I do not own anything besides these words and the cover art.

Zoro blinked his eyes open, but something seemed strange. He could hear the fainting clicking of a remote, the smell of something warm and inviting to eat, but his eyes were not listening to him. Then like a spark, his nerves woke up all at once and Zoro jumped forward or at least he tried to.

Zoro hunched over and felt the pain go over him like a cold knife. His chest felt heavy yet light as if a big chunk of him was missing. He kept blinking and wondered why his left eye was not responding. The lights were so bright, but everything was dark at one end. He looked at his hands, as they were bandaged but they did not feel real. Nothing felt real.

He looked at his hands and his head grew in pain. It began on the left and spread, and he brought his left hand closer and closer to his face until his bandaged hand felt his bandaged head. Under the ribbons of sanitary cloth and medicine, he felt the flesh that was forever sealed underneath because he tried with all his might to flutter it open.

"I couldn't save it, fighter-boy." The voice echoed around the room before Zoro registered it. He looked up and a tall slim man sat in a chair beside his bed, with his feet up on the end of the bed. His tired gray eyes looked at the television screen as he flipped through the channels quietly. He offered Zoro a quick smile and reached for the dinner on the tray, but frowned as his tattooed hand almost touched the bread roll. "I hate bread," he said almost angrily as he picked up the fruit cup and began to open it.

He had dark hair, which matched his sideburns and small goatee. If it was not for the white lab coat that labeled him as a "Doctor" of no name, Zoro would not believe a man with the word "DEATH" tattooed on his fingers was meant to save any lives. Zoro straightened his back as if to fight his way out, but it dawned on him as the memories came back. The chill settled into his bones as he remembered landing on the cold, wet cement as the heat from his chest made him cold and hot at the same time. Then as he looked up at the man who cut him, he could almost hear Nami call his name before it all went to black with a spark.

"Where…where is she?" he coughed out. It hurt for him to speak, as every word took more effort to get out of his body.

"Huh?" The doctor asked with a spoon in his mouth. He took it out and smirked. "You wake up in a hospital with a strange man eating your food…and the first thing you ask is-"

"Where is she?" Zoro said with more fervor, though it hurt with each syllable. He began to move to get up, but the man stopped him.

"Alright, alright. Relax, won't ya? There is no use in rushing. My name is Law, and I'm the idiot who managed to save ya. A thank you is not necessary-"

"Where-" Zoro began again, but Law pushed his back down on the bed and hovered over him with a penlight as he examined.

"Ya, ya…where is she. I know. But first I need to make sure you know where you are," Law said as he pulled back and put his hand in his coat pockets. "Now, can you tell me what you remember?"

"Hospital," Zoro grunted.

Law sighed, "Yes, good job. You are currently in a hospital, but I meant before you came to me looking like some shredded meat."

Zoro frowned and tried to get up again but Law pressed a hand on Zoro chest, and the slightest pressure was enough to make Zoro groan as Law grinned. "Look, I don't have much of a bedside manner, so, ya either work with me here…or I let you suffer a bit longer. Got it, tough guy?"

Zoro paused and sneered back. "How much did she pay you?"

Law was awestruck for a moment, but he then chuckled and shrugged, "Enough to make you better."

Zoro stared at Law then looked at the ceiling and let out a heavy exhale as he gritted his teeth, "Then I need to get better."

Law was inquisitive so he let go of Zoro and sank back into his chair, "And then what?"

Zoro balled his hands into fists and spoke into the fluorescent lighting, "Then I get her."

Law wondered if Zoro meant to harm her or help her, but before he could ask more, the shouts from outside reached their door. A blonde haired man busted through, and Zoro ground his teeth as he got up to address the visitor. Law was about to shout when he recognized the intruder to be the man who brought Zoro in. Before he could say one word, Zoro mumbled quietly, "You shitty cook. This is a fucking hospital you know…"

That was all it took the blonde-haired person to let his hair hide the tears in his eyes. He wiped his face and quickly walked forward as he stuck a cigarette in his mouth. "Really? I thought this was a stupid zoo with an animal like you lying around."

Zoro smiled, "Yeah, I'm a beast, you dumbass."

"More like a shitty marimo," the blonde responded.

Law watched the strange interaction and rolled his eyes, but quickly pulled the cigarette out of Sanji's mouth and flung it into the trash as Sanji glared at him. Zoro only laughed, "Told you this was a hospital, Sanji."

"Well, it's not like I could exactly find you," Sanji said with his eyes on the man who blocked him from seeing his friend.

"You couldn't find me? Oh, that's hilarious," Zoro joked, unaware of the tension between the other two men.

"Well, yer not exactly family, Sanji," Law said with disdain.

Sanji crossed his arms, "What kind of accent is that? You some hillbilly? Inked up doctor? Where did you get your medical degree? The School of Rock?"

Law was about to retort when Zoro spoke up, "Sanji is the only family I have left…you should have let him in."

Sanji was taken aback now, and while he processed, Law shrugged, "Well, you were unconscious and bleeding out, so it's not like I could have asked ya." Zoro opened his mouth to speak, but Law continued, "And that…file of yours was not exactly forthcoming."

"Nami…where is she?" Zoro directed his question to Sanji, who looked at Law as if he had the answers.

"Uh…I…I don't know Zoro. I-" Zoro gripped his arm and shook him.

"I told you to go back inside and find her. Shit! You had one job!"

Sanji pulled at his arms, and Law saw it then. Sanji's hands were shaking. As Zoro, still bandaged and bruised, shook his friend, Sanji was putting on a brave front. Law usually looked tired, with the shadows under his eyes, but Sanji looked thinner as if he had skipped several meals. The stress lines that were masked by his angry frown or under curled eyebrows were hidden to the one-eyed man who himself would not realize his own mortality, but Law recognized it all. They were both in an unhealthy relationship, and perhaps the women who bled on the very tiles he stood on were to blame.

Suddenly the door busted open and a woman with glasses came rushing in, baring her badge like a talisman to ward off spirits. She laid her eyes on the man on the bed and for a moment, she was at a loss for words. Zoro released Sanji, but it was Sanji who spoke to the woman, "Tashigi?"

That was all it took for the woman to begin her own cries, "How could you, Zoro! How could you do it?"

Sanji started again, "Wait, T-"

"And you-" she pointed at the blonde, "You were supposed to not let something like this happen! This was all her fault! My men! Zoro! Sanji, you should have told him to get out!"

"No, Tashigi, you're wrong. Nami- she couldn't…she didn't. This was-"

"Arlong!" Tashigi yelled, trying to keep her demeanor but failing terribly. "I told you she was going to get him killed."

Zoro's roar shook the room, "What the fuck is everyone talking about?"

Tashigi took a big breath in and Sanji looked like he was ready to take her out but she held her hand up and looked at him fiercely. "I gave you a chance…and now you've lost it. Look at yourself, Sanji! Look at what this woman has done to the both of you!" she pushed her glasses up and looked at Zoro with a frown. "That woman you know as Nami…is a criminal. She belongs to a gang called the Fishman Crew. She is a high ranking lieutenant, and just two days ago…" Tashigi choked on her words as she gripped the badge that hung on a chain from her neck, "I lost 13 good men and women due to an ambush. They were killed by Arlong and his crew."

The quiet in the room was shaking as every noise amplified. Even the sound of the light bulbs way above their heads seemed to scream.

"I know," Zoro said as he looked at his sheets, "I know about her past…and her hope to escape. That is what we were trying to do…what I was trying to do. Help her escape. And I know, I know…" he looked up at Tashigi, "she did not kill your men."

Tashigi groaned as Sanji blinked back tears. "How stupid can you be, Zoro? She lied! You don't know her." Tashigi tried to say.

Sanji chimed in, "Wait…what do you know? About…her? Her…family?"

"What does it matter? Her past is her past. I am not here for that. I am here for the present. And I just want to know where she is!" Zoro responded.

Tashigi swayed and looked at the ceiling as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You stupid man…you are getting so easily distracted. By what? A pretty face? You don't think she hasn't used that to her advantage before?"

"Tashigi!" Sanji said in admonishment, but she went on.

"No! Sanji, you don't get to say anything. I trusted you to tell him the truth, but you were blinded by her too…and your love for him. But I'm looking for justice. For her victims!"

"Victims?" Zoro asked angrily. "I'm not a-"

"Oh? Because you managed to keep an eye and not die? Congratulations! My men were killed under rubble and bricks when the house exploded with a rocket launcher! You don't care about my men? About me? After everything that we've been through? Fine," she paused as her quivering lip caught up to her anger, "What about your beloved's sister? Nami murdered her and left her to burn to death! And their mother? She probably pulled the trigger her damn se-"

"No!" Sanji yelled as he stepped up to Tashigi. "Nami did not kill her family! I know she could not have done. She did not!"

"How do you know, Sanji? Do you know something I don't? Or did you just help her get what she wanted…or do you like seeing Zoro broken so you can tend to him now?"

Zoro finally spoke up, "Both of you are crazy. Now, I don't give a shit about what anyone knows about anyone. Nami couldn't have done what you said because she was with me the entire time. Right, Sanji? At the fight?"

Sanji turned and looked at him with sad eyes, "She…she disappeared for a b-"

"Sanji! What the hell? You know how to fuck with me. Are you seriously considering Nami to be-"

"No! But I am just saying…she said she'd meet you in that alley and then she never came…"

"I heard her! Sanji! I fucking heard her scream…Arlong…Arlong had her," Zoro said with frustration as he clutched the blankets.

Law kept a steady look at the heart monitor. As much as he did not care about getting into the problems of others, he did want to make sure his patient did not die on his watch. A good doctor would have ushered this argument out the door and away from a wounded man, but Law was curious. He placed the tattoo on her friend's forehead as the one of the Sun Gang renamed the Fishman Gang under a minor member now the leader, Arlong. He knew this because Arlong had recently gotten into touch with someone from his past, and frankly, Law was ready to use any information he got as means to his end goal: to destroy Donflamingo. Therefore, when a beaten fighter came up from the Colosseum, apparently after defeating one of Donflamingo's own, Law knew he needed this case. He pulled strings, and here he was…in between a brawl of epic proportions. However, this was much bigger and more complicated than he thought.

Tashigi chuckled as Zoro left the words in the air. "She could be dead for all we know! What you holding on for? You know that fight you were at…her blood was all over one of the offices. But all the money they had is gone. Did you know that? That Colosseum held over $340 million in reserve, without counting whatever was placed on top with bets and winnings. She could have faked her death and taken it all! All the records, camera recordings…everything!"

"What?" was all Zoro got out as his grip on the sheets got tighter.

"Zoro…" Sanji began.

"Sanji…you…knew…why you wanna bite your tongue for?" Zoro asked as he focused on the fabric between his fists.

"Yeah, Sanji. Speak up now that you have his attention! Sanji knew about all of this! He was the one who contacted me and had me look into her," Tashigi said matter-of-factly. "He was worried about-"

Zoro's glare stopped anyone from saying anything more. "You moron! You put her name out there…you risked her life. She probably was taken because they thought she snitched or some shit!"

"No…" Sanji began halfheartedly, but then he remembered Usopp saying he found a trace on her burner line, "Wait…did you trace her?" He directed his question back to Tashigi.

"Me? No! I mean…I wouldn't have known where to start if we weren't traced at first! By her! I get my first big break…and suddenly our Cyber Crimes unit finds spyware in my files? Someone from the outside tried to steal information and left a back door open, so we followed it. And guess where it led? To her apartment! With every breath you breathe…I see there's something going on! Were you two in on it?"

"No," was all Sanji could get out, "That means… he…used her line to…"

"He!" shouted Zoro, "Are you telling me you met Arlong? You knew him this entire time?"

Tashigi shook her head, "Of course, Sanji wouldn't know Arlong. He keeps away from the public eye that I didn't even have a picture…but I saw him…when he murdered my unit." She pulled a paper from her jacket pocket and walked up to Zoro.

"This is the man who blew up my unit…this is the man Nami is loyal to…this is the man-"

However, as Tashigi held the paper sketch up to Zoro's face, the machines around him started beeping and blood spread across his bandaged chest like a watercolor painting. All that could be heard in the room was his screaming as he shook, and Law screamed at them to get out. He held Zoro down as nurses rushed in to help sedate him.

Tashigi stepped back, weary and tired. She had not meant to cause him so much stress, but the last two days were hell for her. She lost her rank and credibility when her unit went up in flames. However, it was not her pride that hurt, but the fact that she brought so many people under her trust and she could not even protect them. If it was not for Smoker, she would have given up altogether, but he told her to keep digging. However, when they found evidence that Arlong may have been at the Colosseum, the investigation was shut down then suddenly there was no evidence or it went missing. Smoker felt something was not right, but it was beyond his knowledge even as Captain. She admitted that her getting such free reign and resources were unusual, and he worried there was a leak in the system.

As she was ushered out of the room, she wondered if this was all her fault, too. If Zoro screaming in pain was her fault. Sanji took the paper from her frozen hand and his shaky hands balled themselves into fists as he punched the wall and ground his teeth. She finally recognized that her once dapper and energetic friend was not his usual self either. "Sanji…I tried to give you space…" she said quietly.

He crumpled the paper in one hand as he covered his face with another, "Shit. Shit. Shit."

"What is it?" she truly did not know why they both seemed so disturbed by some half-done sketch. "Are we taking time, or a time out?" She tried to joke. "I can't take the in-between…"

Sanji slid down the wall to the floor and put his head between his legs, "We saw him, Tashigi…that night Zoro won the fight. That night that Nami told him to meet her…the night that, she said they'd get away. We saw him…and damn it, Tashigi. You have to believe us, Zoro and her….she was trying to escape. But we told him. Zoro told him she was going to rid herself of his mark…her gang life…and he…"

"You're telling me…you think you made him hurt Nami?"

"You said it!" Sanji choked, "You found her blood everywhere…and Zoro…said he heard her. This is all my damn fault! I should have…"

She took in the new information and tried to piece it all together. However, Sanji knew more than he was letting on. "I don't understand why you're so cold to me. You…you need to tell me everything."

Sanji inhaled deeply and got up. He brought a hand down and helped her to her feet, but as she looked up, all she saw was darkness in his eyes. "Tashigi…I can't." He said with finality.

He started to walk away as he pulled a phone from his pocket, but Tashigi called after him, "You can't…or you won't?"

He stopped and turned to look over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tashigi-baby. Won't."

Law came out of the room as Zoro's screams had died down. He shook his head and looked at Tashigi with disdain, "Neither you nor that guy is allowed back here." He pointed past her to the blonde on the phone.

"But, I'm a poli-"

Law leaned in with a smirk, "From what I heard in there…you are no longer a decorated officer of the law. Moreover, as his doctor, I don't think yer presence is gonna get anything more outta him than anger…and more popped stitches. You are banned from this hospital, ya hear me?"

"You can't do that!" She said with anger in her own eyes, a naïve belief that justice was on her side.

Law smirked and flicked her chin. "Call any higher up, and I'm sure they'll tell ya that ya can't touch me."

She frowned and picked up the crumpled piece of paper Sanji left behind. "I don't know who you think you are, but you won't win."

Law turned and shrugged, "I don't think you realize that this is much bigger than you think…and yer too weak to handle a fight like this."

Tashigi hated being underestimated and so she stormed away. Law watched her go and groaned. He peeked back into the room at the now docile Zoro. Law was certainly going to keep an eye on him, and as much as Law hated the work of trying to figure out how big this puzzle was, this was something he needed to get his hands into. No matter how much it may hurt.

Music Inspiration/Theme: "Cold" (Maroon 5 ft. Future)

I had planned this chapter as one of the pivotal moments a long time ago, and when I heard this song, it was like a music video was playing in my head. Zoro's open mouth screams that were so silent as Sanji and Tashigi were pulled out of the room and Law rushed to sedate him before he opened up his wounds. It was very powerful, very theatrical, and very visual…so I hope my writing captured exactly what I was trying to make you all see!

[UPDATE]: This entire time, I was writing this story while listening to "All Time Low" (Jon Bellion) but that song is actually for my next chapter…bwahah. So, awks. So. I legit had to re-read everything I wrote to make sure it still fits with my feelings as I was writing to the other music! #writerproblems

My basic point was that everyone is a little bit at fault. It is so easy to think Tashigi is a villain but she was honestly just doing her job, and Sanji was trying to trust his friend, and Zoro believed in luck, and Usopp was trying to save his friend, and Nami thought she could survive on her own one last time…but all in all…they all messed up. And it has left everyone…just a little cold. #human

That being said…WOW. Well, aren't we just stacking up the ish? I will give you a fair warning…we may not see much of Nami anymore while I set up some things on this end. Since they are separated, I am sticking to Zoro's panel. HOWEVER, last we saw…Nami was taken by Hachi to meet up with Arlong. Where Arlong is…we'll have to wait and see, but they do have at least $660,000,000 (Nami's bounty of $66,000,000 x 10). I legit could not do the math for a hot second and thought that was such a small number, and then I realized that is SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY MILLION. But then I Googled the richest people in the world and realize they deal in billion, so I thought this number was not so farfetched. I mean…they did steal from Donflamingo and though I actually have no idea how badly one can lose betting in illegal underground fighting, Donflamingo may or may not actually run a small island country in this story so he could be worth billions, but for now, I said his Colosseum was the cost of his bounty ($340 million). ANYWHOO. Math aside…

Zoro now knows about the dark secrets from his friend, past and current…what does this mean for these friendships? Will Law honor Nami's wishes to keep him away and alive or listen to Zoro's desire when he knows where Zoro wants to go? How will Law fit into this suicide mission? Is Donflamingo after Arlong? Will Zoro ever meet Usopp? Until the next chapter of The Fighter…

XoXo shipfiend