Sorry for the lack of update, college is tougher than I thought. I'm having trouble figuring out a way to end this without pissing people off. So if anyone has any suggestions let me know. To my own horror, I'm being to show signs of writer's block. God damn it. Any help would be appreciated. Don't worry though. I have a few more chapters already written so I can still update, but maybe not as often as I thought. I want to space them out 'cause I don't want to be one of those people that neglects a story for years and leaves all those great reviewers hanging. But that's enough about that. The story continues...
Rain
Obeying his captain's orders, Zoro shut the door. He turned and faced his grieving family. Robin had taken his spot in the back of the room, and was quietly staring out at nothing, apparently in deep thought. She had stopped crying… for now. So had Sanji, in fact now that he was in the kitchen he was finding things to keep him busy. Right now he seemed to be getting water for everyone. Whenever someone said they didn't want any, he placed a glass on the table in case they changed their mind. Nami had been one of the few who declined Sanji's offer; probably because she was also busy. She sat at the end of the table holding a bawling reindeer against her chest trying unsuccessfully to calm him down. A few chairs down from her sat Brooke who, when offered a glass of water, asked the cook if there was anything he could do to help. Zoro knew the musician hated it when things got too quiet, the lack of noise would drive him crazy soon if didn't find anything to distract him. Zoro didn't blame him-fifty years of isolation does that to you.
"Umm.." Sanji scanned his kitchen, trying to find something for Brooke to do. The counters were clean-as always, he had just finished passing out the water, and there were no dirty dishes- but he could make some!
"Would anybody like breakfast?" Sanji asked trying to bring some form of normality back into their lives, while at the same time praying that someone would give him something to do.
"Pff"
Zoro looked over at Franky who was lying on the red cushioned bench across from the kitchen, "Why is it that whenever somebody dies, there always has to be food?" Franky commented, not realizing he was saying it out loud.
The incredibly frank rudeness of the comment caused the whole room to turn silent. He quickly apologized "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out-"
"It's because when a loved one dies, the family of the deceased is usually so busy making funeral arrangements, they forget to eat. Therefore in order to aid the family in their time of need neighbors bring them food to give them one less thing to worry about." Robin said automatically.
A moment of awkward silence followed.
"I'm not hungry" Nami muttered resting her head against Choppers pink hat.
"Me neither" Chopper said not having enough energy to cry anymore.
"I'll pass" Franky answered.
"I don't have much of a stomach this morning" Brooke said "Then again I don't have much of a stomach any morning! Because I don't have organs since I'm already dea- !" Brooke stopped himself. Joking about death didn't seem like a very sensible thing to do today. Instead he coughed awkwardly.
"Robin-chan would like anything this morning?" Sanji asked trying to avoid another uncomfortable silence.
"No thank you, Sanji" Robin said politely.
...
"I'll have something."
Sanji looked at Zoro.
"…I don't care what it is … Make whatever the hell you want." Zoro said indifferently, looking elsewhere.
Sanji studied the swordsman for a minute, before turning back to the sink. "Fine"
Then Sanji threw something at him, which he easily caught. It was a damp dish towel.
"But wash your hands" Sanji glared at him.
Zoro looked at his hands and saw what the cook meant. His arms and hands were stained with Usopp's blood…He'd forgotten about that.
Zoro got to work on scrubbing the blood off his hands, it took a while to get off since it been on him for so long, but still it wasn't as bad as it could be. Nevertheless, the amount of time it took for him to get his hands clean didn't go unnoticed since everyone was watching him.
Yet, Zoro was the only one who noticed the chief throwing away the bloody -though perfectly reusable dish towel.
After Zoro dried his hands he took a seat at the table, while Sanji started cooking.
But Sanji did not forget about Brooke.
"Oi Brooke"
The skeleton faced him "Yes?"
"Could you get the paprika? It's in the left cabinet. "
"Oh! Hai!" Brooke hurried over to help "This one?" He asked as he opened the cabinet.
"Yeah that one." Sanji told him as he pulled more ingredients from the fridge "It should be behind the cinnamon."
"Oh here it is! Got it!"
"Put that by the stove and get the frying pan, it should be in the cabinet on the left."
Sanji continue to keep Brooke involved in helping him create a dish that typically takes a long time to make.
"It's going to rain." Nami said to no one in particular.
Zoro looked at her.
"When?" he asked.
"…Now" Just after she said that, they heard thunder boom in the distance.
"Is there going to be a storm?" Zoro asked her.
"…It's too early to be certain, but I doubt it though. Why?"
Zoro stared at the door.
Nami followed his gaze, "He'll be fine" she told him as if she read his mind.
…
"So" Franky looked Zoro in the eye "Who did it?"
The room suddenly got very quiet.
"…."
"….I don't know" Zoro answered.
"What did they look like?" Franky asked.
"I don't know" Zoro answered looking away.
"What do you mean you don't know what they look like?" Franky asked growing more and more intense "Weren't you suppose to be on watch this morning? Where were you when it happened?"
"Franky-" Brooke tried but Sanji stopped him. He too wanted to know how something like this could happen on Zoro's watch.
"Where the hell were you?"
"I was standing right beside him." Zoro looked at Franky.
"…"
"Wait – let me get this straight." Franky sat up "You were standing right next to him when he got shot, and YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE BASTARDS LOOK LIKE ?" Frank roared incredulously "What were they invisible or something?"
"I didn't see anything" Zoro told him trying to remain calm.
"Well at least tell us which direction the damn gunshots came from!"
"There was only shot and I didn't hear it."
"One shot?" Franky asked skeptically "That's it? No battle?" Zoro shook his head "You expect us to believe that after all the shit he lived through, after getting this far, that HE WENT DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT?"
Franky's words seemed to echo throughout the room. Franky himself was breathing heavily. Then he asked in the calmest voice he could muster in his rage "And you didn't hear anything?"
"No"
Franky looked away and shook his head then he said rather scornfully "It doesn't matter if you heard it or not"
Zoro looked at him.
"-you would have given us the wrong directions anyway!"
SLAM
Zoro had Franky pinned against the wall, instantly.
"What did you say?" Zoro growled.
"Oh, you didn't hear that either?" Franky mocked.
BAM
Zoro punched Franky straight in the face. He punched him so hard he left a dent deep into the wall behind Franky's head- which (needless to say) seriously pissed the shipwright off.
"YOU BASTARD" Franky roared grabbing Zoro's forearms "DON'T DAMAGE MY SHIP!" and flung him onto the table knocking pitchers of water and empty glass to the floor shattering them completely. Nami sprang from her seat as Chopper shiver in her arms terrified and confused at what
was happening to their nakama.
"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" Zoro yelled sitting up.
"OH IT'S THE SAME SUBJECT! RORONOA ZORO IS A HOPELESS FUCKING DUMB ASS!"
Zoro launched himself off the table and plowed into Franky with so much force they crashed through the door, though the railing into the pouring rain and onto the grassy deck below. Once again Zoro had him pinned.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" Zoro growled.
"Get off ME!" Franky snarled trying to push him off.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?" Zoro's eyes pierced right into those of the glaring cyborg's.
"TELL ME FRANKY WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR NAKAMA DIE RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES?" Franky stopped struggling. But Zoro continued to scream over the raging thunder "STOP PRETENDING THAT YOU KNOW EVERYTHING BECAUSE YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW ME AND IF YOU THINK FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND THAT USOPP DIED WITHOUT PUTTING UP A FIGHT THEN YOU SURE AS FUCKING HELL DIDN'T KNOW HIM EITHER!"
"Heh…Heh…"Breathing heavily, Zoro stared down at the bewildered cyborg for a moment, before finally getting off him. He needed to calm down. Franky was just looking for someone to blame, it was completely understandable. Hell there wasn't a soul on this ship that didn't want the same thing. But he'd be damned if he was going to let some emotionally unstable pervert provoke him into taking his own frustrations out on a fellow nakama!
He needed compose himself. He held his breath for one second, then two seconds -
just keep holding your breath for two seconds okay?"
Usopp nodded and began holding his breath.
"That's it…Just keep breathing"
-Shit-
Screw it! He'd had enough of this! He already told them everything he knew! There was no reason for him to be there!
So without a word, Zoro walked away.
The shipwright continued to lie there bewildered in the pouring rain. Franky didn't know if it was what Zoro had said that surprised him the most, or if it was how much Zoro trembled when he said it.
Either way, Franky was far from finished with him.
As Zoro walked towards the men's quarters, Franky got to his feet. Just as his hand touched the handle, Franky, in a cold voice that was too low for anyone on the upper deck to hear, asked him one last question:
"If he was still fighting to stay alive then why didn't you get him help instead of standing back and watching him die?"
Zoro froze. His eyes widened. He gripped the handle so hard he could feel the metal denting from underneath his fingers. His whole body began to tremble has he fought to restrain what vicious instincts began to rage inside him.
That. Bastard.
Zoro could feel his blood begin to boil in his veins.
He gritted his teeth. He wanted to rip that ignorant bastard's tongue right out of his head and shove it down his throat!
That. Fucking. Bastard!
"ERRAAH!"
Zoro wrenched the door open and SLAMMED it shut behind him.