Law had been minding his own business with Sabo when he'd suddenly collided with a Sanji-shaped object.
'O-I BLONDIE'
It was hardly like he could stay mad though, the second the kid flashed him that smile he knew he was doomed.
Sabo smirked.
"Pushover."
Sticking his finger up at him he exhaled deeply before wrapping an arm around his younger friend, making sure he would still be able to read his lips from the angle.
"What's going on, Sanji?"
'DAD THANK'
Well he wasn't expecting that.
"What?"
'ROSI HELP ZORO. STAY WITH US NOT OTHER PREFECTURE. MAKE HAPPEN HARD. GRATEFUL. ZORO I. DAD THANK FROM US'
Law smiled, proud of the fool.
"Of course I will. Now scram, go annoy his little brother or something."
Sanji chuckled, giving a wave to Sabo before hurrying off.
He couldn't help but notice his friend's gaze on him.
"Oh you can fuck off too…"
Sabo smirked.
"You've always had a soft spot for Sanji, haven't you? I mean, I saw how pissed you were when Roronoa first came here."
"My Dad asked me to look out for him for a while when he was younger, there's nothing more to it than that."
"Sure…"
"Sabo I swear."
"You know you don't need an excuse to be protective of your friends right? I remember when you looked after him back when he first moved here, the poor kid was terrified."
"Yeah all 'cause of green-haired asshole."
"Well they certainly seemed to have worked things out."
"Hmm."
Sabo looked to him.
"What does 'hmm' mean?"
"It means I still don't like it."
"I don't think Sanji's the kind of person who cares what you think, or anyone for that matter."
"I know, which is why he's a pain in the ass, always has been." He chuckled.
"HEY, SABO!"
Law groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Could it get any worse?"
Sabo burst out laughing before he was sprung on from behind by his little brother.
"Hey Luffy! You doing okay, kiddo?"
The younger boy's expression changed slightly before a soft nod followed, it didn't seem too genuine though. It was then that he realised what day tomorrow was and kicked himself for the insensitivity.
His friend seemed to notice but didn't say anything; instead he focused his attention back on his brother, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder with a smile.
"You'll be okay; Law just sent Sanji off to find you so he shoudn't be too far ahead."
Luffy nodded.
"Go on, go find your Straw Hats and get them to cheer you up."
That got a smile from the younger kid.
"Okay."
Sabo nodded.
"I'll see you later."
"See ya!"
Left once again with just the two of them, Law cleared his throat.
"Sorry."
Sabo shook his head.
"Hey, you remembered now, that's what matters. So, are you coming tomorrow?"
He nodded.
"Of course."
"Thank you."
Grabbing his jacket from the hook Sanji turned to the nervous looking mosshead who was sat on the bottom step of the stairs lacing up his boots.
"Zoro?"
He looked up.
'OKAY YOU?'
The hesitation was there but he nodded regardless.
'COMFORTABLE NOT NO COME'
He received a sad smile in return.
"It's okay, I want to."
Sanji held out his hand.
"Come on then."
Arriving at the cemetery the regular suspects were already mulling around the gates. Sabo had his arm wrapped around his little brother, Usopp was with Kaya, Nami, Robin, Vivi, and Koala were giggling about something, and Franky was fending off his brother who seemed to be finding fun in clicking off the brake of his wheelchair periodically.
His thoughts soon became lost on a different topic.
The last time I came here I was going to kill myself.
How things could change.
He felt a light squeeze on his hand and turned to see the blonde offering a small smile.
"Told you we'd be the last one there." Grumbled a voice from behind.
Zoro glanced back to see Law, Brook, and Chopper all hurrying.
"I blame Chopper." Brook stated.
"WHAT?! Why me?"
"Because I knew I'd get that reaction." The older kid smirked.
Sanji waved to them.
As they reached the others, Zoro couldn't help but feel like he was intruding.
He heard a sniffle.
"Oh Luffy, come here, sweetie." Robin reached out and pulled the straw hat kid into a hug.
Koala walked over wordlessly and took Sabo's hand in her own; it was then that Zoro noticed he was shaking a little as his lip wobbled.
Franky wheeled over and patted Luffy on the back.
"We're here for you bros, just like always."
Looking towards the graveyard he felt immediately sick with anxiety.
"Is that everyone?" Nami asked.
"Yeah." Came the collective answer.
And with that, they walked inside.
Having snuck away from the group he found himself auto piloting to a familiar plot. He couldn't do much more than stare as he tried to think of something, anything to say.
Footsteps approached.
"Hey Zoro!"
It was Nami and she looked pissed at him for having walked off. Her anger lasted for only a few seconds before her gaze was caught by the stone beside them. Coming abruptly to a stop, a light exhale followed before a sigh.
The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes before Nami spoke up softly.
"There's a reason we're all friends you know; we didn't just all start talking to each other on the first day of school or anything like that? We kinda' got recruited by Luffy to join 'the Straw Hats'."
"Recruited." Zoro smirked.
"You know what I mean… Luffy would see us sitting alone and then make it his mission to cheer us up." She explained. "We're each a Straw Hat for our own reasons but one thing we can all relate to, one thing we can all understand is loss. We've all lost someone in here." She paused, taking a breath. "For me it's my Mom."
He took a breath.
"You wanna' tell me about her?"
Nami smiled.
"She was really cool and she looked after me and my sister even though we weren't really her kids. She used to grow tangerines and tell us these awesome stories from when she was away at sea, and she was a total badass. We loved her so much and I miss her a lot."
"Well I think she sounds amazing." Zoro offered softly.
"Thanks…" It was clear she wanted to say more which was proven correct a few seconds later when… "Look, I'm sorry for being a dick to you since you joined the school, I judged you before I even knew anything about you and I shouldn't have."
He shook his head.
"It's fine, you were entitled to feel that way, you were just looking out for Sanji after all."
"Still I…"
"It's fine; we're friends now, right; all that stuff doesn't matter anymore?" Zoro smiled.
Nami smiled back too.
Reaching out an arm he tested the waters for a few seconds before wrapping it around her waist and pulling the red-haired girl closer so she tucked against his side. Her head came to rest against his shoulder as the wind blew softly around them.
"Thank you."
He furrowed an eyebrow.
"For what?"
"You make Sanji happy; I've never seen him smile as much as he has in the last few months."
"Being honest, I still feel like I'm unworthy of any of the love he shows me. But… I hope that I'll be able to feel deserving of it someday."
His phone began to vibrate in his pocket; he managed to take it out without disturbing Nami. It was a text from Rayleigh.
'Daily reminder that I love you, kiddo'
"Awwwwww!"
Zoro smirked at the reaction.
"He thinks he's real cute." He teased before shoving away his phone and quickly wiping a tear away from his eye.
Nami exhaled deeply.
"I kinda' pieced together what's happening from the boys; they didn't tell me purposely or anything like that, I promise, but they were shaken up after the trip to the dojo and some of them probably said more than they should." She admitted.
"It's okay, I never intended for it to be a secret or anything, things just moved faster than I thought they would."
"What I'm saying is, please don't think that you can't talk to us about your foster Dad. If anyone understands what you're going through right now it's us and we'll be there for you whenever you need us, it doesn't matter what time, just please don't shut us out."
"Thank you, that… that means everything to me to hear you say that."
"We're friends, right? Straw Hats look out for each other, we're nakama."
Zoro smiled, holding her a little tighter.
"NAMI-SWAN!" Called the cook in the most adorable tone he'd ever heard.
"Cute isn't he?" She giggled beside him. "You good to go?"
He nodded.
As they walked over to the blonde, Sanji immediately began to fuss over Nami in concern for the tears which must still have been visible from their heart-to-heart before giving her a hug.
The others were all waiting by the main path.
He noticed the straw hat kid stood on his own.
"Hey, Captain?"
Luffy turned to him with a sniffle, quickly wiping his arm across his nose before a beaming smile began to slowly appear as he realised the title used.
"Yeah?"
"Sorry for not sticking around during the memorial, I felt like I wasn't supposed to be there but now I just feel guilty for not supporting you; I was a terrible First Mate."
The kid giggled.
"But you did support me."
He furrowed an eyebrow.
"You're here, right?"
"Well yeah but-."
"I'm glad that you're my friend, Zoro."
And if that didn't nearly have him smiling from ear to ear.
He shoved the hat down over Luffy's eyes.
"Hey!"
Righting the straw hat, the kid chuckled before launching himself onto his back in a piggyback.
"Luffy!" He scorned before breaking out into laughter himself, adjusting the kid on his back so that he wouldn't fall.
"Hey look, Luffy found a new ship." Chopper giggled as they walked back over to the others.
"Then I guess I don't need to make another one after all." Franky teased.
"I the great Captain Usopp will gladly take her off your hands then, fine shipwright."
Zoro scoffed, shaking his with a smirk at his friends' display.
"Got nothing to say Luffy, he's trying to steal your ship?" He asked.
There was no response.
Glancing over to his shoulder he found the straw hat kid fast asleep against him.
Looking around at the friends he'd come to make in just the short time he'd been back in his old prefecture he smiled.
"Sleep well, Captain; and thank you."