Part three is here! I'm so happy that you, my readers, are liking this! Thank you so much for the great comments and reviews! It's been really fun hearing your thoughts and ideas concerning Sanji's being mute, and I'm looking forward to your reactions on later chapters. :)

Note: Several of you have mentioned your theories on this story's zombie lore, and yes, to answer some questions, I do like the thought of zombies being in different stages of decomposition depending on when they were infected or when they died. I've always thought that an actual zombie virus would effect people differently. Things like age, weight, level of hydration at the time of death/infection would no doubt have an impact on how the body reacted.

But anyway, maybe someday I'll write an actual book or something and I can go into detail about those kinds of things. For now though, this is just an excuse to mix my ZoroxSanji man porn with another genre I love. Haha.

Chapter 3

"A few miles" turned out to be almost ninety. That was fine, he had been moving north anyway.

Zoro wasn't sure what he had expected, but he did know that a walled-in community was not even close. The dirt path they had driven in ended at a gate manned by a few guards with crossbows. When the gates opened, they were ushered inside to a second gate, and this one did not open until the first was closed. Smart. Inside the setting was like one of those religious compounds you used to see on the news or bad horror movies. A church stood central, surrounded by buildings that looked like community areas. There were several other structures, no doubt being used as living quarters, plus what looked like a library, and towards the back was a large garden, and a stone well. The best part was the entire complex was surrounded by a twenty foot brick wall, reinforced with barbed wire and a guard tower every two-hundred or so yards.

"Nice set up."

Law grinned at him from the passenger seat. "Found it empty a few months back. Well, besides the cult that had all committed suicide in the church together."

"Jesus, don't talk about that," Usopp muttered.

"Anyway, we have about sixty people, give or take a few drifters here and there."

"A little dangerous, isn't it?" Zoro asked, "Bringing in people you don't know?"

Law waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, but the alternative is not bringing in people."

Usopp pulled the truck into a spot between another two vehicles and killed the engine. "I'm gonna head over to the armory, I'll meet up with you later."

Nodding, Law opened his own door, "Got it."

Zoro put his hand to the door handle but hesitated when he glanced over at Sanji. The blond was curled up in his jacket, the lower half of his face hidden under his scarf. The man was fast asleep.

"Just give him a nudge," Law said as he pulled himself out of the truck and stretched. "Stay with him and help get those bags to the mess hall, then he can show you where you'll sleep. I'll be around."

With that, Law slammed the door shut and Zoro was left alone in the truck with the strange, sleeping mute. He turned back to watch dark eyelashes flutter beneath pale eyelids and he sighed softly. What was here doing here? He had enough food and water to last a while, a few things to trade, he didn't need anything from these people. What was the point of coming here, to this compound? Zoro was a drifter, a wanderer. Staying in one place for too long had proved time and time again to be dangerous and stupid. Movement kept you alive, and people were almost always not to be trusted.

So what was he thinking now?

Zoro watched Sanji's chest rise and fall in that steady, rhythmic way that only true sleep can manage. He began to wonder if his sudden interest in persons other than himself was because of this man. This Sanji had demonstrated a physical ability that was almost supernatural. He obviously had training in gymnastics, martial arts, or something of that nature, and Zoro was interested in finding out what it was.

It was also hard to ignore the fact that Sanji wasn't at all hard to look at, definitely handsome, especially when those blue eyes were fixed on you. The fact that he didn't speak also kind of added to the allure.

Reaching out, Zoro carefully nudged Sanji's arm. The blond stirred and opened his eyes, turning to look at Zoro quizzically.

"We're here, and I guess I've sort of been assigned to you."

Sanji nodded and rubbed his eyes. He opened the door and pulled himself out of the truck, stretching his long legs and rotating his waist and shoulders. Zoro followed, pulling his pack from the backseat and keeping a steady hold on his sword. He surveyed his surroundings with far more interest than he showed, noting reinforcements of either logs or steel pipes had been added onto the walls in several places. There seemed to be a lot of children and older folks out and about too. How had they managed to save so many kids?

Sanji set one of the duffle bags at his feet, and Zoro lifted it without hesitation. "I'm assuming this is all food."

Nodding, Sanji turned and started toward one of the long, wider buildings that surrounded the church. People waved to him as he passed, shouting greetings and welcome returns. The blond waved back but did not stop. He seemed to have a kind of single-mindedness when it came to that food and it made Zoro wonder if maybe he was in charge of this group's supplies.

The dining hall was clean and orderly and the kitchen was spotless. Zoro had never been in one of these full service kitchens before, but he could tell by the state of the machinery and the cleanliness of the tiled floor that it was well kept. Sanji did not turn on the lights, so Zoro had no way of knowing yet if this compound had power, but the windows were high and wide, giving the area sufficient lighting. Sanji led him to the storeroom in back and with a box of matches he retrieved from a shelf, lit a large oil lamp.

For a moment, Zoro could only stand and stare. He had not seen this much food in one spot in a very long time. Cans of soup, beans, and even corned beef lined the shelves. There was a bag or two of rice, and boxes of bread mixes stacked on crates in the corner. He was still gaping as Sanji opened his bag and started unloading his haul.

It took almost forty minutes because Sanji had to keep stopping and making notes on his clipboard, but the two of them unloaded the bags and completed the inventory without a fuss. Before he knew it, Zoro had decided that he liked Sanji's company. He was smart and no nonsense, and despite the fact that he couldn't speak, he communicated easily with gestures and nods or shakes of his head.

"Hey," Zoro said as they put the duffle bags away, "How do you… I mean what do you do when you want to tell someone something? Or ask someone a question?"

Sanji opened the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small notepad and pen. He scribbled a few words on the paper and then showed it to Zoro.

Smoke signals, obviously. Was written in a neat, all capitol scrawl.

Zoro chuckled. "Okay, smartass. What's with the curly eyebrows?"

Sanji scribbled a few words and set the pad down on the prep table in front of Zoro with a smile.

What's with the green hair?

"It's not dyed."

Bullshit.

Zoro sighed, no one ever believed him when he told them it was natural. "It's a trick of your own eye. I have some kind of rare amino deficiency in my scalp. It kills the red, turns it yellow. It reacts to the blue-black I got from my Japanese mother and makes it seem green."

Eyes narrowing, Sanji crossed his arms and moved in close. Zoro tensed; he was not expecting that. The only bodies he had been close to in the last few months had been rotting, clicking, corpses, and he had taken care of those in a swift, bloody manner. This was different. This was strange and somewhat exciting. Zoro had almost forgotten what it was like to be in this proximity to something that was just as alive as he was. He swallowed, gripped the edge of the table behind him and watched Sanji's blue eyes study his hair up close. Holding his breath, Zoro was suddenly and inexplicably conscious of the fact that he had not bathed in several weeks.

Finally, Sanji shrugged and picked up his notepad.

Stranger things have happened.

Letting out that breath, Zoro could only nod in agreement. His mouth had suddenly gone very dry.

TBC