Ta da! twenty four chappies and still going strong. Woot! -does a little dance- I'm beggining to wonder if everyone is still interested in this story. Is it going on too long? Maybe I should cut it down a little bit. What do you all think?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 24: Discovery

Luffy and Zoro walked into the house to see Usopp sitting on the stairs, chin resting on his hands. He looked up as they paused.

"Guys!" he cried, brightening instantly. He jumped up from the step and hurried over to them. Zoro crossed his arms and looked down his nose at the boy. Luffy grinned his stupid head off.

"Usopp!" Luffy returned and slung his arm over his friend's shoulder. Usopp raised an eyebrow.

"Are you drunk?" the boy asked. Luffy pouted and removed his arm.

"No." he responded before spotting someone else he knew, "CHOPPER!" and he launched himself through a doorway and into another room.

"What did you do to him?" Usopp asked. Zoro frowned.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" he growled. Usopp quivered.

"Nothing!" and he ran off after Luffy. Zoro continued to glare after the long haired boy and then a small smile appeared around his mouth before he walked into the room after them. Nami was talking with Nojiko while Luffy was hugging Chopper so hard that the swordsman was sure the reindeer's eyes would pop out.

Genzo, Sanji and Usopp were standing in a corner, talking. Zoro also noticed the loud music that was pounding out from a CD player that was sitting on the windowsill. The room itself was quite large… if you took out the lounge chairs, coffee table, and various side tables that lay about the room.

The curtains were a light orange and the carpet was a dark blue.Two lights at separate ends of the ceiling, lit the room and had a happy effect on the people sitting around.

He found a quiet little seat in the corner of the room, sat down, and watched. He wriggled around in the seat, but his swords were sticking into the back of the chair, so he pulled them off and laid them by his side on the floor.

"Luffy! You're strangling me!" Chopper gasped. Luffy blinked and then relaxed his hold a little.

"Sorry. Let's dance!" and the boy ran into the middle of the room and began jumping around like a jack in the box. Zoro raised an eyebrow and shook his head, placing a hand over his eyes. Good thing Luffy didn't get embarrassed, otherwise he'd be dying of it right now.

Chopper was being swung around like some weird sort of ball on a string. It was truly a strange sight to behold. Zoro couldn't take it anymore, he had to look away, but not before a smile burst forth and he snorted.

That kid was too damn funny for his own good. His gaze took him to where Genzo, Sanji and Usopp were standing, and it was then he began to notice the difference in the love cook. There seemed to be a permanent, happy smile stuck to the man's lips, and he was more relaxed than Zoro had ever seen him.

His shoulders were drooped, whereas before they had always been tight and strict. He was also smoking a lot less. Zoro raised an eyebrow and then with a slight shove, he got up and wandered over.

"Zoro!" Usopp cried happily… and then swung around a bottle of beer. He had obviously been drinking. Hooray for the drunk liar, "Have I ever told you the story of how I defeated the… hic… giant snails of west Virginia?"

"No." Zoro replied in a bored tone, "And I don't want to."

"Aww, come on!" Usopp cried. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"No Usopp, and unless you have a death wish, I'd suggest leaving."

"Hmph, you're no fun." Usopp muttered and Zoro glared, causing the long nosed boy to skedaddle faster than a mouse.

"What the hell's your problem?" Zoro muttered to Sanji. The chef looked around at him.

"Nothing, what's yours?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"Well, that sword up your ass isn't there tonight."

"And the fork up yours, isn't either."

"Uh, I'm going to go and talk to Nami and Nojiko." Genzo commented before hurrying away. Zoro and Sanji looked after him.

"What's his problem?" they both said at the same time and then looked at each other.

"Why the hell do we always end up doing that?" Sanji asked, looking up at the roof with a thoughtful glance. Zoro shrugged, not really interested.

"Not my fault. You just repeat what I say."

"Bullshit. You can come back with something better."

"Eh." Zoro replied with a shrug, "What's the point?"

"The point is… what the hell is wrong with you? You're… happy."

"Am I not allowed to be?"

"No."

"Get fucked." and Zoro let himself fall into another chair again. He glared up at Sanji, who raised his swirly eyebrow before sitting down in a chair opposite the swordsman. They looked at each other for a minute and then their gazes turned away.

Sanji's, went to Nami.

Zoro's, went to Luffy.

"AHA!" they both cried.

"What?" they asked in sync.

"I knew it!" once again, it was together. They both frowned and then Sanji said quickly,

"I knew you liked him!"

"What? I knew you liked her." and then Zoro frowned. That, really had been no secret. He paused a moment and then realized, what little ammo he had had, was now gone. Sanji smirked at him and Zoro frowned again.

"I've always like Nami." he said.

"Well that was obvious from the way you flirted with all those other girls in those towns." Zoro responded sarcastically.

"Not really. I never got the opportunity. We were always chasing after you." and it surprised Zoro just a little, when Sanji didn't glare at him. They stayed in silence for a while.

"So, do you?" Sanji finally asked.

"Huh?" Zoro grunted. He was half asleep and he wanted to stay that way.

"Do you like Luffy?"

"Oh leave me alone." and Zoro rolled over, snuggling his face into the armrest of the chair. Sanji shook his head.

"Knew it." he muttered.

"Get off my back! You like Nami, I like Luffy, get over it." and the swordsman's eyes flew open. Sanji blinked and then commenced laughing his ass off.

"He admitted it!" and the chef rolled off his seat by accident, "Ow." Zoro snorted.

"Serves you right."

---

"It really is good to have you back Nami." Nojiko said, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder. Nami smiled.

"Yeah." she replied and then sighed before looking over at Luffy, who was spinning like a top around the room, Chopper hanging from his arms. The poor little reindeer looked about ready to throw up.

"It's good to have you back Nami." Genzo commented as he sat down. Nami raised an eyebrow and looked at Nojiko.

"So I've been told." she replied.

"Are you okay?" Genzo asked.

"Yeah. I'm alright."

"She's celebrating." Nojiko said, indicating towards the bottle in Nami's hand. The ginger haired woman smirked.

"Perhaps… I should save our little doctor." Nami muttered. Nojiko looked up.

"Heh, yeah. He looks like he's had enough." she replied. Nami got up off her chair and moved over, ducking underneath one of Luffy's wildly swinging legs.

"Hey, Luffy, why don't you let Chopper have a break huh?" she asked, grabbing Luffy's shoulder. The boy looked at her, and then down at the reindeer in his arms. Chopper's eyes were rolling in their sockets, and the poor little guy was a pale green colour. Luffy pouted.

"Yeah, I guess." and he handed the fuzzy doctor to Nami, who nodded and took Chopper back to a chair and sat him down. Nojiko chuckled at him.

Luffy looked wildly around the room, looking for someone to talk to.

His eyes spotted Usopp, who was asleep in a chair. Boring!

Sanji, who had fallen onto the floor and was just now getting up. Boring!

Nami, Nojiko and the sickened Chopper. Once again, boring!

Zoro, half asleep in the chair. Hmm, possibly interesting. He bounded over and jumped into Zoro's lap.

"Zoro!" he cried. Sanji, who had just gotten up, snorted. Zoro glared at him over his shoulder and the chef hurried away to Nami. Apparently, Nami was an interesting subject tonight. Zoro rearranged himself so Luffy sat comfortably on his lap, and then closed his eyes with a sigh.

"What do you want?" he mumbled. Luffy pouted.

"I was bored." he replied.

"Forget it. I'm not playing. I am so tired, it's not funny." and he looked up at Luffy, "Aren't you?"

"Nope! Happy as a… well, something happy anyway."

"You're a bright spark." Zoro muttered sarcastically. Luffy's brows furrowed.

"Bright spark? What's that mean?"

"I dunno." and he smiled. Luffy's mouth twisted and he pushed his hands against Zoro's chest.

"Stop being mean."

"Eh, who was being mean?"

"You were." and then Luffy blinked blearily and lay his head on Zoro's chest.

"Oh-ho, not tired huh?" Zoro asked and Luffy made a negative sound.

"Nope." he yawned. Zoro chuckled and laid a hand on Luffy's back.

"Sleep." and he took a deep breath, "We leave tomorrow morning." and his smile fell.

"Don't do that." Luffy whined, his voice muffled by Zoro's chest. Zoro frowned.

"What?"

"Take deep breaths. Makes me slide backwards." and Luffy yawned again. Zoro smiled.

"Right."

---

The next morning dawned way too bright and way too early for Zoro's liking. He groaned as light filtered through the window and abused his sleep muddled eyes. There was a lighter groan around the vicinity of his stomach and he looked down to see Luffy still curled on top of him.

The boy was curled into a tight ball, hands clenched into fists under his chin and knees drawn up to his chest. His feet were bare, his sandals having obviously slipped off while he had been sleeping. Zoro smiled and yawned, his chest heaving as he did so. Luffy groaned and one of his hands reached out to weakly grasp at Zoro's shirt. He yawned and pressed his face further down into the swordsman's chest. Zoro raised an eyebrow, reached up a hand and prodded the boy in the back.

"Nnng." Luffy groaned. Zoro pushed himself upwards and prodded Luffy again, "Nnng!" and his brows furrowed sleepily. Zoro chuckled.

"Wake up Luffy." he said. Luffy yawned and opened his eyes, clenching a fist and rubbing it over his eyes.

"What time is it?" he asked, looking around the room sleepily. Zoro shrugged.

"No idea."

"Oh, Zoro!" Luffy cried, brightening. He had apparently just noticed the swordsman.

"Oh hello. Just notice I was here did you?" Zoro asked sarcastically. Luffy pouted.

"I thought I was in the car." he responded. Zoro yawned and sat up, nudging Luffy off his lap. The boy jumped onto the carpet and crossed his legs before looking around.

"Hmm, now, where did Hat go?" and he patted his own back, trying to find it, "Not there." and he looked around the room again, "Aha!" and he moved forward to grab the hat from under neath a coffee table. He jammed it onto his head and grinned brightly.

"Wonder where everyone else is." Zoro muttered. Luffy shrugged as he stood and slipped on his sandals, which had been lying at the end of the chair.

"I don't know. But," and he sniffed the air, "FOOD!" and he ran out of the room. Zoro blinked.

"How the…" and he shrugged, deciding it was best not to ask questions. If Luffy smelled food, it was best to trust him. The swordsman got up off of his chair and stretched. The weight at his side was missing.

"Swords… swords." he muttered and then remembered where he had put them the night before. Moving over to the chair, he found them in the exact same place and picked them up.

"GET OFF ME! You're not getting fed till after Nami has hers!" Sanji's voice echoed out from the hallway. Zoro sighed and shook his head. When would Luffy learn? He supposed he should save Sanji from Luffy's puppy eyes, but it then occurred to him that the eyes probably didn't work on the chef as well as they worked on him. He frowned at that, but then smiled. Maybe they did, but, he felt it was a special trait that only he was entitled to.

Zoro moved towards the doorway and then paused, looking around. He had no idea where to go. He had no idea where Luffy had gone. Zoro's lips twisted as he looked right. That was the doorway to the outside world. Left, revealed a staircase, the one they had found Usopp sitting on last night. Come to think of it, they had never found out exactly what the liar had been doing there in the first place.

Oh well, that was inconsequential right now. What he really needed, and his stomach reminded him with a loud growl, was food. He moved towards the staircase and began walking up it, one hand in his pocket while the other was on the rail. Zoro moved up the stairs and paused at the top, looking around once again. What would a kitchen be doing upstairs anyway? Nami came out of a door in front of him and she paused, blinking at him and then she smirked.

"Lost?" she asked. Zoro frowned.

"No…"

"Right. The kitchen is downstairs and to the left. You have to go around the stair case to get to it." she explained. Zoro blinked.

"Oh…" and he turned around.

"Wait, I'll walk with you." and she shut her door and hurried after him. They moved down the stairs, which weren't very many, and then turned the corner.

"Luffy awake then?" Nami asked. Zoro nodded, "Ah. I guess his sleep must have been very good last night."

"Why's that?" Zoro asked, but he had a sneaking suspicion as to why Nami was asking. She shrugged.

"Well, he was lying in a comfortable position and I didn't hear anything all night. I mean, all alone down there and everything. I thought for sure you would have taken advantage of the situation." she replied. Zoro stiffened and a blush spread across his cheeks quicker than lightning.

"I- you- I did not!" he cried, stopping in the hallway. Nami chuckled lightly.

"Of course not." she replied in a patronising voice. Luffy poked his head out of a door just ahead and Zoro looked up.

"Nami!" the boy cried brightly, "Hurry up! Sanji won't let me eat until you're here!" Nami sighed and a small smile escaped her lips. Zoro smiled. He may not have an advantage over Sanji with this, but, he could possibly have an advantage over Nami.

"I know what happened with you and Sanji last night as well." he muttered with a sly smile. Nami blinked.

"You couldn't have. You were asleep. I know, cos I took pictures." and she walked away and into the room where Luffy obviously was. Zoro's jaw nearly dropped through the floor. He was amazed, and annoyed. He had lost his ammo, he had lost his possible chance of getting out of the money he owed Nami.

Yes, at the very last stop, she had paid for fuel and he owed her. Whoopee doo. Zoro just adored being in debt. He stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and moved into the kitchen, where Nami was eating daintily at a table while Luffy was wolfing down his food beside her. Zoro still couldn't understand how such a small boy could eat so much.

Must be his metabolism. Zoro thought as he sat down beside the kid. Luffy didn't even look up. Sanji whirled over with a plate and placed it in front of him and Zoro picked up the fork.

"Are we leaving this morning then?" Sanji asked from behind the kitchen bench.

"I guess." Zoro replied as he placed a forkful of food into his mouth. Nami sighed.

"We have to. The sooner we get Zoro back to his town, the sooner we can clear this ridiculous warrant and the sooner we can all get on with our lives. I don't know about you, but, I'm sick of being cooped up in a car. I would rather stay here." and she gave her newspaper a flick as she opened it. Zoro frowned down at his plate.

"You don't have to come." he said softly. Nami looked at him over the paper.

"Nonsense. Of course I'm coming. You'd be lost without me." she responded.

"And you wouldn't eat if I wasn't there." Sanji commented from behind the bench.

"And you'd be dead without me to kick ass for you!" Luffy cried brightly, letting his fork fall to his empty plate with a clatter. Zoro looked up.

"I can kick ass for myself thankyou." he replied to Luffy, who grinned.

"Not as good as I can!" he gloated. Nami watched them from behind the paper, a sly smile on her face.

"Oh yeah?" Zoro growled. Luffy grinned back at him. Zoro's mouth twisted.

"Go on, take him on. Haven't seen a good fight in a while." Sanji commented.

"Oh hush Sanji." Nami hissed and winked at him. Sanji smiled.

"Of course. I will not deny you what you wish." he replied, continuing to make breakfast.

"Oh yeah?" Luffy cried in return to a comment Zoro had just made about him, "You remember what happened that night we first met. I socked you well an truly. You were out of it!" Zoro chuckled.

"Only cos' I let you." he replied. Luffy frowned, and then poked his tongue out.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Oh shut up! I can't take anymore of it!" Nami finally yelled over the top of them.

"Pay no heed to their lover's quarrel my lovely." Sanji cooed. Nami glanced at him. Zoro and Luffy steamed.

"It's not a quarrel!" they both yelled. Chopper and Usopp decided to pick this time to stroll in.

"Morning guys." they both said as they took their seats at the table. Sanji swept over with their breakfast and then went back behind the counter.

"I wonder where Nojiko and Genzo are." Nami wondered aloud as she looked behind as if expecting them to just walk right in at that moment. In fact, she wasn't far off it.

"Everyone!" Nojiko's voice called as she rushed in, "There's a police car outside. A strange man in a white jacket with two cigars, and a girl with a sword and glasses." Zoro's head snapped up and everyone around the table looked at him.

"You have to be kidding." he groaned.

-------------------------------------------

Dun dun dun, cliffie again! -giggles hysterically- I love doing that. Pisses you all off, doesn't it? But, this is the beggining of the end my friends. It's coming to a close. -begins to cry- not really. I'll be happy to finish this one so I can work on some other ones.

Namely, Luffy's first day of school, Alone, some drabbles and other things(-points at Alone- Check it out! In my opinion, it rocks more than Fugitives!). Anyway, enough with my pointless rambling. Reviews would be very much appreciated. Pweeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssseeeeeeeeee? -pull's a patented 'Plushie Pout'- copyright. Woot!