Chapter Eight
Dawn came bright and early, and a splash of sunlight abruptly stung Luffy's eyes.
"Get up. We're leaving."
Luffy started awake, half-asleep and fully believing that the night before had been a dream. He yawned and stretched, eyebrows furrowing down for a moment as he looked confusedly for Zoro. "Already?" he asked sleepily.
"We can wait, I guess." His figure was illuminated against the sunlight, and a stiff shrug could be seen. "You're the prince after all, right?"
Luffy blinked at the comment, feeling even more confused as his sleepy mind tried to figure out what was going on. "Yeah," he said through a yawn, "but I don't know anything about traveling."
"It doesn't matter," Zoro growled, turning away. "I'm going to get some fresh air." And with that, he disappeared from the tent.
Luffy frowned to himself, sleepily rubbing his eyes and flipping onto his stomach. "Zoro is so weird," he mumbled to himself, trying to convince himself that he did want to get up and walk out into that too-bright sunlight. He buried his face in his arms and yawned again.
The swordsman gruffly plopped onto the ground outside, staring out at the dawn. He couldn't trust someone who couldn't take care of themself -because that meant they were likely to get killed. Which meant that all promises made through that once close acquaintance were going to be broken. And Zoro hated it when promises were broken. But he knew it was important not to let his personal feelings get in the way. He'd just have to get the prince to that dreaded kingdom and then he could be done with it.
Luffy, meanwhile, was sleepily going over the last few minutes and it finally occurred to him that Zoro seemed even more cross this morning. Which meant he was mad. Again. Luffy sighed heavily and pushed himself up, stumbling to the flap and pushing it open as he shielded his squinting eyes with one hand. He looked around until he saw Zoro sitting down, and, yawning, he asked bluntly, "Why're you mad now?"
"Who said I was mad?" he asked evenly.
"Your tone did," Luffy answered calmly as he wandered over and plopped next to Zoro, peering in the general direction he was looking to see if maybe an enemy was coming or something and that's why he was so irritable.
Zoro didn't say anything, although he allowed himself to bow his head and run a hand through his green hair. Get a grip, he told himself. The bodyguard didn't understand why his emotions were so mixed.
Luffy continued to stare at the horizon, but he didn't see anything all that dangerous-looking. He actually saw nothing but the morning sky and the bright sand. So he turned to stare intently at Zoro instead, trying to figure out what was going on. He was pretty sure Zoro was mad, even though he seemed to want to pretend that he wasn't. But then, the more Luffy woke up, the more he wasn't sure if he had just imagined how distant Zoro had seemed, and if maybe Zoro was instead just tired or something. Confused, Luffy just continued to stare silently.
Giving a sudden, strained sigh, the swordsman realized that he couldn't stay mad at the boy...
Luffy frowned, still intently regarding Zoro. After a moment of strained silence, he scooted forward and went to lean his head against his shoulder, asking softly as he stared at the horizon, "Why won't you tell me why you're mad? Do you hate me that much now?"
Stiffening as he rested his head on his shoulder, Zoro looked down, eyes narrowing. He could feel how heated Luffy's face was from the fire from the other day, and all animosity he had held seemed to melt away. This boy had almost died for him. Why did he still feel so defensive about his character?
Zoro was still not answering, and Luffy didn't know what that meant. It must mean he did hate him that much now. He didn't know why Zoro hated him that much, but apparently he did. Sighing, Luffy decided to leave it alone for now and maybe later he could understand what he had done wrong. For now, Zoro probably didn't want him to be near him, but he probably had to stay nearby so Zoro could see he wasn't getting into trouble. Tensing slightly, Luffy started to pull away, not really sure what he would do but thinking he would possibly go to the tent, where Zoro at least would not have to see him.
The swordsman's rough hand shot out and grabbed Luffy. "No...don't..."
Luffy stopped immediately when he felt the pressure and heard Zoro's voice. He turned curiously toward him, confused. "But you hate me now," he said innocently, stating a simple fact of life. "I can leave if you want. I know you have to stay around me because you're my bodyguard, but I can go in the tent and then you don't have to see me..." He pointed to the tent, as if Zoro did not know where it was.
"I didn't say I hated you," he quietly answered.
Luffy tilted his head. "Yeah, but you didn't say you didn't," he pointed out, regarding Zoro with a very confused expression.
"You've already asked me if I hated you, and I said no." His eyes burned lightly as he leaned closer towards Luffy, grimacing. "What else do you want from me?"
Luffy blinked at what he thought was a strange answer. "I don't want anything from you, Zoro," he said, confused. "I just want you to not be mad at me." He paused, then added as an afterthought. "I like it when you're happy and laugh, though, too."
A long silence followed. "Ah." He averted his eyes from Luffy. "Don't pay attention to what I do. I'm just frustrated."
Luffy furrowed his eyebrows at Zoro, confused. "But you're my friend and I don't ignore them. And anyway," he declared as he scooted closer to lie his head on Zoro's shoulder again, "if you're frustrated you should say why and then you won't be frustrated anymore." He smiled encouragingly, though it didn't occur to him that at the angle Zoro was at he may not be able to see it.
"I don't let many people touch me," Zoro stated.
"Oh," Luffy said, startled. He furrowed his eyebrows down, confused again. "...So you want me to stop touching you," he stated slowly as he tried to figure out what the problem was. He started to pull away again since he thought he now knew why Zoro was mad.
"No!" Zoro almost yelled it, startled himself at Luffy's rash conclusion. "That's not it!" To prove his point, he hastily pulled Luffy against himself.
Luffy blinked, even more startled now as he found himself held by Zoro. He blinked again, looked extremely confused, then put his arms around Zoro, resting his head against him. "Oh," he said, not sure what Zoro was getting at, but not being upset at their current position. "That's good," he said optimistically after a moment, grinning, "'Cause I'd probably forget not to touch you and then you'd get mad..." He trailed off, still not understanding what was happening.
The swordsman gritted his teeth, calling upon all of his willpower to keep from instinctively pushing the boy away. He was embarrassed at himself, that was for certain, but he didn't think it was worth compromising their friendship over. "...I don't let people get this close to me," he said after a moment with quite a bit of difficulty. "...so...it's only natural that I wouldn't be used to it."
Luffy could not remember when he had been so confused in his life. Not even the time when he had been sure he was sitting upstairs in his room and he woke up floating face up in the fountain out back with a severe wedgie and a vague memory of jello. "But," he said helplessly, not understanding at all, "if you're frustrated about it, why do you keep doing it?" Wouldn't Zoro want to push him away instead, if he was so frustrated by Luffy being close? This was so confusing...
"Because," Zoro gritted his teeth, and looked away. "...'cause I actually like you, okay?"
"Oh," Luffy said, laughing delightedly. "Is that all?" he asked happily, the words not belittling in the least. He stopped laughing after a second, though, as something occurred to him. "Wait, but then that means you never liked anyone before?" he asked, confused.
"I'm..." Zoro paused, searching for the right word. "Selective."
"Oh, okay," Luffy said brightly, accepting this as an answer. He snuggled closer to Zoro, happy they didn't seem mad at each other anymore.
The swordsman took a sudden breath as Luffy pressed against him, but he didn't have the heart or desire to push him away. It was strangely secure to have him so close, and he wasn't entirely sure why. And this bothered him.
Luffy was totally content so close to Zoro, so he didn't make any effort to move back. Instead, he burrowed even further into Zoro and said after a moment, muffled, "Hey Zoro. We're friends, right?"
"...yeah," he answered, his voice gruff and hoarse. "...why?"
"Well," Luffy said thoughtfully, his voice still muffled, "I know we said I'd be the Pirate King and you'd be the greatest swordsman in the world, and we will be. But I was just wondering..." He pulled back a little so he could peer up hopefully at Zoro's face. "Do you think you'll still be my friend even after you bring me to Shanks and you don't have to be around me anymore?"
Zoro couldn't help but get sucked into his intense gaze, so wide and trusting - as if the swordsman could see right into the prince's soul. "...I would if you still want me."
Luffy looked mildly confused, though the intensity of his hopeful stare did not decrease. "Of course I would! You're my friend and I like you, Zoro," he said, as if this explained it all, "I will always want you." He paused, then added a little hesitantly, "..Will you want me?"
He gave an awkward smile. "...sure."
Luffy grinned abruptly, hugely and brilliantly. "Great!" he said happily, hugging Zoro a little closer and burying his face back in his chest, "I'm glad!" he added, muffled once more.
"Uh..." Zoro shifted lightly, unsure of what to do. He wasn't an affectionate person by any means, but it seemed like Luffy could play the hugging game for them both. So, he did nothing and merely watched his prince with a vaguely amused look.
After a few moments, Luffy pulled back and grinned brilliantly at Zoro. "Are you still frustrated?" he asked, cheerful since he thought Zoro probably wasn't.
"Nah," he answered.
"Okay," Luffy said happily, the grin turning back to his usual extremely cheerful expression, his eyes closed merrily. "So that means we get to eat now, right?" He was excited about eating. It was his favorite topic of conversation, and definitely one of his favorite things to do.
"Sure," Zoro said, arms dropping to his side suddenly. "Eat two boxes today if you want." He had forgotten to eat his ration from the other evening, but it was just as well. He'd eat one this morning and give the extra to Luffy in an attempt to keep him at bay.
"Nah," Luffy said as he pulled away completely, waving the thought away with one dismissive hand. "Only one each per meal," he recited cheerfully, turning to look eagerly for the pack. To be honest, he wasn't as hungry as he should have been. It was weird. Kind of like when in his dream he ate one fruit and then he felt really full. It was like he was still sort of full from that, except it had been a dream, so probably his mind was just confused like it had been back in the fire, telling him that he was falling when he really wasn't.
Zoro shook his head with an odd sort of look at the boy before returning to the tent to get some boxes from the pack.
Luffy waited for Zoro to appear again with the rations. He had jumped to his feet in the meantime and was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, swinging the walking staff arouuund and aroouuuunnnd after he had snatched it off the ground. He flipped it a few times, then went back to twirling it in large circles, stretching his arm farther and farther...
He was expecting to feel his muscles burn pleasantly at the strain.
He was not expecting the staff to slip enough for it to keep hitting the ground. Frowning, Luffy adjusted his grip and made sure it was tighter so he could swing it around and around and—why wouldn't it stop hitting the ground?
Perplexed, Luffy stopped and studied the walking stick intently.
Zoro exited the tent, holding a couple of boxes in his hand. "Here."
Luffy, distracted in the middle of one of the twirls, whipped around immediately, dropped the stick, and jumped toward Zoro, stretching for the food. "Yay!" he started to yell... That is, before he realized that his body was still mostly back by the stick, and his arms kept going...
He stared, thunderstruck, and for one long moment was beyond any coherent reaction.
The two boxes fell from Zoro's hands, landing onto the desert ground with the stirring of some miniature, dusty clouds. "What the-!" His eyes bulged, and his very jaw seemed to drop open. "Luffy?"
Luffy's jaw, in fact, dropped even more. Quite further than should be humanly possible. He looked up at Zoro with a completely shocked, completely panicked expression.
"YYAAAAAAA!" he screamed, his momentum snapping him forward to land stomach-first into the ground when he made no effort to stop himself. "ZORO!" he yelled, terrified, "Zoro! WHAT HAPPENED? AM I DYING?"
The swordsman abruptly kneeled by his prince's side, pulling him into his arm. "Good question!" he hissed, his pupils becoming small. Unsure of what he needed to do, Zoro swiftly placed a hand over the boy's forehead, checked his pulse, examined his eyes. As a bodyguard, he had received basic first aid training, but he didn't remember anything like this being a part of the curriculum.
Luffy appeared to be totally normal other than his completely panicked and terrified state. ...And the fact that his body seemed to stretch a lot more than it should.
"I DON'T WANNA DIE, ZORO!" Luffy wailed, clinging to his friend as tears streamed down his cheeks. While not generally a person prone to panicking or crying, Luffy was also not used to being confronted with something terribly wrong with his body itself, something that could very well be permanent or lethal and he still had no idea how it happened. Because of his fear and squirming, however, he made a poor patient.
"Y-you're not going to die!" growled Zoro, feeling rather awkward about being clung unto - and even more so upon seeing his prince panicked. "Will you just calm down a second?"
"But—!" Luffy protested through huge teary eyes, trying to listen to Zoro but knowing better. "What about this?" he asked, reaching one arm back and throwing it forward, aimed away from Zoro. Whereas normally this would just result in a few sore muscles from the abrupt action, this time his arm kept going... his fist stretching almost to the tent before it came snapping back, throwing Luffy back slightly from the momentum.
He looked at Zoro, huge eyes pleading for an answer, and believing in Zoro enough to hold off on any further panicking for the moment.
"Did anything weird happen to you before now?" asked Zoro, his eyes narrowed, voice somewhat even given the circumstances.
"I don't know!" Luffy half-wailed, half-protested. "I don't remember! I don't remember this happening before!" He returned to clinging onto Zoro, looking up at him pathetically.
"Does it hurt?" he asked, almost anxiously.
"No," Luffy said, sniffling. "It just feels weird." He paused, then looked intently at Zoro. "...Am I really not dying?"
"It doesn't seem like it," said the swordsman carefully. "And you really can't think of anything out of the ordinary that happened before now?"
"No!" Luffy protested, partially indignant but mostly confused. "We went to sleep and I had a weird dream and then I woke up and I was out here with you and I twirled the staff and then this happened!" He waved his arm as if to remind Zoro. His arm was a little wobblier than it usually would be when waving it, but otherwise looked normal.
"What kind of dream?" he pressed.
"I dreamt there was a place that wouldn't stop calling me so I snuck away and ran and ran and then found a tree and there was a weird fruit on it and I ate it and I wasn't hungry anymore and then I came back and I went to sleep," Luffy replied, slightly rushed because he didn't see what his dream had to do with anything.
"Luffy," replied Zoro, his eyebrow barely twitching. "That wasn't a dream. You really did sneak out last night."
Luffy stopped, looking at Zoro oddly. "I did? So there really was that weird fruit out there? And the pretty stars and the glinting tree that wouldn't let me look away?"
"Which means you really did eat some fruit, stupid." Zoro abruptly sighed, shaking his head. "I seriously didn't think it existed but..." He gestured to Luffy as if that would finish his sentence.
Luffy looked caught between being affronted that Zoro called him stupid, and being confused about what he was referring to. "Didn't think what existed? You knew about that weird fruit?"
"Devil's fruit," muttered Zoro grimly. "Gives whoever eats it strange powers." He surveyed Luffy in wary silence. "Looks like it made you rubber."
"...Oh," Luffy said, calming down as his eyebrows furrowed. He seemed rather at a loss for words.
"I hope you're happy. You could've been poisoned."
Luffy looked at Zoro oddly again. "Why would I be happy if I was poisoned?" he asked, confused.
"I'm saying you should be happy you weren't poisoned." Zoro turned away suddenly. What would he have done if Luffy had digested something lethal?
"Well," Luffy pointed out logically, leaning back on one hand as he eyed the other one curiously, "I wasn't poisoned, and anyway, I knew I wouldn't be." He paused, then added softly, almost as if in awe, "It felt too... right to be wrong."
"Huh." Zoro didn't have anything else to say.
Luffy was silent a moment, remaining serious and introspective. But it only lasted a moment before he suddenly smiled hugely up at Zoro. "So now I'm rubber? I bet I can do all sorts of things most people can't then, right? And... and I bet I can be stronger too, now! If I'm not going to die, right? Devil's Fruit doesn't kill, does it?" He didn't sound as concerned as he should on the last part.
"No, but," Zoro paused for a moment, as if in thought, "I think there's some sort of drawback to it. But, for the life of me, I don't remember what it is."
Luffy laughed merrily as he shrugged, totally unconcerned. "It doesn't matter! Now I'm rubber and I can do this!" He demonstrated the throwing of his arm and snapping back of his fist again. He didn't bother catching himself before he was flung back onto his back in the sand from his own momentum. If anything, among the small billow of sand granules upon his abrupt drop, he only laughed harder and happier.
Zoro watched him in silence. At least someone was happy.
"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy laughed, "Maybe we can find a fruit for you, too! It could make you glue! And then," he had to stop for a moment as he laughed harder, then managed, "then I could say, 'I am rubber and you are glue; whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you'!" He rolled on the ground, kicking his sandal-clad feet as he laughed.
Snorting, Zoro rolled his eyes, settling onto his back as he opened up his box of rations. There was no use in getting upset over this fruit thing now. It was over and done with. He just hoped Luffy wouldn't wind up getting poisoned from eating some strange item later in their journey.
Luffy remained delightfully amused just until he heard the opening of the rations box. At this point, his amusement was sidelined by his ever-present (though still dulled this morning) hunger. Reaching eagerly toward Zoro (and, presumably, his own box), Luffy cried out simply, "FOOD!"
Zoro nudged Luffy's box over to the boy, a piece of bread sticking out of his own mouth.
Luffy laughed at the silly expression Zoro presented, food sticking out of his mouth like that, but he said nothing about it as he dug ecstatically into his food rations. He began shoveling the food rhythmically into his mouth, barely taking the time to chew before he swallowed. He was completely intent, and completely in love with his food, even if it wasn't the superbly presented meals he was used to back home.
The swordsman silently watched him, even after he finished eating. He tucked the box away, intending to stuff the trash into their pack so they could burn it when they made a campfire.
Luffy continued eating, and when he was done eating, he peered intently into the box and moved it around under the sun, scrutinizing it in hopes of finding some more food miraculously hidden that he could now devour quite happily. He was, however, very much failing to find any secret treasure trove of rations.
This amused Zoro to some degree - it was almost like watching a kitten play with a ball of yarn.
Luffy, oblivious to the attention and still quite intent on finding more food, turned the box upside down and began shaking it, crouching underneath to peer up at it even as he continued trying to shake out some reserves. When no food was readily accessible, he only shook harder as he pouted.
"I asked if you wanted two."
Luffy sulked, dropping the empty box to the sand beneath him. "No," he said, pouting, though by his tone it almost seemed as if Zoro were the one denying him the food and Luffy was just an innocent bystander victim to the crime of Underestimating Luffy's Appetite.
"No what?"
"No," Luffy clarified quite unhelpfully, and threw himself onto his back, where his arms flopped spread eagle to his sides and his legs splayed out haphazardly. He stared at the sky, trying to ignore his slightly rumbling stomach. He had thought he wasn't as hungry, but apparently he was...
"Why don't you try distracting yourself?" asked Zoro.
Luffy blinked, then flopped his head over to look at Zoro. "With what?" he asked curiously.
"Anything except food."
Luffy stared at Zoro blankly. "..Liiike...?"
"I-I dunno..."
Luffy considered this for a moment, then turned to stare back at the sky. "What do you think about other than food?" he asked, thinking maybe he could think about the same thing.
Zoro shrugged, casually naming off a list. "Sword fighting, getting to that kingdom, you, our stolen horse-"
Luffy turned to look at Zoro, a startled expression dominating his face. He stared at him for a moment, scrutinizing him before he suddenly burst out, upset, "I forgot about the horse!" as if this was the worst thing he could have done.
Zoro waved his hand. "Don't worry about it."
Luffy turned back to the sky, very perplexed. "I wonder where the horse is now..." He paused, then added with narrowed, jealous eyes, "Do you think he's eating our food?"
"No, he's not eating our food!" snapped Zoro, at a loss for what to do to get Luffy to quit obsessing so much. The boy was just a lost cause.
"...Okay," Luffy said grudgingly after a moment, then fell silent. It wasn't long before he turned back to Zoro, flipping onto his side and curling up so he could watch him curiously. "What do you think about when you think about me?" The others, he thought, were rather self-explanatory. This one was too, really, since he probably just thought about being a bodyguard, but Luffy needed examples to base this mythical Foodless Thought off of, so he decided to try to get Zoro to be specific.
Zoro shrugged, suddenly gaining an awkward look on his face. "Well, ah, you're different from what I was expecting."
Luffy grinned, utterly pleased. "Really?" he asked, as if Zoro had just given him the best compliment of his life. "What did you expect?"
"A snob, to be honest."
Luffy laughed delightedly at the bluntness of the answer. "Really?" he said again, grinning in deep amusement. "Why?"
"Because rich people can be real stupid," stated Zoro. "But if I had met you in different circumstances, I wouldn't have thought you to be a prince."
Luffy nodded sagely, considering this. "I'm not a good Prince," he said by way of answering, but he sounded neither proud nor upset at the declaration. It was as if he were stating a fact of life. He paused, watching Zoro with an even more intently curious expression. "Why were you going to be my bodyguard even if you thought I'd be stupid and you'd probably hate me?" He would have tilted his head were it not resting on the ground. "Why wouldn't you just say no?"
Zoro shrugged. "Needed the money."
Luffy considered this. He scratched his head. "I can give you lots of money back home if you want it," he offered, thinking maybe Zoro would rather do that than be a bodyguard.
"I don't need anyone's sympathy. Thanks anyway."
Luffy furrowed his eyebrows down. "But... why can't it be a gift?"
"I don't deserve a gift like that," he stated, casually allowing a hand to fall onto Luffy's head.
Luffy eyed his friend oddly, though he couldn't stop the small bit of happiness to shine through at the heavy hand in his hair. "Why not?" he asked, as always remaining stubborn even in his inquisitiveness.
"Just don't," he stated, his own face now possessing an off sort of fondness.
Luffy looked at him, then laughed. "Well, I think you do, and like you said before, I am the Prince. So I'm right and you're wrong!" He stuck his tongue out childishly, playfully, pulling it back in to laugh again.
"Heh. You can say that when I've actually done my job."
"But you already have, Zoro," Luffy protested, becoming more solemn again despite his previous laughter. "I'm still alive, right? I'd've died lots of times already if you weren't here. The bomb, and the bad men and, and, and at the market, and the fire... And then the monsters and the sandstorm... And I bet lots and lots of other places, too!" He trailed off, grinning at Zoro. "See?"
"Doesn't mean it can't go wrong later," stated Zoro. "And you saved my life at the fire, remember?" The last sentence was spoken almost off-handedly, as if the bodyguard was trying to keep the conversation light and casual. "It's supposed to be the other way around."
Luffy shrugged, not really caring to continue arguing this point. He still thought Zoro was wrong; why didn't he understand? "But friends don't keep track so I don't care," he declared, flopping onto his back to stare at the sky. "When'll you stop keeping track of stupid things like that? I helped you, you helped me, it happens."
Zoro paused for a moment before resting himself beside the prince, now upon his back as well. "I know that."
"Then you should stop worrying about it," Luffy said plainly, smiling up at the sky as he placed his arms beneath his head.
Honestly, Zoro was acting almost like Coby when he had been convinced that Luffy was going to get in trouble with his newest 'brilliant idea.' It was always 'Impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible, Luffy-sama!' Zoro was not saying 'impossible' but he sure was bringing up the same point over and over and totally disregarding Luffy's logic.
At the thought of Zoro and Coby, Luffy imagined Zoro standing with his hair dyed pink, huge glasses nearly falling off his nose as he glared furiously over the rims. His three swords were replaced with a broom, a mop, and an official scroll in his mouth taken probably out of Coby's personal collection. He was wearing Coby's clothes but they were way too small for him, so he looked like some grown-up playing dress up with the wrong set of toddlers. The mental image was so vivid that Luffy found himself laughing, eyes closing in merriment. The image had come and gone in a short amount of time, so Luffy began to laugh soon after his words.
Zoro blinked, his eyes snapping over to the dark-haired boy. "What's so funny?" he asked, wondering if he had missed some sort of joke.
Luffy looked over at Zoro, and his expression became superimposed over the image of the Zoro-Coby hybrid. This just caused Luffy to laugh harder, his arms snapping out from behind his head to cover his stomach as he rolled onto his side, kicking his feet lightly.
"Zoro! Zoro... say 'impossible'!" he said between gasps, twisting to look up at his bodyguard to see if he would comply.
An incredulous eyebrow rose, and Zoro's mouth momentarily gaped open as he tried to grasp for a logical reason for Luffy to ask him to do such a thing. "You want me to say 'impossible?'"
Luffy started laughing a little harder, but he persisted, nodding even as tears began to gather at the edges of his eyes. "Yes! Impossible... Say it lots!"
"No!" Zoro was beginning to get the feeling that Luffy was laughing at him.
Luffy continued to laugh, now more amused at Zoro himself than Zoro As Coby. "No, no! Coby would never say no!" he laughed, bringing one hand away from his stomach to wave at Zoro. "Try again! 'Impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible...'" he tried to do a good impression of Coby but he wasn't sure how good it was.
"Coby?" By now, Zoro was beginning to get a tad irritated. "Who's Coby?"
Luffy could see that Zoro was not going to play along, so he started trying to stop laughing. Too bad, that could have been great! Maybe he could get Zoro to say it another time... "My..." Luffy wiped at his eyes, the huge goofy grin still not leaving his face. "Uhh, I dunno what he is! He always follows me around and tells me how impossible everything is." He laughed lightly, shortly. "Maybe he was my bodyguard after Ace and before you!" He laughed again, amused at the idea. Coby would be a horrible bodyguard...
"Ah..." Zoro wasn't sure what Luffy was getting at, what with him trying to act like this Coby-fellow. "...He was the pink-haired kid who saw us off, then."
Luffy nodded with a huge smile, surprised and pleased that Zoro remembered. "Yeah! That was Coby," he answered cheerfully. "I've known him all my life."
"Hmm." Zoro turned onto his side, his back facing the prince. He knew they should probably start on their way soon, but he didn't quite feel like it. He had never been much of a morning person.
Luffy kicked his feet against the sand, taking in a deep breath and letting it out loudly and abruptly. He returned his arms behind his head, kicking, kicking, kicking... "Actually, Coby thinks I'm crazy," Luffy said thoughtfully as an afterthought. Hmm. "Isn't that funny? I wonder why..."
"Well, I don't think crazy is the word," said Zoro after a moment.
"How 'bout 'incorrigible'?" Luffy supplied with a huge grin, adding proudly, "My mom called me that once!"
"Really?" Zoro paused, turning to regard the prince. "Incorrigible, huh?" He really wasn't sure what that meant, but it wasn't important enough to him to ask.
"Yeah!" Luffy answered, getting caught up in the memory. "And then the kitchen staff laughed and Mom blushed and Ace said 'Got that right' and rolled his eyes but he was grinning and then he ruffled my hair and I stuck my tongue out at him and he just laughed at me." He grinned for a moment, then blinked and sulked, "...And then I had to clean up the kitchen and watch the dog to make sure it didn't throw up again and I couldn't make any more birthday cakes without someone watching over me." He obviously thought that was an unfair punishment.
Zoro snorted, gathering most of the story from what Luffy had slipped. Even so, the swordsman's face grew vaguely serious. "Ace...he was your last bodyguard, wasn't he? I met him once." A pause. "Not long before he disappeared."
Luffy nodded, and when he smiled it was far more sincere than his usual grin. "He's the greatest! Except he always wins if we spar, but someday I'll beat him! And he laughs a lot and he's really smart and I'm trying to find him out here 'cause I think he's playing hide and seek."
"Hide and seek, huh?" Zoro paused for a moment, regarding the boy with a grim look. "I heard that he either was murdered or he betrayed your family. With the way things are looking, what with the political turmoil your country is in, it looks like it could be either."
Luffy's smile faded into a frown as he stared at the sky thoughtfully. He was quiet for several moments before he answered, in an uncharacteristically serious, dark tone. "Rumors always like to make the worst out of people, though, don't they? I bet rumors started by people you've beat say you're someone horrible, maybe even evil. Rumors say I'm completely stupid, not even fit to lead the kingdom. Rumors say my parents are dying and the country will destroy itself before I legally turn an adult. Rumors say Gold Roger was greedy and rumors say the sky will fall down." He tipped his head slightly toward Zoro, dark eyes intense and almost angry. "Do you believe everything you hear, Zoro?" he asked softly.
"Of course not," stated Zoro, lightly taken aback by Luffy's sudden change of mood. He opened his mouth to add something, but he found himself unable to come up with anything adequate enough for the situation. Finally, however, he spoke. "But you can't honestly believe your bodyguard left you to play hide and seek."
Luffy shrugged, turning back to look at the sky, but there was still the hint of a glare in his expression and the tenseness of his body. "I believe what I want to believe," he answered, his tone a little tight. "Whether or not he's playing hide and seek has nothing to do with what I believe in him. And I do believe in him. He didn't betray my family, and he can't be dead. I'd believe Ace betrayed me as soon as I'd believe you'd betray me." He glanced at Zoro, adding, "Which means I never will."
Zoro watched Luffy for a few more moments, before speaking. "He seemed like a nice guy when I met him. I was just telling you what I heard." He sighed, his eyes settling onto a drifting cloud. "He has the same freckles your mother has. Are you two related?"
Luffy blinked, rather startled by the question. "No," he said, confused, "he's just my bodyguard. He came to Anchor before I was born. Mom says he was almost dead when he arrived-he was an orphan, I think, and didn't get to eat much. But I've known him all my life, longer even than Coby who actually came when I was about four or five. Ace's been there the whole time. Mom told me once he even used to hold me when I was a baby, and sometimes he tried to sing to me but I always started crying because he's so bad at it." Luffy smiled fondly at the memory, watching the sky and waiting for clouds to pass by so he could name them and pretend they were animals.
This only seemed to perplex Zoro further. "An orphan? Why would your family take an orphan in?"
Luffy looked as confused as Zoro probably felt. "What? Why wouldn't we? We have lots of money and places to sleep and he didn't have any place to go... The townspeople were mean to him. I dunno why... I think he stole from them. If we left him out there he would've died. So my parents let him stay awhile and they were gonna send him away to a better place as soon as he was strong enough, but then I was born and they wanted me to have a friend so they let him stay and said he was my bodyguard and then he was until he was gone."
"I guess he'll be your bodyguard again if he's found," stated Zoro, almost thoughtful.
Luffy frowned—he hadn't thought of that. He didn't want Zoro to leave anymore than he didn't want to never find Ace. "Maybe I can have two bodyguards..." he thought aloud.
"That could work," replied Zoro. He hadn't thought that this was going to be a permanent job when he took it. Was I wrong?
"But it would be coolest if I was my own bodyguard," Luffy concluded triumphantly, turning to grin cheerfully at Zoro with his eyes closed merrily.
"Maybe you could," said Zoro after a slight pause. "With that crazy power you have now, you could do some pretty impressive moves with some training." He reached over and grabbed Luffy's cheek, pulling on it.
"Hey!" Luffy protested indignantly, though the mood was spoiled by his laughter. He swatted at Zoro's hand, declaring, "I will! I'm gonna be a great bodyguard to myself and I'll be the Pirate King and King of Anchor! Just watch!"
Zoro grinned as he pulled back his hand, and he watched the prince with a fond expression before speaking. "Do you really want to be the king?"
Luffy shrugged, grinning to himself as he pulled on his other cheek and let it snap back. He pulled on it again and let it snap once more before he spoke. "Doesn't matter," he said amiably, pulling on his cheek for the third time and slurring his words slightly in the process. "I'm gonna be the King 'cause I'm the Prince and Anchor needs a King, right?" He let his cheek snap shut, chuckling in amusement. "This is fun! Good idea for a game, Zoro!"
"It does matter," stated Zoro, ignoring the boy's final comment. "How is a king supposed to be good at his job if he doesn't like it?"
Luffy looked at Zoro oddly. What a strange question. "I dunno," he said, completely unconcerned. "Guess I'll find out," he grinned.
"I don't see why you don't just pursue your own dreams."
"I will. I wanna be the Pirate King and I will be," he said with complete confidence. He stopped and considered it, snapping his cheek thoughtfully as he was quiet a moment. He looked at Zoro, perplexed. "You think I should leave my family behind? Tell them no and let them figure it out? I can't do that..."
He furrowed his eyebrows down. "I don't get you, Zoro. You told me to 'get used to the real world' when we started, and then Kaya said I'd be selfish if I died 'cause the royal bloodline would die out and everyone would be hurt and my mom can't have any more kids... but then you want me to say no to it all and just look at what I want?" He was asking the question completely curiously; he was confused by what he saw as mixed messages, not accusing Zoro of anything or challenging him in the least.
Zoro sighed, running a hand through his green-hair. "When I said all that stuff about getting used to the real world, I meant for you to quit acting so sheltered. I mean, you thought everything in the market was free!" He almost laughed about it, but the deep sores on his back made him do otherwise. "You were acting like you weren't a prince, like you were just a normal kid and that what happened to you didn't matter. That's probably what Kaya was referring to, too."
Luffy frowned at Zoro, mildly frustrated by this all. "But Zoro, that's what I feel like!" he answered, exasperated. "I never really bothered with the stupid 'Prince' in front of my name... I don't even like it. I'd rather just be Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy and that's that. But I didn't know things changed outside of Windmill, and I guess they do. And of course I don't wanna be the King! Can you imagine me as it? It's everything I'm not... Staying in one place, caught there, all this responsibility to make sure everyone else is fine... Early marriage and early family and being unable to ever appear 'unrefined.'"
He shook his head, frowning, adding bluntly, "If I didn't have a goal for after being King I'd probably die just trying to be the King in the first place. At least my personality would. That's why I'm gonna be the Pirate King. Because that's the kind of King I really want to be." His eyes shined at the thought, unlike when he spoke of his future in Anchor, when they seemed dimmer than usual.
"If you gave the throne to someone else," stated Zoro slowly, his eyes staring at another drifting cloud, "someone who you thought would do a better job...that wouldn't be selfish at all."
Luffy shrugged with one shoulder, looking off into the distance and imagining the sea rocking a boat he could call his own, a home he could turn in any direction he liked and a future that could be cut astoundingly short without anyone having to care about it. "Don't know anyone like that," he answered absently, "but maybe if I did I'd ask 'em. Except I don't think Mom and Dad'd like that much. Sooo... I dunno." He shrugged again, dispiritedly. He tried not to think much about his future in Anchor; it always zapped his energy like nothing else could.
"I'm sure your parents wouldn't want you doing something you hated."
Luffy was silent, staring at the horizon. After a few seconds, he turned to Zoro and smiled, but it was slightly more distracted than usual. "Think about where we are, Zoro! In the middle of a huge desert! We should be running around and exploring instead of sitting here talking! C'mon!" He jumped to his feet and turned toward the tent to gather some supplies for an Adventure. At the thought, he brought his hand up to his head and was relieved to still feel his treasured hat sitting firmly against the slight wind.
"O-oi, shouldn't we just keep going on our journey?" asked Zoro. "I'm sure something will happen along the way." Although, now that he thought about it, he wasn't entirely sure which way they had come from. Or which way they were supposed to go.
Luffy looked over his shoulder with a wide sincere grin, his eyes closed and his hand firmly holding his treasured hat against his head. "Yeah, I know," he said cheerfully, laughing lightly, "It's happened like that so far, hasn't it? But nothing fun will happen if we just sit here—that's why we should keep going! Adventures will find us on the way."
Zoro peered at the morning sun, his eyes narrowing against the bright beams of light. Perspiration had already begun to form along his brow as the desert heat began to soak into the ground around them. "We need to get you to safety." Reaching over to his pack, he pulled out a crinkled, yellow map. Arching an eyebrow, the green-haired man turned it to one side before tilting it into an awkward angle. "...I guess we're somewhere a little past Syrup Village," he mused aloud.
Luffy shrugged with one shoulder at the safety comment. He recognized now that it was true, but he was still of the opinion that a little bit of fun along the way never hurt anyone. Seeing Zoro with the map, he turned around and wandered over to stand behind him, moving his arms back and forth along the way. Now that he knew his body was... different, somehow... (which seemed odd to him—he'd heard that phrase 'you are what you eat' but this seemed a little extreme) he began to pay more attention. When he moved his arms, he could feel a difference in the way his muscles shifted and stretched. It was slight, but when he paid attention to it, the difference was definitely there. How weird...
He swung one arm back and forth, noting that the momentum started to lengthen his arm out. It was disconcerting, but it was also sort of fun. At least he'd have his entertainment for the day! Peering over Zoro's shoulder, he furrowed his eyebrows down and stared at the map. He was quiet a moment before he asked, "So... how do you read those things?"
Regarding the map with a calm air, Zoro surveyed the map in silence. He peered closer to the dot marked Syrup Village and ran a finger over a trail of dotted lines that eventually led to a labeled ocean.
"Good question."
"Hmmm," Luffy dropped into a crouch, casually draping his arms over Zoro's shoulder as he cocked his head to the side and stared at the map. He reached out and touched the map on the dotted line. "Is that where we've already walked? Can the map show us where we've been...?" He'd heard of treasure maps and had seen some a few times, but he never actually learned how to read them... Now that he was staring at one and needing to use it, they seemed way more complicated than necessary.
"Dunno," he curtly replied. Tapping his finger against the map, the piece of yellowed paper flapped from the wind. "No one got a chance to explain this thing to me." Looking up, he stared at the sweltering, blue sky. "I don't know a thing about navigation. There's a compass in the pack, but good luck in figuring how to use it."
Luffy frowned thoughtfully, looking up at the sky too as if the answers could be found in the brilliance of the sun. "Don't compasses have a little twirly-thing that moves around if you move them? Ah!" He leaned back, triumphantly slamming one fist into the other hand's open palm. "They point the way you need to go, right? So if we pull it out and just keep going the way the arrow points, we get there, right?" He looked at Zoro excitedly, certain that was the answer.
Zoro eyed the prince with uncertainty before casting a doubtful gaze at the map. "I dunno," he murmured. "I tried that once. It took them three days to find me." Giving an irritated sigh, he resisted the urge to crumple the map into a ball and toss it to the side. "We don't have enough rations to be screwing around in the desert."
"Then let's pick a direction and go!" Luffy declared loudly, cheerfully, jumping up and punching the air. "The sooner we pick, the sooner we see if we're right or wrong!" He laughed, completely carefree.
"You're missing the point." Narrowing his eyes, Zoro gave a mild glare in Luffy's direction. "If we're wrong, we'll run out of food."
Luffy shrugged, looking in all the directions curiously as he wondered which was the best to choose. "Then we'll just find some monsters and eat 'em," he answered, as if it were completely obvious. "Let's go that way! The sky looks bluer in that direction!" He turned toward Zoro, grinning hugely.
Warily eyeing the direction Luffy was pointing at, the bodyguard was silent for a moment. Since they were going towards the ocean, it made at least a little since to head into the direction that was bluest, but Zoro knew that he'd never heard of this being used a method to navigate. Even so, it was the best idea they had.
"All right," he spoke, standing up while clutching the map. "Let's pack up and move out."
"Yay! Let's go!" Luffy jumped into the tent and began rolling up their sleeping materials, binding them to be hooked onto their backpacks. There were shuffling noises and the occasional loud chuckle emitting from the tent as the only indication of where he was.
It only took them about five minutes for the strange duo to gather their possessions. And then they were on the move again, purposefully marching through the hot desert sand.
As they walked, Luffy twirled his walking stick around more, playing not only with the stick but now also with the consistency of his arms. At one point he got the brilliant idea to slam the walking stick into the sand, hold on tight, go jogging back a few feet, and pulllll as far as he could, just to see how far out his arm stretched. ...Of course, he had forgotten about the elasticity, and before he knew it he had lost his footing on the sand. Airborne, he went zipping through the air, holding desperately onto the walking stick still because he really didn't know what else to do, and shot past the stick only to go flying straight for Zoro.
Zoro whirled around, his mouth agape at the sudden sight of his prince hurling towards the air. "Luffy-?"
At Zoro's expression, Luffy burst out laughing and, bracing himself, slammed straight into his middle. The movement was abrupt and dislodged the walking stick from the sand. It, too, came flying through the air at them, but Luffy tried throwing his arm off to the side and was rewarded by the stick just slamming into the ground near them, digging up puffs of sand as his arm snapped back to normal size, the stick still in hand. Luffy continued to laugh, highly amused by it all.
Slamming into the ground, Zoro choked on his own saliva as he slid several meters backward.
When the sand had finally settled and the moment of confusion was over, Luffy sat up, dropping the walking stick to the side. The momentum had sent him sliding across the ground on Zoro's stomach, but now that they had stopped he moved to the side and slouched, grinning at Zoro with his eyes closed and one hand on his hat. He chuckled good-naturedly, looking far more amused than abashed as he said, "Sorry, Zoro! Didn't think that'd happen."
"A-ahh..." His back lightly arched, his eyes seeming to bulge from their sockets for a moment. "...I'm sure..."
Oblivious, Luffy looked back the way they'd come and noted the small trench they had ploughed in the sand. "Ooh!" he said, impressed, pointing with his free hand, "Lookit how far we went, though! I bet we could go real far real fast if I tried hard enough!" He closed his eyes again, laughing.
"Please don't," grunted Zoro, gritting his teeth as pain surged through his back.
"Eh?" Luffy stopped laughing and leaned forward casually when he saw Zoro's expression. "What's wrong?"
"Just scraped my back wounds, that's all," he muttered, slowly sitting up. "I'm okay."
"Hmm," Luffy watched Zoro calmly for a moment, seeming somewhat thoughtful. After a moment, he smiled, standing up himself. "Alright, if you say so! Hey, do you think we're any closer to the ocean? I'm really thirsty." He bounced on the balls of his feet, looking around as if he expected the ocean to be right on the other side of one of the sand dunes. Of course, if the ocean wasn't available he would have settled for a water fountain too...
Unscrewing a canteen, Zoro thrust it into the boy's chest. "Drink a little, but you have to save most of it for later."
"Thanks!" Luffy took a large gulp but did close it immediately afterwards. He tossed the canteen back and forth between his hands as he peered around. Abruptly, he began talking as if he were in the middle of a conversation. "If I were a giant monster, I wouldn't wanna live out here! It's so quiet and no one's around and it's reaaaallly hot... You'd think they'd want to live in a town where they could at least talk to people. But no one's out here! Hey, Zoro! How far away are we from more people do you think? What if we were the onnnllly people in miles and miles around? If we died, no one would know for a long time!" He laughed lightly, leaning back on one hand, his other still holding his hat down. The feel of the straw felt comforting against his palm.
Not knowing what to say, Zoro only made a light assenting noise and stood up. Looking up at the sky, he said, "We should keep going," as he waited for Luffy to stand as well. Unperturbed at the lack of answer, Luffy jumped up and, grabbing his walking stick, trotted along behind Zoro.
The two continued on their journey through the desert, heading in the general direction of The Bluer Sky. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, except for similar predicaments Luffy ran into while testing his new rubber body, and the several times Zoro was knocked over in the process. Eventually, after another set of rations was eaten and the sun was rapidly disappearing behind the horizon, they decided to set camp. The night was cold but quiet, and in the morning they awoke to another scorching day and a few more Rubber Body Mishaps.
Luffy, perhaps out of boredom, had taken to naming and announcing his attacks and experiments. This ended up being helpful for Zoro, who knew when to expect a flying Luffy when he heard "Gomu gomu no Roketo!" being yelled from far behind him. Luffy was getting a little better at dodging and controlling the momentum of his body, but he still had a long way to go. Zoro, meanwhile, was beginning to wonder if The Bluer Sky was really the direction they should be going. He had the sinking feeling that they were lost, completely lost, and every time he pulled out the map or even dared think of the compass, he only reinforced the fact that he had no clue how to navigate.
Their rations were also running disturbingly low.
Expecting Luffy to live off one ration box a meal became far too idealistic for reality. For lunch the second day, he already inhaled two full boxes before Zoro could stop him, and was reaching for a third. Although Zoro was trying to keep track, he still realized they were down to distressingly few ration boxes, and the water was almost gone. Worse, The Bluer Sky looked no closer to the ocean or even a speck of civilization than it had the morning before. The second night passed much like the first, as did the third day, and by that evening Zoro was beginning to despair. Luffy, however, seemed wholly unaffected by their dire circumstances.
"Hey, Zoro!" He said, grinning from his position by the tent, his legs sprawled before him while he leaned back on his arms. "Wouldn't it be great if we had a horse named Mu? Then when I wanted to get to him really fast I could do a rocket but call it 'Gomu gomu no Go Mu!'" He laughed, closing his eyes in amusement.
"It'd be great if we had a horse at all," growled Zoro, his nerves having been on end for the past day and a half. "Then we could eat it when we run out of rations and maybe drink its blood." His eyebrows were drawn together out of frustration and concern.
Luffy opened his eyes, blinking at Zoro and leaning back as he rocked his feet back and forth idly. "Ew, drink its blood? Wouldn't that taste bad?"
"There was once a great group of warriors who did that to survive," replied Zoro evenly.
Luffy's eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows. "Wow, really?" he asked, impressed. He pulled his legs forward, crossing them and resting his forearms on his knees. "And they lived? Did they become zombies?" He leaned forward in interest.
"No. They went on to conquer many places, though." Zoro settled beside him, staring up at the sky. "People trembled whenever they even heard their names."
Luffy's eyes were even wider now and he leaned forward more, completely involved in the story. In his mind, he could see a band of warriors, great warriors, marching across the trembling earth as villages of people and animals and maybe even rivers and mountains shrank away at their approach. It was majestic, and intimidating. He wondered if he would ever be part of a group like that, or if he could even just see someone like that in person... just once. "What were their names?" he asked softly, not realizing the drop in his voice, "Are they around still?"
"Their names were forgotten as their legend was passed down through the centuries." Zoro lightly smirked. "Kinda ironic." Pausing, he looked over at Luffy. "I don't think they're still around..."
"Wow," Luffy said softly, entranced.
He didn't even realize he was staring at the horizon unseeingly, his eyes unfocused as he continued to think about the great band of warriors. Stories like that always caught his attention. It had actually been a similar story told to him when he was very young (was it Ace who told him?) of Gold Roger that made him decide on his ultimate dream.
But the warriors... the story caught him in the same place, the thought of them affecting him deeply. He loved stories like that. He loved legends like that. He would love even more to become one. He just stared into the distance; lost in the thought of warriors so legendary even their names became something to fear and ultimately lose. Luffy didn't want to terrorize people, but the idea fascinated him, of adventures so great that even thinking of them was too much for most people.
Yawning softly, Zoro's muscles flexed as he gave a sudden stretch. "I hope we find a town soon," he spoke crankily.
Luffy shrugged, still thinking about the warriors. He slouched forward, watching the horizon quietly. He could almost see the warriors the idea was so vivid! Right there, standing silhouetted against the darkening night sky, three of them stood watch over Zoro and Luffy's camp. One turned and gestured to another, and quickly they disappeared back behind the sand dune they had been standing on. Smiling softly, Luffy watched the dune for a moment longer but the image of the warriors had gone. Tilting his head up toward Zoro, he put one hand on his hat and answered confidently, "We will. Everything always works out fine."
The swordsman nodded, but the irritated expression remained etched into his face. His mind had discarded the idea of majestic warriors long ago, but he said nothing of it. Watching Luffy's boyish face as he thought about the concept had been strangely captivating, and it had pulled Zoro into a deep silence.
Luffy looked away from Zoro when it became apparent that he seemed less than thrilled with his optimism. There was no point in arguing the issue; it would turn out, or it wouldn't. Not worrying about the town anymore, Luffy watched the dunes again, admiring the way the last rays of the sun glinted off the sand. Night stole over the desert quickly, casting them in darkness. He smiled slightly, thinking of the warriors again, and with a softened expression he fell silent.
Sensing Luffy's gaze falling away from him and shifting to the sky, the bodyguard paused and regarded the stars with an apathetic look that sharply contrasted with Luffy's subtle delight.
Luffy leaned back on his hands, his legs splayed before him as he rocked his feet back and forth now and then.
The sky was different here than back at Anchor. At home, the ramparts of the castle constantly hid parts of the sky, but out here it was as if the sky itself were larger than the land they walked on. He felt engulfed by its vastness, completely dwarfed and put in place in the great scheme of the universe. At home, because he lived beside the sea, he remembered the clouds curving as if hugging the land, but here they spread out wherever they felt, seeming freer than he remembered.
As fun as it was to compare, however, he slowly came out of his daydream. As the intensity of the night strengthened, he became less involved with staring at the sky and more aware of his environment. And it was cold! He had realized before how cold it got at night, of course, as they'd been in the desert long enough by then. But he hadn't been sitting still outside the tent at the time, and now that there was nothing keeping him moving and no sleeping bag to snuggle into, he could feel the chill of the air biting through his clothing. He could go in and sleep, but he really wasn't tired. He wanted to stay up. Just for a little while longer. But if he did that...
Luffy glanced sidelong at Zoro, noting how much larger he was and thinking there was probably a lot more body heat in him than there was in Luffy. He shifted then crawled over, dropping back down on Zoro's left and leaning against him as he shivered lightly. He gave no reason or explanation for his move, but he smiled to himself as he felt Zoro's body heat give him a bit of warmth on his side.
Almost immediately, Zoro's muscles tensed as his body was seized with an uncomfortable tightness. Dark eyes darted from the sky and promptly focused onto the prince, eyebrows furrowing. "What are you doing?" he asked suddenly.
Luffy blinked, then glanced up from beneath the rim of his hat. "Getting warm," he answered, as if it was obvious, and it probably was when he shivered again unexpectedly. He frowned thoughtfully then reached for Zoro's arm, tugging on it to try to wrap it around his shoulders.
Clenching his jaw, the green-haired man stared down at Luffy, vaguely apprehensive toward such physical contact. But he allowed the other teenager to pull his broad arm around his chilled shoulders, and Zoro shifted in the sand.
Luffy grinned brightly to himself, pleased. "Thanks, Zoro!" he said cheerfully, pressing against him and putting his arms loosely around Zoro's torso to pull him closer. "You're a lot warmer than me... why is that? Aren't you cold at all?"
The swordsman shrugged, not entirely looking Luffy in the eye as he spoke. "I get cold," he muttered. "I just handle it better than you do."
Luffy frowned slightly, staring up at the sky in thought. "What? Either you're cold or you're not. How can you handle it better? You probably just aren't as cold, or you would've reached for me first." He said it with complete confidence, certain that exactly that would have happened. He leaned his head against Zoro, comfortable.
Snorting, Zoro made no move to shove him off as he gave a light yawn. His muscles were slowly beginning to relax, having gradually begun to grow accustomed to Luffy casually touching him over the course of their journey. His eyes fell to a sleepy, partial close, but the bodyguard made sure to keep a vigilant eye out for possible threats in the area.
After a few moments Luffy let go of Zoro long enough to pull his hat off and set it beside him, his thigh securely resting on the rim to keep it from moving. With the straw hat out of the way he leaned against Zoro again and stared at the stars, thinking. He thought he had seen a familiar group earlier but had been too distracted with the cold to pay much attention. Now that he had his own heater, though, he searched the sky again. Sure enough, after a minute of scrutinizing, he suddenly saw what he was looking for.
"Zoro! Zoro! Look!" He laughed clearly, excitedly, and pointed to a seemingly random group of stars in the sky. "It's the Warrior Constellation, do you see it?" His huge grin could be heard even in the tone of his voice.
"Warrior constellation?" asked Zoro, raising an eyebrow as he peered into the sky. "What are you talking about? All I see is a bunch of stars."
"Well of course it's a bunch of stars," Luffy said dismissively, pointing more insistently, "that's what a constellation is. But right there's the Warrior one! See him? He's right next to the swimming fish one. And then above the fish is the mermaid... well, that's what I call her anyway. But I like the Warrior most! Do you see him?"
"No," replied Zoro simply. "They just look like regular stars to me."
Luffy sighed, slightly exasperated, thinking Zoro was just not trying hard enough. "No, look-" He paused abruptly, thoughtfully. "Maybe it looks different from your view," he muttered to himself, then shifted, pushing gently on Zoro's arm so he could move behind him. Leaning against Zoro's back, his chin resting on his left shoulder and the side of his face brushing against Zoro's as he peered at the sky, Luffy tried to get the closest view to his bodyguard's as possible. The sky did shift a bit from Zoro's perspective, so maybe that was the problem. He grabbed Zoro's left upper arm lightly with his left hand, and with his right pointed over Zoro's other shoulder to the Warrior Constellation once again.
"There, do you see it now?" he asked, a little softer since he was right by Zoro's ear and didn't want to give him a headache or distract him. "See? See those four stars that look like they're in a line? And the two on each side at the bottom? That's his sword and its hilt, and he's holding it up to protect the sky. And see, right out from the bottom star of the sword, see the four stars sort of like a weird triangle pointing up? That's his head and shoulders and his hand... the other one's holding the sword. And then see lower? Those two stars, they're sort of strange but at an angle and spread out? That's his legs."
He paused, smiling and tilting his head against Zoro's as he breathed out in light awe. "See? He's in battle stance. He's protecting the sky and the stars and the moon, and no one can take them away except the Sun because she shines so brightly that no star can stand against her. But it's ok, because she protects the sky during the day, just like the Warrior does at night." He leaned completely against Zoro, though his hand remained held out, pointing. "Do you see?" he asked, softer, just a whisper near Zoro's ear.
Gazing at the sky with rapt attention now, Zoro's eyes silently traveled across the blanket of stars as Luffy pointed to each piece of the Warrior. "Yeah," he muttered quietly, his voice a deep rumble in his throat. "Yeah, I see it." Lightly inclining his head toward Luffy's, the bodyguard gave an awkward smile. "Thanks…"
"You see him? Great!" Luffy said, pleased, his tone more sincere than the usual cheerfulness. Smiling widely, he leaned against Zoro and hugged him from behind as he laughed into his shoulder. "It wouldn't be good if my bodyguard couldn't even see the bodyguard in the sky! And now you'll always know where to find him... the Warrior..."
The green-haired man gave a lazy nod, gradually easing into Luffy's hold and leaning fully against the prince's body. "I guess you got pretty bored at the palace, huh? You know the sky like the back of your hand…"
Luffy continued to smile into his bodyguard's shoulder, silent a moment. He nodded then shifted so his chin was resting on Zoro's shoulder and he could speak, but he kept his arms looped around him and continued to lean against him. "I actually didn't really care about the sky for a long time, but I had a nice view from my room. It was really high on one of those towers; do you remember them? If you're up there you can see the sea really well too."
He paused slightly, his voice soft with past dreams. "...I used to watch the sea all the time, though, and I kept begging Shanks to take me out with him. He ignored me every time and teased me." He stopped, his mind wandering to his hat and the man who had given it to him. It was a nice night, though, and he didn't want to dwell on how he had received the hat. He hugged Zoro tighter, unconsciously, and continued as if he hadn't paused again.
"Before he left, he told me stories about the stars. He said even if he wasn't right there at the castle, I still had his hat, and we were still watching the same sky. When I told Ace that later, he told me about a lot of the other star formations... The constellations have some great stories, you know? They're like legends written in the night sky. They'll never be forgotten, but even if they were, they wouldn't forget us since they look down at us every night."
He smiled to himself and added softly, "...I like that idea."
"It's a nice sentiment," Zoro gruffly agreed, a tiny smile forming on his face. "Stars have practical purposes, too. Sailors use them to navigate."
Luffy nodded, saying rhetorically, "I bet pirates and others use them too, huh? Maybe that's what Shanks meant..." He trailed off, staring at the sky for a bit. As comfortable as he was leaning against Zoro, though, his knees were beginning to ache from his position, and he kept thinking about how nothing was holding down his hat. He should probably pick it up again if nothing else... Moving slowly enough for Zoro to know what he was doing, he hugged his friend a little tighter before letting go and crawling over next to him. He dropped back down to the sand, making sure to weigh the hat down with his leg before he leaned against Zoro and sighed softly. He forgot to pull Zoro's arm over his shoulder again but at least there was enough warmth just leaning against him that at first he didn't bother to try.
Sensing Luffy's chilled body as it pressed against him, the swordsman slowly placed an arm around the prince. "I'm sure pirates use them. You should learn how to use them if you want to be a pirate. Unless you find a navigator who can use them." Lightly rubbing at his temples, Zoro cast an irritated frown towards the sky. "There seems to be a shortage of those out in the desert. We'd better find one soon."
Luffy laughed lightly, enjoying the weight of Zoro's arm and relaxing against his bodyguard. "Are there usually navigators in the desert?" he asked, partially honestly curious, but partially amused at the idea.
"It'd be nice if there were," muttered Zoro. "We're likely to run out of food before we find Baratie. But maybe if we find a town along the-" He paused suddenly, his gaze drifting towards a group of sand dunes. "Someone's here." Instinctively, his hand moved to his swords.
Blinking at the sudden change in subject, Luffy looked curiously at Zoro then followed his gaze. At first he didn't see anything, but something told him that Zoro was right (other than his absolute belief in his bodyguard's ability). He unconsciously leaned away from Zoro to give him more maneuverability even as his hand dropped to his hat protectively. It wasn't long before he could see what Zoro had meant.
Two figures detached themselves from a sand dune, their silhouettes frozen against the dark sky for just a moment before the sand dune seemed to swallow them again as they stumbled their way closer. In the dark it was hard to see details, but the light of the moon hinted at bedraggled clothing and dark stains across their bodies. Even if it weren't for that evidence, it was obvious there was something wrong; they moved in lurches and jerks, as if they had neither the energy nor the ability to walk any smoother. One of them was holding his shoulder protectively while the other just staggered at his side.
"Please," the one holding his shoulder whispered wretchedly as they came close enough to be heard, though they both paused quite a bit away so as not to startle the campers they were intruding on. "Please, do you have any medicine...?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.
The one beside him coughed and murmured hopefully in as pathetic a voice, "Or water...?"
Zoro promptly stood up, his eyebrows furrowing at the state of the two men. Even so, his hand remained near his weapons. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Poor travelers!" lamented the blond with the injured shoulder. "Poor travelers who had an unfortunate encounter with a terrible group of bandits."
"Please, we just need water or medicine or... whatever you can spare," his companion said, his brown hair falling into his eyes as he looked pleadingly at Zoro, assuming he was the leader of the two as he was the one that had spoken. "The bandits killed everyone else in our group... we barely got away... we thought we would die but then we saw you in the distance. It's a miracle..." He coughed, groaning lowly and hugging his chest as if his ribs ached.
Luffy stared at them with wide eyes, then turned to Zoro. "Do we have enough water to give them some...?" He really had no idea how much of anything they had...
"Not really, but…" Zoro didn't like the idea of just letting these lost men perish of thirst or injuries. "Sit down," he gestured to the men gruffly. "Luffy, go see if you can find the first aid kit in our bag."
Luffy nodded and shoved himself up, grabbing his hat and slipping it on before he jogged over to their tent and disappeared inside. He dropped down by the bags and realized abruptly he didn't know which of theirs the first aid kit was in. Rather than bother Zoro, he just opened up one of them and rummaged inside as quickly as he dared without missing anything.
The brown-haired man sighed in relief, staggering forward and murmuring repeatedly, "Thank you, thank you, you're so kind, thank you..." He hovered near Zoro, apparently so overjoyed at the idea of help that he wanted to be close, but a little hesitant to get so close as to annoy the green-haired swordsman.
The blond nodded, looking relieved as well as he stumbled closer to Zoro. "I... could you help me with my shoulder first? I can't see very well in the dark and... and I'm a little afraid the wound will look as bad as I feel like it is." He looked sheepish, as sheepish as he could while so exhausted, and turned his injured shoulder slightly toward Zoro hopefully.
Blinking, Zoro moved closer towards the man, eyebrows furrowing as he looked towards the traveler's wounds. "What happened? Were you shot or what?" he asked. "It's hard to tell in this dark…"
"Stabbed, actually," the man grunted, looking down at his shoulder. "Guess I wasn't fast enough to avoid their sword..."
The brown-haired traveler, apparently deciding on a course of action, started to wander around Zoro toward the tent where he'd seen the younger man with the hat disappear into. "Maybe I can help your friend look..." he said tentatively; judging by his tone he felt like he was in the way and could do more in there.
He paused at Zoro's back, pulling his hands away from his middle where he had been apparently clutching at his ribs. Taken from hidden pockets, in one hand gleamed a light cloth and in another he held a small bottle. Silently tipping some of the liquid onto the cloth, he waited until the swordsman was intent on looking at his companion's wound before with lightning quick movements he suddenly reached from behind and held the cloth mercilessly over Zoro's mouth and nose. The blond-haired traveler immediately reached up and grabbed Zoro's arms as strongly as he could to keep him from moving.
At the same time as the brown-haired man attacked Zoro, Luffy appeared from the tent with the first aid kit, his eyes closed merrily as he declared, "Found it!" He looked down at the kit in confusion, not noticing at first what was happening as he said, "I dunno if this is right, though..."
Zoro's mind was whirling, and his hands promptly withdrew a sword from its sheath. But his senses were becoming foggy and his vision was beginning to leave him. Throbbing in his brain, the man's heart seemed to beat louder and heavier as his pulse resonated through his body. He struggled like a bug being held under a magnifying glass, especially when he heard the prince's voice cheerfully sounding from the tent.
But then his eyes rolled to the back of his head, the sword clattered onto the ground and darkness blanketed Zoro's mind.
Luffy blinked, looking up when he heard Zoro unsheathe his sword. At first, nothing made sense to him. The two injured men appeared to be hugging Zoro, who didn't look happy as he drew his sword. Luffy slowed, remembering abruptly how Zoro had said he was unused to people touching him, and maybe for anyone who suddenly hugged him he automatically drew his sword...? But then, as Luffy slowly walked closer, he saw that Zoro wasn't being hugged exactly, but maybe restrained was a better word, and the one on his back was holding something over Zoro's mouth and-
"Wha-what the hell are you doing?" Luffy yelled, dropping the first aid kit and running over to the man at Zoro's back.
He started to try to tug him away, but it was already too late. Zoro fell limp against them both and the brown-haired man abruptly let him go, turning and attacking Luffy instead. Luffy yelped but started hitting him repeatedly, furious. They had tried to help them and this was how they repaid them? He reared back an arm and punched him really hard in the stomach and the traveler stumbled back, dropping to one knee. Because the man was crouched forward, Luffy at first couldn't see that he still held the bottle and that he was rewetting the cloth.
"What did you do to Zoro?" he demanded angrily, pulling his arm back and getting ready to punch the blond one away.
His arm started to stretch behind him slightly, the momentum adding more strength, but before he could snap his arm forward the brown-haired man suddenly jumped onto him from the side. Luffy, who had thought the man was more winded than that and would take a moment longer to get up, stumbled and fell from surprise. He kicked and almost got the heavier man off him, but suddenly a cloth was held to his mouth and he inhaled deeply without thinking.
Immediately he knew something was wrong as his consciousness was starting to fall away, but he only had a few moments' chance to struggle violently, panicking, before his eyes slid closed and he fell limp against the sand.
The blond man had ignored the two as they struggled and instead flipped the swordsman onto his side, pulling the two katana free from Zoro's belt and picking up the third that had fallen to the ground. He pulled out a folded sheet of paper and slid it into the front of Zoro's belt so it would not fly away. Glancing over at his companion in annoyance, he grunted, "Took you long enough."
The brown-haired man scowled. "Little asshole got a good punch in... I wasn't expecting it."
Shrugging, the blond-haired man grabbed the swords and held them protectively as he turned to leave. "Grab 'im and let's go already. I'd rather not be here when the Demon wakes up."
Standing up and scowling at Luffy, the man kicked him in the ribs just to get back at him before he reached down and threw him uncaringly over his shoulder. Now that they didn't need to act hurt anymore, he had no troubles moving. Neither had ever been injured, but the clothes and the fake bloodstains were apparently a successful ruse.
Shifting his grip, he trudged after his companion toward the large lizard they had hidden on the other side of the nearby dune. Once on the lizard, there would be no chance the swordsman would catch them, even if he woke earlier than expected.
It didn't take them long to locate their transport, and within a few minutes they had disappeared into the surrounding landscape, leaving Zoro sprawled alone in the middle of the desert.