The moon hung bright in the sky as they sat under the veil of night in silent somber. The events of the day prior were still fresh in their mind. It was heavy. They never expected to lose one of their own. Zoro gave his life to save his precious family.

It'd been a couple hours since they brought him home and no one's said a word. Nothing needed to be said between them to know. They exchanged respective glances and dissipated. They all dealt with their grief in different ways whether isolating or occupying themselves they were having a really hard time coping. As of the moment they felt like there would be no future without him by their side.

They were lost. For the first time in their journey of taking chances and blind faith they were actually lost. What would happen next? They didn't want to think about it. Right now they didn't want to think about anything at all.

Luffy the captain of the Strawhats was sitting in his favorite spot on the lion head of the sunny. He was staring out at the ocean, eyes not visible do to his prized straw hat casting a shadow to cover them. He lost his first mate and his best friend. Tears streamed down his cheeks from his invisible eyes. 'Today was a terrible day... That I spent fooling around..'

He bit his lip hard desperately wanting to scream. His shoulders were shaking and the pounding in his head resonated as he smothered the painful feeling. He starred out to the open ocean. Luffy shut himself away but remained nearby. He knew Zoro the longest; he was like his older brother. The say saved each other so many times over their journey. His eyes aimed toward the open ocean welting up with tears in remembrance of his fallen friend.

He draws his knees to his chest and sits there in silence as Brook strums his violin to a beautifully sad melody. He sat to the far side and played a beautifully depressing hum on his violin. Even though no had no flesh or muscles to make expressions, he radiated sorrow. He was fond of every one of them. He was especially impressed by Zoro as a fellow swordsman he marveled in his skills but above all that he had a heart of gold. He went with death the same way he lived in life, as a hero.

Chopper sat next to Nami his head resting against her arm as she stroked his back. She wished there was more she could do for him. She couldn't imagine being in his position, to see him like that. Nami looked up from her place although her eyes fell onto the floor where a trail of blood ran to the door of the medical bay. Her stomach churned at the thought of Zoro moment before he was carried away.

She noticed Robin and Sanji had disappeared. She had a bad feeling, she'd felt that way before Robin came running towards the ship earlier that evening.

"I'm gonna check on those two. Given everything they didn't need to be alone right now." Chopper nodded but his expression remained blank. She didn't want to leave him alone either. This was so wrong everything about it. She silently promised she'd be back quick as she could and with that she stepped away.

Usopp sat next to Franky quiet, trapped inside of his own overactive mind. No amount of imagination could fix this. He and Franky understood that even as engineers who strived to find the solution to any problem. They could not reverse nature.

Usopp and Franky chattered quietly about some concepts to improve the defenses of the Sunny with the supplies they've bought today one the island. Mostly idle small talk as the teen tip toed around the elephant in the room. That is until Usopp got real serious. He cracked open his mouth as if he was going to break the period of silence but prevented himself from doing so. He tossed it back and forth in his mind just what he would say. He took a chance and spoke.

"I wonder what's gonna happen now.." He said in a low voice, eyes staring blankly at the grassy floor.

Franky didn't answer, he only tightened his expression. There was little he could do. Usopp took the silence as a sign to drop the subject and stop talking about something that was obviously on everyone's mind, but did not want to bring up.

Chopper sat next to the skeleton, leaning up against the huge mast of the ship with his treasured pink hat covering his eyes. He was taking Zoro's death pretty hard.

He was the crew's doctor and he couldn't do anything to help. All of them were too late to make it in time and even if they did what really could they do. They were a family; it was so much more personal than professional.

He felt guilty even though he knew there was no saving him. Franky could hear the little reindeer sob quietly from behind him, tightening the scowl on his face as he cursing quietly under his breath.

Robin reached out to grab the handle, forgetting her wrist had been tightly wrapped. She turned the handle either way, ignoring the sting of her stitches as they stretched beneath the bandage. She stepped into letting the door swing closed behind her, locking it before she stepped further into her domain.

The study was a place of peace and reflection. Somewhere she could think, but right now she couldn't concentrate her thoughts. They came sporadic and dark as she remembered everything that happened.

She shook her head, desperately wishing this were a horrible nightmare. She stepped up to her desk, eyeing the stacks of books covering just about every open space. She ran her finger tips across the surface of one at the top of the pile.

Her face was full of sadness, a feeling she thought she'd mastered at hiding away. An outcome she despised more than anything else in the world had happened. This was not like her at all. Countless years spent making herself null. She was shattered by Zoro's death. She retreated to the study, isolating herself while she sorted her grief.

It was her fault. She'd been careless and let her guard down and he paid for it. She would have rather give her own life in exchange for his. To allow herself to get captured like that... it was unforgivable.

Then he came, always managing to stumble upon the battle field right in the nick of time. She knew Zoro wasn't fit to fight; still she allowed herself to become some damsel. She bought her palms to her face as she bit her lip, trying to fight back the emotion. But he only had one thing in mind, to protect her. 'Stupid.. Stupid.. STUPID!'

In a fit of rage she swiped her arms across the desk sending miscellaneous books and papers scattering to the floor. She folded her arms over the cleared space and buried her face in them. Her chest felt tight and she allowed herself to break down and cry.

It'd been a long time since she truly cared for anybody other than herself. She finally had a place where she belonged. A family that loved and cared for her, she finally had a home. Now one of the people she would willing give up her own life to keep safe was dead. How cruel misfortune death tends to only happen around the devil child. There will always be enemy's wanting to hurt those close to her.

She lifted her head, her eyes were puffy and tears streamed steadily down her cheeks in thin lines. She wiped them away but they did not recede. After feudal attempts in disbanding the powerful emotions, they completely consumed her.

She folded her arms together on her desk and buried her face in them. 'I wish had been the one to die back there...'

There was a light bang on the door. Robin remained idly behind the desk as she did for the past couple hours. Her head buried in her arms since she been there. There was another hesitant knock on the door followed by a feminine voice, the only other on the crew. Nami wouldn't let up.

She didn't want her to shut herself out. As much as she wanted to do the same, she wouldn't allow her to take the blame. They were supposed to be there for each other. Had that been the case they would have never let this happen. "Robin..?"

She choked up. Her thoughts were going a million miles a minute. She was a little hazy on the entire situation only receiving pieces from the two of them. All she knew was Robin was captured then Zoro stumbled upon her somehow and fought that guy. Her face paled thinking about it. She didn't get a close look of the guy but from where she stood he wasn't entirely intact.

Zoro was the strongest man she'd met next to her Luffy. She seen him go through some intense battles and pull through. It's was hard to believe he could, he would… die.

She shook off her wondering mind best she could although she still refused to say it, let alone accept the fact. Her heart ached, they'd lost one of their family. Still she couldn't imagine how Robin felt.

She beat the door once more, feeling more desperate over the looming silence. "Robin please, I'm not leaving until you open this door."

She waited for another minute before turning her back against the door sliding down to the floor. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out but it did nothing to calm her nerves. She could feel herself breaking down. She pulled her knees into her chest allowing herself to.

After several minutes of silence she heard a click as a sprouted arm unlocked the door from her spot. She stepped in to meet her friend

"This is my fault. I did this Nami. I was foolish and I played right into his tricks. And I.. He.." Robin was a strong woman but in the instant she appeared as human as any other grieve stricken woman. "He wasn't well."

Robin had been thinking about it. She knew what transpired on Thriller Bark everything between Zoro and Kuma. He'd received Luffy's damage from his fight on top of his own. To survive that was a miracle. Then not even a week later he's painted bloody.

Nami was confused but urged her to continue. "He fought through so much pain, even after…"

She could see the memory was hard on Robin but she had to verbalize it. "Robin, its ok,"

"Nami he ran him through with his own sword." Her eyes were bloodshot and fierce, she was so angry. Had she not allowed that bastard to take advantage of her, she could have done something. She could scream.

"Oh my God," Nami gasped, her eyes widened. It hurt to imagine it.

"I couldn't do anything," Robin bit her lip. "I just miss him." She fell quiet again.

"Me too"

There was more noise than usual coming from the kitchen. Sanji was not one to deal with his emotions. He'd learned long ago to push them down into the pit of his being until he couldn't feel anything.

He did best to occupy himself. He did the best way he knew how. He figured he'd tidy up his kitchen. He discarded the sling Chopper gave him, bunching up his sleeves instead of carefully rolling them up like he always did. His hands were trembled. He clenched his jaw as he took in a deep breath, calming himself for whatever it was worth.

Sanji always kept his kitchen in such pristine condition there wasn't ever any filth.

He was distant, his facial features hidden by his long bangs. His cheeks were wet. He instinctively buried his face in his shoulder to dry them. He began furiously scrubbing several plates and silverware that were already clean. He looked past anything in focus as he lost himself in blank thought, oblivious to the world around him. While that hellish nightmare replayed over and over in his head.

He realized he hadn't blinked in a while; that he had washed the same dish 3 times already. As he reached out to place a freshly cleaned plate into the basket, his weaker arm twitched involuntarily causing the plate to slip from his grip and fall on the floor. It shattered, sending shards scattering across the floor. It was something he hadn't done since he was in training as a kid. Zeff made sure it never happened again.

He paused for a moment, withdrawing his hand back, clasping it with the other to stop the shaking. "Shit," he cursed under his breath.

He glared at the busted china on the floor, his brows taught. 'That's probably my composer right now.'

He chuckled sarcastically before crouching down to the ground coming to rest on his knees. Tears welted up in his eyes as he reached out for one of the shards. He held it up, studying it. He knew how it felt to be broken.

He balled his fist. He couldn't just pretend like everything was going to fine.

Tears clouded his vision coming down in streams down his cheeks, running off his chin to the floor below. He continued to stare at the single broken plate and reached an arm out to it. It still shook. He forced his fingers around a shard, squeezing it slightly tighter than he intended. He could feel the sharp edges cutting into his skin. He let up when he realized and began collecting them.

His mind was wondering, a very dangerous place to be right now. He paused, hands trembling.

"I told him to go die.." He whispered while dampening the wooden planks with his tears and blood. He picked up another piece of plate looking down at it. He could see his reflection.

In one swift movement he hurled it toward the wall, shattering it into pieces.

He jarred his shoulder, sending a jolt through his body. He stayed there on the floor for all too long, glaring at the broken pieces. He took in a painful inhale holding back the tears of frustration. His chest and throat felt so tight almost preventing him from breathing, he tried to swallow although being dehydrated did nothing to help his cause.

He reached up grabbing the counter top, and pulled himself onto his feet again. He swayed for a moment leaning back against the counter. He could feel himself losing to his emotions. He really didn't care anymore; whatever happened around him was unimportant. He shuffled through the busted porcelain fragments, leaving a bloodied smudge across the tile of his once clean counter.

He knew exactly what he was aiming for. Intoxication was the only thing that could spare him from his overactive pessimistic.

In amidst the cold condensed space of the infirmary the body of Roronoa Zoro lye motionless and tranquil on a crudely placed metal table that usually held Choppers instruments. Everything had since been thrown to the floor when they brought him back.

There was a thin sheet draped across his torso, where his blood had soaked all the way through. The thick crimson liquid occupied every inch of space, pooling around him and the perimeter of the table. It ran off the edge of the table onto the floor boards where it seeped into the cracks leaving a permanent stain.

It was amazing how much blood had drained out of his body so exponentially in extremely short intervals of time. Yet there seemed pints left to spare. So he continued to bleed.

An unnaturally pale hand hung the off the side, limp and dangling. Thin lines of blood ran out of the cuts and had dripped down to the fingertips and dried. The arm itself was severally bruised. Several stab wounds could be distinguished on the visible flesh. The sheet covered the more critical damage, the unsightly torn flesh that would make anyone sick to their stomach.

However his face hardly took damage and it still held the calm expression he'd have every other time he was caught sleeping. His skin was far paler, flushed with blood in some spots and down the side of his jaw. His familiar moss green hair all little more tattered then usual and stained red to the side of his temple. There was the blood that'd been hastily wiped away and smeared in the confusion.

"How pathetic,"