By AstroKender
Warnings:Angst and a minute bit of blood.
Notes: Oiy, this chapter was a bit difficult. It was hard pushing everyone's buttons to keep their emotions running high and still leave them in character. I hope I did okay. The rollercoaster only has a few more dips before this joyride is over. :)
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 13
Usopp awoke to the feel of a cool, damp cloth dabbing at his forehead and a faint sniffling sound. Shifting, the sharpshooter felt a surge of pain course up his leg like fire, one that was only slightly dampened by the thick, cottony feel of his head. Shadows danced across his eyelids as whoever was caring for him shifted about.
"Nnhhh..." Usopp weakly forced open his eyes, feeling as though his lids were encrusted with brine.
The long-nosed boy's bleary gaze struggled to focus on the small form standing beside him. Reaching a trembling hand out, the sharpshooter patted the figure vaguely like a blind man. The thick fur that met his fingertips eliminated many possibilities in his mind as to his present caretaker. Usopp let his hand drop with a sigh.
"How are you feeling?" Chopper's words were soft, here and there punctuated by a small sniff.
"I think I've been shot." Usopp declared as he shifted again.
A blue nose invaded Usopp's vision as the doctor more closely examined him. Little hooves tickled his neck and tapped a tattoo on his head. A bright light suddenly blared into Usopp's eyes, making him flinch. Chopper hastily apologized and removed the source of the dark-haired boy's discomfort.
"There are no broken bones from your fall and you don't seem to have a concussion." Chopper told him as he stepped away to work with something across the room. The rattle of utensils being dumped into water tinkled in Usopp's ear. "You had a bullet stuck into the bone of your left leg. It took quite a while to pry out but fortunately, it didn't nick any major blood vessels. You should be fine and walking again within a few weeks."
"How are the others?" Usopp felt the fog in his head lift the more he talked and his vision slowly cleared as the sharpshooter struggled to focus on the small furry shoulders a meter away. "Have Luffy and Sanji made it back to the ship yet? Did they find Zoro?"
A loud crash invaded Usopp's ears as Chopper dropped whatever it was he was trying to put away. The reindeer excused himself as he knelt down to clean up the mess. As he worked, Chopper rattled off a short report on the crew.
"A bullet grazed Vivi's arm but she's fine. Carue has a very nasty bump on his head and needed a few stitches. Nami is fine. Sanji and Luffy made it back to the ship. Luffy has a few burns on his back and what looks like a gunshot wound to his arm, but he's sitting on the ram's head...just like always..." Chopper's voice tapered off for a moment before he continued. "Sanji has locked himself in the kitchen so I'm not sure how his condition is but judging from all the slams and breaking sounds, I think he's all right."
The small smile Usopp had been wearing slipped as the reindeer's update cut off one crewmember short. Ignoring the dull roaring pain, the sharpshooter quickly pushed himself into a sitting position. Chopper turned to look at him with fearful eyes, his fuzzy lips trembling.
"Chopper." Usopp's expression was serious. "Where's Zoro?"
The reindeer looked away. "H-he's still on the island."
"What?" the dark-haired boy exploded. "What about the poison?"
"I-I wasn't able to find a cure."
Usopp swung his legs over the table he sat upon. The same table that they had used when operating on Zoro mere hours before. "How long before sunrise? It's still dark, right?" the sharpshooter pointed out a darkened porthole. "That means we still have some time."
Usopp attempted to push himself to his feet but was stopped by two large hands on his shoulders. Chopper's human form loomed over him as to sad black eyes stared into his own.
"It is too late, Usopp." Tears began pouring down the doctor's face in miniature rivers. "We've already set sail."
"What?" Usopp stared at the reindeer, stunned. "Why?"
"Captain's orders."
"Is he insane? Where the hell is he?" Usopp struggled against the grip holding him back, his expression furious. "This is bullshit!"
Usopp felt a faint prick on his arm before his eyes suddenly began to feel impossibly heavy. Slumping against Chopper, he vaguely felt the doctor lay him back upon the table. A tear-streaked face swam before Usopp's gaze before a small pop was heard as the reindeer shrunk back to normal size.
"Chop...per..." Usopp's face screwed up into a questioning look.
"I'm sorry. I really botched up this time. I'm so sorry."
And with a small, keening whine, the reindeer fled the room.
Usopp cursed as darkness crept along the edges of his vision. Hot tears spilled over his cheeks as the sharpshooter's eyes closed in a gut-wrenching anguish that made his bullet wound seem like a paper cut.
"Damn it..." Usopp cursed again as he felt sleep pull him unwillingly under. "We tried so hard..."
VVOOOVV
"Your sword?" Unable to help himself, Uragi released a small chuckle filled with honest amusement. "Your dialogue is priceless, Roronoa, really. At this juncture, most men would fall to their knees begging me to take mercy on them. And here you are demanding, demanding I say, for me to return a single meager bit of steel. You really are quite something."
"I'm glad I amuse you. Now give me back Wadou and I'll take mercy on you by not leaving you alive when I've finished with you." A small twitch of the pirate's face revealed the anger underlining those blithe words.
Zoro's advance never slowed as the swordsman continued his deliberate pace with eyes fastened on the white hilt of the katana strapped to the bounty hunter's waist. Zoro's breaths came in sharp gasps that contrasted the calm and impartial expression that had settled onto his face. A true swordsman never showed his emotions during battle. Anything less than fighting with his normal cold ruthlessness could result in the enemy reading his moves.
A split second was all the time it took to switch from a measured tread to a lightning dash that brought his blades against Uragi's neck, along the faint blue veins that pulsed with life-giving blood. The distance was closed in an instant and Zoro couldn't help the sadistic grin that crept over his face.
That was, until the cold barrel of a pistol stabbed harshly into the back of his neck.
Growling, Zoro recklessly continued his attack, drawing his swords across each other in a slash intended to sever Uragi's smirking head from his body. Closing his eyes, Zoro waited for the white-hot pain that would end his life.
"Well, that was certainly a close shave." Zoro's eyes shot open to stare at Uragi, who's neck, besides a slight scratch, was remarkably intact. "Your reflexes are still as fast as ever, despite my poison. If it weren't for my men making you pause for that crucial second, I do say I might have kicked the proverbial bucket, wouldn't you say?"
"I'll kill you..." Zoro hissed.
Rough hands pulled him back a few steps as Uragi finally rose to his feet and the empty wine bottle was dropped into the now vacant seat. Cold green eyes studied Zoro's panting form from head to toe, taking note of bare feet that were torn and bloody from the journey to reach him, and the dampness resting across the swordsman's breast and brow. A dampness that had nothing to do with the current weather. A sigh sounding somewhat disappointed escaped between Uragi's lips.
"And?" The taller man crossed his arms in indifference as he spoke. "What are you going to do after you've killed me? Hmmm? You no longer have some sprawling future ahead of you, fraught with possibilities."
Zoro stared back, silent and impassive. Uragi ran a white-gloved hand coarsely though his black-hair, irritated at his opponent's lack of response. The bounty hunter soon brightened, however as he snapped his fingers and murmured a small 'aha'. Whirling around, he faced the swordsman once more.
"Why don't we have a tournament? If you win, I will fight you fairly, with no tricks." he suggested grandly. "Behind you are five of my seven best men, all whom were previously thugs, thieves and murderers. I have trained each of them in the art of combat and I'd be quite eager to see how they rank when pitted up against such a deadly swordsman from the Grand Line."
Zoro felt the figures behind him shift nervously and the gun jabbing him in the neck wavered. Grinning, the swordsman nodded. "Why not, if they're anything like the one I used to get here, it won't even be a challenge."
Uragi shook his head. "Ah, but we don't want you to be bored, now." The bounty hunter slowly withdrew Zoro's katana from its pristine white sheath. Zoro stared at it as a starving man would at a king's banquet. Uragi stepped up to him, the sword held aloft.
"To be fair, you will only be allowed one weapon. A sword, no doubt, in your case." Uragi cocked his head to the side questioningly. "Well, which with it be?"
"That one." Zoro immediately replied; nodding his head at the sword Uragi bore.
"I'm afraid that's impossible." The dark-haired man clucked, his reptilian eyes glittering with amusement. "This one here is the grand prize. Try again, if you please."
Eyes narrowed, Zoro unhesitatingly raised Sandai Kitetsu as he choice for battle. While Yubashiri undoubtedly allowed greater speed, the cursed blade would better suit his motives.
Zoro wanted blood.
Uragi, as if sensing his thoughts, gave Zoro a slick smile as he swung Wadou into a low arc that slashed through the bandages that held Yubashiri in the swordsman's grip. The katana dropped to the floor with a clatter and Zoro lifted his free hand, one eyebrow raised at the line of blood raising from a new, shallow cut.
Uragi lifted Wadou to his face, letting his tongue dart out to taste the small smear of crimson resting along the blade's edge. Closing his eyes, he murmured appreciatively.
"My poison runs strong through your blood. Still hot. Still alive. Can you feel it?"
Zoro sneered and shrugged the pistol from his neck. Gripping his katana in two both hands, the swordsman pivoted on his heels to face Uragi's men. "Let's just get this over with."
A small murmur ran along the men until, by unanimous decision, the largest of the group stepped forward. Covered with raised scars along his chest and arms, this man looked like nothing less than a shorn bear. A dark patch covered the socket of one eye, where the appendage not longer resided. The man flashed a smile filled with gold teeth as he crouched into a wrestler's stance.
Zoro smirked.
"Uragi." He called back over his shoulder flippantly. "When you're dead, there is one thing I'm going to do."
"Oh?"
"I'm gonna watch the sun rise." Zoro stated. Holding his cursed blade aloft, the pirate charged forward.
VVOOOVV
It was less than two hours until dawn, and no one on the Going Merry could sleep.
Nami shoved her map aside and rubbed her eyes in exhaustion. There was no real reason to keep pouring over it anyway. They were right on course for the next island. But the redhead hadn't left her cabin.
She didn't want to face anybody.
She didn't want to watch as Chopper cried in the corner, hidden behind Zoro's enormous weights. She didn't want to see Usopp tear-streaked face, lined with pain that was both physical and mental. She didn't want to see Sanji, who, in a fit of desperation, had crushed up their supply of cloves and rolled them with stray bits of parchment and was now inhaling smoke like a blast furnace.
And above all, she didn't want to see Luffy, siting on the ram's head like nothing was wrong. In fact, she didn't want to see Luffy, period.
She had seen him, when he thought he wasn't being watched. She had seen as he stared at a small piece of black fabric, his head hung low with grief. And watching that had made the navigator even angrier than if their captain had simply been his normal boisterous self.
A faint knock on her door interupted Nami's melancholy line of thought. The redhead gave a wordless reply and Vivi cautiously poked her head into the room.
"Nami, Mr. Sanji has made us a meal, since everyone is still awake. He said that our supplies are fairly low, so we should eat while we can."
Nami only vaguely made note of Vivi's words, too occupied with staring at the princess's dark blue eyes, which were currently rimmed with red. So Vivi had been crying too. Nami closed here eyes tiredly. She wished she could cry. But it all still seemed so surreal. Like she could walk up those steps and nearly trip over Zoro's slumbering form.
"Nami?"
The navigator swiped her arm quickly across her eyes as she stood. "I'm right behind you." She muttered thickly.
VVOOOVV
Carue lay under the table despondently, his beak lying parallel with the wooden floor beneath his chin. A dark cloud seemed to hang over the ship's kitchen, threatening to burst into a violent storm at any moment. The spot-billed duck only barely resisted the urge to cover his head with his wings in protection.
Usopp, at his own insistence, was propped up in a chair near the corner, his injured leg resting on a wobbly wooden stool. Beside him, the reindeer, Chopper, hovered about anxiously as he clucked over the sharpshooter's injuries. Usopp, for his part, was silent, and did nothing but direct a morose glare towards the ship's captain.
Luffy didn't acknowledge the look. Indeed, the rubber-boy acted as if he was alone in the room as he idly spun his butter knife in circles on the scarred kitchen table. A second knife followed, and then a third, spinning around each other in a bizarre dance of cutlery. A deep frown crossed Luffy's face as he watched the knives twirl and the dark-haired boy slammed his hand down abruptly, stopping their rotation. Carue winced at the sudden noise, and huddled deeper under the table.
An echoing crash made the spot-billed duck glance apprehensively over his shoulder, towards the main part of the kitchen. The blonde cook tossed another empty pot towards the sink, and didn't seem to notice as it missed and went crashing to the floor. His expression dark, Sanji approached the crew's table, carrying a stack of plates laden with food.
Luffy didn't so much as blink when one of the plates was slammed in front of him, nearly crushing his hand. Like an automation, the captain raised his fork and began eating with a methodical grace that was so uncharacteristic it was disturbing.
Not that the others seemed to care, Carue noted.
"This meat is burnt." Luffy muttered.
Sanji looked over his shoulder from where he was trying to coax Usopp to eat. The absolute fury in the cook's expression made Carue dart swiftly out from beneath the table and out the door as he quacked frantically for Vivi.
Chopper let out a small shriek as Sanji's foot plowed down onto the table, snapping the sturdy wooden surface clean in two. The blonde glared at Luffy, his shoulder shaking with the force of his ragged breathing.
"Then..." the cook growled. "Don't eat it!"
Luffy sat, unflinchingly, his fork still held aloft.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Nami shouted from the doorway.
Sanji's head shot up in shock and he quickly cast his gaze down towards the ruined pile of food, a pained expression crossing his face. As if sensing his thoughts, Vivi hastily pushed her way into the kitchen and knelt by the pile of splintered wood and broken dishes.
"I'm sure most of the food can be salvaged, Mr. Sanji."
The blonde shook his head and squatted down. "I'll take care of this, Princess. No need to dirty your hands for something that was entirely my fault." He said as he began sorting though the mess with expert ease. After all, more than one table had been broken in anger on the restaurant ship, Beratie.
Vivi cast he gaze back to Luffy's silent form. "I wouldn't say it was entirely..." the blue-haired girl trailed off.
"What the hell is your problem?" Nami was screaming, as she loomed over the captain.
"What do you mean?" The rubber-boy gave Nami a guileless smile that set the redhead's teeth on edge.
"You know damn well what I mean." Nami snarled. "Does the name Zoro ring any bells?"
Something dark flashed across Luffy's eyes, before vanishing as if it was never there. "Of course, silly. He was a pirate hunter. He sailed with us for awhile."
Nami's pupil's shrunk to mere pinpricks as she lifted her hand up in fury. But someone beat her to it.
Vivi's palm smacked against the rubber-boy's cheek in a vicious strike. "Coward!" the princess sputtered.
After that, it was like a damn had broke. Usopp shot to his feet angrily, only Chopper's support keeping him from falling over.
"How could you just give up?" The sharpshooter demanded.
Nami watched as Luffy's eye twitched and smiled to herself before adopting a haughty expression. Sometimes their stubborn captain needed to be pushed.
"I guess Zoro really didn't mean anything to you, after all, if you can just toss him aside like this." The redhead made a show of not looking in Luffy's direction; instead she cleaned an imaginary speck of dirt from under her nails. "Where does that rank us if you treat your first mate like this? Or was he nothing more than hired muscle?"
"What the hell do you any of you know?" Luffy snarled as he jumped out of his chair, his fists raised as if ready for a fight.
Nami nearly fell back a step and briefly wondered if she had gone too far. But the ache in her chest told her that something had to be done if the crew was going to be whole again. Mercilessly, she pounded her point home.
"I know that you're hurting right now more than any of us!" She screamed back as she jabbed her finger into Luffy's chest. "And you're not doing a damn thing about it! Are you really going to just let Zoro slip away like this? From you? From us? I thought we were a team?"
"We're all friends, right, Luffy?" Usopp whispered, desperately.
"Family." Chopper added in a small voice.
Sucking in a deep breath, the rubber-boy sank back into his chair. Luffy's hands clenched over his knees so tightly he could feel his bones creaking. He quickly bowed his head as hot tears spilled down his face. Luffy bit his lip, trying to hold them in. How weak was he, crying twice in one night? Shrouded in misery, the dark-haired boy tried to speak, but all that came out was a shuddering sob.
"I don't know what to do..." He whispered. "For the first time in my life, I don't know how to make things right..."
Sanji quickly pushed his way past the others and grabbed Luffy by the shirtfront. Eyes blazing, the blonde stuck his face mere millimeters away from his captain's. "You wanna know what to do?" the cook asked, as he blew a ring of smoke into Luffy's tear-streaked face.
Luffy nodded, his expression filled with misery. After a moment of leveling his harsh glare upon the other, the Sanji's lips spread into a thin smile as he shoved the rubber-boy away.
"Go after him, idiot!" Sanji exclaimed as he flicked his makeshift cigarette away.
Behind him, the others broke out into slowly widening smiles.
"You heard him, Luffy." Nami gave the captain a playful swat across his head. "What do you say?"
"Don't give up hope, Mr. Luffy." Vivi chimed in. "Everything will work out somehow." Beside her, Carue nodded frantically.
"I'll find a way to cure him, Luffy! I promise!" Chopper broke free of the crowd to run up to Luffy. Clutching the rubber-boy's leg, the reindeer sobbed out his plea. "Please, let's go back!"
Usopp, who had fallen back into his chair in exhaustion, gave Luffy a weary thumb's up. "Let's go back, Luffy."
"Guys..." Luffy stared back at his friends, overcome.
A firm expression settled over the captain's face as the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a tattered piece of black cloth. The others watched silently as Luffy solemnly tied on Zoro's headband before covering it with his customary straw hat. When he again looked up, his shadowed eyes gleamed with a newly found determination.
"Do it!" Luffy commanded.
Grinning from ear to ear, Nami whirled around and began barking orders to the others. "Chopper, turn us hard to port! Sanji, put us at full sail! We're heading back!"
As the others scurried about their tasks, Luffy stood atop the ram's head, one hand on his head to keep his hat from flying away as the wind whipped around him. Staring across the ocean, Luffy's face split with a fierce grin.
"We're coming, Zoro..."
VVOOOVV