nodded at the giant mug. "The only way is to give him a 'refill'. Any sort of energy can help—electrical, for example—but there is a far more effective option."

Sanji shifted uncomfortably. "Ah, Robin-chan, maybe we shouldn't mention that."

"But I need to know!" Chopper insisted. "It's my responsibility to take care of all of you if you get hurt. That means Zoro, too."

Zoro was looking suspiciously from Sanji to Robin. "What is it?"

Robin smiled. "A transfer of life energy."

Luffy blinked. "Is that like the way he's been helping me?"

Sanji sighed. "Yeah, only the other way around. Ghosts are basically made of energy, so if they're injured, they can give themselves a boost by pulling a little from someone else." He tapped his cigarette against the table. "The problem is, some ghosts either can't or don't want to stop at a little, and if the donor doesn't know how to block it, they can get the life sucked right out of them."

Usopp edged away from Zoro, looking faintly green. "Don't tell me that!"

"Oi, Usopp, that's not going to happen." Zoro looked a bit shaken. Possibly, he was imagining taking from Luffy rather than giving; Luffy collapsing to the floor with Zoro unable to stop…

Sanji shook himself to clear the unpleasant image. He'd just have to make sure the rest of them learned how to block the drain. And maybe get Zoro to practice a little the next time they had a few dozen enemies to take down.

Nami stood up. "Why don't we take a break? I want to check on things outside, anyway."

"Of course, Nami-swan!" Sanji spun toward the kitchen. "And I'll prepare a fresh pot of coffee for your return!"

"More food, too!" Luffy called.

"You've had enough for now!" Sanji told him.

"But it's no fun having drinks without snacks," Luffy said.

"Who said you were getting a drink, shitty captain?"

Luffy turned wide eyes on Sanji. "But I'm thirsty!"

Sanji shook his head and turned back to the stove. Really, why did he even bother protesting?


"I'm still not sure I want to teach you any more tricks." Sanji folded his arms and looked at Zoro. "You're overpowered as it is." Not to mention that he had a pretty good idea of who Zoro would be testing those tricks on.

Zoro didn't back down. "We talked about this, Cook. We could be in a situation where I do need them, and it would be too late to practice then. Besides, I have a right to know."

Damn it, why did that have to make sense?

"Come on, Sanji!" Luffy urged. "I want to see Zoro doing more spirit tricks!"

"I'm not a puppy, Luffy."

"If you were, you'd need obedience classes," Sanji said. "All right, fine. I'll tell you a little. But pay attention. I'm not going to hold your hand through this."

"I don't want you to!"

Sanji lit a fresh cigarette and took a deep breath. "There are powers common to all ghosts, like teleportation. There are some that only certain types can pull off. And then there are rare powers that only a few ghosts are able to use."

"Yeah?" Zoro sounded interested. "Like what?"

"Well, physical manifestation, for one. Type Threes can't do it at all, and a lot of Ones and Twos can't, either. You got lucky." He dropped into a seat across from Zoro. "But we're not here to discuss the shit you've already figured out." Sanji placed a spoon on the table in front of Zoro. "First lesson: telekinesis."

"That's moving stuff without touching it, right?" Luffy asked. "Awesome, Zoro!"

"Don't praise him when he hasn't done it yet," Sanji said.

"So?" Zoro prompted Sanji. "Your precious book say anything about how to do this?"

"Not much," Sanji admitted. "It's meant to teach humans about spirits and how to handle them, not serve as a textbook for ghosts that don't know how to use their own powers."

Zoro glared, and the temperature around Sanji dropped by several degrees. "I'd be happy to show you exactly how much I do know," he growled. "If you can't help me, why the hell am I listening to you?"

"I didn't say there was nothing!" Sanji snapped back. "Now quit trying to turn my galley into a fucking freezer, and maybe I'll tell you what it says."

"Tch." Zoro leaned back in his chair, and the air became noticeably warmer.

"That's better." Sanji dusted imaginary icicles from his jacket. "Okay. You've said before that you can see more stuff now, right? Auras and things like that—even without Observation Haki."

"Yeah."

"According to the book, everything in this world has some sort of energy like that, even if it's not a living thing. You're supposed to be able to grab on to that energy with your own and sort of…pull it around, I guess—and the object it belongs to comes with it."

He expected another sharp retort, perhaps something about how that wasn't enough information. To his slight surprise, however, Zoro was nodding as if it made perfect sense.

"All right," he said. "Sounds easy enough. Now shut up for a bit and let me try it."


An hour later, Sanji brought a fresh pot of coffee to the table and glanced over at the still-immobile spoon. "Having a little trouble, Marimo?"

"Shut up." Zoro was leaning over the table, eyes focused on the spoon.

"Maybe you should try something else and come back to this later, Zoro," Usopp suggested. "You might do better after a break."

"I can do it now," Zoro growled.

"You know, you're probably the most ass-backwards ghost in existence." Sanji leaned over to refill Robin's cup. "This is one of those universal abilities I was talking about before. It's supposed to be one of the first things a spirit learns to do—way easier than manifesting. I'm not sure if I should be impressed with you for skipping to the hard stuff, or calling you an idiot for having trouble with something so simple." He pretended to think for a second. "I'm going to go with idiot."

The next thing Sanji was aware of was a sudden impact just above his eye, followed by a clatter as something metal fell to the floor. Gingerly rubbing the tender spot, Sanji looked down at the spoon, then back up, meeting the gaze of a very smug ghost.

"Huh." Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Guess I just needed the right motivation."


Ghost lessons were put on hold for the next few days while Zoro worked on mastering telekinesis. At first, his control was limited to sudden, jerky movements, but Zoro threw himself into training with all the dedication Sanji remembered from the old days, and it wasn't long before he could manipulate objects almost as well as with his hands. Luffy was enthralled, and most of the crew frequently asked for demonstrations.

This would have been fine, if not for the fact that, as he had expected, Sanji was the most frequent target for Zoro's new talent. At least half the time he reached for something, the object would slide away, just out of his grasp. He learned to be very careful walking through doorways after one closed just as he stepped through, sending him sprawling to the floor. And one evening's worth of having the salt and pepper shakers hovering around his ears as he cooked was enough for him to ban Zoro from the kitchen on pain of salt bath.

None of it was truly harmful, but it was damn annoying, and by the end of the week, Sanji wasn't sure whether he wanted to teach Zoro something new to try to distract him or refuse to share another word of the book again. Practicality won out, however, and after extracting a promise that the antics would be toned down in future, Sanji once again found himself and his book seated across from Zoro, ready to share the next item of interest.

"This one's a classic, too." Sanji shook a fresh cigarette from his pack and raised it to his lips. "Electrical manipulation. Ghosts can mess up all kinds of shit when it comes to electricity and technology."

Franky was instantly on edge. "Mess up how, exactly?"

Sanji shrugged. "Depends on the ghost. Some can literally talk to machines, get 'em to do whatever they want. Some can control electricity like a devil fruit user and do a ton of damage. Some have no control at all, but things tend to blow up if they so much as look at it funny. Mostly it's smaller stuff, though—feedback, triggering an electronic switch, shorting out a computer system, that sort of thing."

Franky's eyes widened in horror at Sanji's words. He turned to Zoro. "No way, Bro. You're not trying anything like that near Sunny."

"Franky, I'm not going to blow up the ship!"

"Didn't you hear him? You don't know what could happen, and I'm not gonna take the risk." Franky folded his arms. "You can try it on the next island. Let them deal with any explosions."

"There won't be any—" Zoro broke off with a sigh. "All right, fine. I'll wait." He looked at Sanji. "But tell me what it says now."

Sanji thumbed through the book. "It's related to manifesting, apparently. You draw power from the physical world when you try to give yourself solidity, and something about that affects electrical stuff."

"I thought you said most ghosts couldn't do that," Nami said.

"They can all draw in energy," Sanji said. "Manifestation just takes a shitload of it. That's why the only ghosts that can do it are Type Ones, who have a ton of their own energy to add to what they draw in, and Type Twos, who have a living host to take from as well. Even then, they can't all pull in enough. But you only need a little energy to mess with technology."

Zoro scratched his head. "I think I've already done this. Kind of. Sunny's lights would flicker sometimes while I was practicing. I thought they were just showing their age—they'd been lit constantly for a long time by then."

"Well then, you shouldn't have much trouble picking it up." Sanji closed the book. "And I think we're done for now."

"What?" Zoro rose to his feet. "That was only two things! Isn't there more?"

"Sure," Sanji said. "But I never said I'd tell you everything. We've covered most of the big stuff, anyway. You already know how to control the temperature. You should be able to make it warmer, too, but you can figure that out yourself. The other rare powers mostly involve elemental manipulation, but there's nothing here on how to use them, and if you had one, you'd probably know by now, anyway."

"There is one common ability you haven't mentioned, Sanji," Robin said.

Sanji coughed. "Why don't we forget about that one for now, Robin-chan?"

Robin smiled. "Really? I think it could be fun."

"I don't think he needs—"

"I'll decide what I need for myself." Zoro said impatiently. "What is it?"

"Possession," Robin said.

Zoro froze. "Did you just say—?"

"Possession." Robin leaned forward. "You enter a living person's body, and share it with them for a time."

"He can do that?" Franky asked. Brook and Usopp both looked rather pale.

"Yeah, he can," Sanji said. "But if you try it on any of us, Marimo, I swear—"

"I won't!"

Zoro stood abruptly. Sanji saw something flicker across his face, there and gone before he could identify it. Was it fear? Longing? Well, I suppose the thought of having a physical body again, even temporarily, would be pretty overwhelming for him.

"That sounds cool, though," Luffy said. "Hey, Zoro, try it on me!"

Zoro's gaze snapped to Luffy. "No."

Luffy pouted. "Why not? I don't mind."

"Luffy, think about this!" Usopp pleaded. "I know it's Zoro, but it's still creepy! And what if something went wrong? What if he got stuck in there and couldn't leave?"

Luffy shook his head. "That wouldn't happen. Zoro's good at spirit stuff. But I'd be okay with it if it did."

"I wouldn't be." Zoro looked away. "The cook's right, for once. I don't need to practice this."

"But it might be useful," Luffy argued. "What if we visited an island made out of salt? You'd be safe if you were in someone's body."

Nami looked at Sanji. "Would he?"

Reluctantly, Sanji nodded. "Probably. A physical body should protect him from most of the stuff on that list."

Zoro hesitated. This time, the flicker looked a lot like temptation. "It's not a good idea." Zoro shook his head. "It would be safer to leave things alone."

"But Sanji just said you'd be safer if you knew how to do it."

"It's been too long, Luffy," Zoro said quietly. "I'm not sure I can trust myself to feel that much."

Sanji thought he understood what Zoro meant. Hell, it was in most ghost stories that involved possession. Being able to touch, taste, smell, breathe—interacting with the physical world the way you were originally meant to—it could be addicting, if you didn't have that anymore. And Zoro had been without it for centuries. He'd never try to claim Luffy's body for himself, the way some of those stories went, but would he be able to resist coming back, again and again? If he spent too much time possessing someone, how would that affect him? Or his host? What if one day he really couldn't leave?

Not to mention the shock of all that sensation returning at once. That might also be hard to deal with, at least at first.

Sanji could see by the expression on Luffy's face that he realized all this, too. But his captain's confidence never wavered. "I trust you, Zoro," Luffy said. "You'll be okay."

Zoro's eye flicked back to Luffy. The seconds ticked by as they looked at each other. Sanji had the impression that a silent conversation was taking place between them. And then Zoro shifted, inclining his head the barest degree. "All right."

Luffy's face split into a grin. "Good! Hey, Sanji, what do we do?"

Reluctantly, Sanji opened the book again. "This mostly talks about how to stop a ghost from doing it," he said. "There's supposed to be some sort of path in a person's aura that the ghost can follow, and you can learn to put up a 'gate' to block their entry. There's nothing here about how to help them find it, though, aside from mentioning that permission makes it easier."

"Okay." Luffy beamed at Zoro. "I give you permission! So you should be able to see it."

"I'm not sure it works like that, Luffy," Zoro muttered, but he stepped closer, slowly circling around Luffy while keeping his gaze focused.

Luffy was beginning to fidget when at last he came to a halt. "Here," Zoro murmured, one finger skimming the air at the back of Luffy's neck. "I think—Right here."

Luffy nodded. "Okay," he said. "Go ahead."

"Are you sure—"

"Yes! Just do it already."

Taking a deep breath, Zoro stretched a hand toward Luffy. His fingers twisted in the air, pulling at something they couldn't see. The details of his form became fuzzier, his body brightening from the point of contact. For just an instant, Zoro disappeared, and a faint glow could be seen in the air around Luffy.

And then there was a gasp and Zoro was stumbling back, his face clouded with confusion as he stared at Luffy.

"It didn't work?" Chopper looked disappointed.

"…No." Zoro straightened. "Are you okay, Luffy?"

"Yeah." Luffy blinked at him. "You couldn't go in?"

Zoro shook his head. "The path was there. But something stopped me. That's never—" He stopped abruptly.

"It wasn't me," Luffy said emphatically. "I told you it was okay; I wouldn't stop you."

"I know."

"Maybe part of you did want to stop him, though," Nami said. "Luffy, you're talking about giving up control of your body to another person. It's natural to be hesitant, even if you think you're all right with it."

"Then we'll try it again," Luffy said. "And this time I'll be really sure to be okay."

"Luffy—"

"Try again, Zoro. Please?"

So Zoro tried again. And again. Each time, he was rebuffed.

"That's enough," Zoro said after the third try, stepping away from Luffy. "Whatever's going on, this obviously isn't meant to be. Don't worry about it, Luffy."

"Why isn't it working?" Luffy looked upset. "I promise I really don't mind."

"I believe you," Zoro said. "And thanks, for giving me the chance. But let's drop it, okay? I don't think things would change even if we tried a dozen more times."

"Perhaps the problem is with you, Zoro," Robin suggested. "If you honestly don't want to possess Luffy, it's possible that could interfere with the process."

Zoro shrugged.

"Well, the only way to test that would be for him to try it with someone else," Sanji said, "and I don't think you'll find many volunteers."

"No. I'm done." Zoro looked over his shoulder at Sanji. "Thanks for the information. If there's anything else in there I should know, tell me later." And he disappeared from the room.

For a long moment, there was silence.

"Got a little jumpy at the end there, didn't he?" Franky said finally.

"He's not the only one," Nami said. "Sanji-kun, what does the book say about blocking it? I'm not even sure I'd be willing to let Zoro do that to me, and any other ghost would be completely out of the question." Usopp and Brook nodded in agreement.

The next few hours were spent studying defensive techniques. More than once, it occurred to Sanji that it would have been useful to have an actual ghost to practice with. But Zoro did not reappear until after dinner, when they had moved on to other topics.


Hmm. Any guesses as to what's going on there? c:

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time (which will not be five months from now).