Chapter 14

*Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its wonderful characters.
A special thank you goes out to HadenxCharm, my wonderful beta-reader. Anyways, thank you so much for reading. Please enjoy!*

"Well then? Go on, Zoro. I'm all ears," Sanji said in a serious and soft tone, squeezing Zoro's hand as though he were encouraging him to go on.

Zoro was for certain that he wanted to do this, despite all of the negativity in his head. He'd concluded that Sanji wasn't like what the whispers said he was. Sanji had always seemed understanding and open-minded, and that's all that Zoro could really ask for.

Before Zoro began his story, his eyes widened in realization as a very important thought had just occurred to him.

"Holy shit! I almost forgot! I have to go get Chopper and tell him you just woke up! How are you doing by the way? Do you feel pain? Are you okay? Shit, you can't be okay. You were… tortured for Christ's sake. Shit," Zoro ranted in concern, his eyes filling with urgency and worry as he stared into a surprised blue orb.
Once Sanji had processed what Zoro had just said, he gave a soft laugh, catching the green-haired man off guard.

"W-what are you laughing at, you curly bastard?!" Zoro stuttered as a small blush rose to his cheeks, distracting him from his prior distress.

"You," Sanji chuckled, but before Zoro could yell at him, he continued in a soft, loving tone, "I'm fine, Zoro. Physically and mentally. It takes a hell of a lot more than that to break me down. If anything, I just feel a bit groggy because of the drugs, but, ultimately, I'm okay."

Zoro just glared at him in skepticism with a blush invading his cheeks due to that shitty cook's tone of voice. He almost didn't believe the love-cook, but as he looked into his honest eye, Zoro couldn't find a reason not to believe him. After a few moments of just looking at the cook, he sighed and stood up from that shitty chair.

"I still have to go tell Chopper that you're up. He has to check up on you and the crew was really worried about you. Still are, actually," Zoro mumbled as he began to walk towards the door, but a tug on his hand stopped him.

Sanji's hand firmly squeezed Zoro's hand, silently asking him not to leave. Zoro's persistent blush intensified a bit and after a few deep calming breaths, Zoro turned to Sanji with a stern look.

"I promise I'll tell you everything, Sanji, but right now is not the time. Everyone's out there waiting for you to wake up and we can't make them wait any longer. Plus you need to get checked out to make sure that you're gonna be okay," Zoro said with a slight strain in his anxious voice, looking into Sanji's eyes in a silent plea to comply with his wishes.

Zoro just really needed to know that Sanji was going to be okay from someone who was actually a doctor, not from some patient that believed that they were fine, especially a patient like Sanji, that stubborn bastard. So, he needed to know and confirm that he was really going to be okay. But not only did Zoro needed the conformation, he also longed to wrap his arms around him to comfort himself and tell himself that Sanji was really okay...

He just… really wanted to pull this chef into a hug… Hell, Zoro could admit that he really wanted to kiss him, but… he knew that that was unnecessary right now, and that would actually make Sanji hate him and everything would just go to hell. He was… he was just so damn relieved; he'd never thought he could feel so refreshed and light. It's almost as if he were free. But before Zoro could dwell on his these feelings, he kept his attention on the stunned love-cook.

Sanji's eyes were wide, not expecting any of this from the swordsman, and when Zoro saw that he was speechless, he huffed and squeezed his hand.

This action snapped Sanji out of his stupor. He jumped and then he blinked for a few moments, and before Zoro could say anything else, Sanji's astonishment melted away and a small smile replaced his prior surprise. He also lowered his gentle gaze to their hands that were still connected.

"You seemed to be the one who worried the most, ne Zoro," Sanji mumbled as he slowly lifted his eyes just in time to witness Zoro's blush deepen, and before Zoro could shout at him in embarrassment, Sanji spoke again.

"Anyways, you should go get Chopper, but the second we're alone together, we talk, like you promised, okay?" Sanji almost pled as he stared into astonished eyes, squeezing Zoro's hand as if to prevent him from running away.

Zoro could hardly believe Sanji was still willing to talk to him after everything, and once Zoro's mind absorbed and processed what Sanji had said, he smiled a relieved and warm smile that simply made Sanji's heart stop – that smile almost made Sanji actually need a doctor so that he could be resuscitated.

"Okay," he practically whispered as he slipped his hand out of Sanji's and slowly walked to the door, but once he reached the door, he stopped.

"And Sanji?" Zoro asked, turning his head to the side to look at him with his one eye.

"Hm?" Sanji hummed, curious as to why he stopped as he slightly lifted his head in interest.

"I was the most worried about you, and just so you know, I'm also the most relieved," he mumbled as a heavy blush blessed his tanned cheeks.

He saw Sanji's utterly bewildered countenance and before Sanji could say or do anything, Zoro was out the door and running to find Chopper, practically vanishing before Sanji's eyes.

'And I love you too, Shitty-cook,' Zoro thought as he ran to the deck.

"Hm?" Franky hummed as he looked back to see what all the thudding was about, only to find Zoro slightly huffing.

"Huh? Zoro? What's wrong? Is something wrong with Sanji?" Franky questioned, concern drenching his voice as he stood up away from a project of his, wiping his greasy hands with a ratty rag.

Zoro ignored his question and asked one of his own: "Where is Chopper?"

Franky squinted at Zoro with suspicion.

"Um, he's in the kitchen with Robin, Nami, Luffy, Brook, and Usopp. They're all having lunch right now. Zoro, what the fuck is all of this about?" Franky huffed as he crossed his large arms and practically glared at Zoro.

All the while, Zoro just stood there, his eyes slightly widened and eyebrows cringing in confusion.

'Franky… never speaks like that to his nakama…' Zoro thought in bewilderment as he stared back. 'Maybe he's just irritated because of Sanji's condition and the fact that none of them could do anything to help.'

Franky seemed to grow impatient very quickly at Zoro's silence and before Franky could say anything, Zoro hurried to answer.

"Sanji woke up," he blurted out in such a placid tone that Franky almost missed what he'd said, but Zoro knew he'd heard him once he saw his eyes grew impossibly large.

"Well say that in the first place! Go get Chopper and tell him!" Franky yelled comically as his teeth sharpened, and Zoro headed towards the kitchen.

"That's why I asked you where he was," Zoro said as he slammed the kitchen door open. Every occupant in the room – except for Luffy - looked up from their food to see who had entered, and all of them had surprise written on their faces, but Zoro didn't care about that. Once he saw the cute little fluff ball, his eyes locked onto him and he walked to him.

"Huh? What is it, Zoro? Are you okay? Did something happen with Sanji?" Chopper questioned, completely forgetting his plate of pasta and turning towards the man walking to him, who had ignored him until he stood directly in front of him.

When Zoro stood in front of Chopper, he spoke.

"Sanji woke up," he said in a calm, soft tone as he gave the little reindeer a small smile. Once Zoro had said this, the whole entire room fell into silence. Zoro felt all of the eyes in the room bore into him, letting the information sink in, but Zoro only looked at Chopper, ignoring the stares and waiting for the little doctor to jump into action.

It took Chopper about a minute to fully process what Zoro had said, and once he did, his concern quickly turned to a mix of surprise and relief as he jumped down and ran to the door connecting to the infirmary.

"Thanks, Zoro!" Chopper yelled over his shoulder before he opened the door, ran in and slammed it.

The loud bang of the door seemed to snap everyone out of their daze while Zoro released a sigh and turned to the door closest to the deck to wait in front of the other infirmary door, but before he could leave, he was stopped.

"Zoro, does he seem to be… okay?" Luffy asked in a serious tone, pausing in his eating to make sure he heard Zoro clearly. Zoro knew what he was asking without him explicitly explaining himself. He was asking about Sanji's mental state, because surly someone who was tortured had the very high chance of being scarred mentally in some way.

Zoro could feel his gaze piercing into his back, but all Zoro did was turn his head and said with a smile over his shoulder:
"Yeah, he said that it's gonna' take a hell of a lot more to break him… and he seemed to be telling the truth."

"Good," Luffy chuckled as a huge smile played on his youthful face. Zoro chuckled himself and left the kitchen before he was bombarded with other questions from his remaining crewmates.

Besides, Zoro decided that waiting in front of the infirmary door was a better use of his time than to answer questions he either didn't know the answer to or he didn't want to answer. So, as he made his way to the other infirmary door, his thoughts were filled with Sanji and what he was going to say once he got him alone.

: -:

"Sanji?"

Sanji snapped his head to the door once he hear a large bang, only to see Chopper panting and looking at him with wide eyes.
"Yo, Chopper, what's up?" Sanji said with a soft smile as he watched the reindeer try to catch his breath.

As soon as Chopper had managed to regulate his breathing, he was next to Sanji and examining him to make sure that he was going to be fine.

"You really scared us, Sanji," Chopper began with a small sullen voice that made Sanji feel a bit guilty as he worked away.

"Well it's not like I asked to be kidnapped and be used as a pin cushion, you know," Sanji sighed casually as he watched Chopper perform his tasks, but once he'd finished, Chopper tensed.

"I know that. It's just… sorry," Chopper began angrily with his shoulders tensed but ended with a sad tone, shoulders slumping. All the anger, frustration, and stress bunched in his narrow small shoulders seemed to have dissipated once he apologized. Sanji directed a kind smile his way.

"It's okay," he said in an effort to comfort his little nakama, reaching out to his to pat his head.

"But, Sanji," Chopper started, raising his head with tears in his eyes, voice strained from withheld emotions threatening to burst out.

"It's not okay. You shouldn't have gone through that! If we'd been faster! We could have prevented that! We could have prevented what had happened to you! We could have!" Chopper wept, rubbing his hooves into his eyes as he bent his head downwards and his shoulders shook with the force of his sobs.

Chopper's sudden crying caused Sanji to just lay there, stunned and puzzled. He had no idea what to do. He didn't think that what had happened to him would have affected his crew so much…

"Chopper," Sanji said softly, waiting for the doctor to calm down a bit before continuing. Chopper seemed to sense this, so he forced himself to calm down enough so he could hear him, and once he calmed down, Sanji began to speak.

"It's okay, Chopper. I'm fine. You saved me just in time. If you guys had arrived any later, then I would've been a goner. It's thanks to you and everyone else that I'm still here. Besides, it'll take a lot more than that to fuck with my head." Sanji smiled and he comforted the little reindeer.

At first Chopper didn't seem to believe him, but after a few minutes of staring into Sanji's honest eyes, Chopper seemed to have given up on denying that Sanji was telling him the truth.

Though Sanji could see why none of his nakama would believe him at first, and to be completely honest, he was a bit more self-conscious about his hands. That man came a bit too close to his hands with the scalpel, with cutting off bits of his forearm, but other than that, Sanji could honestly say that he was unaffected by his 'torture' psychologically.

"You seem to be okay, everything's normal, all you need to do is just rest," Chopper stated happily, but suddenly Chopper's shoulders slumped once again and his eyes and ears fell downwards, and before Sanji could ask what was wrong, he spoke in one of the most heartbroken tones Sanji has ever heard.

"But, Sanji… everything still isn't okay…"

"What do you mean?" Sanji asked, his curly eyebrow curling even more as his eyebrows came together.

"Zoro," Chopper began as he sniffled. "Zoro was so… broken when you were unconscious. He was so… so…" Chopper stopped himself once his voice started cracking.

"He was so… what?" Sanji asked in a very hollow tone. Sanji could feel his insides churn as his frown deepened and his eyes narrowed in sadness, anticipating what he already knew was the likely answer to his question.

'Damn it, Zoro. Just stop… stop destroying yourself, you bastard. Can't you see you're hurting us? Why? Why do you do this? I just want to understand. I'm here for you. I want to help you. If you can't catch yourself, I want to be the net that can catch you. I love you, Zoro. So stop,' Sanji thought as he waited for Chopper to gather himself, and once he had, he spoke in a slightly shaky voice.

"He was so sad. He never left your side for anything, other than to use the bathroom. He never left to eat." Sanji visibly cringed at this, and Chopper noticed, but he was too consumed in what he was saying that he just continued as if he didn't see anything. "He never left to drink anything, and he never left to train. I had to force him to eat and drink whatever was left, and he always left food on his plate for, either Luffy to eat or for me to eat. He was so torn up and sad! But, he didn't look it while he was in here. The only time he looked horrible was when I was done with your surgery, and Sanji, he looked so wretched. I can't forget how he looked. His eyes were red and swollen. He looked like absolute shit and I couldn't - I can't help him! Sanji! He's so good at hiding his emotions! He looked like his old aloof self the entirety of the rest of the time, but I knew! I knew he wasn't okay and that he was worse than the rest of us, but!" Chopper gritted his teeth in irritation as he tried to calm himself down. Sanji waited in a tense, stunned silence as he watched Chopper calm himself, and once Chopper was ready, he continued in a defeated tone.

"But I couldn't do anything… All I could do was watch over him. That's all I could do," Chopper finished, plopping himself onto Sanji's bed, sitting at the edge and looking at his little hooves in sadness, waiting for Sanji to say something.

But Sanji was too stunned and distraught to come up with a response.

'Zoro was that worried? Why?! Why was he so goddamned worried?! Worried to the point that he wouldn't take care of himself in the slightest! Damn him! Don't do that to yourself, shitty moss-ball! Don't! Don't hurt yourself… Why? Why worry for me that much?' Sanji thought as he tried his best to not get teary-eyed. Zoro shouldn't care for him to this point… He shouldn't do such flattering yet concerning things…

"Sanji?"

"Hm?" Sanji hummed absentmindedly as he tried to sort out his thoughts and feelings. He was angry with Zoro for neglecting his own health, but he was also flattered, touched, and felt all fuzzy and warm on the inside at the thought that Zoro had stayed with him and had been concerned. But soon enough, Sanji decided that he was really pissed at him for neglecting his health and for doing such worrisome things.

"I have some things to tell you," Chopper said with a certain seriousness in his voice that gained Sanji's undivided attention.

"Hm? What is it?"

"I found out some stuff about Zoro's depression."

"Wait. Zoro didn't say if he had depression, right?"

"Well, no, but it's pretty freaking obvious he has it. After seeing him like that, like such a train wreck, I'm convinced," Chopper said with finality. Sanji stared into his determined brown eyes, and after a few moments, gave a slight nod as he drew in a breath.

"Okay, so what is it that you want to tell me?" Sanji asked as he exhaled, silently accepting the reality of the situation and somewhat dreading what he was about to hear next.

"First of all, I've found several therapy treatments," Chopper started, but was quickly cut off by a certain chef.

"Well that's good!" Sanji shouted in excitement, a wide grin playing on his face. However, he quickly picked up Chopper's serious manner and his smile slowly dissolved as Chopper continued in a monotone voice once Sanji quieted.

"Yeah, but I also found more stuff about depression that I want to tell you. I kind of want a second opinion on this. I want to see if you agree that Zoro shows these symptoms," Chopper ended with a slight sigh as he walked over to his desk to grab a piece of paper, waiting for Sanji to say something, and as Chopper turned to go back to his spot on the bed, Sanji spoke.

"Um, yeah, sure go ahead. Oh, but before you go on, I just wanted to tell you something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Zoro said he'll talk to me," Sanji informed nonchalantly, trying not to seem too happy about the fact, and once Chopper processed the information, he squealed in delight.

"Finally! Some good news! That's actually one type of therapy! Just having the patient talk it out with someone! This is a step in the right direction! Alright!" he shouted as he threw both hooves into the air and giggle in delight.

"Okay, okay, Chopper. Go on with what you were going to tell me," Sanji said with a slightly sullen voice and a small melancholy smile, just wanting to get this part over with so he could talk to his marimo.

"Oh, well," Chopper began, looking down at his paper as his legs dangled off the side of the bed. "These symptoms pertain to only men."

"Eh? There are different symptoms for different sexes?"

"Yeah," Chopper replied, taking a breath before he continued in his doctor voice. "Men are more prone to turn to substances while they're depressed. In other words, they're more prone to drinking or drug use. Men are also more reckless and quick to anger while depressed. It's like they turn their feelings of despair into intense anger. Men are also more prone to just engulf themselves in their work rather than talking to someone, unlike women. Women mull over everything, ultimately making their depression intensify. Anyways… While women are more prone to attempt suicide, men are more successful in doing the act rather than women… Zoro hasn't gotten to that point – assuming that's the case – but the last part is just for you to know… anyways… what do you think?" Chopper asked a bit uncertainly, almost as if he didn't want to know. Sanji just sat in stunned silence, absolutely dumbfounded. He was so shocked that he barely registered that Chopper was calling his name.

"Sanji?" Chopper called in concern, waving a hoof in front of his face to gain his attention.

"Huh? Oh, uh," Sanji began in a flustered manner, but after a few shaky breaths, he gathered himself and answered the damn question.

"Well, yeah. Zoro's been drinking more sake than ever, practically trying to drown himself in it. He's also probably the most reckless human being I have ever met. I mean he has no devil fruits power and is still doing outrageous shit! He's also one of the most closed off people I have ever seen. He's tight-lipped. I mean, he's kept this whole depression thing from us all this time," Sanji explained in the most casual tone he could pull off, but in reality, he felt himself being chipped away. He just wanted Zoro to cry on his shoulder and for him to feel better once and for all. He knew that was a tall order, but it was something he wanted to do nonetheless.

"Yeah," Chopper muttered, bringing Sanji back into reality. "I'll go get Zoro for you two to talk."

"Huh?"

"Well, we know he needs this, so why wait? I'll go get him. Do you want to sit up? I could get you some pillows so you could sit up," Chopper said in a very nonchalant tone as he hopped off the bed. Sanji looked at the little doctor with wonder as to how he seems fine now, but he didn't dwell on it, he had a more pressing matter to attend to.

"Yeah, I would like to sit up, and once that's done, go get him," Sanji said kindly as he watched Chopper pad around to fulfill his wish.

Once Sanji was sitting up comfortably, he bid Chopper farewell and waited for the moss-ball to enter, and soon enough, he did.

As soon as Sanji saw the head of green hair he'd learnt to love, he smiled a loving yet melancholy smile, thinking that he was going to have a long sad talk ahead of him and that he should greet him in the most casual way possible to make this whole talking thing easier for the both of them. So, he quickly replaced his smile with his trademark smirk and spoke his mind.

"Welcome back, shitty swordsman."

: -:

Zoro had been waiting for two hours now. Why the hell was Chopper taking so long? Was he talking to Sanji, or what?

Zoro was seriously worried. It was almost dinnertime now and Sanji had been awake for a long time and Chopper had been in there for quite a while. Was something wrong with Sanji? Was it because Zoro hadn't told Chopper that Sanji was awake sooner? Had Zoro fucked something up again?

Zoro couldn't help but wonder even though he knew it was irrational.

Before he could start to pull his hair out due to his anxiety, the door opened and the little reindeer padded out. Chopper didn't seem to notice Zoro until he cleared his throat to get his attention. Chopper jumped, startled at the "sudden" presence, and before he could say anything, Zoro asked him the question that had been eating him from the inside out.

"Is Sanji okay?" Zoro asked, trying to act as casually as possible, only to fail slightly when his voice betrayed him by shaking a little.

He saw Chopper's eyes soften at this, but what Zoro noticed most of all was his calm demeanor, which made Zoro feel like he was finally breathing a breath fresh air for once.

"Yeah, he's fine. All he needs is rest, but you can go in to talk to him. I'll ask everyone else to leave you two alone until you either come out, or say it's okay for them to come in, okay? Either that, or they could come in real quick and then I can ward them off so you can stay back and talk to him," Chopper offered, trying to be nonchalant, but it was apparent that he was a bit on edge since his ear twitched in slight nervousness.

Zoro smiled and figured that Sanji had told the little doctor that they were going to talk, and he quickly made his decision.

"I'd like to talk to him before everyone else. At least that way he'll have time to process everything and it'll give him a chance to cheer up," Zoro said softly yet ambiguously as he walked past Chopper and into the infirmary, and as he passed the doctor, he saw Chopper give a slight nod indicating that he'd heard Zoro's choice and wasn't going to question him.

Once he was in the infirmary, he locked the door so then their talk wouldn't get interrupted, and before he could even turn around he heard the voice he'd found himself always longing to hear: "Welcome back, shitty swordsman."

: -:

Zoro turned around to see the cocky grin he loved and the deep blue eyes that seemed to consume him. Zoro's heart fluttered a bit in his chest, but it quickly died down once he remembered why he was here. So instead of throwing back an insult at Sanji, he just grunted, pulled up that shitty godforsaken chair to face Sanji, and sat in it.

He was here to divulge, not strike up some idle chitchat.

"So," Sanji began awkwardly, not really sure where the hell to start, but Zoro quickly cut in, preventing him from saying any more.

"Where do you want to start?" Zoro asked in a very serious tone, which immediately drowned out what Sanji was going to say, but left Sanji confused as to what he was being asked.

"What?"

Zoro huffed at Sanji's confusion and before Sanji could snap at him for not making any sense, Zoro slowly reached out towards him. This caused Sanji to quiet until he figured out what Zoro's motive was; it was his hand. Zoro wanted to hold his hand, probably for moral support, but to hell with that; Sanji didn't care. The gesture was adorable and he just wanted to hold his hand. So, upon realizing this, Sanji met him halfway and their hands met, wrapping around each other. Zoro's tense shoulders immediately relaxed, and after a calming breath or two, he continued with a sigh.

"Well, first of all, I know something about your torturer. So, do you want to know about that or my past first?" Zoro asked in a very grave and low voice, but Sanji had barely registered it, and as realization began to dawn on him, his countenance was slowly consumed with utter bewilderment.

"Wha- Wait a god damn minute… You know that crazy sadistic bastard?" Sanji asked, absolutely flabbergasted, but before he let Zoro answer, two more important questions came to mind and his tone turned from surprised to serious.

"Is my torturer related to your past? And is the past that you may have told anyone else on the crew a fabrication of your real past?"

Zoro's eyes twitched at Sanji's very serious, very personal questions, but Zoro had decided to tell him everything, and he was hell-bent on doing just that. So ignoring all signals in his head that were blaring and screeching at him to just run away or change the topic, he simply nodded as he redirected his gaze to the bed sheets in front of him in shame. Sanji's eyes narrowed questioningly for a moment until understanding washed over him, realizing that Zoro had answered both questions with a silent 'yes.' After a few minutes of torturous silence, Zoro heard Sanji speak in an even and calm tone.

"I would like to know who my torturer is first, if that makes it easier for you to begin with."

Zoro's eyes widened with shock as his gaze shot up to meet understanding calm blue eyes that could only belong to Sanji. Zoro took in the look of sincerity and supportiveness of the blonde, convincing himself that he wasn't just imagining an understanding chef before he took a deep breath to continue. Zoro had honestly thought that Sanji would just ask about his past first and then wonder how the torturer related to all of this, though, in retrospect, he'd always exceeded Zoro's expectations.

Zoro dropped his gaze to the bed sheets in front of him once again, and he knew that his face was contorted in pain and disgust. He tried to spit out the sentence that he'd never thought he would have say to the one that he had fallen in deep and maddening love with. It was as if he were swallowing a knife, but he managed to force it out.

"Your torturer… your torturer is my… father," Zoro hissed with a pained scowl, refusing to look at the cook and ashamed that he was even in his presence. Zoro felt his stomach clench in disgust and despair. He was sickened by the fact that he was the son of a bastard that deserved to die, and he was in anguish that he was indirectly responsible for Sanji's pain, that it was his own flesh and blood that had hurt the one he was so desperately in love with.

After he'd said that, only a tense silence filled the room.

Eventually he realized he still held the cook's hand, and he quickly began to retract his hand from Sanji's, feeling as though he had lost his right to do so, but Sanji prevented him from escaping. Sanji squeezed his hand to trap him from escaping and Zoro was so confused. He had lost this privilege, right? Why was Sanji insisting on holding his defiled, corrupted, tainted hand?

In his confusion, Zoro redirected his openly stunned gaze to the incapacitated chef and he saw something he never thought he would see after saying something so… outrageous to a nakama that he loved more than he probably should.

He saw a fiery determination set on Sanji's handsome face and this further confused Zoro, his brow furrowing deeper and his eyes narrowing his disbelief.
"Zoro. You are not responsible for what that man does. You hear me?" Sanji began in a stern calm voice while he squeezed his hand, as if to make sure Zoro was listening and wasn't going to run away or disappear on him. All Zoro did was slightly gawk at him as he continued with steely resolve.

"What happened to me was not your fault. You didn't hit me, stab me, or cut me. It was that man. Now that I think about it, it makes sense that he's your father. I mean, the green hair and eyes should've been a dead give away," Sanji began with firmness but ended off with thoughtfulness as his thoughts derailed. Though, Sanji soon snapped out of his thoughts on the resemblance between Zoro and his father and continued before Zoro snapped out of his astonishment.

"Besides, I don't blame you. I won't ever blame you for what happened to me. And if you still feel responsible in some roundabout way, just know that I'll forgive you no matter what you come up with in that mossy head of yours. So stop feeling so damn guilty, okay? At least not about this," Sanji said in a gentle voice as he softly looked into Zoro's stunned eyes and squeezed his hand in an effort to comfort him.

But all Zoro could do at the moment was sit and be amazed at what he'd just heard. Sanji… didn't hate him? But… but wasn't Zoro also at fault? Even if he didn't do anything, isn't that enough to be at fault? Wasn't it enough that he'd sat by and done nothing while Sanji had been hurt? Zoro knew all too well that those who choose to do nothing are just as guilty as the ones who dish out the pain and suffering. However, before Zoro thought about what he was saying, he'd already spoken: "But… how am I not at fault? I didn't do anything until it was almost too late," he whispered as he slowly shook his head and clenched onto Sanji's hand.

Sanji looked a bit stunned at the heaviness of Zoro's lightly spoken words, but a smile soon replaced his initial surprise.

"Because," Sanji began as he began to rub his thumb across the back of Zoro's hand, redirecting his peaceful gaze to their hands before continuing. "You came to save me just in time. You came for me when I needed you the most, and that's all I could really ask for. So, thank you, Zoro," he finished as he glanced between their hands to Zoro's face until he spoke his last words and slowly looked into Zoro's eyes that began to slowly narrow and wrinkle at the sides, holding back tears that begged to be shed.

"Oi," Sanji chuckled. "Don't cry on me now."

"Shut up," Zoro managed to say in a relatively monotone voice, despite the small shaking of his voice. Sanji's smile bloomed into a bright grin that caused Zoro to effortlessly smile a small smile of his own, and after a few moments of staring at each other, Zoro picked up where they left off.

"So," Zoro said before clearing his throat and shifting in his chair to get himself comfortable. "Now, let's move on to my past."

"Let's," Sanji encouraged as he shifted himself to get cozier, betting that this would take a while.

Zoro took a breath to calm himself. He'd never told another soul the whole truth and his whole past before so he was a bit edgy, but he was also a determined bastard, so he continued once he was ready, after squeezing Sanji's hand, which had also squeezed back in encouragement.

"I'll start off with how I truly started off in the dojo I trained at when I was a kid."

: -:

"Maria, what brings you here?" the middle-aged kendo sensei questioned once he opened the door to his dojo, his tone relatively emotionless except for the hint of curiosity that could have been found if one searched for it.

"Well," the raven-haired woman began in a rather defiant tone, crossing her slim, yet slightly muscular arms as a green-haired child clung to her black and white kimono, refusing to let go as he bashfully peeked at the older man. "I wanted to introduce my son, Zoro, to the dojo, Koshiro-sensei."

"Ah, well, come in. Welcome, Zoro," Koshiro replied, stepping aside to allow the two to enter, offering a casual smile as they passed by him.

"Who is this?" a bold voice asked. Zoro's head immediately snapped upwards to see a girl who was not much older than himself. She was dressed in a dojo uniform, barefooted, and had dark hair and eyes. She had a frown on her face as she directed a glare towards Zoro, causing Zoro to look away from her. He opted to look at the floor instead of her as he shuffled awkwardly.

"This is Zoro, Kuina. He's going to be training with us for a while, right, Maria?" Koshiro asked placidly as he looked at Zoro's mother, who had just smiled at him in return and replied with a 'yes.'

After that, Zoro had been going to the dojo every day for a month now, however, he never broke out of his shell. He barely spoke a word to anyone, not even to his own mother, who dropped him off and picked him up every day. He seemed to talk to her the most, despite the minimal amount of words he would offer to her.

However, the mother seemed to not really care for what Zoro had to say. Even if she had a smile on her face, Kuina could tell that his mother didn't care, and she was almost certain that Zoro knew this too, based on his saddened appearance each time after talking with her.

This bugged Kuina to no end, so the next day, she decided to talk to Zoro about it. She went up to Zoro during his stretches just before the next lesson.
"Oi, Zoro?" she asked, curiosity drenching her voice, as she was just dying to know more about this quiet boy. Zoro turned at the sound of her voice, halting his present activities to address her, but as he stood in front of her, she noticed his hunched shoulders, and she noticed that he avoided making eye contact as he shuffled uncomfortably under her stare. She also noticed several bruises and cuts that just didn't seem right. However, she quickly dismissed it, continuing with her initial goal.

"What's up with your mom?" Kuina asked as she crossed her arms. Zoro hadn't expected this so he was left a stuttering mess.

"H-huh? Wh-wha-what do you mean?"

"Ugh, just tell me what her problem is. You talk to her the most, yet she doesn't seem to care about what you have to say," she said in a slightly annoyed tone as she huffed, waiting for an answer.

But, with how shocked Zoro was, she had to wait a bit longer than she wanted to, and before she could say anything to snap him out of his daze, it was her turn to be shocked. Zoro looked so sad, like he'd given up, but was still down about it. He was looking away from her with narrowed, saddened eyes and a melancholy smile.

"Well," he spoke up with a sigh, capturing her attention. "It's because she doesn't care."

"What?"

Zoro huffed and looked at her with his slightly opened, wretched eyes. He knew he was showing his emotions, and to a girl he didn't know all that well, no less. But he could hardly take it anymore, so he just kind of exploded. He uncapped the bottle that he'd been keeping his emotions in before it could overflow.

"She doesn't care about me, okay?! All she cares about is her own training. She's a swordswoman herself, and she's so focused on that that she doesn't care about me in the slightest. I heard her talking to dad about it before. It was nighttime and I was supposed to be in bed but, I woke up from a nightmare and I was going to go and ask if I could sleep with them, but then I heard things I wish I hadn't… She said that she wished she hadn't had me 'cause I just 'keep her away from her training.' I'm 'just a distraction.' She pretends to care, but I know she doesn't. She sighs every time she's done talking to me. I even heard her say to dad that the only reason she sends me here is so then she has more time for herself. She even thinks picking me up and dropping me off is 'too troublesome', but dad said that as long as she did that, he would take care of the rest. But I still have no idea what he was talking about," Zoro trailed off as he stared at the space between them. After a few long, tense moments of silence, Zoro chanced a glance at Kuina, but he regretted it immediately, feeling even worse than he'd felt before and not really knowing why. She looked so shocked, horrified and sad all at the same time that it made Zoro feel bad that he'd made her like this, and after a few more moments, Zoro turned away.

"Sorry."

This small apology snapped Kuina out of her trance and she immediately felt horrible. Zoro didn't deserve any of that, and he didn't need to apologize for something that was for one, not his fault, and for two, something she'd practically forced him to divulge.

"No, don't be. I'm sorry that all of that had happened. You don't deserve that. You deserve better," she said in a soft comforting voice, causing Zoro to freeze. He slowly turned back around to face her and she had a gentle smile on her face. This stunned Zoro to no end. He was shocked to see the top student who was usually stern to smiling at him with such delicacy. But soon he snapped out of his daze and he quickly looked away from her.

"It's okay. I'm fine," Zoro said blandly, and before Kuina could say anything, Koshiro was announcing that the lesson was going to start soon, so the two took off and began their own training.

After another month or so, Zoro was the second best at the dojo, with Kuina holding first place, of course. Before Zoro could even become irritated at his lack of skill and develop a dream that would carry him to where he was presently, he started off as a timid, insecure, bashful kid, though despite his shy personality, he was very talented and worked extremely hard. He was a natural, a protégée. He was very impressive for a boy his age.

One day, this gifted boy walked to the dojo all by himself; his mother was nowhere in sight. Kuina and Koshiro noticed this, exchanged a concerned look, and went over to their dazed, young friend. He seemed… lost?

"Oi, Zoro, what's wrong?" Koshiro asked as he knelt in front of the boy, placing his hands on his small, slack shoulders. Zoro didn't seem to have registered that Koshiro was speaking to him; he just stared absentmindedly ahead, his face remaining blank and eyes distant.

"Zoro?" Kuina called, hoping that he would just tell them what was wrong. This seemed to grab his attention and he regarded them.
"Huh?"

"What's wrong?" Kuina asked concerned with what was wrong with her rival and best friend. Zoro had never looked this… distant before, and this was really making Kuina worry.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing's wrong," Zoro lied, though he knew that these two wouldn't believe him at this point, since he knew he probably looked upset.

"If nothing's wrong, where is Maria?" Koshiro asked gently but with certain firmness in his voice that told Zoro that he should answer truthfully no matter what. Zoro gulped as he hesitated, but before anyone else could speak, he began to cry.

"Mom… left me. She said she only thought of me as a 'distraction' and she couldn't take it, so… she left… and then… and then, she said she'd picked her swordsmanship over me and then… a-and then…" Zoro managed to say through his sobs but he finally broke down and wept.

Kuina stood in astonishment as Koshiro just wrapped his arms around the broken-hearted boy.

"Wha-what?" Kuina whispered as she put a hand over her slightly agape mouth.

"Zoro," Koshiro said firmly as he pulled away to look at the sniffling boy, and once Zoro quieted a bit, he continued, "Maria, your mother, has her priorities all wrong. She's either confused or dumb, because her priority should be you, rather than her swordsmanship. Always remember that. Remember that your relationships should be held close to your heart, don't throw them away. Don't choose between what you want; go for what you want with all of your might. Instead of choosing between two things, try to figure out a way to get them both," he finished, pulling in a stunned Zoro for another comforting hug.

Zoro couldn't believe what he'd just been just told, and to be frank, he didn't quite understand everything, but he knew that he was basically being told to not to be like his mom.

To be honest, he didn't want to be like her. Even at such a young age, Zoro understood the importance of other people. He'd learned to understand that in the past two months with these two, and instead of saying anything, Zoro simply nodded as he let himself stay in a hug that he'd always secretly longed for.

Then after Zoro had stopped crying, he'd tuckered himself out and fell asleep, completely skipping the lesson that day, but Koshiro never say anything about it, so neither did Zoro once he woke up. Then, the next day was just like any normal day; greetings, lessons, training hard, then saying farewell to repeat the same thing again the next day, yet Zoro never felt as though it was tiring. If anything, going to the dojo became the only thing he looked forward to the next morning. Despite the fact that swordsmanship took his mother away from him, it also provided him with a kind of comfort that he couldn't quite explain. He wished it would have stayed like this for longer than six months, but one day, just when Zoro was about to go home, his father showed up to the dojo.

Zoro's father was a tall, well-built man with green hair and eyes. He had a confident air around him, and he'd always pull off a silky smile. He had on his marine uniform, which meant that he just come off of work. All of this surprised Zoro, Koshiro, and Kuina.

"Hey, Koshiro." Zoro's father greeted as he simply passed by Zoro. He acted as if as if he weren't even there, and as he walked passed, Zoro immediately snapped his eyes away from his father to look at the ground. Koshiro took notice of this, but decided to stay quiet about it for now.

"Hello, Osamu-san, how may I help you?" Koshiro questioned, shock and curiosity filling his voice, but he remained skeptical. Zoro's father had never showed up in the time that Zoro has been attending his dojo, and now, all of a sudden, he'd shown up? Something was off and Koshiro knew it.

"Well," he began cheerfully with his signature smile, but suddenly the comforting air around him turned cold just like his eyes and voice did when he continued, "Can you keep him for a while?"

"What?" Koshiro asked dumbly as Zoro's eyes narrowed and his shoulders slacked… almost in relief?

"Can you keep him?" Osamu repeated with the same amount of callousness as he had before. Only this time, despite his relief to get away, Zoro felt hurt all at the same time, which confused him a bit, but he decided to not dwell upon it for now and opted to listen to the conversation currently taking place.
"Uh, sure, but may I ask why? Just out of curiosity."

"Partly because of work, and partly because you guys may be the only ones to keep the kid. I'm not goin' to be able to stay home for long periods of time, so I need someone to look after this brat while I'm gone. Don't want him causing trouble now," Osamu replied as he turned around, and before anyone could say anything else, he said a quick, casual word of thanks and left immediately after telling Zoro to go get his stuff from home to bring it here.

A suffocating silence invaded the small dojo once that man had left, and once a few minutes had passed, Zoro began to leave.

"Uh," Kuina piped up for the first time, grabbing Zoro's attention. Zoro halted at the sound of her voice and looked over his shoulder at her, and to her utter astonishment, he seemed to be unfazed.

"What?" Zoro asked casually after a few moments of silence. This snapped Kuina out of her daze and she continued.

"Don't tell me you're okay with your father leaving you too? Haven't you lost enough?" Kuina asked as the tears threatened to fall, but all Zoro did was stare at her, and before she could come up with anything to say to him, he spoke words that she'd never thought she'd hear from a kid his age. Even Koshiro, who was silently standing, watching this conversation unfold, was stunned and heartbroken at his response:
"I can't lose things that were never really mine in the first place, right?" he'd replied in a hollow tone, and before anyone could stop him or say anything, he left to gather his things.

After that scene, a week had passed, and Zoro tried his best to be himself, as to not worry his new 'family.' He mostly kept to himself, he talked when necessary, he trained daily, and he put his all into training. Day in and day out was the same. He may have been extremely introverted and insecure, but he was damn good with a sword, and that's all that was really important in a dojo, so he was more or less fine. But then, at the end of the week, a certain nosy girl began to ask him questions he didn't really want to answer.

"Oi, Zoro, why are you always so unsure of yourself? You're good with a sword, not as good as me, of course, but still. Oh and why are you always so… so careful about everyone?"

"I'm not," he said in a small voice, looking at everything except her, which kind of ticked her off.

"You won't even look at me when you talk!" she huffed, but she soon felt bad about what she had said once she looked at his face.

His eyes turned cold and empty, and before she could say sorry, he turned around and left.

She had no idea as to what to do, so she told her father about everything she'd noticed about Zoro and said to him, and he quickly became suspicious and concerned, so he searched for Zoro with Kuina in tow.

After about ten minutes of searching, he saw the boy sitting in the storage room.

"Zoro?" he called, seeing the boy jump at the sudden noise.

"What?" he replied as he turned to see Koshiro enter the room to sit next to him, only to see Kuina trailing behind.

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay," Koshiro said in a soft comforting voice as he patted Zoro's head, with Kuina nodding in agreement. Zoro huffed at this and turned his gaze to a seemingly interesting spot on the floor.

After a few minutes of constricting silence, Koshiro finally spoke.

"What is it that is bothering you, Zoro? Is it your father?"

Zoro stiffened at this, a soft gasp escaping from him as he snapped his eyes up to Koshiro, who appeared sad as he figured out that that was the reason as to why Zoro was upset.

"What is it about your father that's bothering you? Is it because he left you here?" Koshiro asked tenderly as he rubbed Zoro's head. Zoro stayed silent for a few moments before he spoke.

"No… It's… because of the things he always said about me…"

"The things he said about you?" Koshiro asked in a whisper, suddenly dreading what he was about to hear, knowing that it was going to be heartbreaking.
"Yeah," Zoro began as he hugged his knees and looked at the ground with jaded eyes. Silence invaded the room again, and after a few minutes, Zoro continued.
"He always said things about me, bad things, like how I wasn't good enough. Or like how it was my fault that mom left us. He told me he didn't like me. He told me I couldn't do things and that I'm a failure. He's never happy when I'm around him. He's always said things about me, bad things, like how I'm a 'bad kid', or the 'devil's child'," Zoro said placidly, almost as if he were just talking about the weather.

He was so casual and nonchalant about it that it broke Koshiro's heart, since Koshiro knew that he was anything but casual and nonchalant. The kid was trying to be tough, but his soft sniffling gave him away. Koshiro pulled this kid into a hug as Kuina began to silently cry.

"W-what?" Zoro asked, confused as to why he was being hugged while tears streamed down his face. He'd barely noticed that he'd started to cry. When had that happened?

"It's okay now, Zoro," Koshiro whispered into his hair. Zoro's eyes widened in shock as he absorbed what he was being told, his tears continued to pour out of his eyes unwillingly. "It's okay now. You have a new family that's here for you. You don't have to be fearful. You don't have to keep a tough face. We are here you, do you understand?"

"N-no," Zoro whispered as his sobs began to take over. "No, I don't understand. W-why do you care?"

"Because," Kuina began as she got her own sobs in control. Both Zoro and Koshiro looked at her, almost forgetting that she was here. " Because we love you. You're family. We think of you as family, Zoro. That's why."

Zoro stared back and forth between the two with astonished, wet eyes, and they both stared back at him with honest smiles. Then, after fully absorbing her words, he wept. He wept until he couldn't shed a single tear more, and after he was finished, he immediately fell asleep in Koshiro's arms, only to be carried to his new room and wake up to a bright morning full of bright smiles and adventures to be had for three whole years.

: -:

"Now look who's crying," Zoro sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't being squished to death. Sanji was sitting there, clutching his hand and had tears threatening to fall at the corners of his eyes.

"Shut up!" Sanji yelled as he sniffled a bit and rubbed both of his eyes with his other hand, soaking up the moisture before he continued to yell at Zoro.

"I mean, what the fuck! You shouldn't have had to go through that," Sanji started to yell, but ended with a concerned mumble, as he looked down to the bed sheets, all of which caused Zoro to chuckle softly.

"What?!" Sanji snapped at him, but as soon as Sanji met his eyes, all of his anger flew away. Zoro looked serene as a small smile blessed his tanned features. Sanji was at a loss for words as he took in his countenance, and before Sanji could make a fool of himself by saying unnecessary crap, Zoro luckily butted in.

"All of that happened so long ago, and besides, that wasn't even the sad part."

"What!? It wasn't?!" Sanji shouted in surprise, only to be answered with a nod. Sanji quickly fell silence after his response, which made Zoro curious as to why.

"What?" Zoro asked, trying to grab his attention, wondering what was going on in that curly head of his.

"That's… really too much for a kid. Your mother didn't care and left. Then your dad verbally abused you, and then left too. I mean, what the fuck," Sanji mumbled as he glared glumly at the space between him and Zoro. A downhearted silence fell over the room until a certain marimo eventually broke it.

"Hm," Zoro hummed in thought, catching Sanji's attention, and curiosity.

"What?"

"I never thought about it like that. He really did verbally abuse me, huh?"

"Eh?!"

"What?" Zoro asked flinching at Sanji's volume, wondering why Sanji had a sudden outburst, only to see his bewildered expression. However, before he could ask what was wrong, Sanji answered the unspoken question.

"How can you not figure out that he was verbally abusing you?!" he shouted as his curly eyebrow furrowed and he clenched his fist in irritation at Zoro's stupidity. But instead of shouting back, Zoro remained calm.

"Well," he began placidly, which seemed to irritate Sanji further, but Zoro just continued as if he hadn't notice. "Let's just say that it's not the first thing that comes to mind. Who would want to think that their parent, a person that was supposed to love them, was verbally abusing them? Besides, I was more concerned about why he was saying what he was saying. I wasn't concerned about what he was doing. I just wanted to know why, and how to get him to stop. But when I realized that it was no use, I focused on avoiding him, so that at least I didn't have to hear it."

This immediately made all of Sanji's anger seep out of him. Zoro had a point; he was right. Verbal abuse wasn't the first thing to come to mind. Hell, Sanji himself may not have figured it out at first. Besides, Zoro was a child. What would a kid know about verbal abuse?

"S-sorry," Sanji mumbled as he glanced between Zoro's eyes and the space between them. This had surprised Zoro, but he quickly recovered from his shock and squeezed Sanji's hand, causing Sanji to blush slightly and to look into his soft, marimo-green eyes.

"It's okay, now should I continue? Or are you done hearing about my past?"

"Continue, you shitty moss-ball. I'm not one for cliffhangers, and I'm here to listen, so as long as you're still willing to talk, I'll still be willing to listen," Sanji replied with his cocky smirk as he squeezed Zoro's hand comfortingly, causing Zoro's heart to melt in his chest. He almost caused all of the negativity in Zoro's mind and heart to melt. Almost.

"You sure, Curlicue?"

"Yeah," Sanji replied with his prior steadfast determination. Zoro sighed and smirked in defeat.

"Okay," He stared, releasing a breath before he continued once again. "Right about then… something really horrible happened. It's probably the worst thing that's ever happened to me, and I only say that because from then on, my entire life changed, and not for the better."