Chapter 13

Luffy woke up, and found himself on a cot of the house clinic. He noticed that the pajamas he was wearing were not on him, instead it was an oversized shirt that fit his form down to pass his knees.

He heard a groan behind the curtain to his left and recognized the sound.

"Hold still you dumbass!" The doctor said. "Do you have any idea how upset I was when I saw the paper yesterday about no survivors?"

"I'm sure you were upset."

Luffy had to cover his mouth from saying anything as tears went down his face. 'Zoro!'

"Of course I was!"

"OW! You want to kill me you crazy bitch!"

"Respect your elders you brat!"

"I'm half dead as it is!"

"Oh really!? Half dead people don't usually have the energy to argue with a doctor."

"Shut up!"

"You're just damn glad that Luffy doesn't know about this."

"He found out."

"What?"

"Why do you think I brought him in earlier?"

There was a pause in the room as footsteps were heard.

"Must've been my fault then. I usually talk to myself in the late nights."

"He could've gotten sick."

"I doubt it, he's quite stubborn. Just like you."

"Even when I'm facing Death in the face."

"Death doesn't have a face."

With that the footsteps dimmed in sound before Luffy was sure that it was just him and the man he almost thought he dreamed up that night after the news. He reached for the slit of the curtain and carefully pulled it back so he could see the other with his own eyes.

When he did, he didn't expect to see the other practically covered in tight bandages and matched the angles of his body like a second skin. He also saw the red blotches of blood on the bandages that managed to seep through on his chest in a diangonal, the left temple of the crown, a few specks up along both arms, and the bandages continued downward.

He heard the other's ragged breathing, showing the difficulty of the pain he was experiencing and saw some of the casts on his hands and his left leg, along with a brace on his neck. There were also bruises present on his face as well as cut lips, as well as a bit swollen.

But despite all that, he was happy to see the man before him, alive and well. He kept the curtains open so he could watch the injured man asleep. He was so happy that he even faked sleeping when his guardian, Nami, tried looking for him, only to leave him be so he could 'sleep' in his cot next to the man.

When the guardians heard the news, they were more than shocked to hear that the man survived an explosion that was supposedly killed off both families. When they heard that Luffy was with him, they wanted to get to him, but was then told that he was out last night in the rain by the time Zoro 'returned from death', and explained how he ended up outside.

Nami made a mental note to add scaring her to his debt, and Sanji to plan on kicking the man's face in when he gets better.

Usopp, not knowing what happened, was told and was really relieved.

Chopper, not fully understanding human language, took a peek at the clinic's recovery room and saw the man's state, which Luffy was more than happy to explain what he could get from. This of course he was to get food for the teen, since he refused to leave the man's side. He decided then that he wouldn't leave either and joined Luffy on the cot.

It has been three days since the man slept, which he was then carefully transported from the clinic to his room, where Luffy was told he shouldn't go in.

Luffy, of course, complained about being with Zoro, but Doctrine gave the teen a good kick to shut him up. But he has other ways to get in, in his monkey cleaver mind.

That night he waited until everyone was asleep before opening his windows of his 'new' room, and judged the distance from his room to Zoro's room above him. He grinned, thinking that it was just too easy as he skillfully went on the railing of the balcony, jumped to the overhang, climbed up to get onto the roof tiles, and, almost ninja like, ran up with no more of a sound of the pressure of his weight onto the tiles.

The building itself was about three stories high, the top story being the master bedroom that Luffy occupied for the time he came here. But that wasn't important to him, what was important to him was seeing Zoro.

When he did finally reach to the balcony that he often looked out from since settling into the room, he saw the man just walking out.

"Luffy?" Zoro said, not sure if he's starting to see things now in the late night after being asleep.

"Zoro!" Luffy said as he got his feet on the balcony and hugged the man, but not too tightly, hearing that his ribs haven't fully mended earlier.

Zoro hugged the other back. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"You're forgiven." Luffy said as he took deep breath through his nose, taking in the living scent of the other. "Just don't do that again."

"I can't really guarantee that."

Luffy pouted as he looked up, but couldn't come up with anything to say.

"Would you like to come in? I like to hear what those two have done while I was gone."

Luffy smiled as he practically jumped from the balcony to the bed in one attempt.

"Geeze…" Zoro said, still not used to having seen the amazing abilities of a former jungle boy, as he left the balcony doors open and used his cane to get over to the bed due to his broken leg.

Luffy looked like an eager puppy as the man finally sat down on the bed next to him.

"Okay you!" Zoro said. "Tell me everything from the moment I left."