By AstroKender
Warnings: ANGST! Oh sweet, overwhelming angst!Also, written in a fair rush without a beta, grammer mistakes may abound.
Notes: Wow, this chapter has nearly impossible to write. Took forever really, and I already had the basics of it typed in. But to reward the loyal reader for their wait I present a nice, extra-long chapter (with the warning that it will be another long wait before then next chapter is out)
Feedback: there is an annoying button at the bottom of the screen just begging to be punched.
Disclaimers: One Piece belongs to Eichiro Oda, 4kids and various other affiliates. I don't own em, I don't make money off em, I just play with them.
Chapter 11
"Enough, Sanji..." Luffy panted as he collapsed onto the ground. "I can't go any further."
Hearing his captain's defeated words, Sanji realized that they had wasted too much time; Luffy would go no further unless physically forced. His own energy draining, Sanji quickly dispatched the last of their attackers with a firm kick upside the head before folding in on himself. Resting his hands on his own wobbly knees was the only way the cook could keep himself from joining in Luffy's full sprawl upon the ground.
"It's just a little further." The blonde promised as he gasped for breath. "We were just unlucky, running into that mob. It should be easy going from here."
Luffy only groaned in reply as a horrific growl reverberated through the air. The dark-haired boy grabbed his stomach and rolled mindlessly from one side to the other and back again.
"I can't..." he whined. "I'm too hungry to move."
Sanji fought down a wave of irritation that he knew was misplaced. After all, they both were exhausted. Dozens of bruises and scratches covered the two from trying to navigate through the scraggly underbrush in the dark. Both of them were completely painted in mud from numerous tumbles into sinkholes and hidden marshes. And now the bodies of nearly at least eight men lay in various poses of unconsciousness around them.
In short, this wasn't one of their better days.
But, regardless of their own aches and pains, there were those that needed their help right now. The cook knew that they couldn't afford to be lying around while it was clear the Going Merry was under attack. The others wouldn't be able to surpass a mob that size; not without their three strongest fighters.
"If any of those bastards harms even one hair on Miss Nami or Vivi, I will personally sink this entire island myself." Sanji muttered through clenched teeth as he tried to massage the cramp from his lower back.
"Wha?" Luffy mumbled tiredly as he let out a jaw-cracking yawn.
"Nothing." Sanji straightened and approached his drifting captain.
"Come on, Luffy. We have to keep going."
"But Sanji..." His name came out a pitiful whine.
"But nothing! You're ship and crew are being attacked, Captain!" the blonde snapped, his nerves frayed to the breaking point.
Sanji's patience stretched only so far with Luffy's childish complaints even on a normal day. And then either Zoro or Nami would normally be the one to whip the rubber-boy into shape. But neither of them were conveniently here at the moment. So that left Sanji to be the motivator.
A job in which he was failing at, miserably, he realized, as Luffy refused to budge.
Luffy draped an arm over his eyes carelessly. "I trust everyone." He spoke with his own easy-going conviction. "They won't let anything happen to the Going Merry. So just let me rest here a minute, kay?" the rubber-boy let out another huge yawn. "Besides, Zoro's with them and he's strong."
"He's also poisoned and has more holes in him than one of Usopp's target discs!" Sanji shouted, more than mildly irritated at the tide of worry that arose in his subconscious as those words left his lips. Sure, the green-headed idiot was a pain in the ass, but...well...if he died...
If he died...
"Get up damn it!" Sanji tugged harshly on Luffy's arm and growled as it merely stretched like a roll of dough.
Luffy peered up at him with big black eyes as he idly scratched his nose. "You mentioned something about that poison thing before." The dark-haired boy's eyes nearly crossed as he tried to pull up the memories of a mere two hours before. It was a lost cause, however, and after a moment Luffy gave Sanji an apologetic shrug.
"Does Zoro have a stomachache? Did you put something in his food?" Luffy grinned, remembering all the previous threats the cook had made against the swordsman before.
"No, you idiot! Weren't you even listening before?" Sanji rubbed his eyes in exhaustion, both physical and mental. "That grease guy you were fighting has the Devil's Fruit ability to poison somebody and he did it to Zoro. But that piece of slime can also create the antidote that would cure him."
Luffy smacked his fist into his upraised palm as he sat up, suddenly enlightened. "Ah, so it's a mystery grease." He stated, showing that he clearly had no clue what was going on.
"Ye-I mean, no!" Sanji felt the gears in his head grinding to a halt. "Listen, we got to find that bastard so we can get the antidote to Chopper!" Zoro's only got until sunrise, Sanji's fists clenched in dread. That's only a few hours away...
"But I thought we were going to the ship. That grease guy ain't gonna be there."
"Of course we're going to the-wait." The blonde halted in mid-speech. "How do you know that?"
"Cause I heard him say so." Luffy answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Sanji's mind raced forward as it quickly assimilated this new tidbit of information. Even if they did find Uragi, neither of them were in any shape to take the bounty hunter on. What they needed was some hefty back up. With Zoro out of commission, the Straw Hat Crew had lost one of their key powerhouses. If there was any chance in defeating Uragi and getting that cure for Zoro, they absolutely needed Luffy in top form. And if Sanji didn't get some food into Luffy, it wouldn't matter how many reinforcements they brought.
Food and rest and probably medical treatment; all of these required time that they simply did not have.
Sanji shook his head as he realized he was wasting time just standing there and brooding about wasting time. Heaving a mall sigh of resignation, the blonde squatted down by his captain. Luffy's head tilted as he stared back at him, his eyes showing curiosity even through his weariness. Sanji managed to call up a crooked grin even as his body desperately craved a dose of nicotine.
"Hey, you stay here and rest, and I'll go scout ahead and make sure we don't run into anymore of those villagers. When I get back we'll go to the ship and I'll cook you something, deal?"
"Really?" Luffy's eyes lit up in joy.
Sanji shook a finger under the boy's nose. "Yeah. But, no complaints and no more stopping!" the blonde demanded, his voice firm as he rose to his feet. "I'll be back in just a few minutes so gather your strength. If I end up having to carry you back, I'll put you on a meat-free diet for a month!"
Luffy gulped audibly at this threat and watched with wide eyes as the cook disappeared from view. The rubber-boy heard the sound of rattling bushes and muffled curses fade as the distance widened between the two.
As he sat there in the dark, Luffy idly wondered why Zoro hadn't told him he had a stomachache.
VVOOOVV
"Usopp! What do you think you're doing?" Nami cried as she watched the sharpshooter warily rise to his feet. Bent low, Usopp slowly carefully made his way over to the main mast, wincing every time a bullet whizzed by a little too close for comfort.
"Like you said, Zoro's gonna be target practice." He called back as one hand reached out for the first rung of the mast's built-on ladder. "I've got to do something."
"I told you your pachinko balls are going to be as effect as spit balls to those people!" Nami shouted as Usopp began to scale the mast.
"Do you have a better, idea? Or do you just want to watch as Zoro gets shot...again?"
That one hit a nerve and it was all Nami could do not to climb up the mast after the long-nosed boy and shove her staff where the sun didn't shine. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she watched idly as Chopper rushed to Vivi's side to check on Carue, who still hadn't regained consciousness. What could they possibly do that would be any real help to that green-haired fool?
"Of course!" Nami nearly smacked herself in the head. Their ship had a cannon, didn't it? Since they'd only used it a few times, the navigator often forgot it was there. Not taking the time to inform the others of her plan-after all Zoro had to be almost to shore by now-Nami's bare feet slapped against the deck as she ran full throttle towards the stairs leading down into the ship's hull.
Through a small shaft in the fore of the bow lay the ship's small armory. A single cannon, a half-empty box of gunpowder and a pile of dusty cannon balls. There were five cannonballs in total, plus a sixth that was already loaded into the cannon in case of an emergency.
The navigator was sure that there were more cannonballs in the storage room, but Nami knew for a fact she wouldn't be able to drag even one back to the armory. Indeed, she doubted she had the strength to even reload the cannon after firing the first shot.
"So one shot, huh?" Nami murmured as she rolled up the sleeves of her pajamas. "I'd better make it count, then."
Staring at the cannon, however, the redhead realized something. The cannon was pointing the wrong direction. Out to sea, rather than towards the shore.
"Shit."
VVOOOVV
The water was cold. Colder than would be expected in a temperate climate such as this. The swords strapped to his hands made swimming difficult as Zoro struggled to find a stroke that wouldn't make him inadvertently maim himself. The tide was strong, and threatened to pull him deep under its opaque depths.
The telltale cracking of rifles filtered through the swordsman's waterlogged hearing, pointing him in the correct direction as he let the larger waves push him closer to shore. Blinking the salt from his eyes, Zoro could blearily see the line of torches dotting the dune's peak. The villagers were commanding higher ground, giving them an advantage against attack. Zoro would have to play his game just right to keep himself from getting shot.
Again.
Thinking of his wounds only brought them to Zoro's attention. They hurt like hell. Stinging, as they soaked in their saltwater bath. If the green-haired man were lucky, the scent of his blood wouldn't draw any sharks that may be gliding around close to shore.
Funny, for some reason Zoro didn't feel particularly lucky today.
Thankfully, the swordsman drew close to the shore without anything trying to leave a toothy impression on him. After a few more healthy pushes from the sea, Zoro's foot grazed the sandy bottom of the ocean's bed. Heaving himself forward took some effort, but at least he wasn't wearing all that much clothing that would have weighed him down even further. Legs like jelly, Zoro fought his way out of the surf.
The harsh breeze coming off the water hit him like a hammer, creating chill bumps all up and down his body. The sky above was darkening with storm clouds, blending in with the ground below and obscuring the horizon. Zoro wondered how the mob could even manage to hit the Going Merry, but a quick glance back showed the ship's lanterns burning like a homing beacon for the enemy's bullets.
Bah. Idiots.
Even at a distance, Zoro could pinpoint the exact second that the villagers caught sight of him, emerging from the foam like some ancient ocean god coming to show his wrath for disturbing the peace of the sea. Indeed, at that point the sky released a terrific bolt of lightning that stuck the dark waters off in the distance, providing a nice touch to ominous air Zoro had hoped to create. If he could just get these idiots to run away, he wouldn't have to waste the time trying not to kill them. After all, they weren't his enemy.
He was after Uragi.
The mob of villagers, upon seeing him, did indeed stumble back a bit, seemingly entranced by the way Zoro's swords gleamed in the torch light. But, far from running away in fear, the men hastily turned their guns towards him.
Well, they were certainly a ballsy bunch, the swordsman would give them that.
Zoro prepared to charge, fully expecting to get shot down before he even crested the sand dune. He was more than halfway up when he realized that the mob wasn't even firing. Peering into the circles of light, the swordsman saw the villagers looking about wildly as though searching for some unseen attacker. As Zoro watched, one man suddenly clutched his head before falling backwards. Another, beside him cursed in pain as he dropped his rifle. The man cradled his hand to his torso, as if nursing a wound.
As the men seemed to get more and more agitated, Zoro couldn't help the tide of natural curiosity. What on earth was going on? His answer quickly rolled down the dune to rest bump the green-haired man's big toe. A silver pachinko ball glittered in the dim light causing Zoro's lips to upturn in a self-rebuking smirk.
Maybe even idiots come in handy, once and awhile.
VVOOOVV
"Nnnnnhhhhhh!"
Grunting, Nami shoved her shoulders into the side of the cannon, willing it to budge even an centimeter. The solid iron contraption had to weigh over two hundred kilos. The navigator bit her lip as her bare feet kept sliding from underneath her, making her lose her leverage.
"Come on, you piece of crap..."
There! She felt it shift, just a little.
Nami pushed harder, feeling the wooden floor's uneven surface dig tiny splinters into the pads of her feet. Gritting her teeth, the redhead pushed back with all her might, biting back a scream as sweat poured down her face. The cannon shifted a half a centimeter and then another and soon Nami was rewarded with the sound of metal scrapping against wood with a tortured shriek.
Panting, the navigator fell to the floor in exhaustion. It would have been easier just to have moved the ship, but the task was already done. Nami looked wearily stared out the makeshift window at where the cannon's barrel now pointed unerringly toward a flickering line of torches. Nami could hear the faint yells of the men she knew had to be standing underneath.
With a quick prayer that Zoro wouldn't get caught in the crossfire and thereby undermine all her previous efforts, the redhead snatched up a bedraggled box of matches and struck one alight. Nami held it to the cannon's fuse and then quickly backed away, shielding her ears in nervous anticipation.
A bloody great boom was what she expected and she wasn't disappointed. Ears ringing, Nami peered through the cloud of smoke, wondering if her shot had hit it's target. The distant sounds of terrified shrieks and an answering thud told her that it might have just done the trick.
"Nami, was that you?" A quavering voice stumbled down the stairs.
Taking the steps two at a time, Nami darted back onto the deck, giving Chopper a grin and a quick pat on the hat as she ran past. Reaching the mast, the redhead fought for enough breath to shout.
"Usopp! Put that pea shooter away and get your ass down here and help me!"
We'll have those villagers running with their tails between their legs, she thought with satisfied glee. Oh, yes, Zoro was definitely going to owe her some serious cash for this one.
"What in the world did you do?" Usopp shouted down as he slowly descended the mast. "That was our cannon, right?"
Nami was practically beaming as she opened her mouth to answer, but Vivi's involuntary cry muted her words. Turning, Nami watched the blue-haired girl grab her arm and fall back to the deck. Sharp whistles filled the air, piercing the ship and anything else in its path. Bullets.
"Vivi! Everyone get down, they're firing on us again!" The redhead certainly hadn't expected this. Nami cursed at her plan's unwanted side effect. Her cannon fire earlier had just proclaimed the Going Merry as a definite threat.
"Usopp! Maybe you should head back up to the crow's nest." She called up the mast as she crouched behind it for protection.
"What? But I'm already halfway-" whatever else the long-nosed boy was about to say was lost in his own scream. The sound of a bullet ripping through something much softer than wood echoed through the air. Nami watched in horror as the sharpshooter lost his hold on the ladder and plummeted headfirst towards the deck.
Nami flinched away as the boy hit the solid surface with a sickening thud. Her scream seemed to blend seamlessly with Chopper and Vivi's own.
"USOPP!"
VVOOOVV
Zoro quickly disposed of the small handful of men attacking him as he pushed his way up the collapsing sand dune. A cannonball had hurtled into it only moments ago, smashing into the dune and effectively cutting off one half of it from the other. Zoro had been lucky enough to be on the side with the least resistance.
The bulk of the men, on the other half, were not standing idly, however. Scared out of their wits at the possibility of another attack, the remaining mob fired wildly in the Going Merry's direction, as if trying to sink the ship by the weight of their metal slugs alone.
Cursing the foolish pirates he chose to sail with, Zoro backed up a meter before dashing into a running jump that took him across the newly made gap between him and his opponents. He turned his awkward and more than slightly clumsy landing into an acrobat's tumble as he rolled to his feet like a cat.
The group of men hadn't even noticed his flying entrance, so absorbed they were in firing and reloading their weapons.
Grinning to himself, the green-haired man disguised his now obvious limp by dashing forward in an all out charge, swords held aloft. The villagers hadn't even any time to scream as his blades Came crashing down methodically as Zoro spun about in a deadly waltz.
The men brave enough to open their eyes after such an attack gasped in terrified awe as, one by one, their rifles fell to pieces. Looking down the line at their fellows, they saw that all of them were similarly disarmed.
Zoro leveled them all with a warning look, before turning his back and striding down the sandy dune-not back towards the sea, but deeper onto the island. To the small town where Uragi must be hiding out, gloating over his supposed victory.
"Sorry, guys," Zoro muttered as the sea disappeared from view. "This is all the help I can give you right now."
Above him, the dark clouds broke with their first spattering of rain.
VVOOOVV
Luffy was gazing duly up into the sky when a fat drop of rain smacked him right in the nose, effectively awakening him from his hunger-driven stupor.
"Huh?" Luffy blinked widely, only to be rewarded with a raindrop splashing into his right eye. "Hey!"
Bolting quickly into a sitting position, the dark-haired boy squinted into the sky accusingly as more and more raindrops fell to earth. Within minutes the already marshy ground was practically soaked, and the Going Merry's captain along with it.
"Stupid rain..." Luffy muttered as he curled into himself with a shiver. "Where's that Sanji, anyway? I thought he was bringing me food." The rubber boy sneezed before jumping to his feet, slipping a little because of the wet grass.
"Sanji said to stay here." Luffy reminded himself. "But he probably didn't know it was gonna rain. It'll be too wet to make a fire, which means we won't be able to cook any meat." The dark-haired boy was now pacing as he pondered this new dilemma.
"I definitely like my meat better cooked. And you can't cook meat here. And Sanji probably has the meat. So..." Luffy rubbed his hands together with a grin. "I'll just go find Sanji!"
The straw-hat captain twirled in place and trotted into the bushes that he though were the group that his cook had disappeared through. Stumbling through the darkness, Luffy suddenly crashed into something solid that smashed his nose in a painful way and sent his straw hat tumbling off his head.
That solid thing evidentially wasn't all that steady, because it fell backwards with a muffled curse. Luffy, still plowing forward, tripped and landed atop the figure, eliciting a strangled moan. Blinking past his now wet bangs, Luffy stared down at his accoster.
"Zoro?"
"Get...off..." the green-haired man wheezed. "Shot...remember?"
Grinning, Luffy did as he was told and even gave the swordsman a helping hand rising to his own feet. Eyes wide, Luffy stared at his friend. Zoro was coated in a fine layer of sand, the only thing covering him besides a tattered pair of pants. Numerous patches on the swordsman oozed dark, sticky, blood, the pulled stitches attempted vainly to keep the weeping wounds closed. Zoro's swords were drawn and, even without his customary bandanna in place, Luffy could tell the swordsman was ready for a fight.
Luffy quickly tugged on Zoro's arm, as the green-haired man was about to pass him by without a word. "Oiy, Zoro. Where are you going?"
"To take care of some things." The swordsman muttered.
Luffy looked closer into Zoro's closed off expression. Even in the darkness, the straw-hat captain could tell how pale his first mate looked. His skin, rather than cold and clammy like Luffy's own; was hot to the touch. The dark-haired boy somehow knew that the swordsman shouldn't be out in the rain like this.
"You don't look so good." Luffy stated, his hand never leaving Zoro's arm. "Does Chopper know you're running around, probably beating people up?"
"There's nothing he can do for me anyway." The other man sighed out gruffly. Luffy's eyebrow rose in doubt.
"What are you talking about, Chopper's a great doctor! I think..." Luffy said, realizing he hadn't really gotten a chance to see the reindeer actually do any doctoring. "He fixed Nami up when she was sick!" he patted the swordsman solicitously.
Growling, Zoro nudged him away, unable to give him a push because of his swords.
"I'm dying, you idiot!" the green-haired man snarled "He can't fix that!"
"Huh?"
"You heard me."
Luffy crossed his arms over his chest as he gave the bigger man a disapproving frown. "Stop kidding around." He ordered.
"I'm not joking. That goo Uragi turns into is poison. He shot me full of the stuff our first night on the island."
"That's not very funny..." Luffy's arms moved swiftly from their crossed position to jut out from the rubber-boy's hips in the typical scolding position. Luffy wouldn't stand for stupid talk like this. It made him mad.
"Of course it's not!" Zoro shouted back incredulously. "I'm dying! It's not supposed to be funny!"
"I don't like this joke." Luffy turned swiftly on his heel and searched about for his missing hat. Finding it, the boy jammed it angrily atop his head as he began striding away.
Zoro debated on whether or not to just leave things as they were before making up his mind and quickly following in his captain's wake. He just couldn't let it end like this, he owed Luffy more than that.
"It's the truth, Luffy." Zoro called out. This time it was he that halted the other's tracks with a sturdy arm coming across the dark-haired boy's chest. The swordsman was careful his katana was not in a position that would cause the other boy harm if his efforts should be thrown off.
And they were.
"Stop it!" Luffy shouted as he shoved the green-haired man away.
Zoro made no move to break his fall as he tumbled into an awkward sort of sitting position. Sighing heavily, Zoro hung his head.
"In about three hours, I'll be dead." He explained.
"I said stop!" Luffy whirled on him like a hissing cat. Zoro couldn't help it, his temper snapped.
"Face it! I'm going to be worm food! No more adventures, no more battles, no more greatest swordsman. All of it- gone!" Sandai Kitetsu slashed out, swiping a wide swath of foliage into tinder.
"SHUTUP!" Luffy screamed, holding his hands over his ears. "I don't want to hear anymore!"
Luffy's words echoed as they faded into the night. Both parties were silent excepted for their harsh breathing, which was soon overwhelmed by the noise of the increasing rain. The pattering of the rain against Luffy's straw hat soothed the boy's anger into something less harsh, but just as desolate.
"I don't want to hear it." The rubber-boy repeated in a soft whisper that barely carried across the gloom. Stumbling over to Zoro's side, the Luffy collapsed to his knees and leaned his back against the broad expanse of his first mate's own.
"I don't want Zoro to die." Luffy added. Zoro leaned backwards as well, until the two were mutualy supporting each other.
"Yeah, well..." Luffy could feel the swordsman's light shrug. "Join the club."
Silence.
"We had some fun, you and I." Tilting his head, Zoro graced Luffy with a one of his rare smiles, the real kind.
"Yeah." Luffy murmured as he tugged his soaking hat off his head to let it drop carelessly to his lap.
"But even the dreams of pirates have to come to an end." The swordsman stated as he made to rise to his feet. Luffy's hands clutched at him, his face pleading in a way that made Zoro uncomfortable to look at.
"They don't have to end this way." The dark-haired boy beseeched. Zoro shook his head and opened his mouth to reply. But whatever he was going to say died on his lips as Sanji barged out of the underbrush.
"Zoro!" The name tumbled off the blonde's tongue in shock.
"Cook." Zoro pulled both Luffy and himself to their feet and spared Sanji a brief glance before turning away with a smirk. "You look like shit."
"Bite me." Sanji flipped the swordsman off before reaching in his pocket for cigarettes he didn't have. Cursing, the blonde slumped against a gnarled sapling barely big enough to support his weight. He stared into the brush with tired eyes, cursing the rain that chilled his skinny flesh to the bone.
"I bumped into a bunch of villagers." The blonde stated idly. "But they took one look at me and ran away."
"Smart men." Zoro snorted.
"Funny thing is," Sanji continued as though he hadn't heard. "They weren't carrying any weapons."
The cook cast a sideways glance through his sopping hair at his two companions, unable to miss neither the tense atmosphere nor Luffy's unusually silent form. As if sensing his thoughts, Zoro suddenly relaxed.
Rolling his shoulders, he took a few steps through the underbrush "Well," Zoro huffed. "I'm off. Catch you later, you shitty cook." Sanji couldn't help but note that he was heading in the opposite direction of the ship.
Sanji opened his mouth to demand to know where the cabbage-head thought he was going but quickly shut it with a click. Instead, he lifted one shoulder in an indifferent shrug.
"The poison?" Sanji glanced at him from the corner of one eye as he asked with feigned nonchalance. Zoro briefly paused in his steps before speaking, not even bothering to turn around.
"It's taken care of." Was all he would say.
"Zoro."
The green-haired man half turned at the sound of Luffy's voice.
"He's in some warehouse up north." Luffy's gaze bored into him, as if committing each line to memory. Zoro gave him a small sigh and a nod.
"North, huh? Thanks." Zoro was off and walking again and this time he didn't stop as Luffy once again called his name.
"Zoro, wait! Your bandanna..."
Unable to help himself, the swordsman looked back one last time. Luffy had the bloodstained black cloth half raised into the air. The captain's eyes shone like beacons in the darkness, heavy with some unnamed emotion. Zoro swallowed a lump in his throat before calling back hoarsely.
"Take good care of it, Pirate King!"
Sanji stared at Zoro's retreating form until it vanished into the darkness. Shoving himself upright and giving a long stretch, Sanji attempted to pop his neck before bending over to knock out the sand that had crept into his shoes. When the blonde straightened once more he noticed that Luffy hadn't moved even an inch from where he had been watching the swordsman leave.
Sanji raised one curled eyebrow before walking back towards the uneven path to the ship. He made sure to 'accidentally' nudge the dark-haired boy on his way past, hoping to knock Luffy out of his uncharacteristic daze.
"Warehouse?" Sanji muttered, only half to himself. "Ch. It's not like that idiot even knows which way north is"
"He'll find it."
Sanji cocked his head at that firm voice and gave a small smile. It seemed that his captain had pulled himself together. Glancing back, however, Sanji was shocked to see the boy's shoulders shaking. Confused, and more than a little worried, Sanji walked back and placed a hesitant hand on Luffy's shoulder.
"Hey, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you two were saying goodbye for good." Luffy said nothing and Sanji craned his head to stare at the boy's face, which was totally void of expression. Panicked, the blonde gave the rubber-boy a small shake.
"Oiy, Luffy?"
Luffy just continued to stare into the distance with empty eyes as he held Zoro's headband in a grip so strong the veins in his arm bulged out from the strain.
VVOOOVV