Hey everybody,

I'm sorry for the delay again. And I won't make new promises -.-'
The truth ist that I'm very busy atm and commuting back and forth between four different places and just not able to take my laptop along most times. The last few weeks/months I have been writing mainly on my phone, but translating just doesn't work because the screen is too small, thus the times I can actually work on this fic have become very rare. But I will repeat what I have said often, the fic is finished and I will translate it (and everything that comes after), so please just bear with me.
Thank you all for your support and your lovely messages!

So, until next time!

Chapter 48 - Sea breeze

-Zoro-

He stretched arms and legs before moving his head from right to left until the bones cracked, then grabbed his clothes and got dressed. It felt strange. Acting smart, he had spent his involuntary stay in this room as Loreen, but now he had transformed and almost missed the sweet pain of exhausted muscles to which he had become accustomed over the past two years. He wondered what else had changed in this regard, but as long as it didn't bother him while fighting, he actually didn't care.

An inner restlessness filled him while he tightened his red sash. At breakfast he had read the newspaper and even if he was a bit annoyed by the Cook's wanted poster – he was sure that his own bounty would soon skyrocket, at the latest when the world would find out that he was actually Lady Loreen and knew of things the World Government certainly did not want to become public – Luffy's broad grin, however, had awakened in him an anticipation that he had almost forgotten the past few days.

When he looked out of the window, he could see a piece of land close to the horizon, caught a stormy cloud anvil, which they were steadily approaching. He had reached Wa No Kuni; thanks to the surprisingly quickly solved problem with Eizen only a few days after the others.

Zoro remembered Kinemon's cautioning words about behaving inconspicuously, and therefore he had decided to leave the war ship and swim the last few feet. Somehow, he would come ashore.

He noted a knock at the door as he left the bathroom, but hardly paid attention to the newcomer, collecting his few things scattered around the room.

"Good morning, I... oh..." Dracule Senior had stopped by – Zoro hadn't seen him since the beginning of their journey, since he hadn't left his room – and now looked at him with wide eyes, as if he had forgotten that his guest was Roronoa Zoro and not Lady Loreen. "I just wanted to suggest that you might want to take your leave, as we do not intend to enter the port, but it seems as if this is not necessary."

Zoro just nodded and walked past the other to his duffel bag, in which he stuffed his other clothes. Mihawk had explained to him quite precisely how he could get into the country – and had pointed out only about ten times that he should not be caught by Kaido's minions, as if Zoro was that stupid – and he had expected that the Marines would not get too close to the by Kaido controlled port.

"Thanks again for the help," he grumbled indifferent as he closed his bag. Looking up, he noticed how the old Marine was still observing him.

"That is my son's scar, isn't it?"

Zoro just nodded and rubbed his left collarbone, grazing his necklace.

"You know this for sure, but you should be proud of this marking."

With another nod, Zoro grabbed his duffel bag and briefly turned to Dracule Senior.

"I have favor to ask," he directly went for it. "I want you to tell Rihaku and whoever the following message."

The soldier crossed his arms.

"Lady Loreen is dead, tell her that."

The other's yellowed eyes widened.

"But... you cannot possibly...?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." With these words, Zoro shouldered his duffel bag and turned to the balcony.

"Wait, Zoro."

He stopped.

"Will you kill my son? When the day comes and you finally offer him the fight he has been expecting for years, will you kill him?"

"Tze," Zoro clicked his tongue without even turning around, "are you still going on about your stupid fate?"

Shaking his head, he sighed and ran through his hair with one hand, touching his earrings.

"Okay, to put this straight, Mihawk and I, we make our own decisions, and as if I were stupid enough to end off the one person who respects sword fighting as much as I do. One single victory will not be enough. I want to fight him a thousand times and to defeat him a thousand times, and I'm not going to let anything happen to this bastard, not even his own stupidity, which he seems to have inherited from his father."

"You are an odd man, Roronoa Zoro. To express such ambitions while you are about to enter Kaido's territory... Are you planning to become a monster just like my son has become? Is that not madness?"

Zoro could not prevent a smile.

"It takes one monster to defeat another," he recalled Shakuyak's words from a long time ago, "and would you really have expected anything less from a crewmember of the future Pirateking?"

With these words, he tore open the door to the balcony and jumped overboard before the soldier could reply anything, his gaze fixed on the land close to the horizon.

I'll go ahead, Luffy! Come soon and bring the stupid Cook!

-Sanji-

Another sigh caught his attention. He considered asking, but after the last two unsuccessful attempts, he should probably leave it be. Quietly he continued to work and tried to ignore the rustling.

His beloved Nami was unfortunately not in a very good mood and even though Sanji loved her heated temper, he did not like her being dissatisfied.

Sanji himself was actually in a great mood. Not only was he finally back with his friends – as if that wasn't enough of a miracle – no, but he had also received a new bounty and finally – finally! – left the freaking Marimo behind! Even the small dampener that the name of his family now adorned his wanted poster could not diminish this triumph.

In addition, the newspaper already titled Luffy as if he were one of the emperors. No, Sanji was in a fantastic mood, especially considering how terrible he had felt just a few days ago. Actually, this feeling was much stronger than the pride about his new bounty, gratitude. He could hardly express it in words – not that anyone wanted to hear those words – but he was incredibly grateful.

At the same time, however, he also felt this shame, these feelings of guilt for what he had said and done. He had thought he would do the right thing, and yet...

"Finally!" Nami groaned behind him, unnerved.

"You found something?" He murmured absently, not daring to turn around. She had forgiven him, but Sanji knew – or at least he feared – that it wasn't so easy just because she had said it.

"Yes, I skimmed through all the newspapers," she grumbled, "and here's finally something."

Now he turned around.

After learning the news from today's newspaper Sanji had decided to prepare lunch, and Nami had accompanied him to check the newspapers of the past few days for clues. Now she sat at the table, next to her a stack of already read newspapers, one spread out in front of her, and one finger quickly running along the characters of the front page.

"And?"

"Eizen was arrested," she murmured without stopping. "Zoro's plan seems to have worked, even though it doesn't really say that much. At least it is explicitly stated that he had planned a coup and was stopped. More details are currently apparently still the subject of investigations."

Sanji swallowed.

"And what about Zoro?" He asked, had to clear his throat because it was so dry. The past few days, he had ended up thinking about that idiot countless times. Not necessarily how he would stumble through Marijoa's corridors as Lady Loreen, but rather what had happened way before that.

Sanji had been angry with Zoro for letting himself be controlled by some stranger, just like Sanji had always been controlled by his father. Sanji had been angry with him because Zoro, who had always thought and talked so straight forward, had let a stranger impose a secret on him, which he had even kept from them, his friends, just like Sanji had always bowed to the secret that his father had forced upon him.

And then he had envied him, for this power, for this strength, for simply breaking the shackles, simply telling the truth, and no longer letting himself be controlled by the power of this secret. Sanji had wanted to face his past like Zoro had done. When he had read the invitation to his own wedding, he had suddenly understood. At that moment, he had understood exactly why Zoro had acted in this way, both at the time at the G-6 and during the days after their reunion.

He had wanted to do the same, thinking he could solve his problems on his own, like Zoro, who had traveled alone to Marijoa. But the truth was that Sanji had acted the same way as Zoro had back then, at the G-6 – he had even written a message, just like Zoro had back then! He really wasn't one bit better – but at that moment Sanji had not realized that. He had thought that he would behave like a responsible adult, behave correctly, had not wanted to make the same mistakes as the others before, but perhaps because he had thought so, because it had been so important to him not to involve the others in his dilemma, maybe that was the reason why he had repeated exactly the same mistakes.

It was a pathetic feeling, maybe that's why he wanted to be so proud of his bounty, because if it hadn't been for Sanji, then they could have helped Zoro in case of doubt, then they could have traveled to Marijoa in case of doubt, then Nami would not sit there now and read one article after another, while they had no idea how Zoro was doing, and Sanji knew why she was so unnerved. It was her typical behavior to suppress her worries because they knew that every new line could reveal that they had lost their swordsman again.

He was ashamed. Zoro had gone alone, while Sanji had to be rescued by Luffy. He was ashamed. Zoro had known about his family and not even questioned why Sanji had begged him not to talk about it, while Sanji hadn't been able to listen to him when Zoro had been willing to tell him the truth. He was ashamed. He had been angry with Zoro because Zoro had allowed himself to be oppressed, just as Sanji had been oppressed by his father's words all his life, while he had acted just the same. He was so ashamed.

But maybe only because this feeling was easier to bear than the others. Of course, he preferred to feel pride and gratitude, but they could not hide the humility and shame. Still, feelings of guilt were much easier to bear than this other feeling, this deep fear, while Nami turned the pages, looking for clues.

Of course, he was also worried about the others, but he trusted each of them to take care of themselves. He knew the Marimo could take care of himself just as well, but it was simply something different and he had seen Zoro's gaze when Hawk Eyes had talked about attacking Marijoa in doubt. Sanji was not so sure whether the Shichibukai was not even the greater danger.

"He's not even mentioned," Nami murmured almost in a hurry and rushed through the next article. "Neither he nor Lady Loreen."

"What?" Sanji crossed his arms. "But even if the Marimo hadn't done anything, Lady Loreen should have at least been..."

"Found something," she interrupted him and looked up briefly, but then she frowned dissatisfied. "Nothing helpful, unfortunately, only that Eizen and Lady Loreen were prepping everything for the Reverie – no wonder, after all it starts the day after tomorrow - but it doesn't say much more."

"Maybe nothing happened," Sanji murmured, even though he didn't believe that. "Maybe Eizen betrayed himself and that idiot moss head didn't have to do anything but continue his act."

"Hm," she hummed, not very convinced, and continued her search.

Sanji returned to his work. According to Nami, they were supposed to reach Wa No Kuni within the next few days, but what would happen if the Marimo wouldn't show up?

Actually, it surprised him that Luffy apparently didn't worry about that at all. So far, he had followed each of them, regardless of whether they had wanted him to or not. He had even followed Sanji! But with Zoro, of all people, the one they had already lost once, he didn't even seem to think about it. Once again, Sanji didn't understand him. They didn't even know what had happened, whether Zoro was...

"Oh! Finally!" He looked up. For the first time, Nami didn't sound as irritated as the past few hours. When he looked over at her, she was rubbing her face and leaning even further over the newspaper. "Mystery about Lady Loreen, accomplice or victim? Hm... hm... hm... No clear answer about her role and whereabouts... According to several witnesses, she was present during Eizen's arrest in the late evening... that night a doctor was called... Room was vacated the next day... No further details from official side... possibly evacuated... that's it. That's all there is."

She turned the page, looking for more hints, while Sanji pondered over the quoted words.

"Do you think we can believe that?" He murmured as he brought the many different snacks to the table and then sat down with her. "So, Eizen was arrested a few days ago, that seems coherent. But what does it mean that no one knows where Lady Loreen is at the moment?"

"That's actually quite obvious," replied Nami, still reading articles at breathtaking speed. "There are only three possibilities. Zoro has been captured, killed, or has left Marijoa. Oh, come on, all these reports are just repeating each other. How can they say so little with so many words."

Sanji stared at her as she got upset about the newspaper. How could she just...? No, he knew exactly why. They had talked too many times about Zoro's death, and she was right. Those were the three options and they all seemed possible.

But then he noted something else.

"If Eizen has already been arrested, shouldn't the newspaper today at the latest mention if Hawk Eyes had attacked Marijoa? This guy seems obsessed with the Marimo and will certainly have reacted immediately if he doesn't hear from him..."

"There won't be anything about him in the newspaper." Nami folded up the newspaper and looked at Sanji with a slight shrug of her shoulders: "If Marijoa had fallen, we wouldn't have opened the headline today. That means Marijoa is still standing, so Hawk Eyes either didn't attack or..."

"... he has failed," Sanji said. "But why wouldn't they report that? Wouldn't it be a display of their power if they..."

"Sanji, think about it," she sighed. "The Reverie is the day after tomorrow, a demonstration of their authority. What would it say about the World Government if, just a few days earlier, a Shichibukai, who is supposedly loyal, rebelled? So soon after one of their own politicians attempted a coup? No, if he attacked and failed, if they captured him, they would probably only publish it after the Reverie or maybe not at all, who knows."

Sanji crossed his arms. "But then why are they publishing Eizen's attempted coup?"

She shrugged her shoulders again.

"I don't know. Perhaps he had been a thorn in their side for a long time. Maybe they don't want him to take credit for the Reverie, or whatever. But just the fact that Hawk Eyes is not mentioned is no lead for us." She lowered her gaze. "From these articles, it is impossible to say what has happened to Zoro."

"Fuck," Sanji grumbled and rubbed his temples, feeling his eyes burn. "But what can we do now? Should we really just travel to Wa No? Shouldn't we...?"

He interrupted himself when Nami laughed softly. "Believe me, Sanji, I tried to talk with Luffy about that. For half an hour I tried to discuss with him what we would do if we wouldn't find anything about Zoro's whereabouts. But he didn't want to hear about it – you know how he always is – so we travel to Wa No Kuni. Captain's order." Sanji watched Nami drive through her face and hair. "Geez, when all of this is over, I really need a few days off."

While he got up, he could only agree.

"I'll fetch everyone to eat something, would you be kind enough to set the table," he murmured, whereupon she just nodded and cleared away the newspapers.

He did not like to impose such a work on Nami, but he was also grateful, because while he ran across the deck and asked the others to come inside and eat, he found Luffy at his favorite spot on the figurehead, who did not come, although he must have heard Sanji.

So, Sanji went to him.

"Hey captain, don't you want to eat anything?" Normally, Luffy would jump up by now and hurl Sanji towards the galley, but he didn't and for a moment Sanji almost feared that Luffy was angry with him. But then he saw that Luffy grinned broadly, just as he always grinned when he was really happy. For a moment, Sanji followed his gaze towards the bright blue sea, but could not see anything that could have caused this joy.

Shaking his head, he leaned against the railing and lit a cigarette. Sometimes he just didn't understand his captain. Not always, most of the time Luffy was an open book and absolutely predictable, but sometimes there were those moments when Sanji absolutely couldn't judge him. Sometimes he just didn't understand him.

He found it hard to understand why Luffy acted the way he did. Why had he followed Sanji, but didn't want to go after Zoro? Why had he messed with Sanji in a way that had torn his heart apart, but had stayed out of the conflict with the Marimo? Why had he only intervened when someone else had said something, but had not even held Zoro accountable? Why had he shouted all these things at Sanji, but defended Zoro? Sanji didn't understand it, he just didn't understand it.

"Say," he murmured, "shouldn't we make a detour to Marijoa before Wa No Kuni?"

"Huh? Nope, why should we?" Luffy replied in his lighthearted way and looked briefly at Sanji.

He rolled his eyes.

"Well, to look after the Marimo," he grumbled. "After all, we have no idea what he's..."

"Zoro's fine."

That's it. That was his whole reaction. A simple he's fine, that's it. Somehow it reminded Sanji of that time. Back when he had told Luffy that Zoro had died and the days after, when Luffy had repeatedly stated in these simple words and this innocent voice that Zoro was alive. He sounded just like then and just like back then, it made Sanji furious.

"Aren't you worried?" He asked, trying to stay calm.

"No," came the almost expected answer.

"Why?" Sanji shook his head. "Seriously, Luffy, I don't get it. You're following me, even though I'm leaving you a damn note and even though you had no reason to think I'd be in trouble, but Zoro – who we don't know nothing about except that he's in a really shitty situation right now – you don't want to help him? You want to leave him alone? Why? Why are you doing this? Why don't you want to help Zoro?"

He almost regretted that he couldn't bite his tongue, but damn it, this whole situation reminded him of Hawk Eyes' words and his own doubts before Zoro had initiated them. Luffy was the captain, it was his job to protect the crewmembers, and yes, the Marimo might be some freaking idiot who was strong enough to handle a lot of shit on his own, and yes, he seemed to have landed himself a fucking Shichibukai as watchdog, but still they couldn't just...

"Zoro doesn't want us to help him, so that's okay," Luffy replied with a broad grin, not even noticing Sanji's dissatisfaction.

"It's not!" Sanji disagreed. "Luffy, just because he said that doesn't mean he..."

"It wasn't easy for Zoro."

These words made Sanji freeze. What did Luffy mean by that? Back then he had interrupted Sanji when he had attacked Zoro, was Luffy mad at him? Would he now lecture Sanji for approaching a crewmember like this?

"I think he was a little bored – not that he complained – because I never left him the stronger opponents." Now Luffy puffed up his cheeks and scoffed slightly. "On the other hand, I also wanted to have fun and it's not my fault if Zoro always gets lost and therefore always misses the best fights. Besides, I'm the Captain, I want to fight against the strongest."

"O... kay," Sanji murmured, not really sure where this was going. "But what does that have to do with... ?"

Now Luffy grinned at him.

"Zoro told me that he will have the fun of his life on Marijoa. He hasn't really enjoyed the past fights and I've always fought against the strongest opponents, although he certainly wanted to as well. It would be unfair of me to travel to Marijoa and take that fun away from him." Now Luffy sighed softly before he crossed his arms and pressed a finger against his temple, as if following complicated trains of thought. "I'm a bit jealous that Hawkguy could be there and I couldn't, but we'll floor Kaido together and then that's okay. The main thing is that Zoro had a lot of fun and could fight for real again."

Sanji did not understand.

"Luffy, of course, I also like to fight. But this is not about an exciting fight. It could be that Zoro is currently hold captive in a dungeon or being executed. We have to..."

"Mhmh," Luffy shook his head and looked at Sanji so innocently again.

Zoro knows that we want to go there, so I'm sure he'll meet us there. And then we can give him his swords back.

Zoro is alive! I know it!

But he's alive!

He meant, until he comes home, because he will come home.

Sanji noticed how something broke open within him that had become a hard stone over the past few years.

"You're not just saying that, are you?" He murmured. "You don't just think Zoro is fine. You know, don't you?"

Now Luffy beamed with happiness as if Sanji had just brought him his favorite meat.

"Of course," he laughed. "Zoro is strong and when he gets something in his head, he pulls it off. He said we'll meet again on Wa No Kuni, so we will."

Absolute trust.

Sanji didn't know why, but that right there was absolute trust between these two that he could only envy them for. There it was again, this strange behavior. The way Luffy talked about Zoro, the way Zoro spoke to Luffy. The way they knew things about each other without them even being mentioned once. Sanji didn't really know what it was exactly, but the only explanation he could think of was absolute trust.

But at the same time, it was precisely this thought that gave him a bitter aftertaste. If Luffy believed Zoro's words, did not doubt him one bit, trusted him absolutely, but had come after Sanji contrary to his words, then that also meant...

"That's why I came to pick you up," Luffy continued, raising his head to the sky. "Zoro didn't want me to come to Marijoa." Then Luffy looked over at him again and smiled. "You, on the other hand, said that we should leave you alone, but you wanted me to come after you."

His eyes burned as Luffy smiled at him so honestly, and Sanji lowered his gaze with trembling lips. His words from back then echoed through his head when he had yelled at Luffy and attacked him, insulted him, said all these things he had never wanted to say.

"You didn't believe a single word, did you?" He asked. "You knew I was lying?"

Luffy laughed softly while Sanji struggled with tears.

"Shishishi, sometimes you're pretty stupid, Sanji. Of course, you wanted to travel with us, after all, you want to find the All Blue."

His tears triumphed. But he didn't want to be overtaken by them.

"That's why," he grumbled and rubbed them away, unsuccessfully, as new ones kept coming. "That's why you didn't do anything about Zoro, right? Because you knew he would somehow manage? And that's why you didn't blame me for arguing with him?"

Luffy just laughed in response but fell silent when Nami called them. The next moment he jumped up and rushed towards the galley.

"Wait, Luffy!" Sanji grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back, now again in control of his feelings. "So in plain language, the Marimo is fine?"

Luffy grinned at him as his feet continued walking and his body stretched longer and longer.

"How do you know that?" Sanji followed up.

"How do I know what?"

"That he's fine?"

Now Luffy tilted his head slightly.

"Well, because it's Zoro. He had a lot of fun at Marijoa and now he's waiting for us on Wa No Kuni, along with the others, as he said."

For a moment they just looked at each other, then Sanji let go of his captain's collar and he flew forward like a stretched rubber band, slammed up the stairs to the galley.

"I'm sorry I doubted your words," he murmured softly, then looked up at a few white cottony clouds in the sky. "Well, see you on Wa No, you complete idiot of an algae. Don't do anything stupid till then, hear me?"

"Sanji, come on!"