They soon had the Going Merry turned around, heading back along their prior route. The storm hadn't blown them too far off course, so with the wind on their side they would return to where the storm had first hit before sunset. Back in the Far North, the danger of typhoons was present again, but Nami made no mention of it, and Usopp, though he kept glancing at the sky, said nothing.

While Nami kept watch in the crow's nest and Usopp retreated below deck to check for storm damage, Zoro stood on the bow, looking out over the figurehead at the spray tossed up by the rushing water. The ocean mirrored the azure sky, scattered with white clouds but no sign of another storm. On another day, he would have stretched out on the deck and grabbed a few winks under the sun, but now he watched the sea flowing past under them. He noticed what Nami had mentioned before, the change in color as they reentered the current, the colder water a darker, purer blue. Gulls soared and swooped around them, calling shrilly, and he spotted a pod of porpoises in the distance.

He probably wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway, even though his head was still aching. The ship was too damn quiet. He was used to noise, Usopp's prattling and Sanji offering snacks, Nami asking for some favor or other and Luffy goofing off. But Nami wasn't shouting anything down from her look-out, and Usopp only came up to fetch tools in silence. Lunchtime came and went and the ship continued to plow through the waves; Zoro frowned when his stomach growled, recalled he had never gotten breakfast after all. He thought he had smelled something cooking but hadn't gone to investigate. He didn't look away from the blue water now, elbows on the rail and cool spray on his face.

The orange sun was a couple hands' breadths above the horizon when Nami, after peering through one of her instruments and comparing the angle of the sun, announced, "We're here." She tipped the helm and called for Usopp to loosen the sails, putting them in a wide, slow circle on the flat sea. Then she joined Zoro on the bow, leaning on the rail on the opposite side of the figurehead. "The map is pretty detailed," she said quietly, hiding her hands in the long sleeves of her windbreaker. "Even for someone who could swim, there'll be no rocks or anything to go to; the ocean floor's a thousand fathoms beneath us."

Zoro lifted his shoulders, let them drop. "So?"

Usopp's boots clopped on the deck as he jumped down from the mast. "I didn't see anything out there," he said, flipping up his goggles and shaking his head. "The water's calm all around. --Of course that doesn't mean nothing," he added with a hasty chuckle. "Especially if it were a flying ship--"

"Oh, shut up about that ship!" Nami snapped, and then shut her own mouth fast enough to bite off her tongue.

Zoro eyed them while the pause stretched into yet more uncomfortable silence, thinking that this was just about the time Luffy would pop up with something entirely inane to add to the conversation and bridge this gap. That his absence was the cause of this division would have been an amusing irony, if it hadn't been so damned annoying.

"Sorry," Usopp mumbled at last, staring down at his boots.

"I'm sorry," Nami said in return, almost under her breath, and Zoro noiselessly sighed in relief. Swordmastery was good for cutting things apart, not so much for mending.

"We'll keep looking around until sunset, then drop anchor. Probably won't be able to find anything in the dark," he said.

"Even if it's not dark," Nami began, then stopped and looked behind them. Zoro heard the cabin door creak open, and Sanji emerged, neatly attired in his usual suit but still too pale and looking not quite certain on his feet, for all that his sea legs were the most confident of any of them.

"Sanji-kun," Nami said, hurrying over.

"I'm fine, Nami-san," Sanji assured her. He let her take his arm, but then, Zoro would have been more concerned if he had refused. "It's about time to start dinner."

"That's okay," Nami said. "We'll handle that for tonight."

"I was already planning--"

"It's okay, Sanji," Usopp chimed in. "There's some leftovers, right? That'll be fine. We won't need as much as we usually..." He gulped, halting midsentence and midstep, frozen on the deck.

"Actually, Sanji-kun," Nami said, with such delicate sincerity that Zoro's hair would have curled, had it been long enough, "there's a big favor you could do for me. The storm threw all my papers and charts around in my desk; if you could get it back in order for me as soon as possible, that would be wonderful."

"Neaten your desk? Of course, Nami-san! I'll organize it with all my heart!" With a fair approximation of his usual zeal, Sanji disappeared back inside the cabin.

Nami shut the door behind him. "Maybe reading some of those papers will put him to sleep. Works for me."

Zoro eyed her askance. "Why're you worrying? He's not made of glass. He's been battered by worse than a storm." When Nami didn't reply, he frowned. "What happened to Sanji?"

Nami returned to the railing, gazed down at the water. "He tried," she said. "Sanji-kun saw Luffy go over, he dove off the mast after him. By the time Usopp and I figured out what was going on--the water was wild in the typhoon, and it was so dark, I don't even know how you could tell which way the surface was, under it. Sanji-kun would come up, and then go down again, every time for longer. He went as deep as he could dive, he wasn't even thinking about how much air he'd need to swim back up."

Her voice had dropped, until it was almost too low to hear. "There was the current, too, it was pulling him away, and it's cold, Zoro. You can feel it on the ship, how the breeze is chilly--it's supposed to be tropical around here, but that water's only just above freezing. If we were any further north there'd be icebergs. We lost sight of Sanji-kun altogether, and then Usopp somehow spotted him off the stern--I was at the helm, I could barely keep us turned into the wind so it wouldn't tear us apart, and there's no way we could've gone back. But Usopp just threw himself over the rail and started swimming, even though the waves were big enough to smash--"

"Don't say it like that," Usopp said, raising his eyes from deck, his brows drawn down and angry. "I'd tied a rope around me, don't make it sound like it was something heroic. If I hadn't reached him when the rope ran out I'd have swum back, it was just lucky he got washed close enough for me to grab him. I didn't even know what was going on at first, and by the time I figured out Luffy was gone, I couldn't do anything."

"You saved Sanji-kun," Nami said. "If it had been any longer--he wasn't breathing, when I pulled them up. He was freezing, and he wasn't breathing, and I thought he wasn't going to start again, it took so long. When he finally did, he wouldn't wake up, and he still felt like ice, it took forever for him to warm up. And he won't tell me now, but I'm pretty sure he cracked a couple ribs. You guys pretend nothing hurts you, but you're human, after all. You can't just walk away from everything.

"If he blames himself, if you do anything to make Sanji-kun think he could've done more, so help me, Zoro... You didn't see how close it was. We might have lost--both--"

"But we didn't," Zoro said, flatly. "We didn't lose anyone." He turned to watch the red sun slip into the sea, edging the clouds above in scarlet and lilac. He had slept through yesterday's sunset; in passing he wondered if it had been as beautiful as this one.

He could feel Nami readying a response, braced to strike him, though from her stance it would be with words, not her hand. But at the last minute she pulled back, shook her head and walked away.

Dinner was as unnaturally quiet as the rest of the day. Sanji's leftovers were better than most cooks' seven course meals, but the way the others chewed they might have been eating boiled leather with a mud garnish. Halfway through, Zoro took his bowl and returned to the bow. It was getting dark, but if there were anything to see he didn't want to miss it.

Much later, when the stars behind the thin veil of fog gleamed on the shimmering water, and the half moon was nearly set, he climbed up to the crow's nest. As he suspected, Usopp was snoring, head propped up on his folded arms. Zoro nudged him with a sheath; his crewmate awoke with a start as his chin slid off its support and bumped the rail. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes, mumbled, "Up, I'm up, was just exercising my eyelids--"

"Go sleep," Zoro told him. "I'll take over."

Usopp nodded, yawning. "Want me to spell you in a couple hours?"

"I'll be okay." He had slept plenty the night before, while he suspected Usopp and Nami had gotten none. She had retired to her cabin already, after seeing that Sanji was settled for the night. Though the blond might protest he needed no coddling, he wouldn't dream of getting up from the bed--or hammock, as it were--that Nami-san had tucked him into. Ridiculous though she was being about it, Zoro had to admit he preferred Sanji to look a little less drawn. It gave him a starved look that was unseemly in a cook.

"Zoro." Usopp had paused on the first step of the ladder, his head a dark silhouette against the stars. "I haven't seen anything--not that that means anything. But we might...eventually...if there's nothing..."

Zoro settled himself on the rail, adjusting his swords so they wouldn't bang against the mast. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't want to think about it either," Usopp said, "but even I can't run away forever."

"No one's running from anything," Zoro said, irritably, shifting so that his hand came to rest on the hilt of his white sword.

Usopp's laugh had that same false nervousness that had grated that morning. "No, of course not, no," he blathered, and made his escape down the ladder, calling back up, "'Night, Zoro."

Zoro grunted a reply that probably went unheard over the wind, leaned back and crossed his arms, staring across the dark expanse of the empty ocean.

* * *

As unfamiliar as silence was, Zoro decided by midmorning, almost silence was even more aggravating.

He was accustomed to whispers--not with the crew, but in towns where his three swords and haramaki were recognized, he often heard mutters and mumbles behind his back, stifled should he turn their way. On the Going Merry, however, he wasn't used to such caution; certainly no one cared if they disturbed his repose, regardless of his reputation. It wasn't like they weren't all sailing with one of the most wanted men in the East Blue. But Nami had joined Usopp on the lower decks in the morning, and then both of them had followed Sanji into the kitchen, where he was making sure nothing too terrible had occurred without his attendance. Zoro had heard the low murmur of their voices for an hour now, but never loud enough to make out more than a word here and there.

He didn't bother thinking about it, until he heard Usopp say, more distinctly since he was by the open window, "Cocoyashi", and the name of Nami's hometown should not have disturbed him as much as it did.

When he entered the mess, his crewmates' heads all came up, mouths snapping shut, with their expressions bizarrely guilty. "Shouldn't you be keeping watch?" he asked Usopp, who ducked his head; then he looked to Nami, "And what about navigation?"

She didn't flinch. "The wind's even and we're on a steady course. It's not like we're going anywhere as it is."

"Where should we be going?"

Nami stood to face him. Even in heels the top of her head only came up to his ear, but she angled her chin so that she appeared to be staring down at him. "We're going to have to decide that sooner or later, aren't we?"

"What's to decide?" Zoro could see Usopp shrinking back minutely, could see Sanji twitch as he readied himself to defend Nami. As if she needed defense. "We're going to the Grand Line, aren't we?"

"Are we?"

"Luffy--"

"Isn't here, Zoro. There's no sign of him and we can't just keep sailing in circles forever--"

"Just until we find something," Zoro said. "And if we don't--we keep going to the Grand Line. He'll know to find us there." Even Luffy couldn't miss the Grand Line. Once on it...well, they would work something out.

His head was still aching a little, a dull throbbing. The brightness of the sun when he went back out on the deck didn't help that any. Shading his eyes with one hand, he returned to watching the sea.

The others remained inside. Bits and pieces of quiet conversation sounded across the waves, but there were long lulls of nothing, save the rattling of Sanji's pots and utensils as he threw himself back into his cooking. Usopp eventually climbed up to the crow's nest, but shouted down no reports of anything, and Zoro himself saw nothing across the water but the steep undulation of the waves.

Come on, Luffy, he berated his absent captain. We don't have the time for this. You're not the only one after the One Piece, after all; who knows who might find it first, if they didn't get moving? There were a lot of damn powerful people on the Grand Line already.

Besides, the rest of the crew misses you. Ships needed navigators and mechanics and cooks to sail, but without a captain there wasn't a crew at all, just people on a boat.

Odd how Luffy, who could get lost walking a straight line, was the only one who really understood where they were going--not that he knew the way, but without him everyone seemed to be forgetting the destination.

Just get back soon, Zoro silently insisted. Before we're all lost.

* * *

The mess smelled strongly of tobacco that evening, even with the sea breeze blowing through the open window. Sanji was usually careful about his cigarette supply, hoarding what he had unless he was certain the next island they came to would have a shop, but he was shaking out the last of a pack when Zoro entered.

"Don't tell Nami-san," the cook requested, glancing in his direction. "She asked me to cut down a little."

Which only made sense, considering what nearly drowning must do to your lungs, but Sanji could take care of himself. "You might want to get rid of those, then," Zoro remarked, nodding to the two emptied packs already on the counter by the cutting board. Sanji swept them into the trash with a quick wave of his arm, a magic trick performed only just in time before Nami entered, Usopp behind her. If she gave Sanji a furtive look of concern, it was quick enough that by the time the cook turned back around she was seating herself at the table, seemingly intent on the place settings. Simpler than Sanji's usual, for all he had been in here puttering all day, just bowls and spoons, and a steaming tureen of soup in the middle of the table.

"Vegetable curry noodles tonight," Sanji announced, as he began serving. The tureen looked far too tiny compared to their normal fare, but he filled the four bowls with plenty to spare.

"Thank you, Sanji-kun," Nami nodded politely, and took a bite.

If Zoro hadn't been looking at her, he would have missed the expression which crossed her face before she swallowed. He frowned. That was not the usual look of delight when one was eating Sanji's meals.

Usopp piled in a couple spoonfuls, then gulped and grimaced, reaching for his tankard. "Kinda salty, isn't it?"

Sanji's head jerked up from where he had been contemplating the grain of the wooden tabletop. "What?"

"I mean, er--it's just, I'm not used to curry--" Usopp backpedaled rapidly under Sanji's eye, but the blond's stare wasn't anger.

Zoro took a taste, set down his spoon. "What the hell, cook, did you forget where your ashtray was?" Which maybe was a little harsh; he had eaten much worse at reputable restaurants, but they had standards, and anyone's palate would go gourmet after a few days of Sanji's cooking--except Luffy's, who appreciated any food, not to mention quite a bit that wasn't considered edible by most standards.

Nami's heel came down onto his foot, hard enough that his teeth clenched, only just missing his tongue. "It's fine, Sanji-kun," she said with a smile that was almost convincing.

But Sanji was already tasting it for himself, spit his mouthful out with an expression of horror that would have been funny if he hadn't gone white as he had been yesterday morning. "I'm sorry, Nami-san," he said, bowing his head as if he were apologizing for murdering her sister.

"Sanji-kun, it's all right--"

"It's not," Sanji said, flatly, but the lack of emotion in that monotone was belied when he kicked up, sharply, flipping the table into the air. The soup went flying, bowls smashing to shards, and the metal tureen thudded upside down among the wreckage, spattering noodles across the floorboards. The other three, barely springing back in time as the table crashed down over it all, gaped at the mess, and then at the cook.

Sanji seemed the most surprised of any of them, his mouth open in shock, panting for breath as if he had been fighting. At last he straightened up, adjusting the collar of his pinstripe shirt. "The old fart would never let me get away with serving that kind of slop," he said steadily.

"I thought Zeff didn't like food to be wasted, either," Usopp murmured, lifting up his foot to shake off the noodles adhering to his boot.

There was a roaring in Zoro's ears, like the thunder of the sea in the storm. "You're not cooking for Zeff," he said. "This is the Going Merry, not that damn restaurant."

"But when I go back to Baratie--"

"Why would you be going back?" They were all staring at him now instead of Sanji. "We're staying here until we find Luffy, and then we're going to the Grand Line."

"The longer we stay here," Nami said, "the higher the chances are we'll be hit by another typhoon. I don't know if the ship can handle it--we're still damaged, aren't we, Usopp?"

The long-nosed man nodded. "I've patched everything up, but it'd be easier to make repairs if we were anchored."

"There's an island about a day from here, if we make good time. We should start heading there tonight. And once the Going Merry's fixed, we can all decide--"

"There is nothing to decide," Zoro stated. Luffy was their captain; the decisions ultimately were his. Until they found him there were none to be made.

So why were they all gawking at him now like he was the crazy one?

He realized that somewhere along the line his hand had come to rest on the sword hilts at his belt. There was reassurance in the solid reality of the metal and polished wood grips, counter to the doubtful uncertainty in his crewmates' expressions. Steel couldn't betray, not like a living person could.

"We're staying here," he said. "I'm going back on deck to search." As he did. If there were whispers behind him, they mattered no more than the wash of the waves against the hull.


to be continued...

Stormy weather online as well...meant to post the next chapter several days ago, had to wait for ff.net to settle down. But you get a longer chapter than I was planning, for your patience. Glad people are reading! Reviews make my day. And my characterizations are approved of...keeping in character is my top goal in fic-writing, and I'm doing my best with these guys. Even if the situation is not the norm...