As it turns out, I hadn't started this like I thought I had. I'v also found myself slacking in the typing department, so I must humbly apologize for having the bad habit of putting things off until I feel like getting to them. I also might not be updating at all come June. I'm supposed to give up my computer as moral support for my brother giving up ramen. That all depends on my mood though so who knows. I'll try to update twice more before then, but I'm not making any promises.
Beyond that, thank you to those who have reviewed, favorited, and/or followed. Enjoy the chapter and criticize it if you wish. I think I might go and fix all the things that some people pointed out as well as some I found myself, when I actually reread the chapters.
Luffy woke up to a heavy weight falling on him. It hadn't hurt or anything, but the suddenness of the weight was what had startled him awake. He also noticed that it was warmer than it normally was, which didn't seem right since he wasn't one to sleep during the day. With slight annoyance, he opened his eyes only to find green more or less right in front of his face.
It became clear the second the color clicked in his head, the remaining question was of course why Zoro had fallen on him. It didn't make any sense to Luffy but he was going to get answers anyway. With every intention of waking the swordsman, Luffy shifted his arm, starting to bring it up to poke the man lying on top of him. Instead, Zoro found a way to get on his side with the wall to his back and Luffy held securely in the swordsman's arms. Luffy was about to head-but the larger man but stopped.
Zoro's normal scowl worsened for a moment and Luffy found himself held closer to the broad chest as the green-haired man mumbled, "Kuina," both dejectedly and with a hint of loss.
The Zoro that Luffy saw in that moment reminded him of that uncertain time when he wasn't sure if Ace, Sabo, and Dadan were okay. Sure, all the bandits reassured him that Sabo wouldn't have been anywhere near the incident and that both Ace and Dadan were strong, but that hadn't stopped Luffy from clinging to his brothers at night when he was sleeping.
Luffy understood why Zoro was acting unlike his usual self, but he couldn't blame him, nor could he find it in himself to push the man away. He had sought and received comfort from two who were awkward with open displays of affection. If Luffy was honest with himself, Zoro was a lot like Luffy's two older brothers. Tough on the outside to hide their weaknesses to not worry anyone, but still deeply caring about those they like.
Luffy smiled a sad, gentle smile when Zoro started mumbling about this Kuina person again, but Luffy couldn't bring himself to listen to something so private. If the swordsman want to talk about it, he would. Until then, Luffy merely wrapped his arms around the swordsman to the best that the position would allow his arms to move.
Before Luffy returned to the land of dreams, he recalled a polar bear being in Zoro's place. In the end, Luffy dreamed that he was once again hugging the furry animal, both crying because they had misplaced those important to them.
"Is that what I think it is?" Nami heard the question, but she was finding it hard to actually pay attention to who was talking or what that person was talking about.
"I thought he was protecting the forest?" the last word caught her interest, but she was too tired to care.
"That's how we left him," the first person replied. Nami was beginning to miss the constant stops that were taken to accommodate Zoro's and Sanji's fighting.
"You don't think-" whoever's thought process that was cut off and left her mind to actually process who was talking. As it turns out, it had been better when she hadn't known. She felt her anger spike at the sight of two of their new 'recruits' as some liked to put it.
"That does make sense," the blond one said as they gazed ahead.
Once Nami noticed that the two who were leading them all, though Sanji was also in that category, on a wild goose chase to nowhere, she picked up her pace slightly and walked right next to the two only to hit them as hard as she could on the back of the head, demanding, "Do you even know where you're going?!"
The old man laughed behind her as Chopper and Usopp cried out, "Scary!" and started to cry. Brook laughed and Sanji lit a cigarette before praising her beauty when mad. Then came the odd noise of Bon Clay, the okama that Crocodile had said would be of use in getting someone else's help for their journey, about this not being the time to beat on good fighters.
The copper-haired girl was just about to turn around and tell them all to shut it when she realized what exactly the two had been talking about. It was large, she would give it that, but it wasn't the largest one she had seen. Even then, she didn't think she could just stand around and talk about it like it wasn't right in front of her.
The two sat up, rubbing the bumps on their heads when the panicking behind them registered with them. They both casted a quick glance back before returning their attention to the red-eyed glare they were receiving from the brown serpentine creature. Honestly, neither of them had thought that the great 'Lord of the Coast', as Luffy called it, would be so far away from what the three brothers called home, but creatures were abundant and they followed no rules.
Still, it was just a tad on the nerve-wracking side considering Luffy himself had said that the creature had no ill intentions. It again brought up the question as to why the thing was so far away from the forest.
Much to Nami's dismay, as well as a few others, the blond and the raven continued forward, as if there wasn't an angry looking creature in front of them. The only reason any of them followed at all was the fact that Garp, though crazy, was following after the two. In other words, if push came to shove, the official would be more than enough to take care of the problem.
What amazed the group was that the creature just watched them pass before slithering into the ground and disappearing. Nami wanted to faint then and there, but decided on just hugging the reindeer. Usopp was shaking while babbling about having hundreds of the things that were easily double the size of that one. Brook had gone quiet, probably remembering Laboon, none of the people who were there for the burial understood what was going on through the skeleton's mind when it came to creatures. Bon Clay was going on about this amazing person who brought about miracles on a daily basis and Sanji, probably to get away from the okama, ran to walk with Ace and Sabo.
Garp was uncharacteristically quiet, simply watching the ground like it held the answer to something he couldn't find the answer to himself. Things were beginning to calm down once more when a sudden shout brought the groups undivided attention to what lay ahead of them. Nami prided herself with being a navigator, and she was positive that there was not a town where they were.
They all stared at it in mild shock, mostly about the fact that Ace did indeed have homing instincts, and raw humor at the sight of the weird building. Was that really a saw on the top of it? Nami and Usopp broke out in cold sweat a second after seeing the flag that flew proudly from the saw. No one heard it, but they all saw it. They had both said 'no' but all the others comprehended from that moment was the collapse of them both and the facial expressions that showed nothing but horror and apprehension.
Zoro was blushing while Luffy was laughing happily at the swordsman's obvious ease. The teen had noticed that he was reminding the others of painful pasts. At the same time, he noticed that he was helping making it all okay. He didn't know if him being with them would make it all go away or cause them to breakdown, but he no longer had a say in the matter so he now had to deal with it to the best of his abilities.
Luffy opened his mouth to say something along the lines of Zoro being like a hairless bear when the door suddenly opened. In walked a purplish-blue man with razor-sharp teeth and a saw-like nose. The teen shut his mouth at the uneasy feeling that followed the appearance of the man. He didn't like the stranger, not in the least.
"Here they are, but are you sure want both?" the strange man asked, sounding amused and superior all at once.
Luffy had gone wide-eyed and a shiver went down his spine when he heard the stranger's companion reply, "I'm sure we'll find a use for the other in some form." Luffy was behind a confused Zoro who took up a defensive position as the other man walked in. He had black hair like Luffy, but his was longer, curlier, and pulled back. He was wearing rather formal robes, but it was obvious that they were made to be easy to move in. What had really caught the swordsman's attention was the white bird resting on the man's shoulder. "I'm hurt Luffy, no hellos?"
Luffy cautiously peeked out from his hiding place, oddly effective, and nodded minutely, "Lucci." The teen whispered it and was hiding again right after. The only thing Zoro could comprehend was that Luffy knew this man and nothing more.