Straight Forward

Chapter 15 – One Long Morning

It was purely coincidence that Sanji happened to have an insane bout of insomnia that night. Swinging his legs out of his bunk, he made his way out of the men's quarters and into the darkness of what he assumed was very early daytime. The sky was still a deep inky blue with no hint of sunlight in sight. It was still much too early to get ready for breakfast so Sanji settled for leaning against the railing, watching the slow passing of the stars above. He was about to light a cigarette when the sound of a door opening stopped him. Upon seeing Shiloh coming out of the women's quarters and Zoro's silhouette making its way down from the crow's nest, Sanji instinctively ducked down behind the banister.

Shiloh made her way up the stairs, meeting Zoro at the base of the foremast. The nights had been warm lately, so the redhead's pajamas consisted of a white tank top that had a big print of a singular strawberry on the front and soft pink shorts. Zoro had forgone his long green coat in favor of his usual white shirt and black pants. Both of them were barefoot.

The green-haired man simply nodded in greeting, before turning away, eye raised to the cloudless sky. Sanji watched as Shiloh shifted nervously, hands folded behind her back. "So," she began slowly, "Now what?"

Still Zoro said nothing. Sanji wanted to throw something at him. It was rude to invite a lady out and then ignore her. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he saw Shiloh scratch her head in confusion and open her mouth to speak. However, Zoro beat her to it. "You were right."

The redhead blinked. "Huh?"

Zoro turned a soft eye on her before pointing upwards. "It is pretty." From his hiding spot, Sanji looked to the sky to see an incredibly bright light beside the crescent moon. He noted that the horizon was beginning to lighten to a pale periwinkle. Vaguely, he acknowledged how strange it was to hear Zoro say the word "pretty."

"Oh, wow," Shiloh breathed. "There it is."

Sanji remained crouched, astounded that Zoro had remembered the girl's words and actually acted on them. Despite all the teasing and mocking, he knew Zoro was a good man, he just never expected him to be a romantic one. That probably wasn't the swordsman's intention, but never the less, asking Shiloh to view something so special to her without any prompting fell under that category.

The pair simply stood with their necks craned, breathing gently in the easy silence. Then, tentatively and carefully, Shiloh reached out and wrapped her small hand around Zoro's. Her head snapped towards the swordsman in surprise, and Sanji could only assume that Zoro had given her hand a small squeeze in return. "Zoro," Shiloh called softly. "Now can I kiss you?"

The green-haired man let out a slow breath before releasing Shiloh's hand and looking down at the redhead. "Shy," he said sternly but gently, "There's something I need you to understand." Shiloh must have sensed the urgency in his voice because she nodded and looked deeply into the swordsman's eye, waiting for him to continue. "I'm going to be the world's greatest swordsman. When I decided to follow my dream, I had already discarded my life." From behind the banister, Sanji stiffened at the familiar words. There was no way he was witnessing a rejection, right? The picnic had gone so well and he had been pretty damn sure that he had gotten it through Zoro's thick skull that the idiot should try and live a little. "I made a promise to a friend a long time ago, and I can't let anything get in the way of that. It's my ultimate goal." Contrary to his bold words, the swordsman very tenderly reached out and pushed a lock of Shiloh's hair behind her ear. Sanji frowned. No blush came to her face; her amber eyes remained staring into Zoro's, hanging on to his every word. "Whatever it is you want, I'm not the right person to give it to you."

At that, Shiloh tilted her head and frowned. "Huh? What are you talking about? I'm not asking you for anything but a chance, Zoro."

"You don't get it," Zoro growled softly as he pulled his hand away. When he next spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper, filled with an unfamiliar emotion that Sanji would have labeled as regret had it been anyone but Zoro speaking. "I'm incapable of giving you anything."

"That's a lie." Sanji was a bit taken aback by the sudden seriousness in Shiloh's tone. A strange maturity shone in her eyes, a light that spoke of experience and understanding. "That's a lie," she repeated slowly. A small smile graced her lips as Zoro frowned in confusion. "You don't get it Zoro. I don't like you because of what you could give. I like you because of what you've already given."

The swordsman shook his head. "I haven't-"

"Friendship," Shiloh interrupted. "Protection. Ambition. Pride." A small hand met his chest, palm running down the path of his scar through his shirt. "Acceptance. Trust." The hand moved to rest at the side of his jaw. "Tenderness." Zoro's hand wrapped around the girl's wrist but didn't pull it away. "Zoro," she continued, "I like that you won't let anything get in the way of your dream. I accept it and embrace it. I'm willing to be a part of your life for a little while, or a long time. We don't need a path to be laid out for us. We can figure it out as we go. Besides," she added with a warm smile, "Don't you always end up where you need to be?"

Zoro's visible eye widened. Sanji had to admit, he was a bit moved at the girl's speech. His heart empathized; her words perfectly echoed the song in his heart meant for a certain orange-haired navigator. "Shy," the swordsman whispered, but the girl wasn't finished.

"You said you already discarded your life, but that doesn't mean you're dead." Shiloh sent the swordsman a slightly cocky smile, her eyes shining with the light of a challenge. "You've still got flesh and blood, Future Greatest Swordsman in the World, so maybe you should listen to what that beating heart is saying."

"It's saying I have a promise to keep," Zoro replied quietly.

Shiloh let out a small laugh. "I said listen to what it's saying, not what it's screaming."

Sanji didn't know how or why, but those specific words affected Zoro as if they were some sort of magical spell. His eye widened with realization before softening with a warm light directed at the contortionist. While Shiloh had been talking, his posture had been stiff and defensive, but it had suddenly changed into something much more relaxed and fluid as he took a deep breath. His hand cupped the girl's blushing cheek. "You're really something else, you know that?"

"An alien," Shiloh breathed, though the joke fell on deaf ears since she and Zoro were staring so intently into each other's eyes. Sanji felt his heart skip a beat. This was the moment; He just knew it. He probably should have given the two their privacy but he couldn't. No one in their right mind would have passed up the chance to witness Zoro being openly affectionate towards someone.

"I've never kissed anyone before." The moment was lost and Sanji nearly burst out laughing at Zoro's red, embarrassed face. In the back of his mind, Sanji had already assumed that Zoro had never kissed before, but hearing it come from the swordsman himself was almost too much for the cook to bear. It took all his self-control not to jump from where he stood and start yelling about the clueless marimo's inexperience.

However, the two by the mast were still locked in an intense gaze. Shiloh smiled and replied, "It's okay. Just lean down a little."

The height difference made them look ridiculous and Zoro's green hair against Shiloh's deep red in the blossoming sunlight clashed oddly, but the way their lips touched, soft and sweet lasting but a few seconds, was strangely beautiful, even to Sanji.

A perfect memory, the cook thought to himself, unable to resist the smile creeping onto his face, for a pair of hopeless idiots.

When Shiloh hadn't shown up later that morning to help with breakfast, Sanji had assumed that the girl had simply slept in after her late night escapade with a certain green-haired swordsman, though he didn't actually know what happened after the kiss since he had finally gotten sleepy and gone to bed. But when Nami and Robin walked into the galley to join the rest of the crew for breakfast without the redhead, Sanji felt the slightest bit of concern grip his stomach. After scanning the room, Nami turned to the cook with confused eyes. "Where's Shy?"

He froze in the middle of putting pancakes on the table. "She never came in. I thought she was still in bed."

Robin shook her head. "She was gone before we even woke up."

Sanji turned his eye to the other crewmembers who were munching away, seemingly without a care in the world. Carefully setting down the plate of pancakes, he moved so he was hovering menacingly above Zoro, who looked up at him with a groggy, but still irritated glare. "What do you want, Curly-Brow?"

"Where is she?"

"Huh?"

"Where is Shiloh, you crappy swordsman?" If anyone knew where the girl was, surely it was the last person she had been seen with. A strange possibility crossed Sanji's mind, causing him to growl and yank Zoro up by the collar. "What did you do? Did you touch her? Take advantage of the poor girl's feelings? Tell me you didn't violate her, you classless pervert!"

Zoro jumped to his feet, brandishing a fork and shouted, "Don't lump me in with you, creepy love-cook! I don't know where she is! I haven't seen her since last night."

Sanji let go of the green-haired man and crossed his arms. Sure, he wanted Zoro and Shiloh to be happy but something like that was way too much way too soon. "So if I went up to the crow's nest right now, she wouldn't be there?"

Luffy's head swiveled around to face whoever was speaking as Zoro and Sanji continued to argue, food pushing his cheeks out to a ridiculous extent. "No, and why the hell would she be?!"

Sanji huffed, moving away to put out more food and grumbled, "You're right. Someone as inexperienced as you wouldn't be able to get that far even if you tried."

"What did you say?!"

"So where is she then?" Zoro and Sanji both turned to Nami who was frowning. "It's not like her to suddenly disappear like that. Did something happen last night?"

Zoro looked pointedly away as Sanji walked around the counter to the kitchen. He wanted to answer, but the information wasn't his to give. Luffy shrugged and suggested around a mouthful of food, "Maybe she's in the bathroom."

As if on cue, a continuous half screaming, half yelling was suddenly heard ringing throughout The Thousand Sunny, growing louder as if came nearer. The galley door burst open and the noise stopped, Shiloh rushing breathlessly into the room. "I'm sorry," She exclaimed, looking directly at Sanji. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I completely forgot about helping with breakfast!"

"Calm down," Sanji replied with a shake of his head. He gestured to the table. "You can make it up to me by washing all the dishes afterwards. For now, just sit and have some breakfast."

Shiloh obeyed and began to walk around the others to her seat beside Nami. However, as she passed Zoro, she nonchalantly kissed his cheek and greeted, "Good morning," before walking on and sitting besides the giggling navigator. Oblivious to the snickering and the swordsman's beet red face, Shiloh moved to begin putting food on her plate.

Luffy looked to Zoro, then around at his amused crew, then to Shiloh. "How come only Zoro gets a good morning kiss?"

That did it. Everyone promptly burst into loud laughter as Zoro stood and yelled, "SHUT UP!"

"How delightful," Brook said between breaths. "I want one too!"

"Don't even think about!" Zoro yelled, pointing his knife at the chuckling musician, "I'll cut you up!"

"Oooh," Usopp teased, "Zoro's getting jealous!"

"I am not!"

Robin hmm'd thoughtfully before saying with a smile, "Well Brook did get a kiss from her a few months ago."

A loud laugh came from Franky. "That's right! Looks like the bones has you beat, Bro!"

Luffy's loud laugh cut through the air as he slapped his hand against the table. "That's so sad, Zoro! Brook got a kiss before you did and all he had to do was ask!"

"I'LL KILL YOU, LUFFY!"

"Maybe Shy just likes Brook better because he at least has some manners," Nami suggested with a smirk. "Right, Shy?" All eyes turned to the redhead at the lack of response. Sanji was surprised to find the girl staring detachedly at her plate, which only had an untouched muffin on it. Something in the back of Sanji's mind buzzed at the sight. He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen the girl take one of the muffins at breakfast before. "Shy?" Nami repeated, all mirth gone.

The contortionist's head snapped up, eyes wide, as if surprised to see them. "What?" She blinked and slowly brought a hand up to rub her eyes. "Sorry. I was thinking about something."

Luffy stretched out his neck so that his face was right in front of the dazed redhead's. He seemed to take in her face before laughing, head snapping back to where it should be as his neck retracted. "You're weird today."

Sanji sent a suspicious glare at Zoro before walking over to Shiloh and putting a hand on her head. "Did something happen?"

Shiloh looked up at him before bringing her gaze back down, as if debating whether or not she should speak. Taking a slow breath, she admitted, "I had a weird dream."

The cook immediately felt his shoulders relax. "That's all? Damn, Shy. For a second I really thought something was wrong."

Offering a sheepish smile, Shiloh replied, "Sorry. Sometimes I get really focused on something and I forget about everything else. I almost walked into the mast earlier."

Usopp snorted. "That's pretty intense. So is that where you were? Off thinking somewhere?"

"Yeah. In the tub."

"Ha!" Luffy shouted in triumph, once again stuffing his face with food. "I told you she was in the bathroom!"

Chopper tilted his head in curiosity. "You were taking a bath this early? Do you not feel well?"

Shiloh shook her head. "I wasn't taking a bath," she clarified. "I was just sitting in the tub. Thinking and stuff."

"What?" Nami asked incredulously over Brook, Usopp, and Luffy's laughter. "You really are weird today."

"I superrr get it though," Franky put in with a shrug. "I do my best thinking on the toilet."

"We don't need to know that!" Nami and Sanji yelled in unison.

"I'll try that next time."

Zoro sputtered around his cup, nearly choking on the juice he had intended on drinking in an effort not to laugh.

Nami promptly swatted the shorter girl on the back of the head. "Don't entertain it!"

"Sorry." The noise began to die down to an amiable chatter as Shiloh took a singular bite out of her muffin, the others following suit and going back to their meal.

Sanji barely managed to turn around to offer a special heart-shaped pancake to Nami when the sudden sound of Shiloh slamming her fists on the table caused everyone's heads to swivel towards the redhead, who had paled to an alarming extent. For a second, Sanji wondered what was going on until he noticed the bitten muffin on Shiloh's plate. He didn't even have time to shout before Shiloh made the worst half choking half wheezing sound he had ever heard in his life. The redhead attempted to stand, knocking her chair back in the process, before falling to her knees, hands clutching the collar of her shirt as she continued to gurgle, tears streaming down her face.

"CHOPPER!"

The doctor was immediately beside the girl. He turned his head and ordered, "Hold her down!"

Jumping out of their chairs, Nami and Robin each pinned down one of Shiloh's arms, while Sanji and Zoro each took a leg.

"What's going on?!" Luffy shouted as he hovered over them.

"Are the muffin's poisoned?!" Usopp cried as he gripped at his own throat.

Sanji managed to throw the sniper a nasty glare as Chopper fumbled around in his bag. How dare the sharpshooter say such a thing, even jokingly? He opened his mouth with the intent of saying something nasty to the long-nosed man, but a horrible strangled sound coming from Shiloh stopped him.

"Chopper, do something," Zoro shouted. "Quick!"

The doctor emerged from his bag with some sort of syringe in his hoof. Intent on his task, he told the swordsman, "Hold her leg still," before sinking the needle into Shiloh's thigh. Within the next minute, her body stilled and the terrible suffocating noises began to quiet into labored breathing.

Sanji gently let go of the leg he had been holding when he felt Shiloh's body relax, Nami and Robin releasing the contortionist's arms. Before Zoro could release Shiloh's other leg, Chopper turned his large dark eyes on him. "Zoro, I'm going to take the needle out. When I do, I need you to rub the injection site for ten seconds."

The green-haired man nodded wordlessly and followed the doctor's instruction, exercising the most care Sanji had ever seen him use on anything other than his swords. A large shadow loomed over him and he turned to find Luffy, Usopp, and Brook peeking over Franky's giant shoulder at the girl still on the floor.

"Is she okay?" The musician asked gently.

"She should be," Chopper answered.

"What happened?" Luffy asked with a frown.

Usopp sunk down a little, hiding the bottom half of his face behind their cyborg shipwright. "Was she poisoned?"

"Say that again and I'll kick your ass all the way back to the East Blue," Sanji threatened darkly.

The small doctor cleared his throat and explained. "Anaphylaxis. A severe allergic reaction. She needs to lie there for a few minutes but she'll be okay. I just had to give her a little epinephrine." Seeing their blank stares, Chopper continued, "It tightens up the blood vessels to reduce swelling and relaxes muscles around the airways in the lungs so the airways can open up. It also stops the spread of any more allergic chemicals into the bloodstream."

"Your knowledge never ceases to amazing me, Little Doctor," Robin said with a smile.

Chopper immediately lost his serious edge and did a little dance. "Cut it out! Complimenting me doesn't make me the least bit happy!"

Nami promptly punched the back of Usopp's head, and said irritably, "Stupid. You know there's no way Sanji would ever put anything dangerous in our food!"

Usopp frowned and faced the navigator. "I never said it was Sanji! I thought maybe someone had snuck onto the ship or something!"

"Someone we couldn't see?!"

"It's possible," Usopp yelled defensively, "Remember Lily? She was so small that we couldn't see her!"

While the two continued to bicker, Sanji went over to Shiloh's plate and picked up the muffin. As he thought, it was banana nut. A strange anger came over him at her carelessness. At least, that's what he decided to label it as, seeing as he didn't want to acknowledge that he felt guilty and pissed at himself for not noticing what the girl had taken from the table. No, he realized. He had noticed. He had even noted that he had never seen her choose a muffin for breakfast before. Now I know why.

He knelt back down and was about to berate the girl, thinking she was probably fine since a couple minutes had passed and she was sitting up again, but he froze at the sight of her teary face and tiny chest still heaving slightly. "Hey," he called instead. "You still with us, Short Stuff?"

"Cook-" Zoro began to in a protective growl, but Chopper interrupted him.

"It's okay, Zoro. We should get her talking to make sure she's getting enough air again. Shy," Chopper said gently to the girl who brought her watery eyes to him. "Are you okay?"

Shiloh blinked, two large tears rolling down her face as she nodded slowly and replied with a raspy, "Yes." She looked past him to the others who were standing about, watching with concerned eyes. "Sorry, everyone. I'm fine." She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before confirming, voice still raw, "Yeah. I'm okay now." Sanji found it a little strange that her face had returned to a calm countenance but tears were still occasionally falling from her eyes.

Chopper stood beside her and began, "I gave you-"

"I know," Shiloh broke in. "Thanks." Sanji watched as the girl brought her hand to her chest before looking at the doctor.

"Your heart rate will be raised for awhile from the epinephrine. That's normal."

"I know," the redhead repeated, moving her hand so that two fingers were pressing against the side of her neck. "So I don't go into cardiovascular collapse, right?"

Chopper looked impressed. "Right. Good job, Shy." Sanji resisted the urge to laugh. The reindeer's doctor demeanor was always a treat to witness when it wasn't directed at him.

Zoro let out a breath and stood, surprising the cook. Wordlessly, he reached out a hand to pat Shiloh's head before walking out of the galley. Sanji would have barked at him to stay, would have told him how rude it was to leave Shiloh there on the floor, but what he saw in the swordsman's eye prevented him from doing so.

Shiloh sighed and rubbed at her eyes, suddenly looking tired. "Do you think he's mad?"

Sanji shook his head and knelt down next to the girl. "No, Shy. I think he's just worried."

Twenty minutes later found Shiloh restricted to sitting on the grassy deck on Chopper's orders. He had given her a couple extra epinephrine syringes after she had explained that she used to always have one on her but forgot to bring it when she left Maroon Marble. The redhead had insisted that she was fine, but the doctor was having none of it. If he had his way completely, she would have been lying in the sick bay. Shiloh had Nami to thank for convincing the reindeer that some sun would be good for her as long as she didn't rough house with Luffy and Usopp.

The boisterous captain had already tried to use his rubbery arms to pick the girl up and throw her into the air to brighten her mood, but Nami had swiftly sent a fist into his head and lectured him, so instead he stood at the helm pouting while Usopp fished off the side of the ship.

Sanji's himself sat on the stairs, leisurely smoking a cigarette. His eyes fell on Zoro who was leaning against the foremast, seemingly taking a nap but the cook knew better. It was obvious to him that the swordsman was keeping an eye on Shiloh from a distance. Said redhead was lying on her stomach in the grass towards the middle of the deck, head resting on folded arms. A sigh fell from her lips and she made her way over to the "sleeping" Zoro and sat to his left, eyes distant.

The cook walked down the stairs and sat on her opposite side. "How are you feeling?" He asked before blowing out a perfect smoke ring.

"Kinda stupid."

Sanji nearly choked on his cigarette as a laugh threatened to erupt. Letting out a single cough, he asked amusedly, "Want to talk about it?"

Shiloh leaned all the way back on the mast, causing her to slouch in a very childish manner. "It's just so dumb, Sanji. I can't believe I was so out of it that I took a bite out of that banana nut muffin. I know better. And you know what makes it worse? I still can't stop thinking about that weird dream I had."

This time Sanji really did chuckle. Although the girl was whining, it was nice to hear her sound a little more like herself. At least her voice didn't sound so raspy anymore. "So tell me about this strange dream that distracted you so much that you ingested something that could have potentially killed you."

The redhead looked up thoughtfully, eyes slightly glazing over. "At first I was just dreaming about sitting in a pool filled with really cute fluffy puppies. You know, normal dream stuff."

"Of course," Sanji humored.

"Then I heard this voice calling me. It was yelling, 'Hey! Red! We need to have a talk!' I didn't know where it was coming from so I got out of the pool and suddenly I was standing in some sort of clearing. It was nighttime and there was a huge full moon and this little girl was standing there, totally glaring at me. I mean, she looked like she wanted to kill me, Sanji."

The cook snorted and blew out a puff of smoke. "I doubt a little girl could kill you, Shy."

"You don't understand," Shiloh said, her eyes almost comically serious. "This kid was all kinds of intense. The way she held herself you'd think she was ready to fight me. I was actually a little intimidated by her."

"And?" Sanji urged when Shiloh paused. "What did this intimidating little girl want with you?"

"That's when it got weird."

"You mean it wasn't already?"

"Well, weirder. She stared yelling at me about Zoro." Shiloh missed it because she was looking thoughtfully up at the sky, but Sanji saw said swordsman's good eye open at his name. The cook knew the green-haired man had been listening.

"What did she say?"

Shiloh frowned up at the clouds and let out a loud irate sigh. "She called me a wimp." Again, Sanji let out a small laugh, earning him a pout from the redhead. "She called me a wimp then said I'm not strong enough to be with Zoro because I have no ambitions. So I told her about how I'm looking for my dad and how we're going to go back to Maroon Marble and take care of Scrawly and she just laughed at me and said I was stupid because those things are responsibilities not goals." Shiloh huffed and ran a hand through her hair, messing up her bangs. "Then I got annoyed because I realized she was right. When I told her that she laughed at me and said at that rate I'd never be able to keep up with Zoro, that I'd lose him before I even got a chance to get close because he's always pushing forward."

Sanji couldn't help but be impressed by such an insightful dream. Shiloh's subconscious must have been working extra hard that night. "That's pretty deep for a dream."

"Right? Everything that kid said was dead on. So then I got worried and asked her what I should do and she told me I need to find a purpose. Find something I want to pursue after I find Shanks and settle the score with Scrawly."

The cook gave a shrug and a small nod in agreement. "Did you think of something?"

Shiloh turned to him with the most exasperated expression he had ever seen and he nearly burst out laughing. "No!" The redhead answered with incredible frustration. "I couldn't think of a single damn thing! The little brat laughed at me some more and said that I'll figure it out eventually, and if I don't that just means I'm not good enough for Zoro. Can you believe that?! She was probably, like, ten years old and she was giving me so much crap! Then she started to walk away and said to take good care of myself and make sure Zoro doesn't do anything too stupid."

Sanji's mirth was starting to dissipate. This was starting to sound less like a dream and more like… something else. "Huh. Anything else?"

Shiloh's brows furrowed as she tried to recall the girl's words. "She said something about Zoro being tall… and something about how growing up must be fun." The cook met the swordsman's shocked eye as the oblivious contortionist between them continued to attempt recalling the details of her dream. "She told me her name but I can't remember. It's been bugging me all morning."

"Shy," Sanji said with slight exasperation, "You remembered full on conversations but you forgot her name?"

Shiloh sent him an embarrassed half-smile. "Well that's why I was trying so hard to remember."

"To the point of near death."

The redhead looked away, but Sanji could have sworn he saw a trace of shame on her face. "I wasn't near death."

"So what would you call your throat closing up and nearly suffocating?"

"An allergic reaction." The cook found himself slightly annoyed at the redhead's suddenly defiant tone.

"If that's what you what you call almost dying-"

"I didn't almost die!" Sanji's eyes widened at Shiloh's shout, not because of its unexpectedness, but because of the undertone of fear in her voice. "I didn't," she repeated softly in a way that suggested she was trying to convince herself. "I didn't almost die."

"Alright," Sanji acquiesced, knowing Chopper would have a fit if he riled up the girl any further. "You didn't almost die."

Shiloh was quiet for a moment, not noticing the one-eyed glare Zoro was sending the cook. "It scares me," she whispered. "It scares me and I hate it."

Sanji couldn't exactly empathize seeing as he'd never even been sick before, but he felt like he at least understood Shiloh's feelings. He couldn't imagine his own body turning against him at the smallest provocation. His breath caught in realization before he slowly allowed a bit of smoke past his lips. It wasn't the allergy itself that the contortionist feared, but rather the loss of control over her own body. The cook closed his eyes and took a breath. To have the one thing every person should be able to control completely do the opposite… how must that feel? Scary, he answered himself. Just like she said. He thought about cooking and all the skill he had to build up and what would happen if suddenly his hands didn't obey him, or if his legs suddenly refused to budge during battle. A chill ran up his spine.

The blond took a deep drag of his cigarette and put a hand on Shiloh's bowed head. He remembered the syringe Chopper had given the redhead to keep on her person and said softly, "It'll be fine. You'll be ready next time."

"Hopefully there won't be a next time."

Both of them turned their heads to face Zoro, who had spoken so suddenly that even Sanji had been taken a bit off guard. Shiloh nodded. "Yeah."

Wanting to change the subject, Sanji stretched before putting his arms behind his head and leaning against the mast. "Back to this dream of yours." Shiloh fixed her eyes on him and he was glad to see they were focused and clear, not distant and distracted as they had been a few minutes ago. "That girl, you can't remember her name at all?"

Shiloh leaned forward so her elbows rested on her knees, her chin in her hands. "Well… I remember it was a strange name. And I think it was like some sort of weird bird." Sanji watched Zoro's face pale as the redhead began throwing out names. "Penguin? Emu? Kiwi?"

Flightless birds? Sanji opened his mouth to comment on the strange pattern but Zoro had gotten to his feet as if he had seen a ghost. Oh, Sanji realized, or maybe as if someone else had. "Kuina," the swordsman whispered in such a low voice Sanji wasn't sure Shiloh had heard him. "Was it Kuina?"

Shiloh snapped her fingers, a bright smile lighting up her face. "That's it! Kuina! How did you kn-" The smile immediately fell and shattered into a million pieces as she met the swordsman's eye. The redhead paled and began shaking her head. "No way. There's no way. I couldn't have… She couldn't be… I mean, I thought the whole thing was weird but I figured it was just some freaky manifestation of my subconscious insecurities being realized in a dream." Her rambling would have been funny to the cook if he hadn't been suddenly creeped out. Shiloh shook her head, eyes incredibly wide as she asked, "Are you trying to tell me that I was talking to a dead girl?!" Zoro merely stared at her, neither confirmation nor denial being given to the contortionist, but she must have seen something in the swordsman's eye because she promptly stood and began waving her arms frantically. "Oh, no. Oh hell no, Zoro! That is way too freaky! You gotta tell her to leave me alone!"

"Me?!" The swordsman exclaimed incredulously as he jumped to his feet. It was the most emotion Sanji had seen him express all day. "You're the one having screwed up dreams! You tell her!" Crossing his arms, he added a little more gently, "While you're at it, tell her it's none of her business who I take an interest in."

"No way!" Shiloh stuck her lip out in a pout and mimicked the swordsman's posture. "I am not going to be the middleman between you and your dead friend!" Deflating as if all her energy had left her, the redhead sat back down and buried her face in her hands. "I am having a shitty day," she declared.

Sanji turned his head and gave an obviously fake cough to cover up the laugh that had managed to escape him. Zoro sent him a scathing glare but surprised the cook by not engaging in a quarrel. Instead, the swordsman crouched down so that his eye level was lower than the sitting Shiloh's put a tentative hand on her knee. "Tell me how to make it better."

That shut Sanji up. Shiloh lifted her face from her hands immediately, eyes wide. "What?"

Even though Zoro's face was beginning to turn a deep shade of red, he still managed to repeat gently, "Your day. Tell me how to make it better."

Shiloh's mouth opened and closed a few times, as if she had no idea which words to use. Sanji was more than a little surprise when he realized the redhead was giving him an incredibly helpless look. "What do I do?"

The cook felt his own eyes widen. He didn't usually stutter, but he was taken so off guard that he held his hands up and choked out, "H-huh? Don't look at me! He's your Marimo now!" Before Shiloh could say anything else, Sanji jumped up and made a quick escape, choosing to stand against the railing outside the galley instead. That way, he could still see the pair, but (hopefully) wouldn't be involved. It had probably been an incredibly un-manly thing to do, but as long as Nami hadn't seen in this case he figured it was fine. He didn't want to get caught up in the whirlwind of Shiloh and Zoro's weirdness.

With no other choice, the contortionist returned her gaze to the man before her, face turning nearly as red as her hair. Sanji had to admit, he was surprised Zoro was still crouched in front of the redhead waiting for an answer. He assumed the swordsman would have been irritated by the girl's odd response and stomped off or something. "You gonna answer?" Zoro asked with a raised brow.

"Promise she won't start haunting me."

It was Zoro's turn to be confused. "What?"

"You friend. Promise me she won't start appearing in all my dreams or slamming doors shut behind me or flickering lights on and off or anything scary like that."

Shaking his head, Zoro let out a snort and patted the girl's knee before moving to sit beside her once again. "That's not going to happen."

"How do you know?"

Zoro gave Shiloh a stern look that didn't quite reach his eye. "Because the dead don't come back, Shy."

The redhead was silent for a moment before gently placing her hand on top of the swordsman's much larger one. "You don't think it was real?"

"I think it was a dream. Take that whatever way you want."

From his perch, Sanji gave a small nod in agreement that he was glad Zoro couldn't see. Good advice was good advice, no matter who gave it, he just didn't ever want to be seen agreeing with the green-haired muscle brain. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

Shiloh began absently stroking Zoro's knuckles with her thumb. The action caused the swordsman to stiffen and look away, though his hand remained where it was. Sanji snickered. Poor Zoro. The cook could tell that the green-haired man had really been making an effort to be nice and sweet to the contortionist, but when she showed him any affection he just had no clue how to act or what to do.

Slowly, the redhead took a breath and gazed forward with unseeing eyes. "What do I want?"

"I can't answer that for you."

"I know. It's just, sometimes saying it out loud helps."

"Did it?"

Shiloh groaned. "No. But I better figure it out soon or we're not going to work out."

Sanji's eyes widened. Did he hear that right? Zoro looked down at the girl beside him. "What do you mean by that?"

The redhead let out a sigh, but her voice was firm. "I mean exactly what I said. You have a great ambition, Zoro, and we both know you'll do anything to achieve it. Do you want to be with someone who has no clue what to do with herself? Someone who doesn't know if they're coming or going or in what direction? That's not fair. That's not fair to you, and it's an insult to your friend." She slouched and crossed her arms, sending a pout towards the ocean to her left. "That's probably why she showed up in my dreams."

Zoro cocked an eyebrow. "So what do we do?"

"We don't do anything. I need to get my shit together."

Letting out a loud barking laugh, the swordsman lazily draped an arm around the redhead's small shoulders. "You're fine the way you are."

Sanji took a second to wonder when the pair below had become so natural. Was it really that long ago that Zoro had absolutely denied any sort of feelings for the girl? Had it really only been a few days since they had decided to acknowledge each other? If Sanji hadn't known better, just by watching them speak he would have believed they had been together for years. He figured it probably had to do with Zoro's general attitude and Shiloh's strange maturity when it came to such matters.

"For how long?" Shiloh responded to the green-haired man. "How long is it fine that I stay exactly where I am while you move forward? How long before you need to faster towards your dream and away from me? Because if I don't match your strong will then we're going to stay on unequal footing." She took a breath before adding, "And that's not okay with me."

Shiloh's words from the night before rang in Sanji's ears. "I like that you won't let anything get in the way of your dream. I accept it and embrace it." From where he stood, the cook frowned. The redhead wasn't saying those things to Zoro out of fear, but rather out of extreme consideration for him. She knew she couldn't hold him back and nor did she want to, and in an effort to prevent the swordsman from feeling the heartache that came with saying goodbye to a loved one, she wanted to live up to his determination. It was some incredibly impressive foresight. Sanji wasn't sure Zoro would understand.

Just as he had thought, the swordsman shrugged and crossed his arms behind his head as he leaned back. "I don't really get what you're talking about, Shy. But do what you want. I won't stop you."

Shiloh sighed. "That's exactly what I meant."

"Huh?"

The redhead gave Zoro a long look before turning away. "Never mind."

The cook watched as the swordsman nonchalantly grunted and closed his eye, probably to take a real nap. He wondered just how deeply Kuina's words had affected Shiloh. Just the previous night, she had stood there with Zoro, full of confidence in her feelings and unafraid of what may come. Sanji wondered if it were possible that the contortionist had a fear of ghosts. She sat there unmoving, a concentrated look on her face that almost seemed to Sanji like frustration.

Shiloh started a little when Zoro's voice said, "Stop." Opening her mouth to answer, the swordsman cut her off, "Stop thinking so hard." Eyes still closed, he put out his hand and pulled the contortionist down so that the back of her head was against his chest. "Your brain will explode and Chopper will blame me. Besides, weren't you the one who said we don't need a path to follow?"

Letting out a huff, the redhead grumbled, "That was before dead people started interfering." Zoro ignored her and said nothing. A thought seemed to occur to Shiloh because she blushed slightly, letting the previous matter drop for the time being, and let out a sigh before asking softly, "Are you secretly a clingy person?"

"No," came the instant reply. Sanji snorted. Could have fooled him with how the swordsman was holding the girl so close. "Maybe," he said slowly after a minute of silence. "But just for today."

"Why?"

"To make it better."

Amber eyes widened at the soft words, cheeks going red. The incredibly romantic side of Sanji wanted more than anything for Zoro to promise the girl that his dream wouldn't ever come between them, that he wouldn't allow it. Part of the cook felt like Shiloh was better for Zoro's well being than his ultimate goal, his obsession that would no doubt continue to put his life at risk again and again. And yet another part, the part that drove him forward to improve his fighting skills, the part that made the world disappear when he was cooking, the part that kept him searching for The All Blue told him that promises made with love were much more important than love alone.

"I just remembered something else Kuina told me to tell you."

Zoro merely gave an uninterested, "Hmm."

In a dead serious voice, Shiloh said, "She said not to drool on her sword."

The swordsman was silent for a few long seconds before replying simply, "Tell her you snooze, you lose."

Shiloh let out a laugh, the worry melting away from her face. "No way, Zoro!"

As the two began to fall into a cheery chatter, Sanji took a deep breath and pushed off the railing with every intent of cleaning the galley to occupy himself. However, a hand slipping into the back pocket of his neatly pressed slacks made him freeze. "Sanji." A chill went up his spine at the way Nami had whispered in his ear. "Gather those two idiots and bring them to the galley, will you?" He turned and was met by Nami's intense gaze, a mixture of seriousness and cunning lighting her eyes. He knew that look. She meant business. "There's something we all need to discuss."

A/N

Getting to know someone and feeling out a new relationship is always tough. Fun, but tough. Not for Sanji, tough. He's got all the answers. As always, thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following! A few more chapters and this story will be finished but that doesn't mean there aren't more coming!