CrazyGirlSama: thank you, I hope you stick with it!

Red Voidant Dragon: You're heart will most likely melt many more times if you stick with it. And thanks for the review!


Disclaimer: There is no way wire stitches could ever be a thing for the human body, it's just what I wrote in the story.

Longer chapter than the others so far. Warning: More gore and violence in this chapter, along with personal political strife between characters. But, enjoy~


He finally put her down after he ran straight for ten minutes. She pouted at him. "We could have gotten food from them! They were jerks but we could have followed them and taken their supplies and then run," she said irritably. Zoro would have smirked if he could. She was still so manipulative when she felt like being. Not a princess indeed.

Zoro shook his head. "Why not?" she asked. Zoro made no move to answer. He didn't know what to reply. It was selfish he took away a food source and shelter from Luffy just because he didn't want her to freak out. He was positive Luffy would freak, but then think it was cool. She'd be angry at herself for not knowing and it could click that he was her slave.

She wouldn't be embarrassed about him seeing her naked, and she would obviously try and set him free now that he had no reason to stay. That he could go back to his family, though he didn't even know if his dad was still alive. This behavior would be problematic to say the least.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard rustling not far off, and heavy footsteps. Wolves. They were too close now for them to escape without alerting them, so Zoro did what he thought was the next best thing and nudged Luffy up to the tree. She understood and climbed quickly up the thick tree. She climbed so high she could barely see Zoro through the foliage around her. She stayed as still and as quiet as possible as she watched Zoro pretend to nap. Who did he think he was fooling?

Zoro laid down and relaxed his body, trying to pretend to sleep. Wild animals sleep at random places all the time, right? He couldn't really remember since he'd been sleeping indoors on pillows for over half of his life. He was thankful Luffy stayed quiet. He could almost not hear her breathing. It was a skill from the times she'd sneak around the castle at midnight with guards stationed in the halls. She made zero noise.

"I can smell one of us out here. It mixes with the smell of a human. The stench is unbearable."

Another laughed, more like barked, harshly. "You've got that right," he said.

It had been a very long time since he'd heard a wolves' conversation. It was like his words were appearing in Zoro's mind. They saw him finally, and he pretended to wake up slowly. He knew it would fool no one, and could almost hear Luffy's thoughts about this plan being pathetic. He had to think on the spot, and she'd come up with tons of stupid ideas! Like climbing onto the roof and sliding down the spirals of the castle onto a pile of pillows on the lawn. She had no right to judge.

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Sleeping, what does it look like," Zoro replied, sounding moody that he was just woken up.

"It looks like you're lying about the girl up in the tree," the other wolf said simply. Zoro snarled at them.

"Leave her alone. Go the hell away and hunt someone guilty," Zoro said harshly. "Get away from us."

Zoro heard Luffy cry out as she saw the other wolf circling the tree, looking up and occasionally pushing against it, making the leaves sway. He heard her crying in fear and it broke his heart. He cursed it all when one of the wolves howled loudly, signaling to others he assumed. Zoro turned away from the one he'd been speaking with and ran the few steps to the tree and slammed himself into the one who was circling Luffy and made him fly back several yards.

"Don't you fucking touch her," he growled.

"You know, I was in the castle when we looked for that princess. And then the room was empty. But do you know what I saw? I saw a green wolf with the princess on his back as they ran to the forest. And I was disgusted. You let a damn human ride on your back? Do you have no dignity? You are pathetic," the one who Zoro slammed against spat.

"It's none of your business if she rides on my back for safety. And she's not how you think she is. If she were truly bad like her father, why would I have saved her in the first place?" Zoro replied.

The other laughed. "Stockholm syndrome maybe?" and he laughed again. Zoro's hackles raised and he bared his teeth. They weren't getting Luffy.

Zoro then heard more thundering steps from the side and soon he could smell them as well. They smelled like old blood. It was awful. Zoro shook the tree and crouched, signaling Luffy to jump down on his back. She did so and held on as he leapt over one of the wolves and began to run away from the two. Until he heard his name.

"Zoro," the voice said.

He froze. He recognized the voice, but couldn't place who's it was, so he turned around, confusing Luffy. Why weren't they running? The two wolves were really scaring her as they got closer. She started shouting Zoro's name, trying to get his attention, but he wouldn't respond to her!

A green wolf with a somewhat gray muzzle walked forward, out of the group of maybe five wolves. Zoro didn't move or say anything. The other green, older wolf ran forward and put a giant arm around Zoro's neck, knocking Luffy backwards. She tried to cling to Zoro's fur, but she fell off. Zoro didn't crouch down so she wasn't able to climb back up.

The other wolves were getting closer, ignoring Zoro and what she assumed was his family. She had become suspicious of all the massive dogs. She thought Zoro was special for being that big. Something was off.

She crawled under Zoro, on her hands and knees under his stomach, shaking in fear. Some of the wolves were snarling at her. What did she do wrong? She'd never met any of these animals! Why were they acting like this?

"Z- Zoro," she whispered, loud enough so Zoro should have heard her, but he made no response.

"Dad?" Zoro asked in shock. For the moment, he'd completely forgotten about Luffy. He was just so shocked to see his dad. Who was alive! Zoro put an arm on his father's neck as well. It was how they hugged in wolf form.

"What are you doing here?" Zoro questioned. "How did you find me?" He still didn't notice Luffy was now screaming in terror. He didn't notice the wolves pawing at Luffy underneath him. He was so shocked and happy! But Luffy below him was screaming for him to help as she was dragged out from under him and flung a few feet away.

Luffy hit the tree hard and fell down in a heap, moaning at the pain in her back. She was then pinned, like Zoro had so long ago, with the wolf snarling in her face, showing its sharp teeth. Luffy was now sobbing. She was going to die and Zoro wasn't even going to notice.

She suddenly felt nothing. No fear or sadness. Just empty as she looked at Zoro ignoring her. Luffy was all alone. She closed her eyes. She was going to die right then. All of her family was dead, her home was burned to the ground most likely, and now her best friend, the only one she had left, was ignoring her as she was about to be killed. She was worthless, a waste of space.

Zoro finally registered Luffy had suddenly gone quiet and looked around. He knew she'd been safe under him for just a minute, but he couldn't find her. Then he smelled fresh blood. He snapped his head in that direction and leapt over to her, knocking the other wolves out of the way.

Luffy's arm was covered in blood with a large gash across it. Her shirt was also ripped with claw marks across her abdomen. What was worse was a large bleeding gash also across her face, leading from the temple of the left side to the cheek of the right. Her eyes looked fine, thank god. Zoro nudged her with his face in panic, but she was alive and looked up at him in tears that were mixing with the blood dripping down her face.

He had betrayed her. She was soaked in blood while he had done nothing to help. She looked away from him, biting her lower lip as she tried to stay strong. She was able to bring herself to stand and walk forward a couple steps, away from Zoro. He darted in front of her, his eyes wide, obviously feeling regret.

"I- it's okay. You- found your family. I- I'm gonna go now," Luffy stuttered, trying to quell the pain in her heart and on her body and her face. Zoro whined in front of her like a dog. She coughed twice and then collapsed, but Zoro caught her with his snout and head, easing her onto the ground and standing over her.

"Where's a doctor?!" he screamed at the other wolves in panic. Many of them looked at him in disgust. His dad spoke first.

"Why would you want to help her, Zoro? You were her slave. Now you're free, so why are you staying with her?" Zoro's father asked, genuinely confused. "She should be dead."

"I was not her slave. She is my friend, and I'll protect her when she can't protect herself! Now where's a fucking doctor! Help her!" he shouted, panicking. Like he could protect her. Like he did just now? When he ignored her as she screamed for help when he saw his long lost father. And now, because of that, Luffy will die or forever have a gruesome scar on her face.

None of the wolves made any movement.

"She's the princess. She deserves death," one of them said flatly.

Zoro snarled menacingly, contemplating leaping over to him and slashing his throat open. "She does not deserve death. She has protected me for eleven years! She didn't let me starve, or sleep in a cage, or be abused by the others, or locked in a closet or die of boredom or loneliness! I will not let you kill her," he finished.

"She's still the spawn of the evil 'King'. She was raised in that castle. Of course the old king's teachings has corrupted her," that same wolf replied.

"I watched her be taught for years and her father hadn't told her a thing. He was too busy dealing with what I assume was an uprising."

Luffy was still awake, though not completely coherent. She didn't know what was going on, only that Zoro and big dogs, no, wolves, were staring at each other. Luffy reached up to Zoro and touched his fur for a moment of comfort. She was feeling very cold now. She was scared. Was she going to die out here? Luffy didn't want to die in front of Zoro. He would be devastated. Luffy already forgave him for ignoring her while she was hurt. Something must have happened. Usually he would have defended her from the wolves and would have carried her to safety.

Zoro's father spoke next. "We will lead her to a doctor," Zoro smiled on the inside, "But on one condition." Zoro waited with bated breath. What was it going to be? "You must transform back in front of her. Then we will decide what to do based on her reaction. That is the only way we are going to help her for now. If she does not pass, we will kill her. Like she deserves."

Zoro nodded right away, though he was not happy with his dad's views. They were nothing like how they were all those years ago. But this was the only way to save Luffy. He had a feeling she wouldn't be scared or upset or angry. Just confused. He licked her face to wake her up, on the side that wasn't bleeding, disgusting the others, but Zoro didn't care.

He looked right into her eyes very seriously. Luffy sluggishly closed her eyes, and when she opened them slowly, Zoro wasn't there anymore. There was no massive furry body protecting her. Did he just leave her again? Leave her to die? Instead of Zoro, now there was a man, looking at her in apprehension.

"Where's Zoro?" she asked, breathing rather quickly now. The man touched her face and said, "Luffy, I'm Zoro." What? No he wasn't. He was a stranger.

"No you're not," she slurred. Everything was blurry. But then, with her eyes still open, she saw the man turn back into her Zoro. She was very confused. But it wasn't like she could deny it now as the wolf turned into the man again. She reached for his hand, but could barely move it. But Zoro saw the movement and took her hand, still not used to using fingers and a thumb.

"I'm Zoro, Luffy," he repeated. Luffy felt tears in her eyes. If Zoro was a person, then she'd been treating him as a dog for all this time. And he didn't tell her?! Why didn't he tell her? She could have helped him long ago.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, startling the others who began to feel disbelief. She wasn't afraid of him or angry. She just seemed sad and confused.

"I couldn't. It was only after you took the collar off that I could turn back," he said softly.

"I'm sorry…" she mumbled.

"Luffy, there is nothing to be sorry about. You kept me happy while I was together with you, regardless if I could or couldn't leave. I need to thank you for freeing me," he said and pulled her into his arms. He hadn't really realized how small she was for her age when everyone was smaller to him as a wolf. "That's the reason I ran that day. I had to see if I could leave or not. And it's a good thing I could, right? That's how we escaped. It's all thanks to you," he finished, having to talk louder now because she was so out of it. But then she fell unconscious before she could respond.

"Can you take her to a doctor now or do not have enough proof?" he said bitterly to the other wolves. They looked at each other and nodded that they could leave. Zoro decided to not change back to wolf form because Luffy would fall right off his back, so he sat with her in his arms on his father's back and tried his best to keep her still and not jolting around. She had stopped bleeding and was colder and breathing shallowly.

-x-

Zoro bit his lip during the whole ride, failing at not looking at her and panicking. Finally, the pack broke through the trees and into a town, more like a village. Zoro's father walked them to the door of a white building, much bigger than the other homes, and businesses around it. It was obviously a medical clinic.

When Zoro got off the wolf, he carried Luffy inside, still naked. But no one in this village seemed to care. Most likely they were used to seeing naked people, since when you transform, you don't exactly have clothes with you.

The moment he stepped inside and someone saw what was wrong with the girl he was carrying, screamed at him to go to the emergency room. He followed the person leading him there quickly, into a larger room with a lot of equipment. Luckily, there was no one else there, so Luffy would be taken care of immediately.

Zoro was forced to go outside and wait, biting his human fingernails in worry. He was given a loose pair of pants and paced the waiting room. None of their escorts stuck around, though some of them still hoped Luffy would die in that building. Then the royal bloodline would be snuffed and a new, just ruler would appear. Zoro was not impressed with his dad's view on the princess.

Luffy laid on the mattress and was attached to blood bags and had the gashes disinfected and stitched up. She had bandages over half of her face, restricting her vision to one eye only. She was still pale and had been very, very close to dying. Chopper, the doctor, was surprised that she lived at all. He growled about the werewolves who did this. It was obvious that the wounds were from claws based on the size and distance between the gashes.

He had plenty of patients who were attacked by werewolves, but most of those wolves roamed around the forest and werent permanent residents in their quaint town. Ever since they had all been "set free" by their "owners", they wanted revenge, whether they acted out on it or not. They wouldn't forget how they were treated, and would most likely never forgive.

Luffy was now sleeping after she had been fixed up. Her stomach kept growling, and she showed signs of dehydration and was given a water bag to keep her hydrated while she slept. Chopper was torn between letting her sleep or letting her eat. Her body obviously needed food, so he decided and gently woke her up. He didn't shake or pat her face, he just continued to say Luffy's name, and when he said "you need to eat", she woke up. She was very disoriented.

"Where am I?" she asked tiredly. Zoro wasn't around. She wanted to pet his fur to soothe her, something she'd done countless times over the years. "Zoro?"

"Hello Luffy, my name is Doctor Chopper, but you can call me Chopper. Are you hungry?" he asked. She nodded slowly, not able to must much vigor to show she was not just hungry, she was starving. She hadn't had any food in over a day. For the first time in a while, she was desperate to gorge on any food she was offered.

Zoro heard the doctor moving things around inside the ER as he made Luffy a sandwich from the fridge in the room. She was told to lay back down when she sat up, excited to eat for once in what felt like forever. Zoro was suddenly starving as well. Luffy thought of this and said, "Zoro is probably hungry, too. Is he not here because he's too big?"

Zoro sighed as he heard this. Luffy most likely thought she was hallucinating when he came clean with her. He didn't want to have to do it again. It was scary the first time, when Luffy had been near passing out. Now that she was coherent again, he didn't know if the reaction would be the same. Should he go in as his wolf form, or his human form? If he changed in front of her, he'd be left naked, but he honestly didn't see that as a problem at the moment. Besides, Zoro has seen Luffy naked countless times. So it's not that weird to have her see him bare for once. He decided the best way was to do what he had done before. Go in as her wolf Zoro, and then change into a human again.

He sighed as he removed his clothes, probably weirding out the elderly woman waiting in the lobby with him. But she didn't say anything. He didn't know how the woman would react to him turning back into a wolf. He was unsure about what was going on right now. The werewolves obviously were still pissed at the humans who enslaved them, but they were living together in this small village. They were coexisting, but how well? Would someone suddenly scream when a giant green wolf appeared? Oh well, he would find out later.

He pushed the double doors open to walk into the room Luffy was in, having to duck under the door frame.

"Zoro!" Luffy cried happily. It hurt Zoro to see Luffy with half of her face covered in a bandage, but she didn't seem to care at all. He felt it was his fault since he didn't save her because he was distracted by seeing his dad after over a decade. He walked up to her and sat down next to the bed she was on so he was level with her head sitting up.

As Luffy ran her hands through his dirty and somewhat matted fur, her memories were coming back to her. But she couldn't decide if they were real or not. She knew she could never have come up with something that interesting and amazing… so she thought it was real. She tried not to linger on the thought that she'd been treating him like a dog for so long when he was a human on the inside.

Zoro sighed and then transformed back, now kneeling in front of her bed. He expected a cry of surprise or shock, maybe even fear, but what he got was a simple, "You know you'll catch a cold if you stand around naked."

Zoro was shocked. That was not what he was expecting to hear by a long shot. So he laughed, truly laughed. That seemed like his old Luffy. Before this, Luffy had cried and acted guilty that she had kept him, thinking he was a dog for so long. What changed?

"Like you're one to talk. You walk around in your room naked all the time," he said, making Chopper feel a bit awkward. Luffy's face fell at what he said. Her room. Her sanctuary that she could never return to. She only let her face look in despair for a moment before her smile came back, a little forced now. But Zoro saw it, he just didn't say anything. If she wanted him to know she felt that, she'd tell him.

"So that other green dog -wolf- was related to you?" she asked curiously. She was obviously still tired since she was fighting to lay back against the bed. Zoro noticed of course and adjusted the mattress so it was sitting up more.

"Yeah he was my dad… I'm so sorry I let this happen, Luffy," Zoro said in remorse. Luffy waved her hand.

"Chopper said I'll have some serious scars, but it's not like I can do anything about it now. Besides, you weren't the one who did it. You were distracted, I understand," she said nonchalantly, but sincerely. It just made Zoro feel worse that there was no blame on him that he deserved. Zoro realized he was still naked.

"Dr. Chopper, can you go get my pants from the lobby?" he asked politely. Zoro wasn't embarrassed being naked or anything, he was just getting cold and would prefer pants. Luffy didn't look twice. When Chopper walked back in, Zoro dressed and then requested he leave for a little bit so Zoro could talk to Luffy in private.

"What do you wanna talk about?" Luffy asked, her face starting to hurt from opening her mouth so wide. She tried not to hiss in pain when she relaxed her face to have no expression, not pulling on the stitches or bandages. But man it itched. Zoro felt another gush of guilt coarse through him.

"We both need to be updated on what's going on. You more than me," he said seriously. Luffy nodded, trying her best to not make any sort of expression. So Zoro filled her in on what had been happening outside of the castle for all of Luffy's life, and the kind of king her father was.

She kept that blank expression on for the whole explanation. Inside, however, she was screaming. Part of her knew Zoro was telling the truth about her father. Everything added up. The way the servants felt, what happened at the castle, and why Zoro was there in the first place. He was a slave as well, just for Luffy. She felt immensely guilty for riding him around and acting like she had problems, when everyone outside the castle grounds were suffering.

"Did… did dad always rule like that?" Luffy questioned quietly. If her parents were assassinated, she was probably next. Though she seemed to have rarely paid attention in her classes, she'd listened to the stories of other royal families snuffed out. She almost scoffed at how biased everything she learned was. If everyone hated her dad, it would make sense for them to hate her as well. That's why the servants all looked like she was garbage to them. She was acting like her petty problems were so terrible when such horror was going on outside her privileged life.

"Yes," Zoro answered softly. Luffy bit her lower lip, doing her best not to cry. When her face scrunched up a bit, she hissed in discomfort. Certain expressions, she found, hurt her newly stitched skin. He was kneeling on the ground next to her, his face level with hers. He touched her hand comfortingly.

"...Everyone wants to kill me now, don't they?" she whispered, eyeing the door that lead to the lobby, thankful it was closed.

"I assume so," Zoro answered just as quietly. "We should get you out of here. Hopefully that terrible wound on your face won't look familiar to those who have seen your face. I.. I am so sorry I let this happen to your face," he told her desperately. He knew she'd forgive him completely, and that made him feel worse.

"I'd rather exchange a pretty face for you seeing your family again. But you're not very conspicuous… is green fur common?" she asked, moving on from the focus of her damaged face surprisingly quickly. But she had never been into looking the part. She'd always had wild and messy hair and for most of her child life, was rarely completely clean. She had refused dresses all her life. So maybe a scarred face wasn't too much to her.

"No, it's not. One of the other wolves said they saw the princess ride away on the back of a wolf with green fur. It's safe to assume that me being in wolf form around others would be alerting. I'll just stay in human form for a while until we're far from here," Zoro explained. They were still conversing in hushed tones.

"... You're staying with me?" Luffy asked in surprise.

"Of course I am. Why would I leave?" Zoro seemed baffled.

"You're not my… slave anymore. Plus, you found your dad." Luffy didn't understand.

"I've never considered myself your slave. And yes… I did find my dad. But I am not impressed with his behaviour when we met up again," Zoro told her with a frown. "He wanted you dead, even when I told him I didn't want you to be. He gambled your life based on what he saw was good. I love him. But he seems… changed. Not in a good way. He'd never been a violent person before. But just letting you be killed would have been wrong. Prison must have changed him."

Luffy frowned. "I'm sorry," said sadly.

"Yeah, well, I guess both of us thought we knew our dads. We have to leave as soon as you're better. I'll get us some clothes-"

"Don't leave me," Luffy said, eyes wide in fear. "I don't know anything about the world or how to live in it. If people are after me, I'll die on my own. Don't leave me. Please." Zoro nodded.

Zoro called the doctor back in to ask how long Luffy would need to stay. Both he and Luffy were irritated and worried that she needed at least two days of rest and then no strenuous activities that might pull on stitches. Zoro sighed.

"Would she be fine if I carried her everywhere?" Zoro asked.

"The movement would probably not be good for her to heal quickly." Luffy and Zoro both groaned in annoyance.

"Well, what would happen if I ran around gently. Would that work?" Luffy asked, like she hadnt just said something utterly ridiculous.

"No that wouldn't work! Have you never been hurt before? If you are too strenuous you'll get worse," Chopper said sharply. He was sick of people/werewolves coming in here and then leaving when they should stay, to go do pointless things.

Luffy frowned at his words. She'd only been hurt once, surprisingly considering the stupid stunts she always pulled. But she couldn't remember it much when she broke her leg. She scowled at the memory of riding Zoro around and pretending she was on a "noble steed". Plus, she hadn't listened to her doctor and went around the palace while her leg was still healing. She had broken her leg in a pathetic manner.

When she was eight, she tried doing flips off of the roof and onto pillows. To say that wasn't a good idea was an understatement. She could remember that Zoro was angry with her and that's really all of it. She didn't remember the healing process or how much it had hurt.

Zoro looked to Luffy before speaking the truth. "Her life is in danger, Chopper. If we stay here, she will most likely be killed. We need to leave as soon as possible." Chopper's eyes widened.

"Why will she be killed?" Zoro looked to Luffy again, who minutely nodded her head.

"She's the princess. She may not look it, but the wolves know what she looks like. We have to leave soon," Zoro said, stressing some of the words. Did this doctor not understand their predicament? He sighed.

"I… I can help you leave. But it will be painful, Luffy." When neither Luffy nor Zoro replied, the doctor continued. "I'd need to undo your stitches and put thicker ones in. I don't usually do this. It's more experimental than regular stitches. They're made of thin wire. You'll have to take them out yourself once it's healed. But I refuse to use them on your face. I will do your chest and arm. Just don't try to make too many expressions."

"I'll be fine," Luffy told him. These stitches couldn't hurt as much as being mauled had been. "Start it now please."

To say the procedure was painful was an understatement. But she kept a straight face, her jaw clamped down to not make any pained noises. Once it was over, she was given pain killers, but not strong enough to tire her. Zoro spoke as Luffy tried to catch her breath. "You'll have to take them out in four days. It's a bit different than regular stitches that come out in multiple sessions. Be prepared for pain and try to take them out neatly," Chopper warned, receiving a nod from both Luffy and Zoro.

"Can she run with these?" When the doctor frowned, Zoro said as little angrily, "How about riding on my back. Is that-"

"Does it really matter?" Luffy asked from behind them. "We have to leave anyways, right?" Chopper licked his lips.

"The safest would be to walk, but if you cant even do that, running would be the second choice." Then he looked to Zoro sternly. "You must run so it doesn't jolt her too much. Once you two are out of danger, I want her to walk herself. Understand me?" he asked Luffy. She nodded obediently. She couldn't risk hurting herself while they're on the run. That would just cause more problems than they already had.

"Do you have any clothes she could wear? At least a cloak?" Zoro asked the doctor, who sighed and walked into a room with random supplies inside. He then walked out with a black cloak that would reach Luffy's mid-calves. It looked like it was for a man, and Luffy was a small woman, so it'd hide her well. It also had a hood.

Luffy stood up, trying to not a pained expression on her face. "Why are you helping me?" she asked. Her dad was a terrible person, so why? "Everyone wants me dead."

"I don't take pleasure in the death of anyone. If we could have negotiated with the king, he wouldn't have died. But he didn't. You seem smarter than to do that. Good luck," he said and handed her a backpack with a pair of pliers for when they had to take the wires out and some food other than what she'd eaten and what was given to Zoro.

"Thank you," Zoro said as he pulled Luffy's hood up after helping her put it on. They were both still extremely dirty, with dry mud everywhere. Luffy was worse. Only her gashes had been washed, so she was brown the rest of her body from falling into the mud. Chopper nodded and they heard him to call for the next patient.

The two walked as inconspicuous as the could, but Zoro's hair was a danger. No one had green hair, so he stuck out like a sore thumb. They just hoped none of the wolves would see them. They were lucky they didn't. They reached the forest and walked in deeper until the felt isolated enough to talk.

"Zoro, where are we going to do?" she asked, looking at the surroundings. She wouldn't be a burden. She was not going to spit at Zoro's dedication by making it easy for them to be found. She had to be something she was, but also wasn't. She couldn't be a princess, but she knew she'd have to turn her manipulation skills to the test. The girl wished once again to be back in her room, now wishing that her father had been a kind ruler that the people loved. Not someone everyone hated enough to kill.

"I guess we just keep moving. Hope to find others out here and take their supplies. I hope that gash on your face doesn't turn into a problem. Not too noticeable."

"And we should get your head muddy. You're hair is too bright," she offered. When he nodded, to this, her face fell as she was about to ask an important question. "Zoro, why do you want to go with me? You saw your dad again, and you're not my slave anymore."

"I never saw myself as your slave. I was your best friend. I still am. I'm not gonna leave you when you need me most. And you aren't a burden," Zoro said, knowing his previous sentence would give that off. "We have to go." Then he took off his clothes and told her to hold them. She'd never seen a naked man.

"Do all naked guys look like you?" she asked innocently, staring at his face. Not anywhere else. Zoro's face turned bright red.

"People all look different," he rushed and quickly turned into a wolf so he didn't have to continue a very embarrassing conversation.

"Heh. Well I don't care if you're naked. You obviously don't care if I am," then she giggled. "Pervert." Zoro just huffed in annoyance as he crouched down for her as low as he could. She gingerly climbed on, trying to not irritate her arm or chest, and tied his clothes around her waist and pulled her hood up. Her hair was crusty with dried mud and both of them didn't smell too great. But there was nothing they could do about that.

After Zoro trotted gently for a while, heading in the opposite direction they'd come from, Luffy spoke, knowing he couldn't answer.

"I wonder if Alvida is dead, too…" she sounded very sad. "I didn't love her or anything, but I don't want her to be dead. I wonder if I would have ended up as bad as dad-" Luffy said, but was cut off when Zoro growled at her words. Luffy fell silent and stayed that way for a while. But there was soon something on her mind that she didn't want there.

"I dont want you to have to protect me," Luffy said simply. "I want to be able to protect myself on my own. I dont want to need your help all the time. I dont want to be an inconvenience for you, considering you left your family to help me. I'm thankful you did that, but also sad. I wouldnt abandon you if dad had asked for me to stay or anything. I… I dont want to feel this anymore. Scared. So stupid," she said, sounding frustrated. "Now is no longer the time to be sad all of the time. But… it's also not a time to laugh and play. I'm sorry," she concluded. She hated this weakness she was experiencing. And she had no weapon like Zoro. He was able to kill so easily. He had his teeth and claws. Even just his size could kill someone if he tried.

Luffy didn't exactly want to kill anyone, but she also didn't want to be killed. Kill or be killed would be her motto now.