The library was huge. A single room with large shelves that loomed over the girls twice over, it smelled of old books. It also seemed endless, with scrolls, books, and papers teeming from the hundreds of bookshelves.
Sakura sighed and stared at them all. "It's hundreds of years of learning packed into one place. But," she said, extending her finger, "They are not well organized. I don't know if you'll find anything of use."
Robin smiled, removing her hat. "It's a challenge I'll enjoy finding out."
Sakura smiled herself, and nodded. "I already sent Luffy-san and Usopp-san off into the woods, I introduced Chopper-san to a couple of my animal friends, and Sanji-san is making lunch." She put her hands on her fists. "You'll be okay then," she said, and they vaguely nodded as they wandered into the abyss of paper.
Sakura smiled and walked out.
Zoro was standing by the well again, waiting. Sakura approached him, unsheathing her sword. "You wish to try again."
He nodded curtly, and she smiled faintly. Again, the ferocity of his attack surprised her, and he almost caught up to her speed. She smiled and moved a little quicker, making him grit his teeth in frustration.
She slowed down and knocked the swords from him in one clean sweep. He glared at her.
"Anger will get you killed," she said, moving closer.
"A lot of things will get me killed," he panted, bent over with the effort of breathing.
She stared at his face up close, the sweat coming off him in streams, and she smiled. "Not with me." She touched his cheek, and he flushed and stepped away.
"Maybe because of you," he panted. He took off his bandana, and lay down on the grass. "God you're tiring."
She laughed. "Funny, I'm not at all winded."
He sat up enough to glare at her, and she grinned back. The humor of it hit him, and he started laughing hard, and she joined him, until they were both doubled over in laughter.
The next few days raced by with the crew relaxing and doing their own thing. Nami and Robin continued to rummage through the library, while Sanji brought them snacks and coffee. Luffy dragged Usopp into the caves to investigate, and they often came back smelling rancid and grinning. Chopper was having fun with the island deer. They seemed more tolerant of his "difference," but it might have been because Sakura talked to them about it. Chopper was grateful to be able to play with deer again, and he sometimes came back panting heavily and grinning.
Only Zoro seemed unhappy, and he spent a great deal of time training when he wasn't watching Sakura from a distance. He tried different techniques every night, trying to beat her, and every night she got to the point where she could easily kill him, but, instead, gave up. It infuriated him to no end, and he suspected she wasn't even trying. It reminded him of his fight with Mihawk, or even Kuina, and it made him feel small.
Every night, everyone gathered to have meals together, with rum free flowing and dancing all night. They also went to the beach and played in the water (although Luffy and Chopper stayed in the shallow end) and investigated other parts of the island.
It was a late afternoon on the fourth day when Sakura felt sakki directed at her and shivered.
"Where are all the treasures you were talking about," Nami asked Sakura, in a low and evil tone.
Sakura, who was building a sand castle with Chopper, looked up at her. Nami was standing over her with an annoyed expression. "Treasures?"
"You said there were treasures here," Nami said again, a flush coloring her cheeks.
"Um – it's true," Sakura said, touching her cheek with a finger as she thought about it. "But I don't remember where."
Nami missed the cunning expression that flit over Sakura's face when she said, "Ah, but I think there's treasure to be found in the ruin of the old temple."
"Really?"
"We haven't found that place yet," Luffy said, making a sandman with a top hat. He had sand all over him like a four-year old with a sticky face.
"Well, maybe you should try tomorrow." Sakura stroked Chopper's head, and he smiled up at her. "Um, there are the gifts that were sent over the centuries. And I think that some of the previous students may have left their belongings as they stepped away from the worldly path." She paused to think about it. "Hm… I think there were a couple of kings and princes in the bunch over the years, so there might be more than I remember." She shrugged. "The worldly path carries many burdens if you are unenlightened."
"Worldly path, huh?" Sanji murmured, watching the girls in their swimsuits, and carrying a tray of drinks. "Nami-sawn! Robin-chawn! Ohime-sama! I've brought you flowers and cold drinks!"
"Oi, where's mine," Luffy yelled, running at Sanji, Usopp and Chopper right behind him, all three kicking up sand as they approached.
"Bastards," Sanji snarled, pointing towards the temple, "Yours is in the kitchen."
The boys ran off to get their drinks, screaming and battling each other to be first. Zoro was passed out on the edge of the forest, asleep in the shade.
"But – there is treasure?" Robin asked slowly, sipping the delicately flavored drink Sanji brought them.
Sakura nodded. "Well, yes, I'd imagine so." She smiled slightly. "I don't use it, so I hardly think about it."
Nami's eyes turned into bellies and she grinned. "Treasure?"
Sakura sat back, her drink in hand. "When we moved out of the old temple, it was because, over time, it was starting to fall into the sea." She pointed at the temple. "Sanshinbokuji is very old, and this temple is based on the architecture of the old one. But, we didn't bring over everything. We left a lot of stuff because we didn't care about things in this world."
She eyed Nami. "Treasures are not always physical items, or gold and jewels. Knowledge, memories, and love are greater treasures than any gold coin."
"I'd agree," Nami murmured, "But I REALLY like the way I look in gold and jewels."
"Hai, I agree with Nami-sawn!" Sanji's heart of love gleamed from his eyes. "She would look so pretty in nothing but gold and jewels."
"Pervert," Sakura muttered, sipping her drink.
"We've been organizing the books in the library," Robin said suddenly. "You have hundred of old manuscripts in dead languages. Can you read them?"
Sakura glanced over at her. "I've read them again and again out of sheer boredom. A language is only dead if no one remembers it, but I can speak them all fluently."
Robin looked impressed. "I know several of the dead languages, but there are some in there I've never heard of."
Sakura smiled. "There are a few primers in there. I'll find them for you. It'll make reading them easier."
Sanji lit a cigarette and took a long draw, letting it out in a smooth breath. "Ohime-sama, you know everything."
Sakura paused in her sipping, and said, "No, because complete knowledge means that I would be a god. I'm not a god. There are many things I don't know or understand."
"But you can see the future and read minds," Nami exclaimed.
"No, I can't," Sakura said patiently. "How can I explain this? I get a feeling about something, a sense that I need to pay attention. That's all my premonitions are. I don't know the future. As for reading minds," she sighed, "I don't read minds. I can hear you think, because you're all very loud. It's like having perfect hearing when you are surrounded by the hard of hearing."
"Ah…" Nami sat back in her lounge chair, and took a sip of her drink. "I can understand that. So it's not magic?"
Sakura laughed. "I've said again and again it's not magic. If you took the time to learn it, you could do it too."
Robin said, "That makes sense with what I've heard of the Order of Kallabah."
Sakura didn't reply but looked over at where Zoro was sleeping.
"How long does it take to learn," Nami asked.
"Um – I've heard it take thirty years to master it," Robin replied.
"Thirty years," Sanji exclaimed. "Why does it take so long?"
"What is thirty years in the overall span of time," Sakura murmured. "Actually, it depends on the person. It takes some a few years, others their entire life. It depends on how well they understand the universe."
Sanji, Nami, and Robin fell silent, and Sakura got up.
"Sanji-san, you've prepared the dining room, right?" She said, turning her back on them.
Sanji nodded, and she began to walk towards the temple. "I'll make sure those guys haven't started eating already."
"Ah!! Damn it! Those bastards!" Sanji ran off towards the temple, saluting Sakura as he passed.
Robin sat back in her deck chair and smiled. "Something's definitely going on," she said. "Kenshi-san's been training like a mad man."
Nami nodded. "It's true. He's desperate to beat her."
Robin slid down slightly and stretched. "Well, I don't think anyone's ever beaten him this easily."
"Mihawk has," Nami murmured. "He gave Zoro that horrible scar. But he hasn't lost to Sakura-san. She keeps giving up before she beats him."
Robin smiled faintly. "That must drive him mad," she said softly. "Good idea, my dear. Drive them mad with desire…"
"What," asked Nami.
Robin smiled harder. "Nothing. Not a thing."
It was late before Luffy and the rest were stuffed and tired enough to go to bed. Zoro walked with them to the row house, but then left to wait for Sakura at the well. He hated feeling weak, and she made him feel like a child in comparison to her strength. How can a little girl be that strong?
She's not a child, answered his mind.
She appeared as usual, her hair swirling about her in the fresh spring breeze, her sword on her back. "Are you ready, Zoro-sama? Tonight, I will not be easy on you."
He grinned hard. "That's the way I like it."
Her face was bland and pale in the moonlight. Tonight, she thought, it begins tonight.
Zoro rushed at her, and she deftly moved, lightly attacking him from behind. He blocked it with wado, and attacked her with yabashi and sandai kitetsu. She easily blocked the blows, and feinted with her sword, finding the opening in Zoro's double sword slash attack. He was moving so slowly to her eyes, he could have been standing still. Suddenly, she couldn't see him.
Alarmed, she leaped up, only to find him directly beneath her attacking up with his bullhorns attack. She flipped and avoided it, taking a slash at him with her sword as she fell. He barely managed to avoid it, since the bullhorn attack took complete commitment to complete.
The landed a good distance from each other, and there was a moment of silence as they stared at each other in complete understanding.
You're improving.
You're helping me.
She grinned and he grinned back.
"Have you solved the riddle," she asked.
"The brightest star," he replied, "is the Pole star."
She laughed, setting her stance, the sword above her head at a right angle to her body, parallel to her extended arm, the edge nearly resting on her two-fingers. "No. Not it. But you're thinking about it."
He frowned and also set his stance for the Tora Gari. With some sort of silent understanding, they both rushed forward and clashed in a furor of swords. Zoro felt frustration bloom in him as he couldn't hit a single mark. She smiled at him through the battle, until she suddenly managed to catch and hold all three swords with her own. "You're still weak, Zoro-sama," she said tightly. He felt sweat trickle off him, but her face was free of sweat and tension. She grinned and pushed, making sure her sword was tilted just enough to knock him backwards.
He did tumble, but he managed to catch himself, breathing heavily.
"You are definitely improving," she said, sheathing her sword and turning her back on him.
"Wait," he gasped, "I'm not done."
She laughed, and it carried on the wind. "Maybe not, but I am."
He ran towards her and grabbed her arm, turning her around forcibly. "We're not finished," he gritted, and he realized he was probably bruising her arm. Underneath his hand, it was impossibly thin and delicate, and he suddenly felt like a hulking idiot. He flushed and let her go, but she grabbed his hand and looked up at his face.
"Zoro-sama," she said quietly, "You're looking for the answer in the wrong place."
"Then tell me where the right place is?"
She smiled secretively. "If I told you, then there'd be no point to this lesson, right?"
She was so close he could smell her skin, sweet and fragile.
"Sakura," he said suddenly, desire awakening in him.
Who am I fooling? I've always wanted her.
Sakura held her breath. Tonight. It begins tonight.
"Zoro-sama," she whispered, the night cool and fragrant around them, the knowledge that the rest of the crew was sound asleep reassuring.
Zoro looked down at the delicate face with its angular features, big eyes, and full lips. "Sakura-sama, I can't love you."
She smiled, the smile changing her face from pretty to beautiful. She took his face in her hands, reveling in the rough feel of his jaw beneath her palms, and breathed against his lips, "This isn't love, Zoro." She kissed him, a small nibbling kiss that she deepened slightly. He pulled her closer, feeling how small she was in his arms. She pulled off the black bandana, and ran her fingers through his hair, still damp from his exertions. "This," she said, slipping her hands under his shirt, "is destiny."
They kissed again, and the desire he had been holding back out of respect crashed forward. He wanted to devour her, and she seemed to want to let him, because their clothes became a hindrance. They fell among the sweet grasses, moonlight guiding their hands, as he freed her from her kosode and, beneath that, her binding cloth, and she freed him of his shirt and haramaki. Her tanned skin drank in the moonlight, and he touched her with cautious hands.
"I won't break," she said, laughter in her voice.
He smiled and laid her down gently, his sword-callused hands tracing her ribs and moving up to cup her breasts. She sighed under his hands, and arched slightly. He smiled knowingly, and brushed kisses up her belly, lightly licking her collarbone and nibbling at her throat. She touched his chest, her heart aching when her fingers touched the giant scar on his chest that still hadn't completely healed. He shivered when she touched it, and kissed her hard, pressing her into the grasses until she gasped.
Her hakama fell open easily, more easily than removing Zoro's boots and pants. He swore hotly as she giggled, watching him struggle, then, unable to wait longer, she helped him with impatient hands. They fell back, kissing and touching each other, crushing the sweet grass beneath them and releasing their scent.
Zoro kissed her deeply, and she sighed happily, fitting herself along the length of him.
The moon had moved across the sky a bit, when Zoro pulled Sakura close to him. They watched the cherry flower petals float away on the breeze, giggling slightly whenever one of them stuck to their bodies.
"Zoro," Sakura said into the noisy night, filled with insect song and crashing waves.
"Yes."
"Your wound," she said, huddled close to him and touching the long scar. "It's not healed all the way."
He said curtly, staring resolutely at the sky, "I don't even notice."
"I can heal it," she said, pulling his chin towards her.
"How?"
She grinned at him, kissing him lightly and sitting up. "This may hurt a little." She arched a brow and searched his face for permission. Although suspicious, he nodded slowly.
She closed her eyes and cupped her hands together.
He realized he didn't know what he was getting into when he felt it: a warm liquid sense that tickled his intuition. Her eyes flew open and she pushed the warm sense into his solar plexus. He could feel it rush through his body, healing as it went. It found the scar Mihawk had given him and tingled along the edge of it, burning with intent, and forcing deeper layers of muscle tissue and bone to heal.
How can he move, much less fight like this, Sakura thought, pushing more energy into him. He groaned with the heat, and it attacked his leg wounds too, reconnecting tendons and tissue right.
"Last surge," he heard Sakura murmur, before a lightening hot ball of energy slammed into him and made him scream. It sizzled down all his nerves and healed all his internal wounds, ones he had forgotten about, deep bruises he had never really given time to heal.
Sakura fell back, gasping, and then raised panicked eyes towards the temple. "They're coming," she said, eyes wide. She looked down at Zoro, who was groaning faintly, covering his mouth with her hand. "Shush…" she hissed, "I'm going to make us invisible to them, but you can't move. Don't really breath. Think invisible, okay?"
He nodded, aware that she didn't want them to find them in this state, and perfectly aware he didn't want them to find them in this state. He also realized that he had to be suffering some faint after affects of her healing. He could hear them running towards them, feel their souls rushing forward, Luffy and Sanji in the lead. He could see what Sakura was doing, holding her hands close to her heart, and then spreading them out like she was going to hold them back just like that. A light blue light emerged from the middle of her forehead and formed a bubble, which grew as it came out. It slowly formed around them, around the crushed grasses, and she whispered, "Invisible, think invisible!"
He struggled and thought the word, although having Luffy nearly on top of them made him extremely nervous.
"Do you see him?"
"No," said Sanji, lighting a cigarette.
"That's strange," Luffy said, scratching his head. "Did you hear Zoro scream too?"
Sanji let loose a stream of smoke. "Yes, otherwise I would still be in bed."
"That's very strange," Luffy said, sitting on the grass within touching distance and picking his nose.
"Hmm, well, maybe that guy is somewhere in the woods." Sanji turned and started to wander towards the woods. "He's got a lousy sense of direction…"
"Yosh, let's go look." Luffy stood up, and, for a moment, Zoro cringed to think that he could see them. He looked straight at them, his eyes vaguely narrowed, and then he shrugged. "I dunno."
Both he and Sakura breathed out a sigh of relief, and, when Sakura put down her hand, she looked tired. "Zoro, I have to go to bed now, but I will see you tomorrow."
He nodded and sat up to kiss her forehead. She avoided it, and took advantage of the angle to kiss him on the lips. "Zoro, I may have lied before," she said, picking up her garments. "I said it was just destiny, but, maybe, for me, it's not." She turned quiet golden eyes on him, and kissed him again. "I love you, Roronoa Zoro," she said, looking deep into his startled eyes. And she disappeared.
Shocked, Zoro gaped at the place where he last saw her before realizing that he needed to move. He heard Luffy whine, "I can't find him. Can't we go back to bed?"
He considered his options, and stood up. He paused mid-stance and realized that his body didn't hurt anywhere. In fact, he felt good. He finally understood what Sakura had been saying about his being in pain without realizing it. To have absolutely no pain was a new and welcome sensation. Not even his scar hurt.
He smirked with satisfaction, and ran towards the sound of the shore, dropping his swords and most of his clothes and leaping into the water with nothing but his hastily applied pants on. He splashed around a bit, not going out too far, and struggled back to shore, sopping wet and swearing.
"Oh, there you are," said Sanji, strolling up, his cigarette cherry bright in the darkness.
"Oh, Zoro." Luffy eyed him. "Did you get lost?"
Zoro glared at him. "I hit my foot on some sharp coral."
Sanji and Luffy grinned at him. "Sure, okay," said Luffy, stretching, "Time for bed."
All three walked back, preoccupied with their thoughts. Zoro sighed heavily as he wondered what he should do about Sakura. It was fun and he really liked her, but he wasn't in love with her.
"Sakura-san is a beautiful young lady," Sanji said out of the blue.
Startled, Zoro regarded him warily. "Is she?"
Sanji laughed, ducking his head. "She reminds me of Vivi. They're older than they appear. But, unlike Vivi-chan, Sakura doesn't want or need rescuing."
"You think," Luffy said, hands behind his head as he walked. "She seems lonely to me. But you're right. She is very beautiful. She shines really bright!"
Jealousy unfurled its ugly wings in Zoro's soul, and he said nothing.
Sanji grinned at Luffy. "Luffy, are you going to try and get some?"
Luffy stared blankly back. "Get some what?"
Sanji started, nonplussed, but then threw back his head and laughed. "You'll never change."
"I don't understand," Luffy said in a whiny voice. "What am I supposed to try and get?"
Sanji slapped him on the back. "Lucky, my boy, lucky." He clasped his hands together and nestled them, the heart of love in his eye glowing in the darkness. "Someday, Nami-san will be mine."
Zoro snorted. "You can have her."
Sanji stopped his adoration to glare at him. "What's that supposed to mean, you bastard?"
Zoro didn't reply and kept walking.
"Muscle head, you'd better tell me what you mean," Sanji snarled behind him.
"Hey! What do you mean by 'lucky?' I thought I was lucky. I mean, she fed us lots of food!"
Zoro hit Luffy on the head and wandered ahead. Tomorrow, he thought,
I'll think about this tomorrow.