Author's note: Yay! No more simply telling what happened in the anime (with a few of my twists to get my plot going, of course)! I mainly did that to take some time to establish the mood of my story and to help remind readers about things that happened before the crew left for the Grand Line. I had to go over some episodes myself just to be sure. Since my story takes place so early in the anime, it won't have any spoilers or confusing details for new watchers. Anyway… now, it's time for my show to begin! :P
Venom
Chapter 3: Bite of Apprehension
Warm peach beams of approaching dusk radiated into the sturdy wood and echoed upon the iron plates of the Going Merry, bursting through her full sails and casting rich shadows behind and beneath her masts. The ship had long since ceased her distressed creaks and cries of the passed ocean storm; now the water sparkled serenely, beaming back at the blissful face of the sun, and wispy rose clouds had trickled into the sky, resting lazily just above the western horizon.
It's amazing how suddenly the weather on the ocean can change, Zoro thought to himself as he passed the lush green whisper of the navigator's prized tangerine patch. He looked far out behind the ship into the eastern lapis expanse. The water's still as glass now.
The swordsman's liberally muscled arms ached from hours of exertion; during the endless storm, Nami had confined him to an empty room with his beloved old stubborn friend, the rudder shaft. Now the varying and casual voices of his crewmates resounded languidly up from the lowest and central portion of the Merry's deck.
'Old friend'…
His mind sparked with remembrance; in the chaos of the storm, he had hastily stuffed that perturbing letter back into his haramaki as he had had no time to look at it, and had nearly forgotten about it entirely. But—as Nami had explained minutes earlier—since the storm had driven the Merry considerably off course, they would not arrive at the base of Reverse Mountain for approximately thirty-six hours, much to the deep dismay of the captain.
Stepping now into the rich blue shade cast by the citrus bushes, Zoro stole a couple sudden glances from both his sides to ascertain that he was alone, and slid a strong hand down the front of his abdomen to retrieve the mysterious sheet of writing. Its previously water-stained splotches had dried and contracted, shriveling its texture like a raisin.
Capturing a deep, raw breath of ocean air, Zoro tentatively unfolded the paper and swallowed before beginning to read its elegantly scripted text.
"Dearest old neighbor—"
His eyes widened. You've got to be kidding me—!
Zoro locked his eyes into place upon the header, halting his reading, and he raised his brow in a rapid and firm revelation:
Kane wrote this.
But how in the hell…?
The swordsman twisted his features into a blend of astonishment and a bit of disgust.
That bastard… somehow he managed to slip this letter into my clothes.
Lifting his eyes to the watercolors of a pastel sky, Zoro took a moment in silence to mentally prepare himself before looking back down to continue.
"Dearest old neighbor," and his eyes dropped into the lines of script:
"I hope this letter has found you in high spirits and good health, as I'm sure you will come to realize that you will need them on your journey."
Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"Similarly, I imagine you have come to regard this letter that you are reading with suspicion due to the clever manner in which I have delivered it to you."
"No shit," the swordsman muttered aloud.
"Please do not be alarmed, for I bear good intentions only.
"It has risen to my attention via a variety of informational sources that you are preparing to enter the Grand Line as a pirate to continue your quest to become the 'world's greatest swordsman'—or so you hope."
Zoro wrinkled his nose in a sneer.
"However, I must advise you to take a certain circumstance of which you are not yet aware into consideration:
"I do not believe you to be fully prepared to leave the East Blue—"
The swordsman released a mocking breath. Seriously…? What the fuck?
"Your crew is minimal, your ship is feeble—"
Suddenly a familiarly gravelly and cheerful voice interrupted his focus. Its carefree singsong called out for him thoughtfully as it approached.
"Zo-ro… Zooo-ro! Zoro, Zoro, Zorooo…"
Zoro pressed his lips irritably into a line and attempted to continue.
"Your crew is minimal, your ship is feeble, and I doubt you yourself are fully equipped either. It would be wise to bring—"
Luffy's sandals clopped up the stairs and stood to face the sturdy back of the swordsman.
Zoro tried once again.
"It would be wise to—"
"Hey, Zoro? Zoro. Zor—!"
"What?" he finally gave in, exasperated.
"What's that?"
"A letter," he responded impatiently.
"From who?"
The swordsman ignored his captain, and instead returned to Kane's writing, though he really did not want to read the entirety of what he guaranteed to himself to be a ridiculous ramble of hot air. And he hated the way Kane spoke. It simply sounded ridiculous to him; it reeked of a seemingly sarcastic blend of excessive formality. Even if the part regarding the Strawhats to be rather unequipped in proportion to the summit of their quest was somewhat true, the swordsman honestly didn't care at the moment. So he swiftly scanned through various phrases and lines:
"…an ocean of forces you do not know… I hold you in the highest regard, Roronoa. You have always been… confident in your perceptive abilities… the time you have left to act upon my written concerns for you…"
Zoro felt a warm breath upon his neck and out of the corner of his eye noticed an overly curious Luffy, lips pursed with interest, peer over his shoulder at the letter held open between his hands. Uncomfortable with the invasion of his privacy, to which his captain was utterly oblivious, Zoro drank in a few final lines:
"Be cautious as well as vigilant, Roronoa, particularly… I wish you the best of luck, for on the road you are headed, you will without a doubt need every bit you can get your hands on."
"From your neighbor?" Luffy inquired artlessly.
Zoro scoffed out loud, both at his captain's question as well as the utter disrespect and mockery within the writing.
"Best wishes,
"Kane.
"P.S. I've sent out a small gift…"
Zoro had had enough. With a disdainful release of trapped air from his harsh lips, the swordsman retracted his hands and impulsively crumpled the letter. Turning to face the aft railing, he flung the paper vehemently over the back of the ship with a sneer of disgust.
"Nooo!" Luffy cried out in protest, scampering to the white railing and stretching out a rubber arm into a lengthy, snaking expanse to seize the plunging letter below, "I wanted to read it!"
The swordsman walked away irritably, descending the stairs, leaving his captain alone on the aft deck.
What a creep… He pictured Kane in his mind. Can't that bastard just leave me alone?
The jolly voices of his crewmates resounded into the cooling air as he reached the Merry's middle deck.
"Hey, Zoro!" Usopp greeted him cheerfully, "Sanji's cooking up a big celebratory meal for us!"
"Oh?"
"After a hard day's work, we all deserve a treat!" Nami piped gleefully from her reclining beach lounge, lowering the book she was reading to smile at her crewmate.
The sharpshooter scoffed humorously. "And what 'hard work' did you do, Nami? All you did was order us around while we did all the hard work of steering us through the storm!"
"I navigated us, you moron," she objected bluntly with a sarcastic grin. "Without me, you guys would be utterly helpless."
"Pretty much," Zoro concurred frankly, pulling his three swords out from their resting place at his hip and lowering himself to a sitting position upon the wooden floor and leaning lazily against the thick central pole of the mast. He placed his swords at his side.
Usopp pouted and lowered his gaze back down and resumed tinkering with his slingshot. The navigator smirked and then inhaled deeply, closing her eyes.
"Mmm," she remarked, "that smells delicious."
Zoro turned his head towards the kitchen and caught an aroma that made his mouth water: a mild sweetness of fresh warm lobster and tart tomato puree, with a tinge of blended cooking vegetables.
The cook, alone but busy in the kitchen, heard the compliment echo across the thick surfaces of his shining cookware and smiled humbly to himself. Leaving his pieces of lobster simmer in a silver pan, he finished arranging icy cold and seasoned tuna slices upon a bed of fresh chilled greens, and then swept them up on upon graceful fingers.
All the crewmates looked up as their cook emerged from the open kitchen proudly, and set the appetizer upon a small table he had set out against the flagpole.
"Tuna carpaccio. Enjoy," he presented his handiwork with a wide smile.
Nami and Usopp were the first to stand and made their way excitedly over, until their eyes widened at a familiar sound:
"…Foooooood!" came the animated and joyous cry of the captain as he sprinted down the stairs, a crinkled paper fluttering up and away from his hand, his arm shooting out towards the mast. Yes, Luffy had smelled the food.
The navigator and the sharpshooter snatched two slices each of the delicately sliced meat, and Zoro reached up to take one as well before the captain could reach the plate. The paper Luffy had been holding slipped mutely like a ghost to the foot of the stairs.
Luffy's eyes and open smile widened as his gaze locked upon his target: the colorful dish of sliced tuna.
"It's meeeeat!"
Sanji closed his eyes, grinning deeply, his hands in the pockets of his slick black trousers. "It's tuna."
Luffy gripped the central mast and used it as leverage to fling himself over to the table as quickly as possible. Whipping around to face the dish, he scooped up a handful of six slices and shoved them into his mouth.
The navigator smacked her captain's hand as an almost motherly act of discipline.
"Now, Sanji's gone to all this trouble to make us a really fancy dish, and you show him your appreciation by scarfing them down before you can even taste them?"
Sanji threw his lean shoulders back and emitted a hearty laughter.
"Luffy, don't eat all of them! Leave some for the rest of us!" Usopp cried.
The captain looked to his crewmates, cheeks full and his mouth pursed in a pout, mostly in an effort to hold back all the tuna he had stuffed into it.
"But it's so good," he protested, his voice heavily muffled.
Zoro grinned inwardly to himself and took a small bite of the slender pink slice. It was entirely chilled, but its juices flooded his mouth rapidly, brisk flavor bursting into his taste buds.
Luffy turned to his chef expectantly, swallowing about half of the chewed food in his mouth before speaking with a wide smile.
"What's next, Sanji?"
"Don't talk with your mouth full," the swordsman scolded brusquely, as usual.
Sanji was pleased. "Lobster bisque soup, with grilled brie and cherry tomato on garlic bread."
"Ooooooh!" The captain pumped his arms at his sides eagerly, eyes wide with anticipation.
Sanji laughed contentedly, and his blue eyes sparkled. "Alright, I'll get to it, captain." He turned on his heel and walked elegantly back to the kitchen to continue his work.
The sun descended hauntingly below the ocean, the western horizon of the East Blue shimmering back glassy ribbons of white gold into the sky, whose warm painted watercolors had begun to sink down with the approaching night. The blissful voices of the Strawhat crew undulated languidly over the silvery waters as the light of dusk diminished.
The long-nosed marksman of the crew had returned from below deck, a stained glass lantern combined into a wind chime swinging delicately from his dark hand and emitting pleasantly low tones, soft as velvet, into the rich evening air.
"Wow, that's beautiful, Usopp!" smiled the red-haired navigator in awe, "Did you make that?"
"Yep," the sniper affirmed, beaming, "I just finished it a few days ago, before we arrived at Loguetown. It's a set of wind chimes combined into a lantern!"
"Amazing," Nami repeated, setting down the sweet fruity drink Sanji had whipped up especially for her and walking over to her crewmate, "they sound so… soft."
"Can you hold it for a minute?"
"Sure." Nami took his creation into her delicate hands, brushing her fingertips across the hanging pipes in wonder, listening as the velvety tones soothed her senses.
Usopp approached the central mast, and, pulling out a hammer and a thick nail from his back pocket, struck it with skillful movements into the wood. Turning to the navigator, he gestured to her to finish the job. Nami placed the silver chain delicately atop the nail so that the chimes hung perfectly.
Sanji emerged multiple times from the kitchen, bringing dishes of his rich soup, and retreated back again, carrying his crewmates' many empty dishes to the sink. He appeared once more, this time carrying a silver tray of mixed drinks in fancily furrowed and glistening glasses.
"Drinks!" he called to his crew genially.
The celebratory drinks were downed with cheer and the lantern was lit, its warm glow perforating through the richly colored glass and springing forth to echo affectionately upon the wood of the Going Merry and the pleasant faces of the Strawhat crew.
A second round was served as the last of daylight disappeared beneath the horizon, and emerging stars twinkled in a crystal sky.
Zoro requested his usual wooden mug; he didn't need fancy glassware.
Sanji had brought out a small black radio from the kitchen and turned its dial so that its speakers emanated a soft jazz tune.
Luffy, after a few hefty drinks, had retrieved a bulky stack of his navigator's plain white paper from her room, much to Nami's dismay, but another special drink soon diminished her distress, and Luffy folded piece after piece into failed paper airplanes.
Usopp noticed and with slurred speech attempted to show his captain the characteristics of an aesthetic and aerodynamic paper machine, but as expected, Luffy didn't retain any of the information. Instead, the captain experimented with a couple new central and wing folds, and found that it was quite successful.
Soon an all-out battle of paper designs erupted on the deck of the Going Merry, and small airplanes sailed, back and forth across the ship, blue in the night sky. Nami, blushed with the effects of alcohol, had taken to laughing gleefully and cheering them on from her beach lounge, while Sanji and Zoro sat upon the floor facing one another with their own drinks by their sides, content in the company of their crew.
Sanji lit up a cigarette. "So, what do you think of all this, Zoro?"
The swordsman's eyes were closed contentedly, his hands resting lazily behind his head. "Hm?"
"The Grand Line. What do you suppose we'll find when we get there?"
Zoro opened his eyes faintly and smirked. "Water."
The cook emitted a mocking breath. "No shit, dumbass."
Fluttering moths tapped themselves hurriedly against the swirled glass of Usopp's lantern.
The swordsman opened his eyes and looked up to a deep sapphire sky bursting with glittering stars. He thought a moment before speaking.
"I guess I'm ready for anything. It's best to go about that way, mentally preparing yourself for anything that could happen… because anything could happen," he pondered, his voice low and relaxed.
"Yeah," the blonde chef agreed thoughtfully, a wispy white smoke snaking up from his cigarette, "Just look at just the entrance to the Grand Line. 'Reverse Mountain', where water runs up the mountainside! It's crazy! I mean, logically, how could that even work?" he remarked with an awed grin.
Zoro released a short breath. "I dunno. I really don't care about that stuff. The way I see it—those things that exist in the world that just defy all common sense and natural law—if it doesn't hurt you or otherwise hinder your goals, why bother thinking about it?"
Sanji let out a brief, pleasant laugh. "So what's the meaning of life?"
"Don't know, don't care."
At those words, Zoro felt a sharp sting pierce his right cheek briefly and saw a paper airplane, nose crinkled from the blow, fall flat onto the deck upon the sheaths of his swords.
Sanji leaned to his left to drink in the view of Luffy and Usopp's competition. "Huh. They're still going at it?"
"Guess so," Zoro concluded with a slight tint of irritability and picking up the plane with a wide palm, "I just wish they could keep it down a bit."
"There! I won that one for sure!"
"No, you started too fast!" that captain protested.
"When I say 'go', you should already be prepared to release! Watch how I do it!"
"No, you should wait for me."
"But that wouldn't be fair if you had a head start!"
"You already have a head start."
Thoughtfully, the swordsman pulled the nose of the plane straight once again, but then noticed a familiar scripted writing upon the crinkled wing, and was about to crumple the petty machine in his hands until a name in the writing caught his eye:
Kuina.
His stomach jumped into his throat; he hadn't noticed her name in Kane's letter earlier. He read the words that were visible upon the edge of the plane:
"Beneath… forces you do… these are the forces… if you do not confront… I hold you in the… sharp one with a bright… our dear Kuina from witnessing…"
Zoro swallowed tensely, his pulse hastening instinctively.
"…events you were to return to Shimotsuki… would fully agree… As I am confident in your perceptive… to understand the meaning in my writing… my concerns for you. Be cautious as well as… regarding those who deceive. I wish you the best of luck…"
Sanji must have noticed the swordsman's pained look; he shot a concerned glance at his friend.
"What's the matter?"
Zoro pressed his lips into a thin line and then crumpled the plane anxiously in his palm, reaching behind his back to slip the paper between himself and the central mast.
"It's nothing."
Sanji wasn't convinced, but didn't press the matter; he respected his crewmate's privacy.
A rather uncomfortable moment passed between the two men, intercepted only by the low, velvety tones of the stained glass chimes and its creator's exasperated cries of competitive forfeit.
"So I win!"
Usopp sighed. "Sure, whatever."
Luffy stumbled over to the two men gleefully, his face flushed.
"How about another round, Sanji?" he suggested rather compellingly, an overly wide smile stretching across his face.
"Haven't you had enough yet?"
"Nooooope!" the captain bellowed joyously. "We need to celebrate my win!"
A sullen-faced Usopp wandered over to the group.
"…and Usopp needs to drink off his loss." Luffy's knowing grin widened even further.
"I do not!" the marksman cried crossly.
The captain emitted a rich laughter, clutching his abdomen heartily.
The chef stood with a jolly chuckle and headed back into the kitchen to mix another tray of hard drinks for his seemingly already intoxicated crew.
Nami had had enough; her book lay on her lap, her lean legs crossed at the ankles, and she leaned into an elbow placed atop a small table at her side, and her chin rested in the palm of her hand. A petite smile lay across her moist lips, and her eyes were closed contentedly above flushed cheeks.
After laying eyes upon the perturbing words of Kane's letter, the swordsman ended up pouring drink after drink from the tray into his mug; he downed them hastily with a rather detrimental impulsivity.
"Zoooo-ro! Leave some drinks for me!" the captain protested, stumbling against the railing of the ship. "Hey, Usopp… Usopp, look. Zoro's… Zoro drank all my… dranks." Upon the word 'dranks', Luffy chortled merrily at his own drunkenness.
Sanji, possibly the only one who wasn't inebriated, had been eyeing the swordsman with concern.
"Take it easy, there," he remarked uneasily as Zoro gulped down the remaining contents of his mug, spilling a bit clumsily over his broad shoulder. "You sure you're okay?"
The man in question released a ragged sigh, slapping his mug down onto the deck. He felt the alcohol warmly tingle down the walls of his throat. He felt his sobriety beginning to slip away into the night.
Looking rather dazedly at the blonde cook's curled eyebrow, he replied with a slur and a bizarre smile, "Yeah, I'm fuckin' peachy, man."
Sanji looked out into the darkening sea awkwardly.
"You know, Sanji," Zoro slurred blissfully, looking the cook directly in the eye, "I ne'er really got the chance t'tell you how much I really like your food."
Sanji turned his glance back to his crewmate and eyed him with a growing suspicion. Wait… did I just hear correctly? Something's definitely wrong if this guy is complimenting my cooking.
Suddenly, a low gurgling call resounded from the northeast darkness, and a heavy, rhythmic flutter split through the calm of the wind. The navigator lifted a heavy eyelid to look as a carrier pelican emerged from the night, perching upon the railing of the ship. The crew members looked to the service bird with a fair amount of confusion.
Nami stood up from her chair and walked over to the long-faced bird, atop whose feathered breast rested a light harness, and within its frontal pouch, a small package. The bird nodded downwards, using its bill to gesture into the pouch.
The navigator reached in and pulled out the small box, which was enclosed thickly in packing tape. The bird gurgled humbly, lifting his wings as a signal.
"Sure, you can go," Nami replied, "Thank you."
The bird nodded and turned, pattering atop the railing with webbed feet, above which an identification band encircled its leg, and it leaped into the air, flying off into the northeastern darkness from whence it came.
"What's that?" inquired the blonde chef curiously, rising from his seated position to walk over.
"Is it for me?" Luffy asked bluntly.
"It says 'special delivery'," Nami noted. "It's for Zoro."
The crew looked to the swordsman, who looked back at them blankly.
"Huh?"
"Were you expecting a package?"
"No." Zoro furrowed his brow in mild confusion.
Nami walked over to Zoro and handed him the box, thickly coated in tape. It was rather heavy.
The mostly drunken crew watched stupidly as the swordsman attempted drunkenly to open the flaps of the box impossibly beneath the tape. Sanji and Nami, the most conscious of the crew, simultaneously lifted their eyebrows.
"Oh," Zoro murmured in realization, and reached for a sword at his side. Retrieving his Kitetsu, he pulled out its intricately plum-tinted blade from its rosy sheath and dug the tip of its blade into the tape, slicing it clean through.
Irritably he pulled open the flaps, and reached in to grip whatever lay within it, pulling it out and unpacking it, tossing aside the bubble wrap.
It was a sharpening block.
What in the hell…?
"What is it?" the cook inquired.
"A sharpening block."
"For your swords?" asked Nami.
Zoro's eyes widened.
"P.S. I've sent out a small gift…"
"That's nice," the navigator remarked tentatively, noting Zoro's strange expression, "Who's it fr—"
The swordsman groaned in disgust and hurled the block over the edge of the deck.
"What's wrong?" Nami's voice rose in pitch in accordance with her concern.
Zoro simply stood up abruptly as the steel block splashed violently into the sea, collecting his swords as well as the crumpled paper airplane, and left his crew, ascending the stairs to the rear deck in a ghostly silence.
The crew was quite taken aback despite the drunken stupor of a couple members, and silence echoed across the deck except for the swordsman's receding footsteps and the crackling softness of the jazz tune resonating from the small black radio.
Nami turned to face Sanji, her eyebrows pulled together slightly, hurt.
"What did I do?" she nearly whispered, mild woe invading her voice.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Nami," Sanji assured her calmly, placing a gentle hand upon her shoulder, and added as an afterthought, looking to the stairs, "I don't know what's the matter with him."
Luffy had retrieved the sheet of bubble wrap that Zoro had tossed aside and began popping the small mounds one by one with his fingers.
That fucking bastard! Zoro cursed inwardly, gritting his teeth and pacing aggressively about the aft deck in the cold darkness, returning his swords one by one into the loops in his haramaki. He had, for some fraught and drunken reason he couldn't remember, buried the folded and crumpled letter in the soil at the base of Nami's tangerine bushes so that it was hidden in the dirt.
How dare he mock Kuina's death! That sick fucking bastard! I swear, the next time I see him I'll slice him to pieces!
His heart raced with fury and he heard the pulsing of thick blood through his head, which had begun to ache. He gripped Kuina's blade with a rigid grasp, his knuckles turning white.
Suddenly he stumbled, forgetting how much alcohol he had guzzled down earlier, and fell drunkenly against the railing. Fuck.
He shot a nervous glance back towards the stairs. I really hope no one comes up here. I must look awful right now.
Zoro felt bile rise into his throat. Shit—
Abruptly he retched, gripping the railing tensely and leaning over to look down upon the churning sea, which didn't help much. Surely enough, his stomach contracted viciously, and he vomited, expelling a great deal of the alcohol he had downed into the ocean. He spat and inhaled a few gasping breaths, looking up miserably into the night sky before vomiting again.
Stomach completely emptied, the swordsman collapsed into a dizzy heap upon the aft deck, sprawled upon the cold wood and gazing up at the stars.
That bastard just wants to see me suffer because I beat him.
…I think.
…Maybe?
Zoro closed his eyes, heavy with exhaustion, and inhaled deeply.
Or maybe he's just one of these sick fucks who enjoy seeing others in pain and making them squirm.
He listened to the quiet slosh of seawater trailing behind the ships' rudder.
Probably.
The air was moist and icy cold now, chilling the exposed flesh of Zoro's arms and face, but he didn't care.
Maybe next time we see that damned pelican, I'll have Usopp shoot it.
He felt the coolness of the night air perforate his eyelids, and he thought of how the deep blue of the night sky was so much like his Kuina's hair.
Sanji struck a match against its box, and it hissed in ignition, sulfur grazing his nostrils. He held the flame to a fresh cigarette between his teeth, shook it out, and tossed it far down into the sea as he inhaled a deep breath.
Everyone went to bed finally, he thought to himself, except Zoro of course…
He turned underneath his fleece blanket to look down on the swordsman from the crow's nest. Zoro's body was plastered to the aft deck, and was still.
He's been in that same position for the past hour. Hopefully he didn't choke on his own vomit or something.
Sanji picked up the telescope at his side and aimed it at his crewmate. Zoro's mouth was open, and his chest moved slowly up and down, seemingly too sluggishly. His strong palms lay open and his dark bandana was tied around his thick bicep.
Replacing the tool upon the floor at his feet, the blonde cook shivered slightly in the cold and gathered the blanket around his shoulders to caress the stubble of his chin.
Of course I have to be on watch tonight after all my hard work, he thought to himself, though not necessarily with resentment. He smiled to himself, remembering the crew's deep appreciation for his work that day. I sure have found the right crew, he mused contentedly.
A good few hours of deep thought passed the cook—thoughts of where he had come from, the Baratie, and all her cooks of whom he was now considerably fond, and the passionate adventures upon which he had embarked with this pirate crew—as he sat atop the Going Merry, periodically retrieving the telescope to scan the edges of the sea for possible ships. Only the peaceful silver of the ocean's surface gazed back at him through the glass.
Suddenly a pained cry from below startled him. Clutching the telescope again, he turned to look down upon the ship.
His eyes fell on the body of Zoro, which had seemed to crumple wearily upon the aft deck. He was clutching his chest, Sanji saw, and his face was twisted in a pained grimace.
Sanji's eyes widened with alarm.
Is he in pain?
Rising quickly, the blonde man climbed over the opening of the crow's nest and began to scale down the netted ropes towards the side of the ship, a cold breeze brushing his hair which shone brilliantly in the starlight.
Placing his feet upon the aft deck, he rushed over to his friend, his hurried steps slowing as he neared him.
He was sleeping.
Sanji released a sigh of relief and stepped a bit closer. Zoro's features had softened a bit, and his breathing had returned to normal.
So I guess he was just having a bad dream? The cook guessed to himself. It seemed likely. Something's really been bothering him lately… something about that letter? What did he do with it?
Sanji scanned the deck for the crumpled sheet of paper that had caused his friend so much distress, but with no luck. Maybe he threw it into the ocean like he did with that sharpening block…
The blonde inhaled deeply through his cigarette and leaned against the tall bases of Nami's citrus bushes, relaxing. He looked up to the night sky thoughtfully, his hands in his pockets.
Come to think of it, why would he do that? He doesn't have one of his own. Why not keep it? It would come in handy from time to time.
The chef exhaled a huff of smoke that wisped across the far railing of the Going Merry.
Unless it was from someone he considers an enemy… but why would an enemy send him a gift?
Another pained cry from the swordsman made him jump and drop his cigarette from between his teeth, its ashes sparking upon collision with the deck.
Sanji held his breath, unsure of what to do as agonizing grunts and groans raked through the silence of the night.
Damnit!
The cook strode over and crouched to the swordsman's side, placing a hand on his chilled shoulder.
"Zoro!" he whispered forcefully, wincing in apprehension.
But it was no use. The man simply gripped more tightly at his chest, almost as if he were being stabbed repeatedly, and a cold sweat had broken out upon his forehead, glistening in the starlight.
Suddenly another hand shot up to grip Sanji's wrist powerfully, and the swordsman's face whipped around to face him. The blonde man cried out in surprise.
Sanji tried to tear out of Zoro's death-grip, but it was no use. Desperately he tried to unclasp the man's fingers from around his cuff—until the grip softened on its own.
"…Sanji?"
Zoro's eyes widened in realization; he quickly retracted his hand from his crewmate's arm and rolled away from him, bringing his body up into a sitting position against the railing of the Going Merry, his chest heaving.
"What the hell, Sanji!"
The cook had fallen back onto his backside, rubbing his aching wrist.
"Shit, Zoro, you scared the living daylights out of me!"
"Speak for yourself! What are you doing up here?" the swordsman demanded, wiping the sweat from his brow hastily with the back of his hand.
"Damnit, you nearly broke my arm."
"Erm, sorry—wait, what am I apologizing for? You're the one who was creeping around up here!"
Sanji struggled with his words. "I was on watch in the crow's nest tonight, since everyone else, including you, was totally plastered, and I thought…" he trailed off.
"You what?"
"I thought you were in trouble," the cook mumbled awkwardly.
"Huh?" Zoro furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Well… you were crying out in your sleep."
The swordsman's features softened, and he was unsure of what to say.
"Oh…uh…sorry about that." He felt his cheeks burn. Embarrassed, he looked away.
Sanji noticed this immediately, and tried to spare his crewmate further humiliation; he knew Zoro was a private individual who highly valued his dignity.
Rising to his feet, the cook bent down retrieve his fallen cigarette and then brushed off his backside.
"Okay, well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay… so I'll just go back up now." He turned hurriedly to leave.
"Wait—"
Sanji turned around to face the swordsman, who had risen to his feet.
"I'll go up."
Surprised, the chef's brow rose.
Noting the cook's expression, Zoro added tentatively while looking down, "I… I won't be able to go back to sleep again anyway."
"Alright," Sanji responded with sensitivity, "I'll go get some shut-eye. Thanks." And he descended the stairs, crossed the middle deck, and disappeared into the ship.
Zoro sighed with relief upon solitude before ascending the netted rope up to the crow's nest. Lingering sweat dried coldly on his face as the ropes creaked under his weight.
I can't believe I actually cried out in my sleep… he thought, the raw warmth of embarrassment spreading further across his cheeks. And for him to hear me from all the way up here… it must have been loud. Fuck.
The swordsman stepped over the low wall of the crow's nest and took a seat where the cook had rested. The seat was lukewarm. Zoro looked to his feet, at which lay a crumpled blanket—Sanji's blanket; he must have left it there for his friend in the chilly night—and the retractable telescope. Zoro shivered in the cold, which was much more prominent in the high altitude, and began to pull Sanji's blanket over his legs, but tossed it back to its resting place when the familiar stale odor of cigarette smoke grazed his nostrils. Instead, he looked up into the night and tried to rub some warmth into his exposed arms.
Try as he may, the swordsman couldn't keep the images of the deeply disturbing nightmare out of his mind. His features were tense and his eyes were shut as he recalled how the demonic form of a full-grown Kuina with Kane's purple scar and a masculine body had dragged her Wado Ichimonji, embedded deep into Zoro's chest, agonizingly slow to slice open his profound but healing diagonal scar received from Mihawk, blood sputtering upwards into the air. He shuddered as he recalled her small voice as she had leaned into him, remembering the haunting breath upon his face: "This is how I killed Kuina," and the voice had transformed into that of the olive-skinned, scarred man.
Desperately Zoro shook his head in an attempt to erase the images, but with no luck. Excruciatingly the hours passed like this, and he fervently awaited the return of the sun in the east. Moment after dreary moment crawled by, and the swordsman constantly tossed and turned about his sitting position in the crow's nest, periodically beginning to nod off before snapping himself forcibly awake again. No, he wouldn't let himself fall asleep. Not just because he was on watch, but also because he dreaded the return of that nerve-racking nightmare.
What time is it? He thought to himself, distressed. I don't know how long I can keep this up.
Reluctantly he submerged himself deeply into thought in order to remain fully awake, or at least as fully as he could manage, and those thoughts, regrettably, brought him to the scarred swordsman whose icy gaze made him shudder.
Something is wrong with that man, Zoro thought severely to himself. Something is wrong with this whole picture. I know it was just a stupid dream, but… it just seemed so… real…
Zoro groaned out load into the night, frustrated with his own misery.
This is all because of that goddamned letter! How could a fucking letter do this to me?
His thoughts returned to his run-in with Kane back in the bustling streets of Loguetown.
"Well, it sure has been a long time, hasn't it, Roronoa, old friend?"
The swordsman curled his lip in disgust.
"My, I haven't seen you since you were a kid! You sure have grown." Zoro pictured Kane's eyes lowering to Kuina's blade in a shrewd gaze, and Zoro gripped the sword instinctively in the night at the memory.
"But where are your three swords, pirate hunter?"
Zoro inhaled deeply, the cold air rushing into his lungs.
"Oh? You didn't look so busy sleeping up there on the stairs."
The man twisted his face with repulsion. That sick bastard was watching me sleep.
…Was he waiting so that he could make our meeting look like a coincidence?
Zoro lowered his brow in thought.
Then he must have planned to meet me. He must have… he must have been following me too! He eyes widened in realization.
But for how long? Since we arrived at Loguetown? Since Arlong Park and Cocoyashi Village? He shook his head. No. He would have tried to contact me.
…Right?
Zoro held the cold telescope to his eye and scanned the dark watery expanses in all directions. Looking finally to the eastern horizon again, he was deeply relieved to see the sky lightening into a rich cerulean. Sunrise was approaching. He replaced the telescope upon the floor at his side.
Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, he turned and repositioned himself to face the paling sky.
…Not necessarily… what if he was just waiting for us to reach Loguetown to renew contact with me?
But… why would he do that?
After a good many minutes of pondering that question, he arrived at no answer.
The swordsman looked out to the paling sky, frustrated, as if it would somehow hold a clue to his questions. The stars rolled over to the western horizon, and the line of the easternmost sea took on a silvery glow as the sky above it gradually acquired a pallid gold hue, reaching up to try and grip the last remaining stars.
The swordsman sat in the cold and thought again of the man's eerie letter.
"I do not believe you to be fully prepared to leave the East Blue."
He pursed his lips, considering. Within an instant his mind suggested a concept that until now he hadn't given any thought:
Does that line have a deeper meaning?
Zoro straightened his back against the wall of the crow's nest.
It's like… it's like he doesn't want me to leave. What business could he have with me? It can't be that urgent if he didn't come right out and say it when we ran into each other…
…Unless he knew that I would come to realize… Zoro's eyes widened as he recalled a later phrase in Kane's letter:
"…to understand the meaning in my writing."
"Shit!" he cursed out loud in recognition, rising from his seat. I didn't even read the whole thing! And he had mentioned Kuina.
Hastily he kicked the telescope aside and replaced his swords hurriedly into his haramaki. Scaling down the netted rope impulsively, he nearly missed a step in the rush of adrenaline that coursed through him, but caught himself with a firm grip upon the ropes.
Jumping down onto the aft deck, he hurried down the stairs and scoured about frantically for the crumpled paper airplane that encased his letter, pushing aside chairs and tables and whatnot around the deck.
"Damnit, where is it!" he hissed into the silence.
Suddenly he remembered.
Rushing back up to aft deck, he dug his hands vigorously into the soil of Nami's tangerine patch, spilling the dirt upon the deck.
"…Zoro?" A feminine voice croaked out.
The swordsman stopped and looked over to see a very bewildered navigator leaning against the wooden railing of the stairs. Her eyes were heavy with sleep.
"What are you doing up?" she inquired groggily, rubbing her eyes, "I heard you moving around the deck. More importantly, what are you doing in my tangerine patch?"
Zoro winced. Shit. "Uh… Sanji was on watch last night, but I took over for him."
Nami squinted suspiciously at him, consciousness returning to her fully.
"And what are you doing with my tangerines?" She placed a hand on her slender hip.
"Uh… I was—I was gonna water them," he stuttered idiotically.
The red-haired navigator lifted an eyebrow.
"By digging them up?"
The swordsman was at a loss for words.
Fuck.
Nami closed her eyes in concurrence and turned away. "Well, if you'd like to water them for me, that'd be nice. There's a watering can under the sink in the kitchen." She walked off.
Zoro breathed a sigh of relief. Why in the hell did I hide the letter here? I must have been seriously plastered.
His hand touched paper in the dirt, and he gripped it purposefully, pulling it up from the soil. Shaking off the dry earth from the crumpled sheet, Zoro pulled it hastily open and unwrapped its crinkled folds. He brushed off the excess dirt from the scripted writing and, turning to towards the sun that was peeking over the edge of the glassy water, began to read the letter in its entirety.
"Dearest old neighbor," Zoro swallowed, his heart racing.
"I hope this letter has found you in high spirits and good health, as I'm sure you will come to realize you are going to need them on your journey. Similarly I imagine you have come to regard this letter that you are reading with suspicion because of the clever manner in which I have delivered it to you. Please do not be alarmed, for I bear god intentions only."
The swordsman released a shaky breath as he read. The letter had taken on a threatening tone that he hadn't perceived before.
"It has arisen to my attention via a variety of informational sources that you are preparing to enter the Grand Line as a pirate to continue your quest to become the 'world's greatest swordsman'—or so you hope. However, I must advise you to take a certain circumstance of which you are not yet aware into consideration:"
Zoro inhaled a deep, ragged breath and took a moment to steady himself before continuing.
"I do not believe you to be fully prepared to leave the East Blue. You crew is minimal, your ship is feeble, and I doubt you yourself are fully equipped either. It would be wise to bring along extra steel, as well as plenty of medical supplies, for we ambitious swordsmen constantly find ourselves injured from battle. Furthermore, beneath the stairs you must climb to fulfill your ambitions lies an ocean of forces you do not know—forces as sly as the deceptive winds of the ocean. And these are the forces that will, with all due respect, bring about your downfall if you do not confront them."
Zoro swallowed. Normally he paid no mind to threatening remarks such as these, but coming from this man, the circumstances were entirely different.
"I hold you in the highest regard, Roronoa. You have always been a sharp one with a bright future. It is a shame that the winds of fate prevented our dear Kuina from witnessing your ascent to greatness."
The swordsman clenched his teeth.
"If by some full turn of events you were to return to Shimotsuki Village to ask our Sensei, I'm sure here would fully agree."
That was it. He's challenging me. He wants me to return home. He's trying to use Kuina to manipulate me… but something's not right…
Zoro compressed the crinkled paper beneath his tightening grip.
"As I am confident in your perceptive abilities, I am sure you will come to understand the meaning in my writing with the time you have left to act on my concerns for you."
He's right, Zoro realized, his heart pounding with adrenaline. Once we enter the Grand Line, there'll be no going back.
"Be cautious as well as vigilant, Roronoa, particularly regarding those who deceive.
"I wish you the best of luck, for on the road you're headed, you will without a doubt need every bit you can get your hands on."
The swordsman involuntarily collapsed to his knees in horror.
This was no longer a matter of this man violating Kuina's honor, he realized; this man was hinting at something much deeper.
"Best wishes,
"Kane.
"P.S. I've sent out a small gift to be delivered to your ship before it reaches Reverse Mountain. Please accept it and use it wisely."
Zoro released a forceful breath, aghast with realization.
The swordsman sat alone, his heart tearing within him, upon the aft deck of the Going Merry, the rising sun casting a warm glow upon his twisted face.
What will I do?
Author's Note: Mwahaha, cliffhanger! :D Now things really start to get going! Hope you enjoyed! :P Please if you enjoyed my writing, write me a small review! :D I insanely enjoyed writing this chapter. Hmmm... what will Zoro do? Find out next time! Mwahaha! :P