Okay my dear friends and reviewers, I am sorry for the wait on this story, but I had to finish Tango so, yeah. Hope you enjoy:D
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Chapter 2: Hunger
Zoro lay against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and his swords leaning against the wall beside him. Luffy fidgeted, watching the older man and then glancing around the basement. He was bored out of his freakin' mind for god's sake! Why couldn't they go anywhere? How long would they have to stay down here?
He got up and walked to the other side of the room, and then back to the other side again, pacing. He had thrown a yo-yo at Zoro to try and get him to wake up, but, apparently that man could sleep through his own lynching.
Luffy glared at the black haired man and tilted his head. The guy was fast asleep, so, it wouldn't hurt if he went outside, would it? Luffy paused, finger resting on his chin in thought and then he grinned and walked outside.
The afternoon was bright and happy and Luffy grinned as he looked around. He poked his head out from the alleyway and watched the roads. Seeing no police cars, he was about to walk out, when a hand gripped his shoulder.
"Are you trying to kill me?" a gruff voice asked. Luffy turned and grinned.
"No." he replied confidently. Zoro frowned and pulled Luffy back before pushing him up against the wall, hands crushing the boy's shoulders to the brick wall. Luffy gazed back at him.
"Look, you can't go out into public unannounced. If anyone caught you, or saw you they could report us and then they would find us and I would be… put in jail." Zoro said, hoping that would be all they would do.
But that Smoker bastard was a hard ass and he was sure as hell to keep following them for as long as they lived. Luffy gave a slight moan of pain and Zoro let his shoulders go before walking away. Luffy briefly rubbed his shoulder before following.
"Zoro! You didn't have to be so mean!" he whined. Zoro spun and seemed to be about to yell something but he paused and sighed. He closed his eyes and placed a hand over his face.
"Sorry." he mumbled. Luffy smiled.
"It's okay. You didn't really hurt me anyway." he replied. Zoro pulled his hand away and looked up. Without any warning at all, he grabbed Luffy and dragged him into a darker part of the alleyway.
A single cop walked past the entrance to the alleyway, barely glancing down it before moving on. Zoro heard a soft giggle and looked down to see Luffy holding a hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking as he tried to suppress his giggling.
"This is so cool." he squeaked. Zoro raised an eyebrow and sighed.
"You're really weird, you know that?" he said. Luffy looked up and grinned.
"Thanks! So are you!" he cried. Zoro sighed again and shook his head.
"Why me?" and he walked back into the abandoned apartment.
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Night came quickly and Zoro decided it would be a good time to move out and try to at least reach the edge of the town. Luffy seemed to have lost some of his initial enthusiasm and was also complaining of hunger.
"Zorooooooo." Luffy whined. Zoro jumped, turned and slapped a hand over the boy's mouth.
"Shhhhut up." Zoro hissed. Luffy's eyes drooped.
"Sorry." he whispered after Zoro had taken his hand away. "I'm just soooooo hungry."
"Well there's not much we can do about it so hush." and Zoro continued down the alleyway, hand on the hilts of his swords. Luffy followed and everything was silent until Luffy's stomach gurgled loudly. Zoro paused and turned around.
"I didn't do it on purpose." Luffy replied in answer to his glare. Zoro's eye twitched.
"Stay here." he snarled and hurried away. Luffy waited silently and it wasn't long before Zoro returned carrying a large box in his arms.
"Damnit kid. Because of you I nearly got caught!" Zoro hissed when he had returned. Luffy peered inside the box and his face lit up.
"Food!" he cried. Zoro nodded and sat down to lean against the wall.
"We have to make it last for a while." he cautioned before looking over. Luffy had already eaten most of the packets of chips and was now starting on the tins of tuna.
"Hey!" Zoro cried. Luffy paused and looked up, tuna hanging from the side of his mouth.
"What?" he asked. Zoro frowned.
"I said that had to last us a while, not two seconds." he replied. Luffy grinned and finished off the tin. He waited a second and then whined in the back of his throat.
"Augh, what now?" Zoro growled.
"Still hungry." Luffy replied looking longingly at the box's contents. Zoro groaned and let his head fall back against the wall. They were never going to get out of here if they kept going like this. Then an idea popped into his head.
"Tell you what," Zoro said, causing Luffy to pull back the hand that had been inching towards the box, "when we get out of here, and I mean out of the town, then you can eat some more." Luffy thought about this then jumped up.
"Ok." he replied brightly and then picked up the box. Zoro got up as well and gave a half-hearted smile. Luffy began to lead the way through the town. Zoro hurried after him, but Luffy seemed to know the way off by heart.
"Do you even know where you're going?" Zoro hissed when they turned another corner. Luffy grinned over his shoulder, but it was lost in the darkness.
"Of course! I do live here you know." Luffy replied. Zoro considered this for a moment and then shrugged and continued to follow. The houses began to thin out on either side, and trees replaced them as they reached the edge of the town. Luffy stopped and Zoro succeeded in stopping just before walking into the back of the younger male.
"What are you doing?" Zoro asked looking around for some sign of anything that could have made Luffy want to stop.
"You said when we reached the edge of the town I could eat some more." Luffy replied stubbornly as he sat down beside a large tree. Zoro could have been annoyed, in fact, he could have been downright furious, but, instead he found himself being slightly amused by the boy's attitude. He walked over and sat down beside the happily eating boy.
"Fair enough. But, I want some too." Zoro asked. Luffy smiled and held out a tin of canned spaghetti. Zoro took it gratefully. He hadn't eaten in three days and not even someone as hard and enduring as himself could last forever without some sort of food.
"So… have uh, you got any family here or something?" Zoro asked unsurely. He didn't want to force Luffy into telling him something he didn't want to, "Cos' if you do, you know, you could stay here." he finished. Luffy continued eating for a moment before pausing.
"No. My Mum and Dad died when I was little and my brother left a few years ago." Luffy replied, sounding a little happier than someone who had no family should sound. Zoro looked over at him.
"Sorry." he muttered. Luffy turned and looked at him with a large, bright smile.
"What for?" he asked. Zoro tilted his head slightly, a little uncomprehending. "You did nothing. It wasn't your fault Mum and Dad died. It wasn't your fault that Ace left. So, as far as I'm concerned, you have nothing to apologize for." Luffy explained and then flashed another smile before diving back into the food. Zoro's eyebrows furrowed and then he smiled.
This kid is smarter than he lets on. He thought as he ate some more of the spaghetti.
"Alright Luffy, we need to-" but he was cut off by the sound of a slight snore. Luffy was leaning back against the tree, fast asleep. Zoro sighed and shook his head. Whether he liked it or not, he had now been saddled with this kid.
He smiled and prepared to stay up and watch for the rest of the night. No matter how much of a pain this kid might be, at least he was company.
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There ya go, and next week there will be another chapter for all you little bug eyed readers. XP Only joking, hey! Don't run away! I was kidding. Aw darn it. -sulks-