Author's note: Sooo… hi there! Remember me? I was one half of the evil duo who wrote this story, started to post it, and then abandoned it for years. To be honest, I think we both forgot about this entirely (sorry!) But recently I realized people are awesome and still reviewing now and then, and even more—still hoping for an update! Oh man, I felt so guilty!

So here's the deal—unfortunately I really don't think we're ever going to finish writing this. BUT, there's a ton more story we had written that we hadn't uploaded (as in, crazily close to 300 pages in the Word document). So I'm going to upload everything we had so you can at least read what was written. I've been meaning to do this for a few months but when I thought today I'd lost the story entirely I about had a heart attack and decided now was the time to move forward with this.

WARNING: this fic is NOT FINISHED. We did start to write a sequel of sorts that I'll also post but that's also not finished. Also warning: THIS IS NOT EDITED. I will not be editing it at all. So I apologize for any and all terrible wording or insane OOCness that will likely ensue. I also remember very little about what was written so honestly I have no idea if there are additional warnings that should be given.

Also, apparently we were delineating chapters as we edited back in the day, so I'm going to be completely randomly choosing breaking points between chapters as I upload. Sorry if any of this is super confusing.

Thank you for your extremely admirable patience, everyone. I'm so sorry we disappeared for years. Looking back, that was quite the evil cliffhanger we left it on too, huh? We never intended to start this and not finish posting. I can't apologize enough for that. I guess life got in the way.

I've spoken to Quatrina about posting this in the past and I don't think she cared, but if it turns out I was wrong everyone can just blame me. (And have answers to some of their burning questions in the meantime ^_~)

You all rock, and Happy (belated) Valentine's Day 2012!

-Karaleyn, Feb 14, 2012

Chapter Six

It was impossible to tell how long the darkness prevailed, overlapping every imaginable sense like a thick blanket. But it was comfortable, because no one had to worry about anything when it was dark - not fires, not missing nurses, nor assassins that lurk in the night. A security blanket. That's all it really was. Nothing dangerous. Just impenetrable, pitch black.

Until a golden glow seemed to seep into its wake, gently probing in an encouraging manner. Wake up...wake up, it said. ...we're ready for you to come back...

But the blanket was so warm, comfortable and secure. He didn't want to come back. But the light only seemed to increase in strength, and its voice - which was apparently female - only became clearer. "Please...wake up..."

Roronoa Zoro suddenly snorted awake, his eyes flying open. "-mmnff, Luffy-!" he choked, abruptly sitting up.

Kaya's warm, brown eyes startled, but she managed a soft smile. "Hello, Zoro-san." Suddenly becoming nervous, she reached out and settled him back onto what seemed to be some sort of makeshift cot. "...um...please lie down..."

"Where's Luffy?" the swordsman demanded, the strength he had recovered within the past few days having almost disappeared.

"He's going to be alright," Kaya said comfortingly, keeping her hands lightly on Zoro's shoulders to keep him down just in case. "He's sleeping across the tent. I can move him closer if you like, Zoro-san."

"Yes!" exclaimed Zoro before he forced himself to calm down upon seeing Kaya's frightened expression. "Yes...move him closer..."

"Alright, Zoro-san," Kaya answered, moving away from him slowly. She paused, glancing back at him before she got too far. She hesitated, then added, "Luffy-sama just got back from the doctors within the hour. He... will be fine. He just needs some time to recover." Before Zoro could respond, she moved out of sight and wheeled Luffy's cot close enough for Zoro to see and touch him. She stood back and, smiling sadly while ducking her head slightly, murmured, "Just call for me if you need me." She stepped back out of the tent to give Zoro some privacy.

Luffy was peacefully asleep, his mouth wide open as he snored loudly. His face was pale red, though, and he appeared to be heavily bandaged from his shoulders and down. A sheet was pulled up to his ribs, so his lower body could not be seen, but his arms rested on top of the covers, one thrown carelessly above his head. His hands seemed to be the most heavily bandaged of all, and despite this, there was still the tint of blood showing through the white cloth. Though he sported small cuts across what could be seen of his skin, and he looked to be lightly sunburned across his face, he seemed relatively content while he slept.

...What?

Zoro didn't understand why Luffy was in such a state! He was supposed to have been away from the fire. Why was he bandaged and burned? And why were his hands bleeding? Clenching his teeth, all he could do was stare and vow to kill the person who had caused Luffy to go back into the fire. He could imagine a doctor furiously persuading him to go back into that burning clinic to rescue both him and Kaya. Although the flawed logic in this assumption never crossed his mind.

Luffy, completely oblivious to the attention and confusion, snored on.

Zoro didn't understand why his memory from the fire was almost completely gone. He recalled searching for Kaya, calling her name, his efforts in vain. The heat of the fire, and the thick, deadly smoke were still engraved into his mind. The stairs, creaking and groaning beneath their unbearable weight, had been his way to finding Kaya. And he had begun to climb them. And then...and then...?

Luffy suddenly jerked his arm down sleepily, throwing it against the cot beside him. Normally, he would sleep on during this movement, but this time he yelped and jolted awake. Confused, he found himself sitting up in a tent, unable to move very comfortably because of all the bandages. He went to scratch his head but found it hard to move his fingers. He looked perplexedly down at his hands, the reason slowly coming back with his memory, when he suddenly yelled, his hands both going to his head and his startled, panicked eyes wide as he looked back and forth on either side of the cot. "AHHH! HAT! Where's my hat? WHERE'S MY ADVENTURE HAT?"

For all his screaming, he managed to miss that it was lying at the foot of his cot, having fallen off when Kaya moved the bed.

Without even flinching, the bodyguard leaned from his cot, snatched the hat from the ground and smashed it onto Luffy's head. "Rise and shine," he said blandly, and he inwardly wished that someone would fill him in.

Luffy, feeling the familiar weight of his hat and Zoro's hand, stopped panicking immediately. He brought his hands up to feel the hat as best he could through the bandages, then turned to look at Zoro with a huge, happy grin. "Zoro! You're alright! I knew you'd be alright if I just got you out!"

Zoro grinned lightly. "Of course I'm all right, you-" But he stopped, and the expression on his face and the tone in his voice completely changed. "...what?"

Luffy, oblivious to the mood change, continued to grin hugely with his eyes closed merrily. "If I got you out! I knew you'd be fine, and look! You are!" He blinked his eyes open and regarded Zoro curiously. "Does your back hurt more? I tried not to hurt it but I'm not sure if I did okay..."

"Luffy," Zoro said, trying to laugh it off. "What are you talking about?"

"Your back?" Luffy said, cocking his head. "Don't you remember that they hurt your back and then it was healing and you were feeling better? I had to drag you around some so I had to touch your back but I hope it's okay!" He smiled happily. "It must be if you sat up okay, right?" He laughed softly, sounding like 'Hee hee hee!'

"You got me out of the fire?" asked Zoro. "By yourself?"

"Yep!" Luffy agreed cheerfully, one hand holding his Adventure Hat firmly on his head while he grinned widely at Zoro. "It took awhile but I did it! You're heavier than you look, you know?" He did the laugh again, still smiling so wide that his eyes were closed and his scar was like a second miniature smile on his face.

"Why?" he sputtered. "I thought I told you to wait outside? Who made you go back inside?"

At this, Luffy looked fairly solemn for a moment. "Oh! Yes, you did tell me to wait outside. I'm sorry that I didn't." He bowed his head slightly, formally. He looked back up at Zoro, smiling slightly again. "But Kaya was already outside and we didn't know it, so I had to go back in to tell you. But then you didn't hear me so I kept going until I found you, and then you were asleep so you didn't hear. So I brought you out and here we are." He grinned.

Zoro's eyes were wide, and it seemed like the very pupils of his eyes had been reduced to mere pinpoints. "Kaya was...and I was..." But, no. That wasn't supposed to be how it was! The prince wasn't supposed to be injured on the account of the bodyguard. Because it was the bodyguards job to kill whoever injured the prince!

"Yeah," Luffy answered, laughing. "Isn't it funny? We almost died and Kaya was outside the whole time! But it's okay because we're fine and I bet I got all sorts of stitches on my hands from the glass!" He made it sound like it was a good thing. He paused, then added, "I'm sorry I made you go in and get Kaya. You wouldn't have gotten sick and fallen asleep if I hadn't." He tilted his head down again slightly.

"O-oi, don't you feel bad about this whole mess," stated Zoro firmly, managing to regain his voice for a moment.

Luffy looked up and smiled at him cheerfully. "I don't, too much. Think of the adventure we just had, Zoro! That building looked like it was going to fall down all around us! I thought for sure we were gonna die before we made it out... And I got to drag you everywhere and get you out the window and—and, see? I can help you too, right?"

The bodyguard merely turned away, falling onto his side, and stared at the tent door. "...Mm."

Luffy noted Zoro's less than enthusiastic answer, but he thought maybe he was just tired. "Are you going to sleep, Zoro?" he asked curiously, then added after a moment, far more enthusiastic, "I can tell you a story if you want! Mom used to tell me stories sometimes when I couldn't sleep..."

"Do what you like," he said simply, almost distant.

Luffy, hearing the tone, paused in his merriment. He blinked, looking solemn quite suddenly, and stared intently at Zoro. "...Are you mad?" he asked, somewhere between curiosity and feeling hurt.

"Don't worry," said Zoro, his voice a bit softer. "I'm not mad at you."

"Oh," Luffy said after a second, and after another pause added, "But Kaya didn't know we were looking for her so it's not her fault either..."

"I'm not mad at Kaya either," replied Zoro patiently. A strained pause. "...thank you for saving me."

Luffy was quiet, then shifted on his bedding and swung his legs over the side of the cot. "Can I come over?" he asked, as if Zoro wasn't an arm's length away.

"You may do what ever you like, my prince," was the blank reply.

Luffy frowned at the answer, and remained where he was. He kept his bandaged hands against the edge of the cot, his arms straight and supporting his weight. After a few moments of silence, he shifted and laid back down on his bed, curling up on his side facing away from Zoro. "...Good night, Zoro," he said, slightly muffled into his pillow. He paused, then added, "I'm really glad you're okay. I bet you didn't even need my help but I wanted to give it anyway."

That isn't true, is what Zoro wanted to say. But the words wouldn't come. Instead, he feigned a deep slumber.

It was easiest that way.

At Zoro's silence, Luffy sighed and settled deeper into his cot. Allll that work, the struggle to get Zoro to trust him again, and now he probably never would again. Luffy bet he was mad that he broke his promise again. But Zoro kept asking him to make promises that didn't work! And now Zoro was mad at something and Luffy felt like the fire stole part of their friendship.

He closed his eyes, but he knew sleep would be a long time coming. Not only because of his thoughts, but because his body was severely aching, and his hands felt like they were on fire. He scrunched up his face and waited for morning to fully come.

It seemed to take an eternity and a half, but morning eventually did come. As the lantern died, the sun's newborn rays flittered through the tent door and stroked Luffy's face, warm and soothing.

Luffy closed his eyes firmly for a moment, then squinted them open to peer at the light. He got his wish, but just as he was starting to fall asleep. He stayed still, listening for sounds from Zoro to see if he was awake, or even there.

There was a figure standing before him.

Luffy jumped, startled at the suddenness, and peered up at the person curiously.

Zoro stood before him, dressed in unfamiliar robes that various townspeople could be seen wearing. In his arms rested some sort of bundle. "Morning," he said gruffly. "I've got everything prepared for us today."

"Oh," Luffy answered, blinking. He looked down at the bundle. "For... what? Are we leaving?"

"Yes." He extended the mysterious bundle to him. "These are your clothes."

"Oh," Luffy said and, sitting up, took the bundle from his bodyguard. He looked down at it for a second, then started to open it. Not looking up from staring at his bandaged hands messily opening the package, he asked, "Are we walking?"

"For now," was his reply. "The barn caught fire because of the clinic. All the horses have either died or have run away." A pause. "We'll get another horse later." He turned away. "You should change. I'll get our supplies together." And with that, he disappeared out of the tent.

Luffy sighed as soon as Zoro disappeared and, feeling mildly irritable, pulled the clothes out of the bundle. They looked similar to what Zoro was just wearing, but there were differences to tell them apart. Standing slowly, Luffy began to pull the robes on. When he was ready, he pushed his way out of the tent, Adventure Hat shielding his eyes from the sun, with the hat itself covered by the head garb, and glanced around for his companion.

The air smelled strongly of smoke and burning embers. A small sea of tents was scattered through out the town, and the people were a bit slower moving today than the morning before. Fortunately, no one from the market could recognize the boy in his new clothes unless they paid extra mind to the scar on his face.

Walking out into the dispirited crowd, Luffy looked up and down the tent encampment. He didn't see Zoro at first, so he wandered a little further, keeping the tent he came from in view. He didn't know what to do with his friend. He wished Zoro would stop being happy and then mad, happy and then mad. It was too complicated for Luffy to figure out. For him, you should be happy unless someone is hurting your friends, family, loved ones, beliefs, or hat. It was as simple as that.

Zoro soon emerged from the crowd, a large bag hanging from his shoulders and a walking staff in hand. He handed the staff to Luffy. "Here," he said. "You'll need it." The green-haired man threw a glance at the crowd around them. "It'd be best to leave without drawing any attention to ourselves." His dark eyes fell upon Luffy once more. "Kaya knows we're leaving. She said for me to tell you good-bye and that she hopes to see you again soon."

"Thanks, Zoro," Luffy said with a smile, looking around at the crowd. "I'm sure we'll see Kaya again," he replied in his typical confidence. He paused, then added, "So how do we leave without drawing attention? Just walk away?"

"Exactly," said Zoro. "We'll go now." And with that, he turned and began to slip through the crowd, his hand holding onto Luffy's arm to keep him close.

Luffy followed along with no resistance, looking idly left and right when something caught his eye but otherwise calmly accompanying Zoro. He used the staff a few times just to see how helpful it was, but found it a little hard to properly grip in his bandaged hands. He didn't want to tell that to Zoro, though, so he instead stayed quiet.

"You know I wasn't mad at you last night, right?" asked Zoro softly as they reached the end of the crowd and neared the town's outskirts.

"You seemed mad," was Luffy's answer as he watched the main part of the town fade away behind them. He turned back to Zoro, dark eyes intense. "Why were you mad if not at me?"

"...I didn't want to see you hurt," he replied simply. "If I had been a better bodyguard, I would have realized that Kaya wasn't there and that I needed to return to your side." Dark eyes squinting against the morning sun, he tried not to meet Luffy's burning stare. "...I appreciated what you did for me, though. I'm forever in your debt." He didn't speak of how his respect for his prince had increased ten fold within that evening, or how unheard of it really was for royalty to risk their lives for those who were beneath them. Nor did he confess just how much he had really wanted Luffy's company that night.

Luffy frowned, looking adorably confused. "Do 'good bodyguards' have X-ray Vision? Can they see the future or see what's happening across a burning building?" It was hard to tell if he was innocently asking the question or if he was trying to point something out to Zoro. He cocked his head, then suddenly grinned widely at Zoro. "In my debt? But the score is two to one. I still owe you."

Zoro didn't say anything, but he adjusted the pack on his back. His sleeves of his robe slipped down partially to reveal that the bandages on his arms were completely missing. "You don't owe me anything," he said at last.

Luffy looked curiously at the lack of bandages, but didn't know what to make of it, so he ignored it. "Then you don't owe me anything either," he said cheerfully back, grinning. "It's stupid to keep track—friends help friends, don't they? You have to help me, but I want to help you."

Zoro's face was flushed, although it was difficult to tell if it was from the heat of the morning or not. "L-Luffy," he sputtered, unsure of how to answer.

Luffy looked at him curiously, confused. "Yeah?" he asked innocently.

"Nothing," he said, quickly now. It was odd how the prince knew how to poke a hole into just about every single one of his defense mechanisms. But most of the time, to Zoro at least, it seemed to be a sweet surrender of sorts. Today, however, he felt painfully vulnerable. And he wasn't sure why. And that made him angry with himself.

Luffy looked at him oddly. Zoro was so weird sometimes. He kicked his feet up high as he walked, swinging the walking stick forward and backward, forward and backward, amusing himself with how the weight of it shifted down each time he swung it around. He didn't really pay attention to the reason behind it, though it was because his bandaged hands held less traction than normal. Cheerfully, he started to whistle and hum an upbeat tune to himself as they walked.

It didn't occur to either of them how they were going to navigate their way through that desert wasteland.