-Dominoes-
A One Piece fanfic by Digitaldreamer
Chapter Eleven: For Nakama
---
Geez, these chapters just get longer and longer…
Right, so hello everyone and welcome to chapter eleven of Dominoes! After this, we only have two chapters to go, isn't that exciting? Things are finally wrapping up! If I finish this, it will make my first multi-chaptered fic that I have ever finished since my very first fanfic.
Yeah, I'm really excited.
Right, so great news! My parents finally fixed my computer, so I got to type this baby up on Nanasawa. It made me very happy, yes it did. And I typed this when I was supposed to be studying for Biology, so hopefully that won't reflect on my grades, eh heh heh.
Anyway…I'm really, really proud of this chapter. I sure hope everything turns out okay and I didn't get anyone OOC! This is only my second time writing…well…you'll see at the end, but I hope Zoro comes out IC.
Right, so a warning for you all. The end of this chapter is…well, very, very sad. It starts out amusing and action-packed and slowly works its way in and well….just trust me, the ending part is sad. If you want the full emotional impact, I'm going to give you a suggestion.
When you reach a certain point in the chapter (trust me, you'll know it when you get there) if you can, play some sort of sad music. Trust me, it makes the ending so much more meaningful.
That's all! Enjoy the chapter!
---
"Alright, so does everyone know the plan then?" Robin spoke up from her place behind one of the crates that had been tucked behind a small shop. From here they had a clear view of the great, shimmering steel doors that made up the front entrance of the clock tower. It was from here that their rescue plan would finally get into action.
No one planned on failing again. Not this time.
"Get in there, kick ass, save Nami-san," Sanji said plainly as he flicked a few ashes from his cigarette. "Got it."
Zoro scowled. "What about saving Luffy?" he growled, fist clenching around the hilt of wadou.
"What about him? We'll save him, but Nami-san comes first," Sanji said with a shrug.
The swordsman's eyes narrowed. "Luffy's been in there longer, he needs help now," he snapped.
Sanji's eyes narrowed as well as he placed his cigarette in his mouth once again. "Yes, I know. But no one should leave a lady in the hands of a bastard like that….So we'll hurry in and I'll get to her first!" Hearts dances in his only visible eye as he clasped his hands beneath his chin. "Then I'll get her free and Nami-san will say 'Oh, my hero!' and I'll say 'Anything for you, my love!' and she'll whisper 'Oh, Sanji!' and then we'll do this and that…"
Zoro snorted. "Yeah right. More like she'll try and weasel you out of any money you may have for taking so much time to save her, that selfish witch…"
"Bastard! Nami-san is no witch, she's a selfless angel!" Sanji declared.
"Angel? More like a demon," Zoro sneered. "Going right back where she came from when she dies."
"Don't you talk about Nami-san that way!" the cook snarled, suddenly swinging a leg up to aim a kick for Zoro's head, which the swordsman barely dodged.
"Maybe once you stop acting like she's the only thing that matters in this whole mess!" Zoro snapped, pulling one of his katana partially from its sheath.
"G-guys, quiet! You're going to get us spotted!" Chopper squeaked, waving his little hooves in the air and motioning towards the guards standing in front of the clock tower.
Robin sighed, leaning on her palm and saying nothing as the two continued to argue. "I find it interesting how they seem to have completely forgotten Long Nose-kun was captured as well…" she muttered.
"We need to get Nami-san first! She needs her knight in shining armor, and that would be me!"
"You, a knight? In your dreams, Love Cook."
"You shut up, Marimo! You're just using this as an excuse to continue being in denial."
"Denial over what, Magic Eyebrow?"
"Denial over the fact that you're about as straight as a circle!"
"I'm not gay! I just want to hurry up and save Luffy!"
"As I said, denial!"
Ace suddenly sat up from his spot against the wall, blinking and glancing this way and that. "Huh? What'd I miss?"
"Oh, Ace-san, you're awake," Robin murmured. "Nothing's happened yet, we're just trying to plan how best to get in. I suggested just opening the door and taking out the guards quietly, but the door is seastone and renders my abilities quite useless against it."
"Oh," Ace blinked again before frowning. "What guards?"
Chopper blinked, hopping to peek over one of the crates again. "Hey, he's right! Where did the guards—"
"Oi, what are you two doing?"
Everyone blinked and looked over at Sanji and Zoro, whose argument had turned just psychical enough to have them both standing just outside of their hiding spot. Both men now stood blinking at the Kuroneko guards, whose eyes were narrowed and were reaching for their weapons.
Both men glanced at each other for a moment before nodding.
"We don't have time for idiots like you!" the two snarled as both guards were sent flying from a kick to the ribs and the wind from the slash of two katana respectively.
Unfortunately, this commotion alerted the other guards, all of whom promptly came running, weapons raised. They were all once again, quickly disposed of, but even as they fell yet another wave came in their wake from another side of the building.
The three remaining members of the rescue party watched with expressions ranging from bored to half-asleep to shocked. Finally after a few moments Ace spoke.
"Are they always like this?"
Chopper gave a nervous giggle. "Yeah," he said as he stood, pulling his blue backpack, packed to the brim with medical supplies, onto his shoulders. He knew he would need them.
"Usually…this is a bit intense for the usual fare, however," Robin said with a small smile. "I think they're just tense...silly men."
Ace snorted as he stood, pushing up the rim of his orange hat. "Geez, my little brother certainly put together an interesting crew."
"Yes, he certainly did," Robin murmured.
Zoro and Sanji continued to knock out guard after guard, both still arguing as if they weren't even right in the middle of a fight.
"Nami-san first!" Sanji yelled as he kicked a pirate directly in the face, sending him sprawling.
"No, Luffy!" Zoro screamed back as he flew past several guards, listening to them fall the ground with cries of pain behind him, nursing the wounds he'd caused.
"Hasn't it ever occurred to you to follow the 'ladies first' rule? Just ONCE?" the cook snapped as he hooked his foot behind one guards neck, spinning and sending him slamming into several others, knocking them down like bowling pins.
"You're only saying that because you're afraid if we get Luffy first you'll be too tired out to save your precious 'Nami-san'!" Zoro grunted as he jumped over the head of a fallen enemy to slash down another one.
"No, it's YOU who's scared that you'll be too tired out, Musclehead!" Sanji sneered.
"Whatever, Princess!"
"Shitty Swordsman!"
"Ero Cook!"
"Algaehead!"
"Dartboard Eyebrow!"
Both men knocked their final opponents into the hulking metal door with a loud CLANG! Sanji's guard slid to the ground with a groan, leaving one side of the door bent inward with a large dent in it, the metal held in place by a single hinge. Zoro's attack, on the other hand, had blown the other door clear off of its hinges.
Robin, Ace, and Chopper stared blankly at the now completely destroyed door. With a loud creaking noise the hinge holding the remaining door up finally gave way and it fell to the ground with another CLANG!
This, of course, went completely unnoticed by the cook and swordsman, whom turned on each other to continue arguing as if nothing had happened. "How about this then; we wipe out whatever pathetic small fry is in there, then we both go our separate ways. When I take out more idiots than you and save Nami-san first, I win," Sanji said calmly.
"Fine by me, if only because I'll be taking out more than you'll ever manage and I'll get to Luffy first," Zoro declared.
"In your dreams, Marimo," the cook sneered as he lit a new cigarette.
"Whatever, Love Cook," Zoro replied as his fists clenched around the hilts of Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu. "Let's just focus on getting of the door so we can…get…on with it…" he trailed off; blinking as he finally noticed the state of the door.
"Nice job guys, that takes care of the door problem," Ace drawled as he walked past them, patting a bewildered looking Zoro on the shoulder.
"Indeed. I'm sorry to say your bet may not work out very well though, seeing how Navigator-san is on a different floor than Captain-san. We'll encounter one before the other no matter what we do, so really it's not exactly fair," Robin commented as she walked past the two as well, crossing her forearms before her.
"To hell with if it's fair or not, I'm getting Luffy out of there first," Zoro growled as he stalked towards the clock tower, katana held before him already stained with blood.
"Pssshtt, you wish. A moron who talks to a lady like you do couldn't possibly understand why I'll be able to save Nami-san first," Sanji snorted in return as he stepped forward as well.
Chopper gave a nervous giggle before transforming into his man beast form, gazing up at the clock tower. Even with Zoro and Sanji fighting as usual, he could tell everyone was tense. How could they not be? Luffy was close to dying somewhere in there, and Robin had been a bit vague when it came to Nami and Usopp's condition. They didn't have much time left.
But in spite of that tenseness, Chopper wasn't scared. Nervous, yes, but not scared. There was no doubt in his mind that whatever was in there, they would get past it. Nothing was in there that they could not beat, not even time. Their nakama were in there somewhere, and it didn't matter what they had to face to get them out.
And so as all four of them charged into the clock tower, bringing forth cries of alarm from the Kuroneko pirates gathered in the entryway, that tenseness eased a bit. After all, they had nothing to be scared of.
It was their enemies who should be scared. After all, no one messed with the Straw Hat's nakama and got away with it.
---
"Sir? They're here."
Kuro's gloved hand clenched into a fist around the portable Den Den Mushi that he held. "I can hear that, Yumi," he hissed. Indeed, he could hear the cries of those weaklings in his crew quite easily, as well as the sounds of blades singing through the air, the sounds of bodies slamming into walls and the floor, of flames crackling.
"What do you want me to do, sir?" Yumi's voice came from the snail once again, irritatingly calm.
"Stop them, do whatever is necessary. Kill them if possible, seeing how those incompetent idiots seem to be unable to manage the task," Kuro growled.
"As you wish." The Den Den Mushi's eyes closed. The bespectacled man gave a growl of annoyance as he slammed the snail onto the elegant table next to him, eyes flashing.
"How did they find this place? Yumi's supposed to be impossible to track! I didn't give our position away, so how did this happen?" he snarled as he began to pace back and forth before the fire, face twisted into a mask of rage.
Usopp sat up a bit straighter in his seat and glanced back at Nami, whom was staring at him with wide eyes, a grin beginning to form around her gag.
They were here!
Kuro scowled as he saw hope flit across his captive's expressions. He walked over to them, a stormy expression coming across his features before he slapped Nami sharply in the face. "Do you find this amusing? Well, you won't think that for very long! I am Captain Kuro of the Thousand Plans, my plans DO NOT FAIL!" he snarled.
Nami just glared up at him defiantly, her eyes still holding the same fierce triumph.
Her captor's expression darkened, but he forced himself to turn away, composing himself and pulling an air of calm indifference around him as if he were donning a cloak once more. "Laugh now. Your friend's will fail here. They won't get past Yumi, and once she has torn them limb from limb I'll bring their blood covered corpses for your viewing pleasure," he sneered.
But even as he spoke, it did nothing to quell Nami and Usopp's rising spirits. Their nakama were here, and that knowledge alone was enough.
They were going to be rescued.
---
"So, how many does that make?" Sanji inquired as he surveyed the room, which was littered with the unconscious and bleeding forms of the Kuroneko pirates who had flooded in to defend the place.
"Forty-three," Zoro grunted as he stepped over one of the bodies.
"Damn, same. That's far too low of a number; there's gotta be more further in," Sanji muttered as he flicked a few ashes from his cigarette onto yet another fallen enemy.
Robin nodded. "I suspect that there are many more, depending on how many floors are above us," she stated, glancing up the stairs.
The room they were in was quite large and circular; it was probably used for balls and things like that ordinarily. The floor was made of a gorgeous black marble, and the ceiling was held high above them with various ornate stone pillars. Two stair cases, lovingly crafted from a silvery gray wood, started on opposite sides of the room and lead up to a balcony, which wrapped around the room and seemed to make up the second floor. Placed in front of the place where the two staircases met and the balcony started was a small fountain, which depicted an angelic woman carved from the wall of the staircase pouring water into the fountain from a vase.
It was quite pretty really, if a bit creepy.
Ace sighed, tipping back his hat. "Well, we'd better get moving then, who knows how many floors this thing has?" he muttered.
"Quite a few…but that doesn't really matter, as you won't be getting to any of them," a cool voice drawled from above.
Chopper blinked, glancing about in confusion. "Who was that?" he wondered aloud.
Zoro's eyes narrowed as he glanced around as well before his eyes widened. "Chopper, move!"
"Wha?" The reindeer looked over to Zoro, still confused. He opened his mouth to inquire as to why, but was cut off as Ace quite suddenly tackled him and sent them both sliding across the marble floor.
It was quite fortunate that he did, as Yumi landed with catlike grace, trench coat flaring around her, claws hitting the ground right where Chopper had been standing. Had Ace not tackled him, those claws would have easily killed the doctor.
Chopper let out a cry of surprise as Ace jumped to his feet again. "Who's that?"
"The bitch who took Luffy," Zoro said curtly, eyes narrowing.
Sanji scowled. "Don't talk about a lady like that, even if she was the one who took Nami-san," he snapped.
Zoro didn't even bother replying to that, he just kept his eyes on Yumi as she rose, her frigid blue eyes meeting his own darkened gaze.
"You all right, Chopper?" Ace inquired as he set the reindeer down.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Ace," Chopper said with a nod as he looked to their opponent, transforming into his man beast form once again.
Ace grinned as he looked back to Yumi. "Well, I for one think we will be getting to those other floors, as I happen to want to go save my little brother…but you're not gonna let us do that, are you?"
"Of course not, that would be disobeying my master…and the reason I chose to join him in the first place was to find greater battles to test my skills, and now I believe I've finally found one," Yumi said, a shadow of a smirk dancing upon her face. "Forgive me for earlier, taking what you treasured most without fighting for it properly. I hope this battle will suffice as penance."
Zoro just snorted. "Let's just hurry this up, I don't have time for this."
"As you wish."
With that, she vanished.
All four of the fighters in the room tensed, getting into fighting stances as they glanced around, waiting to see where the woman would appear from. Robin crossed her forearms before her, eyes narrowing in concentration. Chopper's furry hands clenched into fists as he glanced around, trying to figure out where the woman would appear from. Sanji stuck his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels, while Ace simply looked around with suspicious eyes. Zoro pulled wadou from its sheath and placed it in his mouth, teeth clenching around the white hilt. Seconds ticked by as there was complete silence in the room, the calm before the storm…
The calm suddenly broke as Yumi came flying from the shadows towards Zoro, whom easily blocked her kick with one of his katana. She flipped off of the blade and spun around to aim a swipe at Sanji's face, narrowly dodging a swing from Chopper as she did so.
Sanji's eyes widened and he ducked, bringing up his leg as he did so to kick the woman in the stomach…but at the last second he slowed his attack and his heel just barely scraped Yumi's side.
The silver-haired woman smirked as she flew past the cook, landing on the floor next to him in a crouch and swinging her leg up in a kick to Sanji's jaw that sent the blonde sprawling.
"The hell was that, Love Cook?" Zoro cried as he watched Sanji go sprawling to the floor at the same moment that he charged for the woman.
"Sorry…can't bring myself to hit a woman, was always taught not to…even one that hurt Nami-san…" the cook groaned from the floor.
"Idiot!" the swordsman growled as Yumi jumped over Yubashiri's blade, pressing her palm upon the flat of Sandai to flip herself further into the air.
"Tres Fleur!" Robin called out.Three tanned arms suddenly appeared from Yumi's back and front, grabbing hold of her own arms in an attempt to hold them still even as she spun in the air. However, instead of appearing surprised in the least, Yumi merely smirked.
"You think that will stop me? Now have a taste of my real power," she hissed. "Nadeln des Schattens!"
It was as if all the shadows in the room had come alive, erupting from the sides of the sides of the room to form into millions of tiny black needles. The needles hovered for a moment before shooting towards everyone, hundreds of tiny black points with no way to dodge.
The moment the needles hit her Robin let out a gasp and the arms holding Yumi vanished in a flutter of flower petals as their owner cringed. Sanji's eyes widened as the needles all slammed into him, sending him to floor once more just as he was getting up again. Chopper let out a cry as the needles embedded into his fur, the force of them sending him slamming into the wall.
Zoro's eyes widened. This was worse than it had been on the Going Merry…so; this was her fighting seriously, then? He crossed his swords before him, managing to deflect a few of the needles, but many still stuck into his skin as he charged towards her.
"Oni giri!" he called out as he rushed past. The swordsman stood there for a few moments before glancing back…only to see Yumi standing there completely unharmed.
"Did you think that trick would work twice?" she inquired as the shadows withdrew from the sort of shell they had made around her.
Zoro smirked as he held his one sword just above his right shoulder. "No…just a test to see if this would be enough," he said simply before his eyes narrowed and his face became dead serious. "One life, thirty-six earthly desires…"
"Sanjuuroku Pondo Hou!" he called out, bringing down that katana and sending forth a wave of slicing wind. Yumi's eyes widened and the shadows came up to form a wall to protect her, but the attack still managed to break through the wall and send her skidding back a few feet with a hiss of pain.
Blood dripped from a shallow gash in her abdomen as Yumi smirked. "Heh…you still have some tricks up your sleeve, but not nearly enough to save you," she said as she held up a single palm. "Lanze!"
A burst of pure darkness shot from her palm, around the width of a soft ball and pointed at the end like a lance. Zoro's eyes widened and he tried to dodge it, but he hardly even had a chance to move before the shadow slammed into him and sent him crashing into another one of the pillars, the lance of darkness piercing through his shoulder.
The swordsman let out a grunt of pain as he looked to Yumi, whom smirked and waved her other hand just as the lance retracted. "Blätter des Schattens!"
This time Zoro let out a cry as his shadow formed into great, sharp blades that sprung up to tear into him. They sliced into his arms, cut deep gashes into his legs, one impaled itself into his back and remained there, sending sharp pains up and down his spine like waves of electricity.
And then the blades retracted and his shadow returned to normal. Zoro stumbled as he spit out a mouthful of blood, eyes squeezing shut as his new wounds throbbed with old, now reopened ones.
"Damnit…" he cursed under his breath as he looked back at Yumi, whom was smirking. He didn't have time for this! He had to go save Luffy!
"Poitrine Shoot!" Sanji called out as he came from nowhere, aiming a kick at the leather-clad woman's chest. However, even from where he was Zoro could tell that Sanji's heart wasn't into it. Yumi easily sidestepped it and Sanji went flying into Chopper, whom let out a cry as the cook slammed into him and sent them both sprawling to the floor in a heap.
Yumi's frigid eyes glinted. "Well, this has been amusing so far…shall I make things a bit more interesting?" She then closed her eyes to concentrate, crossing her forearms before her. Her silver hair stood on end as she concentrated, the shadows beginning to deepen around her…
"Schwarzes Traumt Ewiges!"
The shadows in the room suddenly erupted outward, pitching the room into complete and total darkness. This darkness was almost suffocating, as if the shadows were trying to crush those within them. It was also cold, as if the room temperature had dropped a good twenty degrees.
Zoro's eyes narrowed and he glanced this way and that, trying to peer through the inky black. Where was everyone? Hell, where was he? Where was that woman? Would she come out of the darkness and attack him, like how she had taken Luffy? Or was this darkness different?
His silent questions went unanswered, though his eyes widened as the sound of Chopper screaming met his ears. "Chopper?"
He received no reply, though the thought of a reply soon completely left his mind as the darkness seemed to come alive and attack him! It was like thousands of blades piercing into his skin all at once, thousands of gnashing teeth trying to tear him apart, as if the darkness itself was trying to eat him alive!
The swordsman ground his teeth together. That woman had to be attacking him somehow, but how? He couldn't attack what his instincts couldn't even sense! It was as if Yumi had bound herself with the darkness itself, became a malevolent, intangible force bent simply on tasting his blood.
The shadows tore at him with more force, tearing great holes in his shirt, drenching him in his own blood. Zoro let out a cry of agony as he tried to use his swords to shield himself from the darkness, but it did little to help. He couldn't die here! He still had promises to keep! He had promised Kuina, he had promised Luffy…he had too many weights upon his shoulders to simply die here without fulfilling them! With this in mind he grit his teeth and pulled back his swords in a hope to attack whatever was doing this…
But then paused as a burst of flame suddenly appeared before him! He grunted, shielding his eyes as a bright orange light filled the entire room, followed by an ear-piercing scream.
After a few seconds the flames receded to form into Ace again, whom was grinning. Yumi was knelt upon the floor, entire body twitching from shock. Zoro stood, feeling his own blood dribbling from far too many gashes all over his body to count, jaw agape as he watched the woman writhe in pain upon the floor.
"So, you use shadows then? That's a pretty nifty trick, but I can see it doesn't work too well when light comes into the picture," Ace said as flames continued to flicker all over his body. "I've been watching you for awhile, and I think it's safe to say I've found your weakness. Your powers can't touch me, they fade away the moment mine come into play."
Yumi's eyes widened as she looked at Ace before narrowing dangerously. She forced herself to stand, still shaking. "You…" she hissed before making as if to jump at him.
"Nuevo fleur!" Robin suddenly called out in a breathless tone, nine arms erupting from the ground to grab the woman and hold her back. "Once you can't use your ability anymore, your speed is no matter to me," she said calmly.
"Robin-chan is so amazing!" Sanji crowed as he stood from the floor, rather beat up but otherwise fine.
"So cool…" Chopper gasped, his jaw slack from amazement.
Ace chuckled before glancing over to Zoro. "Zoro, Robin-san and I will keep her busy. You get moving and go save my little brother," he said, warm eyes meeting Zoro's wide ones.
"You're sure?" Zoro asked as he glanced at Yumi, whom was flustered, but seemed to be composing herself for more.
"Yeah…I entrusted him to you, after all," the older pirate said with a small grin. "Just hurry up and go take care of him, will you? Having a younger brother like him, I can't help but worry, you know?"
Zoro snorted. "Yeah…I know."
I'll make sure I don't break that trust.
"Chopper, Love Cook, let's go!" Zoro called, fists clenching around his swords as he rushed for the stairs.
Chopper nodded, making as if to run after the swordsman. He hesitated, however, looking back at Ace and Robin.
"Come on Chopper, Nami-san needs us!" Sanji said as he rushed past the doctor up the stairs.
"R-right!" the reindeer stuttered before following the other two up the stairs and out the door.
Yumi's face twisted into one of rage as she glared at Ace. "You took away my opponents." She snarled. "Our battle was not yet finished."
Ace shrugged. "Yeah, I know. But they have places to be…" He held his fist in front of his face as it burst into flames. "And besides, I think you've already bit off more than you can chew, cat."
---
"Jeez Marimo, you'd think with all the stupid training you do all these stairs would be easy for you, pick it up!" Sanji sneered as he glanced to his side, watching Zoro knock down yet another pirate as he knocked down his own.
"You're the one behind me, idiot! All those damn cancer sticks finally taking a toll on your lungs?" Zoro shot back.
"How many floors does this place have?" Chopper wondered aloud as he hopped over the men Zoro and Sanji had just taken down and continued up the stairs.
They had gone past far too many floors, going through every room imaginable. Dining rooms, kitchens, libraries, but all they had found were more Kuroneko pirates to fight. Evidentially Kuro had gathered even more followers since his last encounter with the Straw Hat crew, as there seemed to be no end to the thugs with cat ears upon their heads charging at them.
But there was no sign of Nami, Usopp, or Luffy. No sign of their captor either, just mind-numbingly weak thugs and more and more empty floors to climb to.
"I'm not sure…I think that was the fortieth floor…Robin-chan said they were on the very top floor, so we should be getting close," Sanji said as they continued up to the staircase. "How the hell does a damn clock tower have this many floors and not have an elevator?"
"Beats me…I just hope this is the last one," Zoro said as they finally came to a stop at a pair of double doors.
"Right. You got the last one so it's my turn," Sanji said, flicking away the ashes from his dwindling cigarette before placing it back in his mouth and pulling his leg back.
The doors splintered with a loud CRACK! and fell inward to the ground on the first kick, leaving a cloud of dust. The cook stepped forward, glancing around, Zoro and Chopper coming in right behind him.
"Knock knock…"
Nami's eyes widened as she turned her head so fast she nearly cricked her neck. She gave a muffled cry from her spot in front of the fire, wiggling in her bonds. Usopp gave a similar cry as he too struggled, but of course he went ignored.
Of course, it was amazing that they could even be seen with all the thugs in the room.
"NAMI-SAN!" Sanji cried, a grin coming to his face as if the thugs weren't even there. "We found you!"
One of the thugs snorted. "Great, she can watch you die then," he sneered. "Get em', boys!" With that, they all charged.
Zoro and Sanji immediately went to work, becoming blurs of black and green as they sped through the room. Blades flashed, blood splattered into the air, a loud cry filled the room as a thug slammed into the wall before sliding to the ground, unconscious.
Amidst the chaos Chopper managed to rush across the room to Nami and Usopp. He grew into his big form, reaching out to take off Nami's gag.
"Chopper! Thank goodness, it's about time!" the navigator gasped out
Chopper gave a sad sort of smile as he pulled Usopp's gag free as well. "You guys look terrible! I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner!" he said as he set to work at untying the ropes that bound the sharpshooter to the chair.
"T-these? They're nothing!" Usopp sputtered, attempting to sound brave and failing miserably as Chopper accidentally brushed against one of the wounds. "Ow!"
"Ahhh, I'm sorry! If we'd been quicker they wouldn't have happened! I'll make sure to patch them up as soon as I can!" the reindeer said as he struggled with one of the knots.
"I-It's fine, I wasn't scared one bit!" Usopp declared, puffing out his chest. "I'm sure I could have broken free and handled that Kuro guy myself if I'd had more time!" He then paused before sighing and giving a grateful smile. "But I am glad that you finally came."
"I-idiot! You thanking me doesn't make me happy at all!" Chopper stuttered.
Nami shook her head. "You shouldn't be worrying about us, Luffy's in more danger right now!" she said.
Zoro's eyes widened as this caught his ears from the other side of the room. "Where is he?" he demanded as he knocked another thug away.
"Marimo, don't yell at her like that! Nami-san has been through a terrible ordeal, she doesn't need you interrogating her like that!" Sanji snapped.
"I was captured too you know!" Usopp exclaimed indignantly but he went ignored once again.
"Kuro had him taken to the floor above us a few hours ago!" Nami exclaimed. "I don't know what condition he's in right now, but he was really bad last we saw of him! You need to hurry and go save him!"
"Damnit!" Zoro cursed as he ducked below the club of another pirate before slamming the hilt of one of his katana into his assailant's ribs, then spun around to deliver a quick blow to the head in order to effectively knock the guy down. "I don't have time for this!"
"Then don't bother with these idiots!" Sanji said as he kicked three thugs away, coming to a stop where his back was to Zoro's.
Zoro blinked, glancing back at the cook. "What?"
"You heard me, idiot! I can save Nami-san myself; it's not as if I need your help," the cook said simply. Those that had been knocked down were getting up again, clearly bent on continuing to fight, if only because they were scared of what would happen if their captain knew they had lost.
They would keep coming, not because they were fearless, but because they were terrified. It was stupid, but effective. This battle would be going on for awhile.
The swordsman frowned, brow knitting together as a bead of sweat dribbled down it, staring at the back of the blonde's head for a moment. Then he snorted, shaking his head. "Idiot."
"Same to you, Shit Swordsman."
Both suddenly broke away, Sanji flipping into a handstand so he could spin his legs around in a powerful kick, sending several thugs flying into the wall. Zoro, meanwhile, slashed down several more as he ran for the door.
"You guys had better not screw up down here!" he called. "Chopper, as soon as you're done with Nami and Usopp you'd better get your ass up here!"
"R-right!" Chopper called back.
"Why are you stalling?" Nami shrieked. "You hurry up, he needs you right now!"
"Yeah, you jerk! Get moving!" Usopp cried.
"You heard them, asshole!" Sanji said, grinning around his cigarette as he looked back at the swordsman, meeting Zoro's eyes with his own.
"He needs you right now. Go save our idiot captain."
"I will. I promise." With that and a final nod Zoro charged through the one other door in the room and up the stairs.
The stairs spiraled upward as Zoro rushed up them, the sound of his thunderous charge up the stairs and heavy breathing echoing behind him. Unlike his other recent trips up stairs, there were no thugs here, this passageway was completely empty. The quiet seemed a bit deafening after all the noise, the sound of his heartbeat thundering in his ears as sweat slid over his skin, mingling with the blood that soaked through his shirt. The wounds Yumi had given him earlier barely registered in his mind as Zoro ran, they weren't nearly as important as the task ahead.
Finally, after what seemed like ages but was really only a minute or so, the stairs finally leveled out to reveal a great wooden doorway. The same leaf design as on the clock tower was etched into the double doors, but Zoro hardly even glanced at them. He shoved the doors open, for some reason unsurprised to see that they gave way easily and slammed against the wall with a deafening bang.
Zoro stood in the doorway, panting and glancing around. He immediately recognized the room as the one Kuro had been in when he had spoken to them on the Video Den Den Mushi. It was a great stone room, decorated only with a few gray stone pillars here and there and lit only by a sea-green light. Upon glancing to his right Zoro could see this did not come from a window at all, but rather from the translucent, glistening crystalline face of the clock tower.
"Luffy?" Zoro called as he glanced around, stepping further into the room, blood-stained katana drawn.
"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you, Roronoa," Kuro's voice hissed from the shadows.
The swordsman's back stiffened, fists clenching around the hilt of his katana. "Where's Luffy?" He demanded, eagle-like eyes still searching the room. "Why don't you show yourself, bastard?"
"Well, if you insist." The dark-haired man sneered, stepping forward into the ghoulish light with something held tightly against his chest.
"Luffy!" Zoro cried, eyes widening. The boy's slim, beaten frame was draped against Kuro, whom was holding him against his chest with one arm. Luffy was shuddering as he labored for breath, bangs falling into ordinarily warm chocolate brown eyes that now only stared listlessly into space. His pale skin shown a bit in the light, a thin sheen of sweat mingled with blood coating his small body.
"Ah, I believe I said not to move?" Kuro drawled as he pressed one of his claws against the boy's throat. "You take one step closer, he dies."
Zoro's eyes narrowed, but he kept his eyes on Luffy as he stayed put. Why wasn't the boy moving? He wasn't even reacting to the swordsman's presence! "Luffy? Luffy?" he cried, trying to draw some sort of reaction from the boy.
Luffy didn't stir, he simply remained there, shuddering and staring directly ahead.
"He can't hear you, Roronoa." Kuro chuckled.
Zoro ignored the man as he called out for the boy again. "Luffy! Look at me! Come on, Luffy!"
No response.
"LUFFY!" the swordsman cried, sounding desperate, his yell coming out as a command. "I'm here! Look at me! Wake up! Luffy!"
For a moment Luffy's eyes seemed to focus just a bit, but this vanished as quickly as it came, as if Zoro had only imagined it.
"I told you, he can't hear you anymore. You may as well stop talking," Kuro spoke once again, eyes gleaming. "He's mine now. If you say one more thing, I'll feel no guilt over killing him."
Zoro let out a choked sound, but he forced his jaw to clamp shut at this, teeth grinding together as he stared at the boy's face. Luffy…
"I thought you'd appreciate this…isn't he beautiful?" he murmured as he nodded down at Luffy. "The perfect example of those whom oppose me…Monkey D. Luffy, the only one to every foil one of my plans, now nothing more than a broken toy in my grasp. Look at him; he's so weak I don't even have to bind him anymore." He stroked the boy's face lightly with his thumb, eyes flashing with amusement as the boy tensed involuntarily under his touch.
The bespectacled man smirked. "Now then…I commend you on getting this far. Of course, I didn't expect for you to enlist the help of one of Whitebeard's men, not to mention Nico Robin's powers were unknown to me at the time," he muttered, grinding his teeth together as his eyes flashed angrily. "But it's no matter...I'll still have the bounties Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro, and I think that shall make a perfectly fine consolation prize."
Zoro's eyes flashed. "And what makes you think you'll get those?" he snapped.
Kuro's smirk returned. "Because with your captain's life in my hands, you'd give away your own. That's how 'nakama' works, isn't it?" he sneered, saying the word as if it were a curse.
The swordsman's face twisted into a grimace as he glanced to Luffy's unconscious face, feeling a stab of pain go through his heart because he knew in the end Kuro was right. If his captain's life was on the line, Zoro would do whatever was in his power to save it.
Even if it meant losing his own.
The dark-haired man's smirk twisted into a grin. "Now that we've got that out of the way, we'll need to get rid of those katana. Drop them."
Zoro's eyes flashed. If he let go of his weapons, how was he supposed to rescue Luffy? But one look at the boy's face hardened his resolve. For the moment, this was the only way to keep Luffy safe so he could rescue him. He slowly knelt to the ground, making as if to place Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu at his feet.
"Zo…ro…don't…" a small, weak voice rasped, so quiet it could barely be heard.
The swordsman's eyes widened as he looked back to Luffy. Had he just spoken?
But Luffy's face did not move.
"Roronoa, your katana. Unless you want your captain to die," Kuro drawled.
Gritting his teeth, Zoro placed the katana upon the stone floor. It was for Luffy, the only way to keep him safe for now. He had to make sure Luffy wasn't killed, not here…
"The white one too, Roronoa. Come now, we don't have all night," Kuro sneered.
Zoro let out a hiss of breath through clenched teeth, but reached to pull the currently sheathed Wadou from his hip and place Kuina's katana at his feet as well. It was for Luffy…
"Very good," Kuro drawled as he stared down at the swordsman; nose high in the air even as Zoro rose to his feet again. The swordsman stood there in complete silence, keeping his eyes on Luffy's face as his fists remained clenched at his sides, sweat sliding down his brow. Kuro watched him, grinning like a cat toying with a mouse.
"And once again, I've proven how pathetic that word, 'nakama', really is. Were it not for that word, this entire situation would be different. You would not have submitted here, this pathetic boy would not have broken, your entire crew would not be so weak. If you stopped caring for others like that, you'd be much better off. But no…you chose to be fools." As Kuro spoke he continued to stroke his thumb lightly along Luffy's face.
Apparently he didn't notice Luffy's fingers clutching at the arm holding him to his captor's chest.
"But then, I suppose it makes sense that a weak word would draw weaklings like your crew together, right? 'Nakama this', 'nakama that', 'don't touch my nakama'! You ramble on and on about them but in the end they turn out to be your greatest weakness! You wouldn't even be here had you not chosen that pathetic liar was one of your 'nakama'! I've been told that word is your strength…but in the end, that strength failed! You lost!"
Zoro's eyes remained on Luffy's face, watching him, trying to keep his own face set as Kuro continued to speak. Did Luffy's face just twitch?
"You're all together because you all have your stupid, impossible dreams, like him…Pirate King, the greatest Swordsman, or simply a coward becoming a brave warrior of the sea…what a joke. You have to step over people to get what you want, and none of you are capable of that. In the end you all turned out to be nothing more than pathetic weaklings who never had the kind of strength it would take to realize those 'dreams' of yours! You—"
Whatever degrading thing Kuro was about to say next was cut off as Luffy's fingers clenched painfully around his arm. "How dare you talk about my crew like that?" he hissed as he pushed Kuro's arm away, his sandaled feet hitting the stone floor as he stood perfectly straight on his own. Kuro's eyes widened in surprise, finding the tables suddenly turned and himself completely immobile in Luffy's grip. The boy turned to stare at him with rage-filled, bloodshot eyes.
"That 'word' is what separates us from you. That 'word' is why Zoro is here now, and that word is why I am going to kick your ass for laughing at my nakama's dreams," he snarled, muscles tensing in his arm.
With a deafening crack his right fist slammed into Kuro's face, sending his captor slamming to the stone floor. Blood flew through the air from the dark-haired man's mouth, splattering upon the ground next to him.
Luffy stood above him, panting. "And that was for my nakama," he growled.
Zoro stood there, eyes wide as he looked at his captain standing over Kuro's fallen form, back to him, his mauled and bloody back silhouetted against the soft sea green light from the clock tower. The boy turned to look at him, a smile coming to his face.
He didn't quite appreciate the previous image of Luffy Kuro had shown him but this, Zoro could easily say, was beautiful.
However, this suddenly vanished as Luffy's eyes suddenly widened, his entire body tensing. "What's…" he trailed off with a groan as he collapsed to the floor on his knees, entire body beginning to twitch. The boy reached up with shaking fingers to try and touch the wounds on his back, but after a few moments any muscle control he had seemed to have vanished and he gave another groan before collapsing to the ground in a heap.
"Luffy!" Zoro cried, rushing over to the boy and falling to his knees next to the convulsing boy.
"Z-Zoro…help…h-hurts…" Luffy whimpered, face contorting into one of agony as he lay there and twitched.
The swordsman, unsure of what to do, grabbed the boy and pulled him close, enclosing his captain's convulsing body in his arms. "It's all right…you're going to be fine," Zoro murmured, trying to sound calm as he took Luffy's shaking hands into his own. What was going on? Luffy had seemed just fine a second ago!
His attention was drawn from Luffy's anguished face as Kuro suddenly began to cackle. He glanced up at the man, whom was rising from his spot on the floor and chuckling as he wiped a bit of blood from his lip.
"Well, what do you know? Even with that temporary burst of strength, it happened anyway…"
"What happened? What did you do to him?" Zoro demanded, eyes narrowing as his fists clenched around Luffy's sweating palms. He could feel warm, fresh blood from the captain's back soaking into his shirt, the boy's wounds had probably opened again with the fall…
Kuro snorted. "I'm not doing anything, it's the virus. It's slowly destroying him from the inside you see, and I'm afraid that with my treatments his immune system couldn't handle the battle to fight it off. That little speech of his turned out to be just what the virus needed to weaken him enough so it could get to his heart." He got to his feet, a horrible smile coming to his face. "You are witnessing your captain's death throes, Roronoa."
Zoro's face twisted into one of rage. "YOU—"
"Z-Zoro…" Luffy stuttered, his smaller fist gripping the swordsman's as he shuddered.
"Luffy…" Zoro squeezed back as he moved Luffy's hands so both of them were held in one of his while he used the other to brush some of the boy's hair away from his eyes.
Distantly he heard Kuro's horrible, cruel laugh once again. "He's dying. Slowly wasting away here on some little island, not even having fallen in battle. He's dying from a sickness, slowly wasting away…and there's nothing you can do about it."
Zoro's face twisted grimly as he continued to squeeze Luffy's hand, watching as the boy's face contorted, sweat coating his pale face.
"Do you think your little liar friend will ever tell stories about it? How Monkey D. Luffy wasted away in the arms of his first mate…it's sort of heart-warming in a tragic sort of way, wouldn't you agree?"
"Shut up…" Zoro hissed.
"You only tell me that because you don't want to hear the truth."
"Shut up."
"Would you like to hear it again? Your captain is dying."
"SHUT UP!" Zoro snarled as he glared up at Kuro with eyes that spoke of rage, sorrow, and pain.
Because he knew the dark-haired man was telling the truth.
But that couldn't be true because Monkey D. Luffy Did. Not. Die. It was something that Did. Not. Happen.
But if that was true…why could Zoro feel the boy's pulse faltering beneath his fingertips, see the way his shaking lessened as the strength drained from his body?
"Don't die! You're not going to die, you hear me?" Zoro cried as he looked back to his captain's pale face, his eyes narrowed as he squeezed the boys hands in his own.
Luffy gave a small, weak grin. "Don't worry, Zoro. I won't…die…" he managed to croak out weakly.
But even as he spoke, Zoro knew Luffy, who never lied, was lying.
He knew he was dying just as well as his first mate did.
"Damnit…Luffy, you're not allowed to die! You're supposed to become Pirate King, remember? I don't know who you promised that to, but you can't break that! You can't, you hear me? You're supposed to be Pirate King…you need your greatest swordsman, don't you? I promised I'd become that…you're not allowed to die and become just another promise, do you understand me?" Zoro cried, his tone becoming desperate as he held the boy close.
He had made too many promises in his life. He'd lost too many people. His katana had become impossibly heavy over the years with those loses; with those promises…if he lost Luffy too, he'd have nothing left. Just a bunch of promises to dead people that he had to keep, and an impossibly long winding road to keeping them all.
Luffy just continued to smile weakly, saying nothing as his breath hitched.
"Idiot…you're not allowed to die…I'm your first mate and I order you not to die, Luffy." Zoro said, voice cracking as he pulled Luffy closer against his chest, feeling the boy's heartbeat.
A first mate's orders could never override a captain's, now could they?
Zoro took in a deep breath as he continued to speak, his deep voice rumbling in Luffy's ears. "Please…don't die. This journey has been so long, just trying to keep my promise. Before I met you…before I met you I went from island to island, a bounty hunter…you remember?" He paused, sucking in a breath as he felt Luffy's fingers squeeze around his once more. He wasn't sure why he kept talking, but he felt as if maybe as long as he did, Luffy would keep breathing.
"That time is just a blur to me…it all felt so unreal, like I was walking through a fog. The sun, the sea, the people I fought…none of it felt real. You were the first thing that seemed real to me since I left my dojo…idiot…who walks right into a marine base and asks a guy who's known as a pirate hunter to be in their pirate crew?" The swordsman chuckled a bit at the memory.
"So I came along, because that's just how the circumstances ended up…I came because following you was the only way for my journey to continue, at first…but that purpose changed. It's different now…I'm different now…you gave me something new, a new purpose. I haven't felt like this…since she died…" Zoro paused again, voice cracking.
It hit him now, what he wanted to say. Needed to say, had to say.
"You can't die Luffy…don't you see? You've changed me…I can't imagine life without you…if I lost you…I can't imagine it. You gave me this new reason to live, so you can't die….because I love you…" he whispered.
A tear drop fell upon Luffy's face to mingle with the sweat and blood upon it and Zoro blinked…when had he started crying? He didn't cry! Roronoa Zoro did not cry!
But he was crying now, and he couldn't stop it. The tears were streaming down his face as he held the boy he loved close to him, felt the boy's heartbeat slowing, felt Luffy's grip on his hand tighten as he took a final breath.
Luffy smiled weakly up at him, innocent, trusting eyes of chocolate brown meeting Zoro's tear-filled ones.
"I know."
The words passed the boy's pink lips, a quiet whisper in Zoro's ear. Those were Luffy's final words before his heart finally stopped beating and his grip on Zoro's hand loosened.
Monkey D. Luffy died with a smile on his face.
---
To Be Continued…
