Hello everybody,

here we go, continuing our little journey, enjoy ;-)

The next chapter will be on next saturday, I have to work late on friday and have an important meeting afterwards, so I won't be able to make it on friday, but it will be up on saturday.

So see you then ;-)

Chapter 10

-Sanji-

"Sanji, the teapot!"

Surprised, the cook jumped up. Loudly whistling, the teakettle bounced furiously on the stove. White steam was chasing up, he quickly took it down and began filling the can.

Nami came over and took the tray of cups and tea from him, looking at him briefly, shaking her head, but saying nothing.

Rubbing his eyes, Sanji returned to his actual task of preparing lunch.

Again, he had been distracted. Like a reminder, it stood there and followed each of his steps. It was the sake bottle he had found on the table two days ago. Now it stood on the windowsill, wrapped in a black cloth, as a constant reminder.

At the table, meanwhile, Nami, Franky, Usopp, and Robin kept on with their intense discuddion, all of them seemed not less exhausted than Sanji.

Two days ago, their swordsman had left the crew and for two days it had been clear to all crew members that they had to get him back. Although the oldest ones of them had a problem with Zoro's past, it did not stop them from wanting to bring him back.

Two days ago, Zoro and Rayleigh had simply disappeared within the dark of the night, without a single word, only leaving behind this sake bottle and Zoro's headscarf as a message.

A clear message.

At first, his escape had caused tension among the remaining ones. After the first confusion had subsided, the first accusations had not waited for long. Usopp had called the older ones in particular to account, but had been quickly silenced by Luffy.

Afterwards the captain had made it very clear that Zoro was part of his crew and that he would not accept a 'No'. He had mentioned no 'either, or' nor any other conditions, only the simple statement that they would bring Zoro back. He hadn't even been angry that Zoro was gone, apparently he didn't even mind. After that he had gone fishing and left the rest to them.

'The rest', by the way, meant everything, he had only decided that they would bring Zoro back; he didn't care how they were supposed to do that. So, the other crew members had to figure this out on their own, which of course had led to another heated discussion.

Brook had been quick to explain that his hesitations about the dragons had nothing to do with Zoro and that he was not particularly surprised by his disappearance but actually rather sad.

Franky was still critical, even now that they were sitting at the table discussing where to look for Zoro, he made it very clear that he would not simply give silent consent. But as soon as Nami asked him in her raised voice if he didn't want Zoro to be part of the crew, he rowed back.

The most silent about the whole situation was Robin, the one who had threatened to leave the crew if Zoro stayed. In fact, Usopp had blamed her, that Zoro had only left because of her. She had accepted this with a mysterious smile.

"Do you think Brook is right?" asked Nami, handing out the tea. "That Zoro left to distract Korekuta's attention from him and Chopper?"

"Those weren't quite his words, Nami." Robin sounded strangely toneless, she had dark circles under her eyes and didn't even take the cup while browsing through one of the many books she carried around.

Since Zoro's disappearance, she had spent day and night reading.

"It is obvious that Zoro wants to protect us and yet he didn't just leave because of that." She was still talking to her book. "The skull on the flag is a shining signal for the rarity hunters and, as Rayleigh has already told us, Korekuta would catch up with us sooner or later."

"What are you trying to say with that?" Usopp muttered in disbelief. He had apologized for his words and yet he obviously hadn't overcome it.

Now the archaeologist looked at him.

"Brook said it. Zoro will make sure that he will never be captured again."

"Yes, but so what?" Those words slipped out a little too quickly, but Sanji couldn't change it, the last days had been rough on him. "I don't understand why that would change anything."

"I think what Robin means," Franky continued, "is that Zoro alone can hide far better from Korekuta than if he's wanted as a pirate. As long as Korekuta persecutes him, he will not come back, no matter what we say."

"Do you really believe that?" asked Nami, saddened.

"You have seen what Muchinushi's presence does with him." Robin looked back down at her book.

"It doesn't matter anyway." Disheartened, Usopp threw his hands in the air. "We don't even have a clue how to find him. Otherwise we could ask Zoro himself what we can do so he comes back."

"He could have just asked for help," Nami agreed.

"Tze. We are talking about the Marimo here, if he was able to ask for help, he wouldn't have bolted without a word. He lacks the necessary brain cells even for something as simple as that."

"Sanji," Nami softly scolded him, but he could see her smiling slightly.

"But what can we do?" Usopp asked, still unhappy.

"Well, actually Robin said it," Franky commented, taking his cup of tea, which looked vanishingly small in his huge hands. "If we want Zoro to sail with us, we must take care of Korekuta first. He won't come back before."

"But how? Even Roger could hardly stand up to him, not even talking about beating him. How are we supposed to do that?" The navigator doubted with concern. "They lost two crewmembers in the fight. Zoro wouldn't want anything to happen to no one of us."

"And even if we could defeat this guy," Usopp agreed grumpily, "we have no clue where that guy could be after Rayleigh destroyed their island."

Sanji began to set the table; a demanding glare later, both Usopp and Franky got up and helped him, a depressing mood hindering any further conversation.

"It might be that I've just solved this part of the problem," Robin said and, for the first time in days, her face lightened up and she shoved her open book to the navigator. "What do you think about this?"

After an uncertain side glance, Nami began to read, nodding to herself and then suddenly she chuckled.

"Nami, my dear?" Sanji asked anxiously. But she just shook her head and grinned almost as wide as Luffy would.

At that moment, the door opened and said captain stormed in.

"Sanji! You got any...?"

"Luffy!" The navigator jumped up and pointed an outstretched index finger at her captain. "We know how to get Zoro back!"

Confused, the straw-hat boy tilted his head.

"But at first we have to defeat Korekuta and we all will probably die."

"Nami!" Usopp whined weakly from the side.

"Do you still want to go?" she continued, determined. "Zoro won't return until we take care of Muchinushi. But even Roger and Rayleigh had no chance against him. So, it's actually quite possible that we..."

"Nami," Luffy quietly interrupted her, "do you know how to get to Korekuta?"

"Yes!"

Suddenly Luffy grinned as if he were about to open the buffet.

"Then let's go!"

-Zoro-

"Here."

He opened his eyes when a cold bottle touched his leg out of nowhere. Bent over him, Silver showed him a friendly smile.

"You haven't drunken anything for days. It can't be healthy."

The old man straightened up again and walked a few steps away, where he settled on a huge root and unwrapped a small package of food.

"You're still there, Silver," he observed coolly. "I told you that you can leave. I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about."

The former pirate laughed sarcastically. "Yes, for sure," he said, not even looking up, only opening the small box in his lap, revealing steaming fried rice.

With a quiet sigh, Zoro also rose from the lotus position, taking the bottle with him, and sat down on a root near the other one.

"You shouldn't be here anymore," he said roughly, ripping the bottle's cap open. "I'm sure Shakuyaku is waiting for you."

"Shakuyaku would kill me if I left you alone on some island."

"Tze." He cliqued his tongue before taking a deep sip from his bottle, emptying it half the way. After a second, he noted the light burning sensation in his abdomen. He had almost forgotten what it felt like. It was such a familiar feeling.

"Are you sure you chose the right path here?"

He looked up and met Rayleigh's gaze before turning his eyes back to his bottle.

"Running away? Bronze. That's not..."

"Shut up." Zoro shook his head. But whatever he wanted to reply, got stuck in his throat. He just had no words to come up with.

"No," Silver replied gently, as if he knew exactly what was going on in Zoro's head. "In the past, this may have been typical for you. Many, many years ago. Back then you were alone, you had no one. But today, you can't just..."

"I can't just put them in danger, Silver. Not after…"

"I'm not talking about that." His former vice-captain pointed his chopsticks at him to silence him. "I'm talking about you're not being the same anymore. You used to be an absolute loner, the solitude didn't matter to you, but..."

"But nothing has changed," he murmured, taking another sip. "If you haven't noticed it yet take another look. In this life, too, I am a loner. That's my nature, I'm not created for community."

He shrugged and placed the almost empty bottle between his feet.

"Doesn't look like that to me," Silver disagreed. "I think you're trying to fool yourself."

Zoro stiffened in anger, but the other continued speaking. "You're saying stuff like that to make it easier for yourself, to make leaving easier."

"I didn't leave because I wanted to!"

"No, but as soon as it gets difficult, you still bolt out."

Slowly, he grew mad.

"What are you talking about...?"

"You are afraid that others will become important to you!" Rayleigh sounded relentless. "You are afraid of what happens when you can no longer protect them. You're like a cat, you're hiding from friends to die on your own, even though you still could be helped."

"Just shut up!"

"Oh no, certainly not. You have changed, Zoro. You may have been a loner in the past, but that's long gone. You may still like to be alone, but you don't like loneliness anymore. You are now just like the rest of us. You need people around you."

He rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

"So what?" He grunted provocatively. "Even if you are right, you know I can't go back."

The Dark King sighed heavily and then turned back to his food.

"I understand that. That is why I am here. I can offer you company. We have a few more years to catch up."

Zoro sighed as well and grinned dryly. Some things would probably never change.

"Say, are you sure you don't want to eat anything?" Silver asked much more relaxed. "You probably got used to it over the last few years."

"I'm fine," he muttered, lifting up the bottle of Spirytus again. He could already guess from the smell that the fried rice could not keep up with the cook's.

Quietly, the Dark King laughed and shook his head as he continued to eat. But after a second, he paused.

"You know, Bronze. I will not live forever."

A well-known deep sorrow rushed through Zoro's limbs.

"None of us will," he commented calmly as he grew cold inside.

"What I want to say." Rayleigh got up and sat down next to him. "There aren't many of us left anymore. Only a few people you can call your friends."

"Silver," he muttered, shaking his head, and turned his gaze away.

"But you still do have friends, a whole crew of people, worrying about you. If we're honest, you're not very good at making acquaintances or even making friends. How long do you want to run away from it?"

Now Zoro stared directly at the other.

"I tried, Silver. I thought I could stay with them and where did that get me? With Chopper and Brook on the list, I have no choice. I can't..." He lowered his head again. "As long as Korekuta lives, I cannot be too close to anyone he could use against me."

With that absolute decision he emptied the bottle of alcohol and got up.

"I'm not going to risk having to go back and if that means I can't travel with the others, so be it."

Behind him, Rayleigh also stood up.

"And what are you going to do?" He murmured displeased. "Who knows how long Korekuta will live. He probably has enough blood supplies for twenty lives. Do you want to hide in a jungle for the rest of your days?"

"Only a few years until the past is dead and buried. I am no longer the dragon of that time. I could now live among people without being very suspicious."

"So that's your plan? Tze," the other one huffed. "You want to become the strange hermit, living on the outsides of some village, where the children try to steal an apple from the garden as a test of courage? Do you really think that will make you happy? Do you think this is a livable life?"

"I have to survive," he growled, turning to his old friend, showing him his left palm. "You know I'm not allowed to die yet!"

"But that doesn't mean you not allowed to live!" Rayleigh took a step forward and grabbed his wrist. In the middle of his palm, the lines of the dragon mark converged and formed a tiny image of the dragon bud.

"Your legacy doesn't mean you have to give up everything else!"

"That's exactly what it means!"

He slapped his friend's hand away. By now, they both had grown louder and louder, yelling at each other.

"That's the difference, Silver! That's the difference between Zoro and Bronze, just that! It's no longer just about me, about my life, about my dream. There are things that are more important, much more important."

He hadn't yelled the last sentence, no, saying it much quieter, almost whispering. He didn't want to argue, and he didn't want to justify himself to anyone.

But now Rayleigh just shook his head and asked more clearly: "And what about your dream? Didn't you want to become the greatest swordsman in the world? Are you just giving it up now?"

Firmly he gritted his teeth. He had to admit that he wasn't really used to it anymore.

Luffy was not one to handle disputes with words, and Zoro had no objection to physical arguments. Otherwise, few crew members dared to go into a direct confrontation with him. With Robin it was usually not necessary and even if Nami or Franky approached him, they usually kept quiet after a subtle glare.

Only the cook was mostly unimpressed by this and often wanted to carry out the conflict with him to the end. But Zoro, too, knew how to put him in his place without much effort.

No, if he was honest, he rarely had to deal with such comments in this crew and even back in his old life there had been few who had dared to talk so directly at him. The vice-captain had certainly been one of the few, perhaps the only one. Never insecure, never shy. Silver had shown no consideration for this, had never been intimidated by him.

But he had no idea!

"Dreams are for human!" He growled and left.

"What?!" The other hurried after him. "And what are you? Aren't you also a human?"

"I was never a human being! I just thought I was one. I am neither a human, nor a dragon. You know that!"

Suddenly the other grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the next best tree.

"I know you're a complete idiot!" He yelled.

His anger almost surprised Zoro. He had often argued with the other, but Silver almost never became physical. No, Zoro had mostly fought only with Roger until Rayleigh had intervened.

"I am tired of your eternal whining," the other bluffed at him. "Always suffering about your whole existence! Oh, you poor hybrid, the last of your kind, rejected by the world, persecuted by the World Government!"

Theatrically, he threw his hands in the air.

"As if you were the only one with a shitty past! Do you think you are the only one who feels like a monster, who regrets his past deeds? I must inform you that you can line up next to every other goddamn human."

Zoro wanted to counter, but the other pressed him against the tree with both hands.

"And you are not the only one who has a damn burden to shoulder. But you're the only damn one I know who's been complaining about it all his life, rather than just pulling yourself together. If you ask me you whine a lot for a dragon, almost like a human!"

If the swordsman wanted to free himself, he would only be able to do so through violence, and although he was anything but prissy, he did not want to fight the old man.

"Now you had to leave your crew to be able to hide from Muchinushi and now you have to give up your dream, because dreams are for humans and..."

"Stop it," he muttered calmly.

"No, I'm just getting started. What are you planning to do after all of this? When years have passed, when I am dead, when Luffy has become the King of Pirates and your crew is old, when Mihawk is old and weak. What will you do? What will you do when no one knows you anymore, when you have no one left?"

"Stop it, Silver."

"No, I'm not going to stop! Not as long as there is still a spark of life in me! I swore Roger to take care of you, you are the last one of us and what do you have in store if you are all alone? Want to plant the dragon bud in this world? Will you pursue your goal you threated back then? Single-manly wiping out all humanity?"

"Are you done?"

The other stared at him, breathing heavily, and shook his head but said nothing more.

Sighing, Zoro loosened the other's hands and freed himself from his grip.

"Go home, Silver, and if you run into Luffy along the way, greet him from me."

He turned away.

"Do you really think you're going to get rid of me so easily? As soon as I leave this island you will take off, right? I'm going to go to the village now and let Shakuyaku know so she won't worry. Tomorrow morning I'll be back. There is more alcohol and other stuff in the bags, treat yourself."

"Tze, do what you want." He went back into the forest.

"Of course, as if I would to listen to your orders," the other shouted after him.

As angry as Zoro was, as angry as he was at the other, he was grateful. Grateful that he was not alone.

-Sanji-

"I got it!"

Triumphantly, Nami marched in, ripped both hands in the air and proudly showed off her capture. With a broad grin, she placed a tiny glass ball in the middle of the dining table.

"You're fantastic, Nami-swan."

The chef could barely turn his gaze from her. She wore a low-cut black dress with a blood-red shawl, matching her shoes and lipstick, and her smile alone was enough to make him fall on one knee.

Behind her, Usopp walked into the dining room, also in a perfectly fitting black suit with back-tied hair and black sunglasses. Keeping a straight face, he threw a considerably filled cloth bag next to the Eternal Pose.

"What?" Franky murmured, eyeing the cloth bag. "That's much more than you took with you. Wasn't the deal to get the Eternal Pose?"

"Well? What's so bad about combining work with a bit of pleasure? In addition, we're almost always broke, so what can it hurt to make some cash?"

The navigator threw herself on the closest chair and crossed her legs.

"I have to say, Usopp, you were much better than I expected."

Now a small grin snuck on the sniper's face.

"Oh, come on, I just played the bait."

"And you did so fantastically. You counted cards so obviously that hardly anyone paid attention to me."

"So that's it," muttered Robin, who leaned forward and picked up the small glass ball. "Now we finally know where to find Korekuta."

"It only took us forever," the ship's carpenter grumbled unhappily.

"Next time you can go, squeeze yourself into a tight frock and try to sweet-talk some mafia killers," Nami countered moody. "Let's see how long it will take you to get it done."

"Guys, guys." Sanji stood at the short end of the table and raised his hands calmly. "For once, can we not argue? We have the Eternal Pose, so could we just...?"

"Could we just what?" Franky interrupted him roughly. "I really don't want to be the party pooper, but you all pretend we've already beaten Korekuta. But if we're honest, all we have so far is a general guess where this guy might be. We don't even know if he's really there or anywhere else in the world and even if we meet him there, how the hell shall we defeat him? Even the Hell's Trio didn't have the whiff of a chance against him. You've heard Rayleigh."

"I'm slowly getting the feeling you don't want Zoro to come back." Nami got up and hissed at Franky. "Whenever it comes to what we can do or where Zoro could be, you start bad-mouthing it all, no matter what. You're not a big help, you know, and if you don't want to help, at least shut the hell up!"

"I'm not going to let you shut me up," the cyborg replied, as furiously, but remained seated. "This isn't about Zoro at all, it's about challenging an opponent who has easily took out two members of the Pirate King's crew, and you wonder why I don't take it so lightly?"

"And since when have we been stopped by such a thing?" Nami disagreed with her arms folded. "We have a talent for picking dangerous enemies. For example, the World Government, if I may remind you. That's what happens when you have friends, you're loyal to each other."

"But do you think Zoro would want even one of us to get hurt because of him, because we are fighting a battle that he obviously wants to avoid. Why do you think he's hiding? In addition, two of us are on this list and we have nothing better to do than to make the job easier for these rarity hunters."

"It's Zoro!"

The door to the hospital room had opened and the little doctor was standing in the door frame, breathing heavily and trembling with anger.

"I don't care if I'm on some stupid list and if Zoro doesn't want anything to happen to me! I want Zoro to be back with us, and if we have to deal with the world aristocrats to do so, so be it!" He stomped once on the floor with his hooves.

"Zoro was always there for me and no matter how mad he might have been, he always fought for each of us." Tears were streaming down his fur. "Now it's my turn to protect him from these Korekutas and if it costs me my life, I'll gladly die!"

"Chopper," Nami whispered quietly.

"Hahaha, but that won't be necessary." On the other side of the room the main door was ripped open as well by no one but the captain of the small crew, the fishing route on his shoulder, laughing loudly. "At the end of the day, Muchinushi is mine and I know exactly how I'm going to defeat him!"

"What?"

"But last time the guy just threw you around like a broken toy." Usopp's comparison was a bit harsh, but not entirely inappropriate.

The cook folded his arms and looked over to Luffy in doubt.

"Listen," he said, "I also think we should take on this Muchinushi, but we're most likely to have a chance if we fight him together."

The black-haired man shook his head.

"No," he still grinned, "trust me. I know exactly what I need to do."

Then he hit his clenched fists against each other, ready to fight.

"I still have to settle a score with him, so leave it to me."

The others exchanged uncertain glances, but it was not uncommon for their captain to propose such plans.

"Then that leaves the usual horde of rarity hunters for the rest of us, who we already dealt with last time," Chopper noted just as aggressively.

"Well, don't forget Joudama," Usopp interjected. "She may not be a fighter, but that's Muchinushi neither and when I think about how easy she could just make an entire island float, I don't think she'll be taken out that easily."

"Seven of us against one? I like our chances." Nami sounded extremely confident of victory.

"Well, I'm not so convinced it'll be that easy," Franky grumbled, still upset. "Even if everything goes smoothly - and that's a big if - then we still don't know where Zoro is." He shook his head.

"Just stop it!" Nami growled at him. "I've told you several times that Rayleigh probably knows where he is, and we have his Vivre Card."

Now she shook her head and went over to the kitchenette to get a coffee.

"Personally, I think you're out of line here. We were all surprised by the events, okay? I don't like at all what's going on right now either. But we all have our past. I may not have killed anyone, but I stole their belongings, regardless of the consequences and who knows what happened to these people afterwards. You just brand Bronze as evil because of the stories you've heard, but the world isn't just black and white, good and evil. Like none of us. You stole our money and beat up Usopp - just by the way - and yet we are friends. Perhaps Zoro has made mistakes in his past and maybe he has inflicted suffering on many innocent people, and of course no one can justify that, but you're pretending he's still the same, as if he'd just gone around killing people for the fun of it."

"Nami, please, this conversation..." It was the first time that the so silent Robin got involved in a dispute during the last days.

"No, Robin. You know, if you were to say something, I could understand that. But you talked to Zoro and since then you haven't even said anything about us wanting to get him back. But Franky, on the other hand, probably doesn't want us to be successful at all. You don't want Zoro to come back, do you?"

Suddenly it was dead silent. Even Luffy had turned his gaze away and whistled innocently as he painted invisible pictures on the floor with his foot.

The cyborg cleared his throat and blushed.

"I never said I didn't want Zoro back in the crew," he grumbled, not as intimidated as Sanji just felt, although the navigator hadn't approached him at all. "But I'm not as naive as you. We cannot simply ignore the whole thing with Bronze. You only think of Zoro all the time, but the fact is that Zoro is also Bronze and Bronze is also a dragon, or just half a dragon, I don't care. There is a reason why people were afraid not only of Bronze, but of dragons in general. Even if the stories are exaggerated, there is a grain of truth in them; Dragons are dangerous, right Brook?"

Surprised by the fact that he was mentioned, the skeleton first picked up his cup of tea and took a deep sip before replying: "Well, I'm really not an expert on dragons. But as far as I know, dragons don't feel emotions, nor do they have a sense of morality. Besides..."

"Oh, that's nonsense," Sanji said now, and could see that Nami also opened her mouth to disagree. "I got no idea where you got it from and I certainly can't speak for dragons, but we know that the Marimo's a damn moralizer. All he constantly talks about is honor, as a swordsman, as a crew member, as a pirate, as a damn seaweed on legs. And as for feelings; have you interrupted him once when he makes push-ups? Well, if these rage attacks aren't emotions, then I don't know anymore."

"Exactly!" Nami agreed with him, and directly Sanji filled an inner warmth, full of passion he turned to the lady of his heart, his arms widespread to confess his eternal love to her, but then...

"Well, Brook isn't wrong. In all the books and works, I have ever read about dragons, it has been reported that they do not think and feel like humans." It was like a dagger in Sanji's heart that his beloved Robin was wielding. "But that doesn't mean they don't have feelings at all. Rather, their emotions are simply a much weaker part of their thought mechanism. They have feelings, but they can consciously separate them from their thoughts."

"Honestly, that kind of sounds like machines," Usopp muttered, shrugging slightly, "no offense, Franky."

The archaeologist nodded: "It's true in a way. Because dragons can think and act regardless of their feelings, they lack this very natural evaluation mechanism, if you like, morality. But it would be wrong to think that they have no emotions at all, they are just not as present and noticeable in dragons as in us humans."

Slowly, she stirred in her coffee, which had been cold for a long time by now.

"And Sanji is right. Zoro may not be one to let his feelings overwhelm him, but we've all experienced him being emotional. It is quite obvious that at least his human side feels like we do and he cannot simply turn off his feelings like dragons apparently could. Otherwise, he would certainly have reacted differently to Muchinushi."

Then she shrugged her shoulders and looked a little more relaxed for the first time in days. "But that would at least explain why feelings are a mystery for him."

Nami showed a subtle smile.

"So, then it's decided" Luffy laughed, "let's beat up this Muchinushi in and then we'll get Zoro back."

He laughed even louder.

"I can't wait to go on a flight with Zoro. These wings are so cool!"